Frequently asked questions

No. We are based in Larkhall and regularly meet clients across South Lanarkshire and the wider Lanarkshire area, and we support businesses throughout Scotland and the UK remotely. Cloud bookkeeping in QuickBooks or FreeAgent means we both see the same live figures wherever you are.

Yes. You are welcome at our office at 119 John Street, Larkhall on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between 08:30 and 17:30, and evening or weekend appointments can be arranged. For businesses across Lanarkshire we can also come to your premises by arrangement. Phone, video and email work well for everything in between.

Yes. Glasgow is about half an hour from Larkhall, so we can meet in the city by arrangement, and we support businesses across Scotland and the UK remotely. Cloud bookkeeping, electronic payslips and video calls mean the service is the same wherever you are.

Usually not. Once you decide to move, we contact your previous accountant for professional clearance and the handover of your records, and we tell you exactly what we need from you. The initial consultation is free, so you can talk it through before committing to anything.

We are QuickBooks ProAdvisor and FreeAgent Accredited Practitioner certified, so those are the packages we recommend and support day to day. If you already use something else, tell us what it is and we will let you know how we can work with it.

We talk about your business: what you do, how you invoice and get paid, whether you have staff, and what is currently causing you the most hassle. We then recommend the right level of support and agree a simple monthly price, with no pressure either way.

We are QuickBooks ProAdvisor and FreeAgent Accredited Practitioner certified, so those are the packages we recommend and support day to day. If you already use something else, tell us what it is and we will let you know how we can work with it.

Yes. We can manage your accounts for you, giving you regular updates and organising your cash flow. If you would rather keep some of it in-house, we can help you choose an accounting system and train you to use it yourself.

That is fine. Our training and assistance service helps you carry out some or all of the financial function yourself, with support when you need it.

It depends on the food. Hot takeaway food and drink is standard-rated. Most cold takeaway food, such as sandwiches and cold bakery items, is zero-rated, although some products are exceptions. Anything eaten on the premises is standard-rated. We set your till categories up so each sale carries the right rate, and check them when the return is prepared.

Since October 2024 employers must pass tips, gratuities and service charges to staff in full, allocate them fairly and keep a written policy and records. Tips are taxable for the staff who receive them, usually through payroll or a tronc. We set up the arrangement and the payroll side so it is compliant.

Yes. We run weekly or monthly payroll for variable hours, calculate holiday pay, handle starters and leavers, assess staff for pension auto-enrolment and submit everything to HMRC on time. You send us the hours; we do the rest.

Answering your customers’ queries, sending job quotes after your visit, managing your diary and reminding customers of appointments, and gathering feedback through reviews, surveys or a phone call.

Yes. CIS deductions are payments on account of your tax, not the final figure. As a sole trader you report your income and the deductions on your Self Assessment return, and any overpayment comes back as a refund. A limited company offsets the deductions against its PAYE liabilities. Either way the statements from each contractor are essential, so send them to us as they arrive.

Yes. Test instruments, power tools and hand tools are business costs. Larger items are claimed through capital allowances, smaller ones as day-to-day expenses, and calibration, repairs and replacements are allowable too. Keep the receipts, or photograph them into your bookkeeping app and we will do the rest.

You must register once your taxable turnover in any rolling 12-month period passes the registration threshold, and you can register voluntarily before that. Registering early makes sense for some electricians because of the VAT reclaimed on a van and equipment, but it adds 20% to prices for domestic customers who cannot reclaim it. We look at your customer mix before recommending either way.

Not if the arrangement is genuinely self-employed: they set their own prices and hours, keep their own takings, pay you rent and file their own tax returns. If in practice you control their hours and prices and pay them a wage, HMRC will treat them as employees whatever the paperwork says. We review how it works in your salon and help you document it properly.

Tips are taxable income for whoever receives them. Cash tips kept by a self-employed stylist go on their own tax return. Tips that pass through the salon, including card tips, must be passed on to staff in full and are usually taxed through payroll or a tronc arrangement. We set up whichever route fits your salon and keep the records the rules require.

When taxable turnover in any rolling twelve-month period passes the VAT registration threshold, or when you expect it to within the next thirty days. Treatments and product sales all count. Because salon takings build up in small daily amounts, we track the rolling figure for you and plan pricing before registration bites.

Either can work. The fixed mileage rate is simpler and covers fuel, insurance, repairs and depreciation in one figure; actual costs can be worth more for an expensive vehicle or high running costs. Once you choose a method for a vehicle you generally keep it until you change the vehicle, so we compare both with your figures before you decide.

It depends on the working reality. Drivers who use your vehicles, work the hours you set and are paid by the hour or day are almost always employees for tax purposes, which means payroll, pensions and holiday pay. Genuine owner-drivers with their own vehicles and other customers are usually self-employed. We review the arrangements and tell you where you stand.

Yes. Monthly management figures and a simple cash-flow forecast show what is coming in and going out, including VAT and tax that needs to be set aside. If you use invoice finance or factoring we record it properly so the real cost is visible, and we can help you tighten credit control with clear terms and prompt invoicing.

It depends on your profit level, whether your clients require a company, how much you need to draw and how long you plan to contract. A company can be more tax-efficient at higher profits and offers limited liability, but adds accounts, Corporation Tax, payroll and IR35 considerations. We compare both routes with your own figures rather than a rule of thumb.

IR35 and the off-payroll rules decide whether a contract through your own company is really employment for tax purposes. For medium and large clients the client makes that decision and, if the contract is inside, deducts tax and National Insurance before paying you. For small clients you decide and carry the risk. We look at the contract and the working arrangements and explain your position in plain English.

Usually through a combination of a salary run through payroll and dividends paid from profits after Corporation Tax, with the mix chosen to use your allowances sensibly. Dividends need board minutes and vouchers, and the company must actually have the profit to pay them. We set the salary up, prepare the dividend paperwork and keep an eye on the director’s loan account.

You must register as a contractor, verify each subcontractor with HMRC before the first payment, deduct 20% or 30% from the labour part of their invoices (or nothing if they hold gross payment status), pay the deductions to HMRC, file a monthly CIS return and give every subcontractor a monthly statement. Late returns attract automatic penalties, so we run the monthly cycle for you and keep the records.

It is a rule for VAT-registered businesses working for other VAT-registered businesses under CIS. Instead of charging VAT, the supplier issues an invoice stating that the reverse charge applies and the customer accounts for the VAT on its own return. It does not apply to work for end users such as homeowners. We check each customer and set your invoices up correctly.

There is no single answer. A company can be more tax-efficient at higher profits, limits personal liability and is sometimes expected by larger clients, but it brings accounts, Corporation Tax, payroll and more admin. We compare both routes with your own figures, including how CIS deductions are recovered under each.

Not as a straight deduction if you own the property personally. Instead you receive a tax credit worth the basic rate of tax on the interest. Higher-rate taxpayers therefore get less relief than the interest cost, and rental income can push you into a higher band. A property company can deduct interest in full, but company ownership has other costs, so we compare the two with your figures.

Yes. Landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 are in from April 2026, those over £30,000 from April 2027, with lower incomes planned to follow. Rental income and any self-employed income are added together for the test. It means keeping digital records and sending quarterly updates to HMRC, which we set up and run for you.

Sometimes, but not automatically. A company deducts mortgage interest in full and pays Corporation Tax on profits, but moving existing properties in usually triggers capital gains tax and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax with the Additional Dwelling Supplement, company mortgages cost more, and taking the profits out is taxed again. It tends to suit landlords building a portfolio for the long term. We work through the numbers before you decide.

We are QuickBooks ProAdvisor and FreeAgent Accredited Practitioner certified, so those are the packages we recommend and support day to day. If you already use something else, tell us what it is and we will let you know how we can work with it.

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is HMRC’s programme requiring businesses, the self-employed and landlords to keep digital records and submit returns and updates using compatible software such as QuickBooks or FreeAgent. VAT-registered businesses already submit VAT returns this way, and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax begins in April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with income over £50,000.

Yes. We provide comprehensive payroll management, including the paperwork for new starters and leavers and help tracking annual leave. If you prefer to run your own payroll, we can support you and make sure you stay compliant.

Yes. Handling the paperwork for new starters and leavers is part of our payroll management support, along with help tracking annual leave.

If you do construction work for a contractor rather than directly for the householder, you are a subcontractor under the Construction Industry Scheme. Registering means 20% is deducted from your labour instead of 30%, and nothing is deducted at all if you qualify for gross payment status. We register you and keep the statements so the deductions are reclaimed at the year end.

Yes. A van used for the business is normally claimed through capital allowances, and its running costs are allowable too, with an adjustment for any private use. The best treatment depends on whether you buy, finance or lease it and whether you are a sole trader or a company, so ask us before you sign.

It depends on your profit, whether you have staff, how much you need to draw and your plans. A company can be tax-efficient at higher profits and limits your personal liability, but it adds accounts, Corporation Tax and payroll. We work it out with your own figures rather than a rule of thumb.

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is HMRC’s programme requiring businesses, the self-employed and landlords to keep digital records and submit returns and updates using compatible software such as QuickBooks or FreeAgent. VAT-registered businesses already submit VAT returns this way, and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax begins in April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with income over £50,000.

You must file a return if you are self-employed or a sole trader earning over £1,000, have a side hustle as well as a job, receive dividends from your company alongside a wage, or earn money elsewhere such as rental income.

We are QuickBooks ProAdvisor and FreeAgent Accredited Practitioner certified, so those are the packages we recommend and support day to day. If you already use something else, tell us what it is and we will let you know how we can work with it.

That is fine. Our training and assistance service helps you carry out some or all of the financial function yourself, with support when you need it.

You must register when your VAT taxable turnover goes over £90,000, and you can choose to register voluntarily below that. We can help you decide whether registration makes sense for your business and choose the right scheme.

Yes. As part of a bookkeeping service we check and submit your VAT returns accurately and on time, using software that is compatible with Making Tax Digital.