Accountants for Plumbers and Heating Engineers

The money side of a plumbing and heating business

A typical week mixes small domestic jobs paid on the day with larger installations invoiced in stages and contract work where a builder deducts tax before paying you. Add a van, a stock of fittings, supplier accounts and the occasional bad payer, and the paperwork piles up faster than the callouts. We keep the records current so you always know what you have earned, what you have spent and what is owed to you.

Hislop Business Solutions is run by Michelle Hislop, an AAT licensed accountant with more than 15 years in accountancy and over 8 years of hands-on payroll experience. You deal with Michelle directly, and you should never feel like you are bothering her with a question.

What we take care of

• Bookkeeping and software that separates labour from materials, so you can see your margin on every job.
• CIS statements from each contractor kept together, so the tax deducted at source is reclaimed or offset at the year end.
• VAT returns, including working out whether the domestic reverse charge applies to a job.
• Self Assessment for sole traders, or accounts and Corporation Tax for a limited company.
• Payroll and pensions when you take on an apprentice or an employee.
• Making Tax Digital set up before it applies to you.

Points that matter for plumbers and heating engineers

CIS when you work for builders

If you carry out work for a contractor, you are usually a subcontractor under the Construction Industry Scheme. Registered subcontractors have 20% deducted from the labour part of their invoices; unregistered ones have 30% taken. Those deductions are not lost: sole traders reclaim any overpayment through the Self Assessment return, and limited companies offset them against their own PAYE and other liabilities. The trick is keeping every CIS statement, which is exactly what we do.

VAT and the reverse charge

Once you are VAT registered, work for other VAT-registered construction businesses often falls under the domestic reverse charge, where the customer accounts for the VAT instead of you. Getting it wrong on an invoice causes arguments and cash flow problems in both directions, so we check each contract and set the invoices up correctly in your software.

Your van, tools and training

The van, tools, test equipment, workwear, phone and the costs of registration and training are normally allowable business costs, some in full and some through capital allowances. How best to treat a vehicle depends on whether you own, finance or lease it, so ask before you sign.

Growing the business

Taking on an apprentice means payroll, pension auto-enrolment and holiday pay. It is also the point at which many plumbers ask whether to trade as a limited company. Our article on sole trader versus limited company sets out the trade-offs, and we will talk it through with your own numbers.

Getting started

The first step is a free, no-obligation conversation about your business. We will suggest the right mix of support and a clear monthly price, and if you decide to go ahead we take care of the handover from your previous accountant or your spreadsheets. Book your free consultation or call 07510 914616.