Here is a detailed description of what we do for sole traders & landlords:
- We will prepare the business accounts in accordance with FRS 102, FRS 105, generally accepted accounting standards from the books, accounting records & other information & explanations provided to us by you and/or by others on your behalf.
- We will complete the writing up of your books & records in so far as they are incomplete when presented to us. These will be from the accounting information & records you supply.
- We have a professional duty to compile accounts that conform with generally accepted accounting principles. Where we identify that the accounts do not conform with generally accepted accounting principles or standards, we will inform you & suggest amendments be put through the accounts before being finalised. We have a professional responsibility not to allow our name to be associated with accounts that may be misleading. In extreme cases, where this matter cannot be resolved, we will withdraw from the engagement & notify you in writing of the reasons.
- Once we have issued our report we have no further responsibility in relation to the accounts for that financial year. However, we expect that you will inform us of any material event occurring between the date of our report & that of the annual general meeting that may affect the accounts.
- We will prepare your self-assessment tax returns together with any supplementary pages required from the information & explanations that you provide to us. After obtaining your approval, we will submit your returns to HMRC.
- We will calculate your income tax, high-income child benefit charge, national insurance contributions (NIC) & any capital gains tax liabilities, & tell you how much you should pay & when. Where instructed by you, we will advise on the interest & penalty implications if tax or NIC is paid late. We will also check HMRC’s calculation of your tax & NIC liabilities, & initiate repayment claims if tax or NIC has been overpaid.
- We will review PAYE notices of coding provided to us by you & advise accordingly. Note that HMRC no longer sends copies of notices of coding to agents.
Ad hoc queries by way of telephone & email enquiries are not routine compliance & may result in additional fees. As indicated below, where appropriate we will aim to discuss & agree additional fees but it may not always be possible to agree these in advance, & we reserve the right to charge you an additional fee for these queries.
Where you have instructed us to do so we will provide such other taxation ad hoc & advisory services as may be agreed between us from time to time. These services will be subject to the terms in an engagement letter & standard terms & conditions of business unless we decide to issue a separate engagement letter. An additional fee may be charged for these services. Examples of such work include:
- advising on ad hoc transactions & queries (including telephone conversations), preparing & submitting information in the relevant format to HMRC & calculating any related tax liabilities;
- dealing with any enquiry opened into your tax return or tax affairs by HMRC;
- preparing any amended returns that may be required & corresponding with HMRC as necessary; &
- advising on the rules relating to & assisting with VAT registration.
Where specialist advice is required, on occasions we may need to seek this from or refer you to appropriate specialists. We will only do this when instructed by you.
It is your responsibility to keep proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any particular time the financial position of the business. It is also your responsibility to safeguard the assets & to take reasonable steps for the prevention of & detection of fraud & other irregularities with an appropriate system of internal controls.
You are also responsible for making available to us, as and when required, all accounting records and all other relevant records and related information.
You will also be responsible for:
- maintaining records of all receipts & payments of cash;
- maintaining records of invoices issued & received;
- reconciling balances [monthly/annually] with the bank statements;
- preparing a record of business mileage undertaken in the year;
- preparing a record of hours per month worked at home if you wish to claim for business use of your home;
- preparing details of any loan interest paid;
- preparing a record of capital introduced; &
- preparing details of the following at the year-end: stocks & work in progress, fixed assets, amounts owing to creditors, amounts owing by customers, & accruals & prepayments.
You are legally responsible for:
- ensuring that your self-assessment tax returns are correct & complete;
- filing any returns by the due date; &
- paying tax on time.
Failure to do this may lead to penalties and/or interest.
Taxpayers who approve their returns cannot delegate this legal responsibility to others. You agree to check that returns that we have prepared for you are complete before you approve them.
To enable us to carry out our work you agree:
- that all returns are to be made on the basis of full disclosure of all sources of income, charges, allowances & capital transactions;
- to provide all information necessary for dealing with your affairs, including the accounts information outlined above: we will rely on the information & documents being true, correct & complete, & will not audit the information or those documents;
- to authorise us to approach such third parties as may be appropriate for information that we consider necessary to deal with your affairs; &
- to provide us with information in sufficient time for your tax return to be completed & submitted by the due date following the end of the tax year. In order that we can do this, we need to receive all relevant information 3 months before the due date. Where feasible, we may agree to complete your return within a shorter period but may charge an additional fee for so doing.
You will keep us informed of material changes in your circumstances that could affect your tax liability. If you are unsure whether the change is material or not please let us know so that we can assess its significance.
Where you wish us to deal with HMRC communications you will forward to us all communications received from HMRC such as HMRC statements of account, copies of notices of assessment, tax codes & letters. These must be provided in time to enable us to deal with them as may be necessary within the statutory time limits. It is essential that you let us have copies of any correspondence received because HMRC is not obliged to send us copies of all communications issued to you.