As the tax year draws to an end and the country awaits the budget announcement, now is a better time than any to assess your own financial situation and prepare for the year head. However, as well as looking to the future, it is important to review your current tax affairs and uphold your legal obligations by filing your annual tax returns and, if you are a company registered with Companies House, your annual compliant accounts too.
The annual accounts detail the company’s activities throughout the preceding year and provides shareholders and other interested parties with information about the company’s activities and financial performance.
However, for first time business owners or for a busy director of a small company, compiling Year End accounts can be a daunting task.
In order to make the transition from one accounting or fiscal year to the next as stress-free as possible, we’ve drawn together an essential checklist of actions to help you on your way.
1. The Year End accounts are not something that should be left to the last minute, particularly for the first time business owner who may be unfamiliar with the process. Try and set aside a couple of hours in the weeks leading up to the Year End to organise your accounts. Start by rounding up all your outstanding sales and purchase invoice and make sure that they are included with your books and records. Then make sure you have carried out a reliable year end stock take (if you hold stock for re-sale) and provide this, along with your bank statements and the rest of your accounting records, to your accountant.
2. Documents provide evidence of accounts and financial transactions. Make sure all your documents are in order and that you have statements from suppliers, bank and credit card statements from financial institutions and records of any income you have received from clients.
3. Every pound you spend annually on your business is deducted against Corporation Tax. The HMRC defines an ‘expense’ as something that is “wholly and exclusively” for business use, so before you sign of your accounts and tax returns, ensure that you have claimed for each and every expense, no matter how trivial it may seem.
4. Finally, if your company is VAT registered, remember to include with your books passed to your accountant, copies of your VAT returns filed and the workings. They will reconcile your VAT position and ensure that you have filed the correct information to HMRC.
If want more information or want to find out more about how My Accountancy Place can help you achieve financial peace of mind, get in touch with us today.
