What are Bookkeeping Services?

All is fine, until there’s a fine...

The reality is, more people get caught out on their bookkeeping by HMRC than you think, and failure to keep accurate financial records can result in a fine of at least £3,000.

There’s no doubt that bookkeeping is a tough and time-consuming task, crawling through statements and accounts can feel endless and the pressure is on to get it all right the first time. Many business owners alike find themselves getting fed up and confused with the whole process.

However, it doesn’t need to be this way. It’s time to opt for bookkeeping services that take the books out of your hands and into a super-smart system that not only records but analyses your data too.

What is Bookkeeping?

All financial records pertaining to business in the UK need to be compiled and maintained by law. Bookkeeping is not a choice but a legal requirement for the self-employed, business owners, company partnerships and landlords/landladies.

Bookkeeping is a vital business process that you can’t sweep under the carpet. It’s time-consuming, stressful, and dull, making it tempting to simply turn a blind eye. Tempting, yes, but it's got to be done!

Bookkeeping for business is the maintenance of all financial records relating to a business or trade. The records you’ll need to keep will vary with each business.

These are some of the financial records HMRC requires:

• All outgoing and incoming money. Including all invoices, contracts, money from tills and petty cash.
• Company assets.
• Stocks owned by the company and details used to calculate stocks and shares.
• Details of debts and loans held in the company’s name.
• Information regarding outgoing and incoming goods.
• Expenses related to self-employment.
• All income and sales related to self-employment.
• Grants and/or loans obtained or claimed via coronavirus support schemes (e.g. the Self-employment Income Support Scheme or SEISS).

Records need to be kept for 6 years dated from the last financial year as /standard, but some records will need to be kept longer. The greater the level of detail and clearer the books, the better.

Bookkeeping is a serious ordeal and poorly kept or incomplete books can be the cause of a tax investigation or tax compliance check. These investigations can be stressful and time-consuming. It’s always easier to get it right the first time when it comes to dealing with HMRC.

The Digitalisation of Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping used to involve digging through endless receipts, bits of paper pertaining to deals and contracts, etc. Lost physical records could become totally unretrievable, leading to a protracted task of delving through bank accounts and payment records for other evidence of transactions.

Now, the task of bookkeeping has largely migrated into the digital realm.

Not only is digital bookkeeping a whole lot more convenient than manual record-taking, but it also prepares businesses and the self-employed for Making Tax Digital due to roll out fully in 2023. Under this new scheme, it will be a legal requirement to keep books digitally and submit them to HMRC in a wholly digital format.

What are Bookkeeping Services?

Bookkeeping is a skilled task where small mistakes can add up and cause big issues down the line.

Bookkeeping services are professional services where trained accountants maintain your books for you. Instead of using an in-house bookkeeper, it’s now possible to outsource bookkeeping services that are cost-effective and allow you to tap into the benefits of modern cloud-based bookkeeping software.

Instead of manually calculating records and making sure they’re HMRC-compliant yourself, bookkeeping services ensure that your records are thoroughly and professionally maintained, clean, error-free, and optimised for HMRC.

Digital platforms such as Xero and Quickbooks make the process even easier and since bookkeeping has to go digital to comply with MTD, there’s never been a better time to opt for cloud-based bookkeeping services.

Bookkeeping services explained

At Accountancy Cloud, our bookkeeping services are designed to work for you. Our software integrates with your business records to automatically pick up and analyse financial records.

We integrate with accountancy software such as Xero or Quickbooks, and import financial records from a number of platforms and payment providers, including Stripe, PayPal, Expensify and ReceiptBank.

Records are tagged, categorised and sorted, and actionable reports will be created from your financial records. These will all be accessible from a live dashboard that’s ready for you to check at any time.

At the end of the financial year, we can check and finalise your books and send them to HMRC.

The entire process is efficient, streamlined and stress-free. Plus you can rest easy in the knowledge that you’ll be fully HMRC-compliant and future-proof for when MTD comes into full effect.

Outsource Bookkeeping Services With Accountancy Cloud

At Accountancy Cloud, we provide next-gen bookkeeping services that are fully integrable with your business. Our professional accountants work through your accounts and compile your books accurately in real-time. They’ll always be ready for submission to HMRC and you can concentrate on running your business and not doing the books! Get in touch today, for a 2021 of stress-free accounting.