Despite a recent economic downturn, the SME market continues to thrive, and more businesses than ever have formed during the pandemic than in recent years, with West Yorkshire seeing huge growth.
This upward trend in entrepreneurship and new business formation has seen the demand for sound accounting and bookkeeping advice soar.
Sadly around fifty percent of start-up businesses fail in the first year, and close to ninety five percent fail within the first five years. Scary stats. Whilst it is impossible to know if a business will succeed or fail there are steps business owners can take to help your business get off to the best start and improve the chances of longevity and success.
Many entrepreneurs solely focus on getting their business off the ground and often forget the importance of accountancy. Managing your finances and accurately monitoring your expenditure, turnover and profits is at the heart of every business proposition.
All business owners want to secure longevity, grow and be profitable, but to be profitable you must understand your finances from day one.
The management of your business finance and tax matters affects everyone from your suppliers through to your customers, investors, employees, shareholders and HMRC.
Failing to understand the fundamentals of basic accountancy and bookkeeping can lead to business failure quite quickly. Sadly, professional accountancy and bookkeeping is all too often considered an unnecessary cost and by the time a business owner understands the value of professional services it can be too late for the business and long-term damage is done.
Regardless of the businesses size and turnover the professional advice, expertise and support of a professional accountant and bookkeeper is vital. Never more so than when first starting out.
Cooper Accounting recommends using our services in the early days of your business to build up your financial understanding, to handle your accountancy and tax matters professionally, accurately, and reliably to reduce your stress and free up your valuable time to focus on business operations and your personal life.
Improve Your Own Accountancy Knowledge
It is important for business owners to have a good grasp of financial management and basic accountancy terminology and processes.
A good Accountant will help you to:
- Understand how much your business is worth
- Know the difference between cash flow and profit
- Communicate effectively with investors, suppliers and employees
- Make better and more strategic business decisions
- Understand financial statements and reports
- Improve your knowledge on HMRC and Companies House & your statutory obligations
Top tips for entrepreneurs just starting out…
There are lots of decisions that need to be made when you are planning to start a business.
Seeking professional advice and guidance from the start will help to inform your decision making and provide detailed insight into your options.
Whatever legal business structure you opt for, you have to register with HMRC, and good Accountants can guide you through this process and support your company formation from start to finish.
Understanding the differences between business structures is important. A professional Accountant like Cooper Accounting can offer advice on becoming a sole-trader, partnership, Limited Company or Limited Liability Partnership.
You will need to understand your obligations to HMRC and Companies House – including whether or not you have to publish your accounts publicly and if you only pay tax on the profits you make etc. Alongside the level of security and liability you are willing to undertake.
How can an Accountant help with business formation?
- An Accountant can talk you through the pros and cons for different business structures and offer advice relevant to your business.
- An Accountant can guide you through the regulations and company formation and confirm the records and accounts you need to maintain and/or publish.
- An Accountant can explain the tax differences for each business structure.
- An Accountant can help you to change the business structure and support accurate reporting to Companies House and HMRC.
Why Hire an Accountant?
Seeking professional support from an accredited Accountant has many advantages and will support your business in many ways.
Cooper Accounting offers:
- Years of knowledge and insights.
- Sensible advice as your business matures and grows.
- The ability to pre-empt and spot problems with your finances/tax before it’s too late!
- Expertise in tax legislation, PAYE, NI benefits and statutory returns etc.
- Horizon scanning to keep your business up-to-date with changes in Government legislation.
- Ways to maximise your business potential to support growth.
- Accurate and reliable bookkeeping and accountancy services.
Choosing accounting systems & software
Businesses need accounting information to be accurate and bookkeeping services are a great way to manage this. It is worth knowing that you could be liable for penalties due to erroneous and incorrect record keeping or for late submission returns. Cooper Accounting can take the pain away by providing versatile bookkeeping services to manage your accounts professionally taking the hassle and worry away.
Managing your businesses financial processes and accounting systems can require significant investment in time and money. Why not reduce the stress by appointing Cooper Accounting to manage your financial and tax matters. Experts in cloud-based accounting and offering services and training as a Xero Certified Advisor Cooper Accounting can help to streamline your accounting.
Accountancy is an Integral Business Need
Using a professional, reliable Accountant like Cooper Accounting brings expertise and know-how into your business. Working as a partnership your Accountant offers their experience to remove financial complexities and improve your understanding.
The consequences of bad bookkeeping and financial management are huge and can make or break the success of a business.
Making an Accountant an integral part of your team gives your business the best opportunity to grow and flourish.
Cooper Accounting loves to see clients’ businesses thrive, which is why each service is tailored to meet individual needs. Working as a partnership you and your Accountant will succeed together.
Get in touch with Cooper Accounting today for assistance with your company accounts.
