Accounts - please help!

[numbercrunching]

Hi, I have my own business. I issue 3 invoices per month. Draw down a little monthly salary (under £500). I leave the rest in the business account. Incorporated Jan this year. 1st salary 9th April. I haven't filed any HMRC forms. Now I'm nervous. Have the most incompetent accountant. He ignores all my emails and I've decided to just do it all myself. I do the RTI forms myself. My question is, should I have filed anything to date? My 1st accounts due Jan 2014. I'll get a new accountant to do that for me. I'm a director, have a limited company and have registered for PAYE & corporation tax. Not set up NICs yet. Should I just find a new accountant and get help? Is it necessary for such small amounts? Thanks

Just find another accountant and let them put you on the right track, then, when you understand what needs to be done, you may be able to cope yourself.

your salvation will be found on this board
www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=55
as will reduced tax bill

You maybe able to find a book keeper who can help you resolve a lot of this in a cheaper way than an accountant. I have a book keeper who does all the donkey work keeping he accounts, submitting VAT returns and doing just in time PAYE. She then submits the accounts she has kept for the accountant o do her thing and turn them into the correct format. My own book keeper is excellent and saves me lots of accountant bills.

Oh YYYY to a good book keeper
we accountants love doing the fiddly bits rather than the churning through invoices
BUT
where the volume of documents is low, and the risk profile is high, a CCAB qualified bod is a sound investment

and there are lots of us so if one is rubbish, go get another one

How much are you expecting to earn? Is it just you and no other employees? IMHO it is much simpler to set up as a self employed sole trader and not far around with limited companies. If you are going to be using all of your income rather than keeping it in the business or adding a partner for tax purposes there is really no benefit (other than more rules) to having a ltd company.
When I set up it helped me enormously to understand that the accounts of a business are a paper exercise rather than something that is run within the confines of a bank account. I transfer straightaway all money that comes into my business ( keeping a float) to pay bills ands stick it in an offset account against the mortgage.
Depending on what you do you might want to register for vat as well (even if you are below the threshold) I make another 3-4% margin from the flat rate scheme.
I also found that I could very easily do all of my own accounts and tax returns. I use my accountant for advice and to verify the annual accounts (in case I need to get another mortgage)

Faff around not far around!

Hi everyone, thanks for replying. Will have a proper read through tonight.

Bohemond - it is not necessarily true that limited companies don't save money. It depends on the levels of income since the tax you will avoid is NI. Limited companies are more expensive to run so the owner needs to make sure the tax savings are worth the increased costs. There are other advantages as well, like limited liability, which may or may not be relevant depending on the area of work you're in.

I think you should speak to another accountant and really understand why you've been advised to set up as a limited company. As riksti says, there are benefits (and it may have something to do with the type of work you are involved in) but with the sums you are talking I can't see any real benefits to you.

I am self-employed, just have to keep a note of what's going in and out and fill in my self-assessment at the end of the year. The first one was quite daunting but once you know what you're doing it's easy, and I pay an accountant if I need specific advice on any issues.

Was it the useless accountant who suggested setting up as a limited company?

The OP hasn't actually said how much he/she earns. There's mention of salary but not all the profits need to be taken out as salary from a company. Dividend combined with a salary is often the most tax efficient method. But if the OP's monthly profits are in the region of £500 then it does seem unusual to incorporate.

Hi thanks - I set up the company myself - no advice received. Wanted to limited my liability & also the money I earn is good - I just draw down a small amount at mo as we really need the monthly money in the household pot. The rest I keep in the business account. Thanks all - will find new accountant!

Did you find one?