Our Services

We at abacus appreciate that no two clients’ needs are the same. We therefore tailor our vast range of accountancy, financial, business services and experience to meet the needs of each individual client enabling you to devote your time to developing your business.

We have therefore broken down the services we offer into 3 categories:

• Accountancy Services
• Business Services
• Financial Services

Accountancy Services

With the industry experience our accountants have we are able to offer far more than the traditional compliance services and have therefore broken down our offering between Compliance Services and Added Value Services.

As well as having access to all the services the abacus Group and associate Partners have to offer we also have expert help and advice in Taxation VAT and technical accountancy issues.

Statutory accounts

The Companies Act rules how Limited companies should conduct their financial affairs and limited companies are required to prepare and publish accounts annually. The Act sets out the legal requirements with regard to information that must be shown in a company’s annual report:

• Directors Report
• Profit and Loss
• Balance Sheet
• Auditors Report

Most SME’s will be able to file abbreviated accounts. This means a profit & loss account does not have to be filed with Companies House. However it is still required for tax purposes.

Statements of Standard Accounting Practice (SSAP) are guidelines to the manner and method in which certain financial transactions and recorded and communicated to relevant parties. Financial Reporting Standards (FRS) is gradually replacing SSAP.

For financial information to be a useful tool to management it must be accurate, relevant and produced on a timely basis. The abacus network of qualified accountants prides itself in meeting these goals and providing businesses with management and statutory accounts in an efficient and user-friendly manner.

Annual Accounts for Sole Traders and Partnerships

Although legislation is less stringent for sole traders and partnerships compared to Limited Companies it is still nevertheless important that accounts are produced in a timely fashion.

Too often accounts are simply produced to satisfy the Inland Revenue. However, we at abacus believe if accounts are produced in a timely and user-friendly manner they are very powerful management tool, which will help the owners focus on and resolve any issues within the business and thus improve profitability.

All abacus accountants are more than happy to help their clients interpret the business accounts and demonstrate how useful a tool they can be.

Taxation - Companies

Taxation is a specialist area in its own right and very few local accountants will be able to offer a complete taxation service to their clients. All the abacus accountants have access to a dedicated tax helpline. This service is further enhanced through one of our associate partners who specialise in complex tax services.

This enables abacus accountants to provide an extensive range of taxation services, support and advice to all their clients from start-up, through expansion and often to selling or handing their business down to future generations. The range of services provided includes:

Corporate Tax - The client’s preferences and plans for their business are always taken into consideration before advising on how to optimise the tax position of the Company, its directors and employees. We will discuss with the client how profits can be extracted from the company in the most tax efficient manner, utilising remuneration, dividend and capital repayment strategies. If our client plans to sell their business, or the directors are close to retirement, we will design exit strategies to ensure that maximum tax efficiencies are achieved. If the company is to be passed on to future generations, we can create a business structure so that the company is handed down in the best possible way:

• Company Tax Returns
• Tax efficient wrappers for company structures e.g. Enterprise Investment Schemes
• Offshore Structures
• Tax Planning on Dissolution
• Tax Investigations
• Company Restructuring

Taxation – Personal and business

Personal Tax - We always take the time to listen to our clients to establish their needs and also work closely with the other abacus advisers’ e.g. financial advisors or other advisors of the clients to provide solid, appropriate advice. We are tax specialists and will ensure that our clients optimise their tax position and that compliance requirements are met. We cover all aspects of tax planning. Our clients can be confident that the burden of tax issues will be taken from them, from handling self-assessment to where appropriate, liaising with the Inland Revenue:

• Income tax return preparation
• Capital gains tax planning
• Tax efficient investments
• Incorporation
• Trusts
• Inheritance tax planning
• Enterprise Investment Schemes
• Enterprise Zone Trusts
• UK Film Partnerships
• Retirement Planning
• Exit Strategies
• Advice in relation to Domicile and Residency

VAT

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a very complex subject. As with taxation all abacus accountants have access to a special VAT helpline ensuring all our clients receive the right advice in a timely and appropriate manner.

abacus understands that to many of our clients VAT is a daunting task. Below are some frequently asked questions in regards to VAT:

• When do I have to register for VAT?

  You must register for VAT when your sales exceed the statutory registration limit. This varies year on year but can be checked on the HM Revenue and Customs website

• Can I register voluntarily for VAT even if my sales are below the registration limit?

  Yes you can, however it is only advantageous to do so if:

• The nature of your trade means that your costs or purchases include VAT, and
• Most of your customers are VAT registered and can claim back the VAT that you will need to add to your sales
• Or your supplies are mainly zero rated for VAT purposes

• What forms are required?

  All applicants must complete a VAT 1 form. If the business is a partnership then a VAT 2 form is also required. If the business is part of a group then form VAT 50 must be completed.

• What are the different VAT schemes and which is best for my business?

  There are a number of schemes available

• Cash Accounting
• Flat rate scheme
• Annual accounting
• Special Schemes for retails

A number of factors will determine which scheme is most appropriate for your business and any abacus accountant will be able to advice you which scheme to use after assessing your business circumstances.

Company Formation

Numerous sole traders and partnerships are incorporating their business to take advantage of the tax benefits available as a limited Company.

We at abacus have developed software that can compare the tax position of a sole trader or partnership to the tax position if the business had been a limited company. The comparison calculates any tax savings that could be made by incorporation.

Despite some obvious tax savings many accountants have yet to offer their clients the opportunity to transfer the business into a limited company.

One reason for this is the laborious administrative process of incorporating a business.

We at abacus have significantly streamlined this process and it will only take 5 minutes for our accountants to complete the necessary paperwork and within 48 hours your company will be incorporated.

Our accountants will be able to explain the additional paperwork required to be completed each year and will only recommend you incorporate if the tax savings significantly outweigh the additional costs incurred.

Company Secretarial Services & Registered Office

Bookkeeping