The benefits of an expert Start-Up Accountant
Starting your own business is an extremely exciting venture and an increasing number of people have made the leap into self-employment over recent years. The opportunity to be your own boss and make a living doing something you enjoy and are passionate about is understandably tempting to many people.
Whilst starting a new business can be incredibly rewarding, it can also be very challenging with many factors to take into account. We were once a start-up ourselves, so we understand the unique challenges faced when building a new business from the ground up.
It’s important to make sure that you’re operating as efficiently as possible in all stages of your start-up’s development. If you can streamline operations from the very beginning in all facets, including your accounting and financial affairs, you will lay strong foundations and increase your chances of long-term success.
Appointing an expert accountant for start-ups can be invaluable to help your business get off to the best possible start. As well as providing initial advice, they can also help you with registration obligations such as VAT, PAYE, Corporation tax, self-assessment and CIS. An accountant can also advise on the key decisions to help you get your start-up business off the ground and look after all your accounting needs.
Choosing the Right Operating Structure
A key consideration for start-ups is to choose the right operating structure for your business. Self-employed people will generally operate through a limited company or as a sole trader, and there are advantages and disadvantages to both structures.Â
Things are much simpler for sole traders. You work, submit your self-assessment tax return declaring your income and expenses and pay tax and National Insurance contributions on your profits. You’ll also need to register for VAT if your taxable turnover is more than £85,000. There are less statutory and regulatory obligations for sole traders making personal ownership a simple, quick and cost-effective way to start your business
If you set up as a limited company, your business is a separate legal entity to you. This means that you benefit from limited liability which means that your personal assets, such as your home and investments, are safe from creditors if your business encounters financial difficulties.
A limited company structure also presents more opportunity to leverage tax efficiencies. By splitting your remuneration between a combination of salary and dividends, it’s possible to increase your take home pay. Set up for limited companies is more complex, however, and there are increased accounting and regulatory obligations to consider including IR35 and corporation tax.
Our accountants are experts on the different types of business structures and their advantages and disadvantages and can advise you on the best operating structure for your start-up
Limited Company Formation
If you decide to operate through a limited company, our Company Formation Service will get your company quickly and efficiently set up. It can even be set up the very same day!
We’ve incorporated thousands of limited companies for our clients and will assist you every step of the way.
Setting Up a Business Bank Account
If you trade through a limited company, a business bank account is a legal requirement. If you operate as a sole trader, a business bank account isn’t mandatory but it’s very beneficial to open one.
A business bank account allows you to separate your business and personal finances which makes it much easier to track your expenses, calculate your taxes and manage your cash flow. This will make accounting and bookkeeping significantly easier, especially when you integrate your bank account with accounting software.
There are many other benefits including building a strong business credit score which can open up access to credit which might not otherwise be available.
Gorilla Accounting has partnered with Mettle, the 100% free business bank account by NatWest. Unlike other business bank accounts, Mettle is completely free to set up and use. You can apply in minutes, send and receive UK payments and eligible funds are protected by FSCS up to £85,000.
Use Accounting Software
Once your company is up and running, you’ll need to invoice your clients, track payments and keep accounting records. The easiest and quickest way to do this is to use accounting software.
All Gorilla Accounting clients receive full access to FreeAgent free of charge included in our great value fixed-fee accounting packages. FreeAgent is a multi-award winning, market-leading, cloud-based accounting software specifically designed for small businesses and the self-employed. It’s making-tax-digital compliant and is trusted by over 100,000 small business owners like you.
FreeAgent’s inbuilt functionality and comprehensive automation simplifies previously laborious admin tasks and will save you a lot of time which is a great help when you have a new start-up.
Self-assessment tax returns and VAT returns can be automatically calculated and electronically submitted to HMRC. You can use the FreeAgent app to upload receipts and keep on top of your expenses on the go. Invoices and payment reminders can be created and sent and unpaid invoices can be tracked. Payment gateway integration makes it easy for your clients to pay you quickly and securely, and automated bank feeds mean you can easily reconcile and categorise your transactions.
Your dedicated accountant at Gorilla will onboard you with FreeAgent and they also have access to your accounts in FreeAgent which will save you both a lot of time.
Work with an Accountant
As a new start-up, you will be very busy as you get your business off the ground and lay the foundations for long term growth and success. The last thing you want is to become bogged down with accounting and admin tasks.
Gorilla Accounting provides an expert accountancy service for start-ups. We will ease the pressure by helping take care of all your accounting and financial needs as well as offering unlimited support, advice and strategic guidance to help your start-up business flourish and providing you breathing room to focus on core business activities and growth.
With Gorilla, you’ll work with your own dedicated accountant who will be on hand to offer you unlimited support and advice. We’ll help you navigate the complex and ever-changing world of accounting and financial regulations to ensure compliance with legal requirements.
This includes ensuring tax compliance by helping you understand what your tax obligations are and filing your submissions with HMRC accurately and on-time. The last thing you need as a start-up is the distraction, not to mention cost, of being hit with late filing penalties or an HMRC investigation due to errors in your submissions.
We understand that as a start-up you might have a lot of queries, some of which will require a quick response. Our Client Service Guarantee means that if you contact us with a query before 3pm on any working day, we will respond that very same day or we will issue you with a £50 payment.
For only £50 +VAT per month for sole traders and £110 +VAT per month for limited companies, all your business accounting needs will be expertly taken care of with expert support and guidance to help your start-up take off.
