What can I expect if I ask an accountant to help me with my accounts and Corporation Tax?

When you ask someone else to produce your company accounts and tax return for you, you may wonder how that might work in practice. I can’t speak for every accountant or payroll operator but in this blog post I describe how the process works at Armet Accounting.  You can also find out more about other services such as VAT or payroll.

How do we get started?

Every business is slightly different and there may be slight tweaks to the basic process that are specific to your business, but the overall process operates using the following steps. If I provide you with other services such as VAT, payroll or bookkeeping, you will find there is more frequent contact throughout your financial year than if you don’t require other services. 

Initial steps

After an initial discovery call which you can book here, I will send you a quote.  If you indicate to me that you would like to go ahead with this quote, there are few further steps that we will need to run through to get up and running.   

I will draft an engagement letter for you, which will set out what I will do for you and what I need you to do for me and invite you to book a meeting.  Before Covid I would arrange for you to come into the office for a meeting.  Having a face to face meeting helps to develop a relationship with your accountant and also helps with the mandatory anti money laundering processes.  Since Covid, I have have moved to initial meetings by Zoom.  I hope to get back to face to face meetings once the circumstances allow. 



As part of the process of becoming a client, I will ask you for information about your company that will allow me to be able to submit your accounts to Companies House and your tax return to HMRC.  This information is now collected using an online form , a link to which will be sent out when you book your Zoom meeting. 

Your engagement letter will be uploaded to a file sharing website for your approval.  You will also be able to upload a copy of your passport or driving licence here to enable me to complete electronic ID checks to comply with anti money laundering requirements. 

Once your year end has passed

If I don’t have regular access to your records through bookkeeping software, I will request your documents for the year which would include bank statements, invoices, receipts and any records that you have kept through the year.  I will use this information to produce a set of draft accounts or to produce a list of additional documents that I need you to provide me with. 



I will liaise with you until we have enough information to produce a good first draft of accounts and tax return. I will then upload draft accounts and tax return to a file sharing website for you to review and invite you to book a meeting to discuss the accounts. 

Once I have processed your information

We will have a meeting to review the accounts and tax return, discuss any options available to you and I can answer any questions you have on the accounts or about anything for the year ahead. The accounts may need some further tweaking after this stage. 

I will upload a final set of accounts for your approval or if a further meeting is required, I will arrange it with you. 

Once we are ready for submission

The filing of your accounts and tax return legally remains your responsibility and therefore it is essential for you to approve the accounts before I can submit them. This is usually by electronic approval, although paper copies and physical signatures can be arranged if you wish. 

Once the accounts are approved, I will submit accounts to Companies House and both accounts and tax return to HMRC. I will also send you information regarding how much tax to pay, when and how to pay it. 



If you have not been on a monthly payment plan, you will receive my invoice once the accounts have been approved, which will be due for immediate payment. 

In February/March each year

For many businesses, we will have ongoing discussions throughout the year and so dividends will already have been declared well before the end of the tax year.  This is not always the case, though and if you haven't already used your dividend allowance of £500 for the year I will contact you in February or March  to discuss whether a dividend can be taken before the end of the income tax year. 

Is this the process for every company?

Depending on your business, we may be able to simplify this process, but the general steps still apply. A slightly different process operates for businesses that don't operate as a company.  If you add additional services such as payroll, there will be additional contact with your accountant throughout the year. 



I aim to complete year end accounts within 4 months of the year end but this is largely dependant on you as the client providing all the information I need to prepare the accounts and responding to questions well within this timescale. 



If you have any questions regarding the accounts and corporation tax service, please use the button below to book a call with Laura.