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Accounting for small & medium businesses

Focus on what you love and and do best while we take care of the numbers and guide you through each stage of growing your business

Help, support and guidance for fast-growing SMEs

Creating a successful, profitable business is the dream of many business owners and entrepreneurs. However, those dreams can be frustrated, not because the business is flawed, but because you reach a level of financial expertise that’s beyond your experience.

Hi, I’m Sean the Small Business accounting
expert here at Burgis & Bullock

If you need assistance then I’d love to help
you! Simply click below to get in touch
with me today

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We’re in business, like you, to be the best at what we do. You need bookkeeping, VAT advice and payroll, and you need it from an energetic team of small business accountants. We look after the whole finance system of small businesses, across a variety of industries throughout the UK. We also help brilliant finance teams which are short of time or lacking expertise and just need an extra pair of hands. Whether you’re a start-up looking for help with your bookkeeping, or an established company needing support with your annual accounts, we see these tasks as just the start. We work hard to understand your business completely and build a close working relationship where we can add lasting value. All the advice we give you is focused on your specific goals, and we’re quick to spot other specialist areas you might benefit from, such as tax planning. Typical accounting services for Smaller businesses include:
  • Accounts preparation
  • Self-Assessment and corporation Tax returns
  • P11d and Class 1A returns
  • ATED returns
  • Outsourced bookkeeping and VAT
  • Payroll and pensions
  • Management accounting
  • Budgets and forecasting
  • Credit control
  • Funding
In-house talent is great, but the financial realities for most small and mid-sized charities and smaller businesses limit what you can afford to hire. For most, the choice is either a reasonably skilled part-timer or a full-time employee who’s enthusiastic and reliable but doesn’t have specialised knowledge or expertise. Done right, outsourcing your bookkeeping allows you to purchase a higher level of skill and a comprehensive array of services and functions, but at a fractional cost. And unlike with that part-timer who’s available only certain days of the week or month, you’re not captive to individuals and their calendars. You get the benefits of a dedicated individual, plus the support of a full team.

In addition, outsourcing your bookkeeping gives you some benefits you can’t get from either a part-time or a full-time employee. Like the ability to optimise skills and services to your precise needs. Like built-in protection against errors and fraud. Like the freedom to work without having to recruit, hire, and manage an additional employee.

Typical services include:

  • Accounts receivable, including customer invoicing, collections, and payment posting
  • Accounts payable, including supplier bill coding, approval, and payment
  • Payroll calculations and postings
  • Bank reconciliations
  • Credit card postings and reconciliations
  • Employee expense reports
  • VAT filing and payment
  • Fixed assets accounting
  • Monthly financial statements
A cloud accounting system will make your life easier and assist you in making those all-important business decisions, based on up-to-date and informative financial information.

The cloud is a major shift presenting efficiencies and possibilities that change the way business and accounting can be done. We’re excited for small and medium businesses, because they have the most to gain. Time saved on repetitive tasks, greater security, convenience and flexibility and they are free from any single computer or location. When the accounting virtually does itself, our advisors with up-to-the-minute information can provide greater insight and guidance, and that enables you to do amazing things for your business.

We understand that no two businesses are the same and therefore may require different functions and facilities from a cloud accounting package. For this reason, we can help to analyse your business and recommend the most appropriate cloud software solution that best meets your needs.

Benefits of Cloud Accounting

  • Access to up-to-date financial information, at any time, on any device which has an internet connection
  • You can share your data with us in real time, which will enable us to help you run and grow your business and assist with decision making
  • No system downtime because all software upgrades are automatically installed by the supplier, meaning you are always on the latest version
  • A monthly charge allows you to spread the cost of the system instead of incurring one lump sum cost
  • 24/7 support is available from the supplier. We can also access your data in real time from our offices in order to assist you in resolving issues when required
  • Data is automatically and securely stored to the supplier’s servers. This avoids you having to take regular backups and potential loss of data
  • Most cloud accounting systems have a live bank statement feed, which means bank transactions are automatically posted, allowing you to assess your cashflow in real time
We are Xero platinum partners.
We offer fee protection to cover our clients from any fees that arise due to an HMRC investigation.

HMRC have recently developed a new tool that means anyone can be selected for an investigation. The new ‘connect’ system has access to an increased amount of Government data, and gaps or discrepancies within this data could mean an HMRC investigation. These investigations can be both expensive and time consuming, but in taking up professional protection, both your time and money can be saved.

Our optional fee protection insurance will provide the ultimate protection for our clients, covering up to the equivalent of £100,000 towards our professional fees.

Should a tax investigation arise, we’ll provide professional representation to our clients on all matters, ensuring that the enquiry runs as smoothly as possible by providing:

  • Expertise and experience in dealing with HMRC
  • Early intervention which may lead to early resolution
  • Mitigation of tax wherever possible
MTD was then expanded in April 2022 with all VAT registered businesses caught and MTD for Income Tax is due to start in April 2023 focusing on private sole traders and landlords.

In essence MTD requires traders to submit current accounting information to HMRC on a quarterly basis using electronic means. This is a seismic change from the traditional system of a single tax return showing only historic results which has been the norm for hundreds of years.

Working with you, we can identify the best solution for your MTD needs, and help you arrange your affairs so as to cause the minimum disruption whilst remaining 100% compliant with the new regulations.
Management information is crucial to understanding and successfully running your business and driving it forward. Bringing clarity to your management accounts is what we do best. We’ll identify the key financial indicators and drivers that will help analyse performance against targets and provide you with a broader picture of your business’ financial health. We can then give you valuable advice on your main concerns as a business owner, including improving business growth, cash flow and rocketing profitability.

We can tailor management information to precisely fit your business requirements, and can provide comparison data, such as budgets, prior year figures and analytical review. We will also present your nominated key performance indicators in a clear and concise format, so that you are able to make informed, effective business decisions.

Without reliable management accounts you cannot answer the three key questions, essential for running and growing your business:

  • Where have you been?
  • Where are you now?
  • Where are you going?
Crucially the management information will be the key-stone to the above questions and crucially enable you to answer the most important question with the security of knowing you are using accurate data:

  • How are you going to get there?
You can chose to have management reports, monthly, quarterly or any other frequency that you feel is right to help you keep track of your business and make informed decisions based on the data.

As your management accountants, we will be with you every step of the way, providing more up-to-date information and advice to help you and your decisions based on the most recent trends and transactions.
No-one likes paying more tax than they have to. And for businesses, tax is a cost which, like any other cost, should be minimised wherever possible. At the most basic level there are several simple planning actions you can take to start saving tax, yet most business owners aren’t aware of them. Entrust your tax affairs to Burgis & Bullock and you’ll only pay the absolute minimum, but still comply with all the necessary requirements to keep you on the right side of HMRC.

Our personal and corporate tax services include:

Business tax planning

Whether you are starting in business for the first time, running an established business or planning a sale or retirement, there are always many tax issues for you to consider.

Employee benefits

If you don’t understand all the tax implications of employee benefits, you’ll need help in reducing the burden of the compliance tasks and in planning tax-efficient remuneration packages for your workers.

Trust and estate planning

Careful advance planning will help you reduce the overall tax burden.

Inheritance Tax planning

A considerate review of your total wealth and structuring including tax efficient wills to ensure the maximum amount possible is passed to the next generation.

Capital Gains planning

Identifying tax saving opportunities, maximising reliefs and exemptions for anyone intending to sell a capital asset (property, business shares etc.)

Research & Development Tax Relief

A detailed analysis of your business expenditure makes sure you benefit from the 225% deductions available on R&D claims.

Capital Allowances

A review of your business property identifies any ‘hidden’ tax claims, the possibilities of claiming enhanced allowances and the potential to generate a tax rebate and minimise your future liabilities.

HM Revenue & Customs Investigations

If you are unfortunate enough to be the subject of a tax investigation by HM Revenue & Customs, it can be a stressful and worrying experience. Revenue staff can now review cases on a ‘sample basis’; consequently, tax investigations have become more frequent. If you are about to be investigated, you’ll benefit from professional help and support.
VAT is a tax on business transactions.

Charities and not for profit organisations are often in receipt of grants and donations that fund various activities that don’t qualify as being business activities from HMRC’s vantage point. Charities, sports associations, professional societies, trade unions and other not-for-profit organisations often have a partially exempt status under VAT legislation.

There are various reliefs available that were introduced with a view to easing the VAT burden for charities, but the rules are subtle and opportunities to recover valuable sums or avoid VAT at source are frequently overlooked. To top it all off, the VAT affairs of many of these organisations are administered by part time volunteers. Thankfully, we have considerable experience in assisting with the myriad of complex issues that affect this sector.
Knowing where your business has been gives your excellent insights, lessons are to be learned from. However, if we spend all our time looking backwards, how will we know what’s ahead. Most accountants generate their reports from historical data; having not had the tools to work in any other way. Advisory services look to the future, telling you where your business is going and how to best tackle upcoming challenges.

The cloud services we offer in conjunction with Quickbooks/Xero/Sage help to visualizes all business aspects in order to improve your awareness of what your business is doing and why. Plus, with forecasting tools we can project future of your business and model different paths to find the best one for you, based on real data insights.

As advisers, we’re a hybrid of business coaches, mentors and accountants. We work across all industries covering areas as diverse as profitability, transformation, technology, risk, growth, structure and operations. We’ll meet with you regularly to discuss where your business stands today and where it will stand tomorrow.

Whether you’re looking to improve the performance of your business, restructure your company or build a growth plan that minimizes risk and maximizes potential, talk to our team today.

Performance Analysis and Reporting We extract raw financial data, analyse and report your key business performance ratios. This means you and your team don’t waste time, you go straight into discussing management information critical to your success.

Performance vs Forecast If you can’t measure you can’t manage. We provide you and your team highly detailed 3 Way Forecasting allowing you to measure and report your ‘Performance vs Forecast’ as an integral part of your management process.

Income and Cost Analysis Income and cost analysis and reporting inevitably unearths dozens of practical, quick-win measures you can employ to increase sales and/or reduce costs.

Forecasting, Planning and Funding Financial control and good business planning are key to success. Using our incredibly detailed 3 Way Forecast and Planning, you immediately know exactly where you are, and where you are going, making raising finance child’s play.

Customer Opportunity Gap Analysis When looking for opportunities for growth most businesses miss their most obvious asset, their existing customers. We can help you realise the full potential that lies hidden in your existing customer base.

Business Growth Scenario Planning The Business Growth Model helps you and your team uncover the full potential of your business. Quickly and easily discover the optimum levers to pull to help you achieve your dreams and realise your financial goals.

Increasing Revenue and Profit Understand the key trends in your business. Only by tracking ‘Inputs’ rather than ‘Outputs’ can you move from ‘Keeping Score’ to systematically driving your business forward to success.

Improving Gross Margins There are only three ways to grow your business: Increase sales, cut overheads or increase the gross margin rate. Gross Margin Rate analysis and reporting turns helps you find previously unseen opportunities.

Overhead Optimisation By analysing every single transaction, we highlight specific opportunities for you to reduce costs or secure better terms for your essential business services, helping you enjoy ‘quick wins’ and an overnight ROI.

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