Accounting and Tax
We are, at heart, an accounting consultancy business. We offer a full accounting solution which helps you structure your business to keep control of overheads, make the most of your tax allowances and remove the cost of payroll.
What you don’t get from other accounting firms is the in-depth knowledge of hair and beauty. We know how you are affected by VAT and IR35 rules. There’s no need to be scared by these – we can advise how to best structure your businesses to maximise your allowances whilst following all of the rules around these complicated areas of business. Falling foul of tax laws is costly. It is not worth the risk, so work with a professional partner like Jigsaw.
See below for information on our services including:
Annual Accounts
Filing statutory accounts is a legal requirement for any company registered as an LLP or Ltd. company. They are periodical accounts, usually year end, that must be submitted to Companies House and to HMRC with the company tax return. They can be submitted either online or by paper.
The preparation of these accounts is often means gathering receipts and invoices from the last 12 months and putting them in order, allowing HMRC to decide how much tax you should pay. Let us take away that burden by keeping your accounts up to date throughout the year, so you will always have an idea of your tax obligations and can forecast correctly.
Preparing and submitting statutory accounts is not always as straightforward as providing a balance sheet and a profit and loss account. Statutory accounting can often be a complex affair that requires disclosures to be made, so it is vital that your accounts are prepared by a qualified person who is aware of any legislative changes for that financial year.
Being beyond a passive tax calculation exercise, a company’s year end accounts give an indication on the public record of a company’s financial position and performance. While providing an internal measure of profit earned over a year and taxes due, annual accounts also signal how a company has performed and show its financial position to both customers and suppliers.
By having tailored and specific support in place with the preparation of accounts, it can be more than just an annual compliance exercise and become a vital analytical tool. This can enable you to see which areas of your business contributed most to your past successes, identify current weaknesses, and plan for what the company’s future needs might be. Alongside our taxation expertise, this form of analysis can also be used to minimise tax burdens.
Combined with the expertise of our Management Accountants and Tax Advisers, we can prepare your annual accounts to fulfil legal requirements and then also advise you as to what the accounts mean for your business and tax liabilities.
Cloud Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is performed by a bookkeeper and is the recording of financial transactions such as sales, purchases, receipts and payments.
An accountant uses the financial transactions recorded by a bookkeeper to prepare financial reports such as year of end financial statements, cash flows, budgets and business plans.
Most bookkeeping today is computerised using applications such as excel, accounting software and online web-based cloud bookkeeping software.
Our bookkeepers at Jigsaw Accountancy use up-to-date software, allowing them a flexible work place, be it from home, from your office or even your accountant’s office, ensuring you receive the most flexible and cost effective cloud bookkeeping service. Saving you time and of course, saving you money!
Making Tax Digital
With Jigsaw Accountancy, you can take control over your VAT returns. Our platform provides full visibility of every step in the process and creates a concrete audit trail which tracks and proves compliance.
Making tax digital gives firms the opportunity to renovate existing tax processes, saving time and money whilst future-proofing the business. It sounds complicated, but you can still use Microsoft Excel!
Tax Compliance
Many people in the UK have to do self-assessment tax returns.
Failing to comply with the rules and making mistakes can result in substantial penalties. However, completing these returns correctly can be complex. For example, you'll need to know and disclose all your taxable income, details of capital gains, and some National Insurance contributions liabilities.
Tax reliefs and allowances are available, such as relief for pension contributions, Gift Aid donations and loan interest. Claiming them is complicated. There are strict time limits for making claims and, if you make a mistake, you could lose valuable tax relief. At Jigsaw Accountancy, we're here to help.
Managing your tax affairs and minimising your liabilities
We can use our experience and expertise to minimise your tax liability and ensure you comply with your obligations. From the moment we meet to the time we submit your tax return, you'll find us friendly and efficient. And we can do more than complete and send your return. We can advise you on payment dates, check your PAYE codes and answer any enquiries from HMRC.
Our support doesn't have to end there. We can let you know the tax treatment on all your income types, calculate your capital gains, advise how much tax you need to pay, and help reduce your tax liability. We can also tailor our advice to your individual circumstances, such as supporting you on topics including your residence and domicile status.
As the tax system is always changing, we can keep you up-to-date on developments and advise how they might affect you. Throughout, you can relax knowing your tax affairs are in safe hands.
You can access our expertise on every area of personal tax, including:
Complying with the UK self-assessment system
Advising you on the tax treatment of all forms of income and calculating capital gains
Advising you on any available reliefs and opportunities to reduce your income tax or capital gains tax bill
Calculating your liabilities and payment due dates
Advising non-UK resident and domiciled individuals
VAT & Bookkeeping
In addition to annual accounts, most companies are required to stay on top of their financial position on a quarterly basis for VAT purposes. Ongoing bookkeeping support can be effectively utilised as a real time information gathering tool for precise business analysis, which highlights opportunities and issues as they arise.
The simplicity of bookkeeping is entirely dependent on the size and complexity of a business- some business owners are able to update their books themselves on a daily or weekly basis, whilst other business owners may need to employ extra staff or even outsource the bookkeeping work.
At Jigsaw Accountancy we can be as flexible as you wish. We can provide a full bookkeeping service from your office or ours; or we can spend a few hours with you to set up and implement the systems you need to do it yourself.
And of course you would have the benefit of our management accountants’ knowledge to advise you of any difficulties you might be facing in the future.
Payroll
Free payroll comes as standard with Jigsaw Accountancy – it’s not something that the company bills you for and is available to every client, because it takes so little time and small businesses are being ripped off by payroll companies that charge for it.
IR35
IR35 covers two sets of tax legislation, designed to combat tax avoidance by workers and the salons hiring them.
If a person is using an intermediary to sell their services (like a limited company) then the HMRC considers them employees, meaning they are obligated to pay income tax and National Insurance.
However, there’s nothing to fear from IR35 if a person is a genuine contractor/freelancer and a business in their own right. An example is renting a room of a hair salon to set up a nail bar; you are not cutting hair and are marketing your own business from within the premises of another – this is fine.
From April 2020, the liability for the wrong determination of IR35 lies with the fee payer - you, the salon owner. We can advise you on the rules and how to mitigate risks, by taking measures such as paying contractors via PAYE.
We see this as a big enough headache, so to help the transition we are offering all clients complimentary payroll to try and offset the increased National Insurance cost in addition to paying for outsourced payroll services.
Payroll, PAYE and Payslips
We deal with paying your staff, including payslips, P60s and requests for real time information for HMRC. If you have any questions, our support team is at the end of the phone.
Our accountants are always up to date with the latest UK legislation, including the PAYE tax bands. We calculate the wages including PAYE, NIC, pensions and other deductions, and can arrange email payslips.
Auto Enrolment
Auto-enrolment is government legislation on workplace pensions, designed to help people save for later life. All employers need to think about it – even if they only employ one person – because they may need to provide their employee(s) with a workplace pension.
With automatic enrolment an employer sets up a workplace pension scheme and enrols employees in to it. Employees automatically make contributions to this pension, so does the government and the employer. This money builds up in a pension pot.
Most employed people are automatically enrolled into a workplace pension, but not everyone.
Employees need to:
be aged between 22 years old and under State Pension age
earn more than £10,000 a year (for the current tax year)
work in the UK
More than half of UK adults who are planning on retiring, expect that their financial situation will not support their desired lifestyle in retirement, according to here: https://bandce.co.uk/retirement-desired-lifestyles/
So, having the right workplace pension is more important than ever – it means that employers are helping their employees to save for their retirement.
And the great thing about a workplace pension is that it’s not just the employee who pays into a pension – the employer and the government contribute too. It’s extra ‘free’ money for the employee.
This money builds up in your personal pension pot and you can spend it when you retire, or any time after you reach 55 (the government proposes to increase this to age 57 from 2028).
Most employed people are automatically enrolled into a workplace pension, but not everyone.
You’ll need to:
be over 22 years old but under State Pension age
earn more than £10,000 a year (for the current tax year)
work in the UK.
Don’t worry if you don’t meet these criteria. Your employer won’t automatically enrol you, but you may still join Jigsaw Accountancy. You should talk to your employer if you wish to join.
Business Start Ups
& Company Formations
Let Jigsaw Accountancy help you identify the ideal corporate structure for your business start up:
Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Registration
Limit your personal liability and enjoy flexible tax benefits by incorporating a Limited Liability Partnership. We manage the whole process for you, including all and fees and documentation
Register a Company Limited by Guarantee
Setting up a Social Enterprise or non-profit? You need to register a ‘Company Limited by Guarantee’ to protect the guarantor’s personal capital. Register your company hassle-free with our tailored packages.
Form a Private Limited Company
We help directors and shareholders create public limited companies, providing everything you need for a professional incorporation.