Services Archives - Carmichael Bookkeeping Services Ltd

Bookkeeping

Most people often confuse the difference between Bookkeepers and Accountants.

In general terms Bookkeepers cover the first stage of the bookkeeping process. In other words, this comprises the recording of all the entries/transactions. This is the point that is your foundation to base your accounts on. Consequently, it is imperative to have bookkeeping records accurately recorded in order to gain any value at the higher level of processing.

How many evenings have you spent sat at your desk sorting through paperwork? Digging out receipts from here, there and everywhere. Then the thankless task of having to sort them into some sort of order. Finally, to allow you to reconcile the bank and credit cards, which is all taking up your valuable time.

Why not pass everything on to us to take care of it all?

We deal with both manual and computerised systems.

Purchase Ledger

Process all Supplier invoices through to payment
Reconciliation of Supplier Statements
Produce Aged Creditors Reports

Sales Ledger & Credit Control

Process all Customer invoices to receipt of payment
Produce Customer Statements
Produce Aged Debtors Reports

Nominal Ledger

Process all other payments and receipts
Journals to provide management information

Bank Reconciliation

Match all transactions on your bank statement to your accounts record to ensure they balance

Petty Cash

To analyse your expenditure process all transactions to your Nominal Ledger.

Please get in touch for a no obligation free consultation, call CB S today.

VAT Returns

How much VAT do I owe?

Do you know what you can and cannot claim VAT on?

Do you know the difference between Zero Rated and Exempt?

Different VAT accounting schemes have different thresholds. Do you know yours?

VAT Return deadline looming and a pile of paperwork to sort through. How many times have you been caught out?

Why not pass it all on to us to take care of it all?

Call CBS today for a no obligation free consultation.

A company usually submits a VAT Return every 3 months. This is known as your accounting period. Businesses can usually reclaim the VAT they have paid on purchases/expenses. However, you should exclude any personal element from your Return it should only be for business activity only.

It is vital to check, process and submit your Return as per the agreed dates with H.M.R.C. Otherwise late filing and/or payment can lead to penalties and notices from H.M.R.C. For this reason, to ensure your Return is paid on time I would recommend you set up a direct debit. Provided, of course, you have the funds in your bank account to cover it. Another thing to be aware of is Revenue and Customs can request to carry out a VAT Inspection at any time. It is therefore extremely important to keep good accurate records of your accounts.

Finally, it is important for you submit a Return even if there is no VAT to pay or reclaim.

This should be done online via the HMRC website.

Management Accounts

Do you want Management Accounts you understand?

Management Accounts are an essential tool for any business.

Is this the time to reinvest, advertise or cut back on spending?

Who owes you money?

How much VAT do I owe?

Management Accounts are usually carried out on a monthly or quarterly basis. Above all, they should produce an accurate Profit and Loss Account and Balance Sheet, which is essential to your business management. In addition, these reports should give you key financial and statistical information. It is vital that you know if your business is making a profit or loss. Consequently, enabling you to address any issues or make any important business decisions regarding the future of your business.

It is important to know the state of your business prior to year end.

Is my company making a profit?

If so, is this the time to reinvest?

How can we help?

Posting of all Journals
Maintaining Fixed Asset Register
Maintaining Stock
Calculating Prepayments
Calculating Accruals
Assessing Work in Progress
Reconciliation of all Bank Accounts, Ledgers and Balance Sheets

Why not give CBS a call today.

Payroll Services

Does your payroll / PAYE liabilities reconcile?

Do you know the difference between the National Wage Limit and the Living Wage Limit?

Do you know the calculation of SSP, SMP, SPP?

As an employer, it is important to keep a list of your employees. Therefore, detailed payroll records must be kept for all payments and deductions made to your employees. They should also, include details of any expenses paid. Most employers must operate PAYE and make the correct deductions for Tax and National Insurance. Once your payroll has been run a report must be sent to HMRC on or before each pay day. After submitting your report, you must ensure you pay HMRC your Tax and National Insurance on time. Furthermore, having kept accurate records should make your year end reporting process a lot smoother. All records should be kept for 3 years from the end of the tax year reported.

In addition, from an accounts perspective, payroll is crucial as paying employees and mandatory taxes can drastically affect the net income of your company.

Finally, please be aware you must follow the rules on data protection if your business stores or uses personal information.

How can we help?

We can:

Calculate and process payroll and comply with HMRC RTI.
Provide detailed payslips.
Handle all pay related issues such as P45’s etc.
Reconciliation of payroll, in order to submit all Year End information.
Process and Submission of P11d information.

If you think we can be of assistance please call CBS today for a no obligation free consultation.

Cash Flow and Credit Control

Credit Control

Credit Control is of vital importance to any company and consequently has a direct effect on the Cash flow. Information taken from your Aged Debtors Report shows the status of your invoices. For this reason, provide statements on a regular basis.

There could be a genuine reason for non-payment such as an oversight. On the other hand, there could be a much more serious reason that the company has not paid. Therefore, it is vital to establish the reason for non-payment of an invoice at the earliest stage possible.

Credit check new customers, ensuring the company has all the relevant information on the debtor. It is important to keep a record of all communications with the customer. Particularly, in the event of, when non-payment becomes a problem leading to legal action.

Chasing overdue invoices for payment is important to the cash flow of your business.

Cash flow

Why is cash flow important to my business?

It is important to have an accurate cash flow forecast to assess the net amount of cash and cash equivalent into and out of a business.

If more money is coming in than is going out, you are in a positive cash flow situation and you have enough to pay your bills.
If more cash is going out than coming in, you are in negative cash flow situation and in danger of going overdrawn. You will need to find money to cover your overdrafts.

Cash flow is the money that is moving (flowing) in and out of your business in a month.

What’s the difference between positive and negative cash flow?

Positive cash flow indicates that a company’s assets are increasing, enabling it to settle debts and reinvest in its business.
Negative cash flow indicates that a company’s assets are decreasing.

Net cash flow is recognised from net income, which includes accounts receivables and other items for which payment has not yet been received.

Cash flow is used to assess the quality of a company’s income, that is, how liquid it is, which can indicate whether the company is positioned to remain solvent.

Call CBS today for your free no obligation consultation.

Preparation of Accounts

Prior to year end it is important to know the state of your business.

Preparation of Accounts – A company’s annual accounts also called statutory accounts, are prepared from the company’s financial reports at their fiscal year end.

All companies registered with Company’s House must submit year end accounts within 9 months of their year end.

The year end financial statements are the most important of these records. These records will form the basis of your Tax preparation, future reference and decision making. Comparisons to previous year’s performance will also be made from these reports.

Financial statements include the balance sheet, which shows the value of assets owned by the company and current assets and liabilities. In other words, it shows what the company owns, owes and is owed at the end of their fiscal year. The profit and loss account shows all the sales and costs incurred over the fiscal year. This shows if the company has made a profit or loss. Notes should be made in order to bring certain items and trends to the attention of the owner / manager.

It is imperative that the information on these is therefore accurate.

We will carry out account checks on all year end reporting as follows:

Bank balance reconciles to the bank statement.
Fixed Asset Register to include all additions and disposals.
Depreciation has all been calculated for the year, considering any additions and disposals.
Stock / inventory balance.
Bad Debt provision, if required.
Prepayments and Accruals accounted for.
Payroll and payroll liabilities reconcile.
All Loans, Finance, Hire Purchase reconcile?
Assets and Liabilities accounted for.

Once we have completed your accounts. We will discuss them with the owner / manager, to assist in identifying any actions required. There may be items that only the owner/manager is aware of.

We can help prepare both draft and final accounts.

Why not give CBS a call today to discuss your requirements?