Accountants for charities

The formal year-end accounts every company must file at Companies House — publicly visible, prepared to FRS standards.

The two accounting standards small UK companies use: FRS 105 for micro-entities (minimal disclosure), FRS 102 1A for small companies (fuller picture).

The corporation tax return filed with HMRC alongside a tax computation — due 12 months after year end, though the tax is due at 9 months and a day.

Your company's official year-end date, set at incorporation (changeable within limits). Accounts are due 9 months after it.

Matching your books to the bank, transaction by transaction — the discipline that makes every other number trustworthy.

The category structure your transactions are coded into. A generic one makes reports vague; a tailored one makes them useful.

Who owes you and whom you owe, banded by how overdue — the two lists that predict cash flow problems before the bank balance does.

Real Time Information — the rule that HMRC must receive a payroll submission on or before every payday, not at year end.

Under £250,000 income, most charities can prepare receipts-and-payments accounts — genuinely simpler. Above that, accruals accounts under the SORP. Independent examination is generally needed over £25,000 income, audit over £1m. CIOs file with the Charity Commission; charitable companies file with Companies House too. We place you precisely and prepare accordingly.

Gift Aid adds 25p per £1 from eligible donors — but every claim needs a valid declaration and an audit trail linking donor, declaration and donation. The small donations scheme adds claims on cash and contactless collections without declarations, within limits. We set up the records once and run claims routinely; most small charities we take on were leaving money unclaimed.

Restricted funds were given for a stated purpose and legally can't fund anything else — spending them generally is a governance breach trustees are personally accountable for. The protection is bookkeeping structure: funds tracked separately from day one, reported separately in the accounts. It's the single most important discipline in charity finance.

A company with guarantors instead of shareholders. Nobody owns shares and nobody takes dividends — members simply guarantee a nominal sum (usually £1) if the company is wound up. It's the standard structure for charities, clubs and community organisations because it gives limited liability without private ownership.

Yes — it can trade and make a surplus. The difference is what happens to that surplus: it's reinvested in the organisation's purpose rather than paid out to owners. If you want to distribute profits, a company limited by shares is the right structure instead.

Yes. Even dormant companies must file accounts at Companies House and usually a confirmation statement. Our dormant package (£99) handles it all so you avoid penalties for a company that isn't even trading.

Most small companies file micro-entity accounts under FRS 105 or small-company accounts under FRS 102 Section 1A. We pick the right one for your size and circumstances — it affects what's disclosed publicly at Companies House, and we'll explain the trade-offs.

Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent — whichever suits your business (or whichever you already use). Software subscription can be included in your monthly fee, and we handle all the setup and migration.

Each line on your bank statement — a payment in or out. Most one-person businesses sit comfortably under 50 a month. If you drift over your band we'll tell you before the fee changes, never after.

If you pay yourself a salary, yes — you need a PAYE scheme and RTI submissions even for one person. Director-only payroll is our most popular package at £25/mo, and we set the salary at the most tax-efficient level for you.

Every employer must assess staff for a workplace pension and enrol eligible employees. Even if your only staff member is you as director, you have duties to declare. We handle assessments, letters and declarations as part of the service.