Accountancy Services in and around London, Surrey and Hampshire:

Family Businesses

Most businesses start in this way — you’re in control of your own destiny, and you have the motivation to make profits for yourself. You benefit from your own hard work.

Starting up

You have a good idea or spot an opportunity — and you get your husband or wife to help. If things work out, you need to get staff — and as an employer you have a whole range of new obligations. You'll need accounts systems to control your finances, and you need to decide whether to be a limited company. Chamberlains can help you with these and many other matters.

Outside demands

Owner-managed businesses form the majority of small and medium sized entities (SMEs) world-wide. As one of these, you'll be encouraged by banks and government — they love your inventiveness, dynamism and flexibility. They offer good starter-kits and the taxman gives useful concessions throughout your business life. But they want to know how your business is doing and to have their share of it, and they (particularly the taxman) will bombard you with paper and forms — and you'll be penalised if you don't respond as they'd like. It's important to plan ahead to get most benefit from the concessions and to avoid the dangers.

Your bank

For the bank you'll need business plans and cashflow forecasts, and they'll like to see a good accounts system. Chamberlains can help with these. Not all banks are the same — their offers differ, depending on your business type. We can meet them with you if you'd like. If we know your business, we may be able to provide a reference or recommendation.

The taxman

HM Revenue & Customs provides a tax for every occasion:

• You want to pay an employee? Don’t forget PAYE and National Insurance
• You want to sell your goods or services? Remember VAT
• You make a profit (or loss)? There’s income tax, or corporation tax if you’re a company
• You want to sell your business? Have a capital gains tax form
• You want to pass on your business? Inheritance tax planning is vital

Saving tax

But there are pockets of concessions in each of these areas if you know about them, and Chamberlains can help you to take full advantage of them, for example:

• PAYE and NI — salary sacrifice schemes, use of dividends, full claim of allowances
• VAT — cash accounting, flat-rate schemes
• Tax on profits — capital allowances for purchase of assets, use of losses, full claim of expenses
• Capital gains - the normal rate is currently 18%, or 28% for higher rate taxpayers, but there are opportunities for lower rates for business.
• Inheritance tax — lifetime gifts, careful use of Trusts, use of all allowances