Kays Accountants

Switching accountants: when it’s the right move and how to make it painless.

Switching accountants sounds like more hassle than it actually is.

Most of the process happens between the two firms, not on your desk. If your current accountant isn’t giving you what you need, that alone is reason enough to have the conversation.

Thinking about switching? Talk to us about how it works.

Tax planning isn’t just for big businesses. Here’s how we help SMEs keep more of what they earn.

Tax planning has a reputation for being something only large companies bother with.

In reality, most of the reliefs and allowances available to SMEs go unused simply because nobody’s checked whether they apply. It doesn’t take a big business to benefit from a proper review, just a willingness to ask.

When did you last have your tax position properly reviewed?

What we look for when we review a new client’s accounts for the first time.

The first thing we do with a new client isn’t file anything, it’s read.

We look for patterns: what’s grown, what’s shrunk, what doesn’t quite add up, and what’s been missed entirely. It tells us far more about a business than a single year’s figures ever could on their own.

Curious what a first review of your accounts might turn up?

New rules on payroll for seasonal staff: what business owners need to know.

Seasonal staff create payroll complications that permanent employees simply don’t.

Starter and leaver processes need to happen correctly and quickly for staff who might only be with you for a few weeks, and getting P45s or new starter checklists wrong creates tax code problems that follow the employee elsewhere. Recent guidance has tightened expectations around how quickly these need processing.

For businesses that take on seasonal staff regularly, a proper process, not an ad hoc one, keeps this manageable.

If seasonal staff are part of your business, it’s worth reviewing your starter and leaver process before the next busy period.

Real Time Information (RTI) payroll: what it is, why it matters, and who needs to get it right.

RTI means HMRC finds out about payroll problems the same day they happen, not months later.

Real Time Information requires payroll data to be submitted on or before each payday, covering pay, deductions, and tax and National Insurance for every employee. That immediacy is exactly why errors get flagged fast, there’s no lag between a mistake and HMRC noticing it.

For any employer running payroll, “we’ll fix it next month” isn’t really an option any more. Corrections need to happen quickly, ideally before the next submission is due.

If your payroll process still treats corrections as something to batch up later, that’s worth revisiting.

What is VAT cash accounting, and could it improve your business cash flow?

Standard VAT accounting can mean paying VAT on invoices you haven’t been paid for yet.

Cash accounting flips that, you only account for VAT once money’s actually changed hands. For businesses with slower-paying customers, that difference alone can ease a lot of pressure.

Worth checking if you’re eligible for the scheme.

Industry watch: how payments on account is affecting North West SMEs right now.

Payments on account catch out more growing businesses than any other part of the self-assessment system.

As profits rise, HMRC expects advance payments toward next year’s tax bill, on top of what’s owed for the year just gone. For a business used to paying tax once, the first payment-on-account year can feel like being billed twice. It isn’t, it’s timing, but that timing needs planning for.

We’re seeing more North West businesses caught out by this exact pattern as growth continues to show up in their numbers.

If your profits have grown recently, it’s worth checking what that means for your payments on account.

How Kays helps with registering with HMRC and Companies House - here’s what that looks like.

Registering a new business involves more admin than most people expect.

We handle the HMRC and Companies House registration process end to end, so nothing’s missed and nothing’s left waiting on you to chase.

Starting a business? Let’s get the paperwork sorted properly.

Getting payroll wrong isn’t just embarrassing, it can land you with HMRC penalties.

Payroll mistakes rarely stay private for long.

Staff notice underpayments and errors fast, and HMRC notices late or incorrect submissions faster. Both come with a cost, one to trust, one to your compliance record.

How confident are you in your current payroll process? Let us know.

Let us take reading your financial statements off your plate.

Not everyone wants to become fluent in reading a balance sheet, and that’s fine.

We translate what your financial statements actually mean for your business, in plain terms, so you can make decisions without needing an accounting degree first.

Ask us to walk you through your latest set of accounts.