Greenwich & Deptford
Start-up Accountant in Greenwich & Deptford
Starting a business in SE10 or SE8 and setting it up as a limited company? We form the company, register it with HMRC, and get the first year's records, deadlines and accounts right from day one.
What we do for new companies
- Forming your limited company at Companies House, with the right share structure from the start
- Registering the company for Corporation Tax, and for VAT and PAYE if you need them
- Setting up bookkeeping software and a simple routine for recording income and costs
- Planning how you'll pay yourself, and tracking your director's loan account from the first transaction
- Your first-year accounts, Corporation Tax return and confirmation statement, filed on time
Getting the set-up right
Forming a company takes minutes online. Choosing a sensible structure takes a little longer. The decisions made on day one are awkward to undo later: who holds the shares and in what proportions, whether co-founders' shares should vest, which address becomes the public registered office, and who the directors are. Every director and person with significant control now has to verify their identity with Companies House too.
If you're founding with other people, it's also worth putting a shareholders' agreement in place early, before there's anything valuable to disagree about. We'll cover the accounting and tax side and tell you when you need a solicitor.
Your first-year deadlines
A new company collects deadlines quickly. You need to tell HMRC the company is liable for Corporation Tax within three months of it starting to do business. The first confirmation statement falls due around the first anniversary of incorporation. The first accounts are due at Companies House 21 months after the company was formed. Corporation Tax is payable nine months and a day after the end of the accounting period, and the tax return is due twelve months after.
None of these is difficult on its own, but they run on different clocks, and missing one brings a penalty. We put them all in one calendar for you from the start.
Spending before you start trading
Money you spend getting the business ready before it starts trading, such as equipment, software, a website or professional fees, can often be claimed once trading begins, as long as it would have been allowable if you'd already been trading. Keep the receipts from the very beginning, and tell us about anything you paid for personally before the company existed, since whether that can be claimed depends on the details.
Working with us
Set up properly, then left to get on with it.
Our office is on Verdant Lane, SE6, and we work with founders in Greenwich, Deptford and nearby mostly online, which suits people building digital businesses. Once the company is set up, we'll keep the books, returns and deadlines running in the background while you build the product.
If you're also investing in property, our landlord tax page covers rental income and Making Tax Digital.
Common questions
Start-up questions, answered.
If you're raising investment, bringing in co-founders or taking on real financial risk, a company usually makes sense from the start. If you're testing an idea on your own with low profits, starting as a sole trader is simpler and you can incorporate later.
Ask us when you get in touch. Your registered office is public on Companies House, so many founders prefer not to use their home address.
Only if taxable turnover will go over the £90,000 threshold. Some start-ups register voluntarily so they can reclaim VAT on set-up costs, which can make sense if your customers are VAT-registered businesses.
You still need to file accounts and a confirmation statement at Companies House, and tell HMRC the company is dormant if it hasn't started to do business. Filing obligations don't stop just because the company isn't making money.
Company formation and first-year accounts