How much does a small business accountant cost?

Fees depend on complexity: turnover, payroll size, VAT scheme, number of directors, R&D activity, and whether you need management accounts as well as year-end. We quote a fixed fee in writing after a short discovery call, and nothing is added without your sign-off. As a rule of thumb a straightforward limited company costs less than a VAT-registered company running monthly payroll, and a sole trader return costs less again.

Do I need an accountant for a limited company?

There is no legal requirement to use one, but a limited company carries obligations a sole trader does not: statutory accounts, a CT600 corporation tax return, a confirmation statement, and director self assessment, all to deadlines that carry automatic penalties. Most directors find a fixed-fee accountant costs less than the tax and penalties a good one saves, and frees the time to run the business.

Can I switch my accountant part-way through the year?

Yes, and you do not need to wait for your year-end. We write to your current accountant for professional clearance and the handover information, move your records across, and pick up wherever things stand. Most switches are done within a couple of weeks with nothing for you to chase.

Online accountant or local accountant: which is better?

For most UK small businesses the location of the office matters far less than the quality of the advice and how quickly you get a reply. We work cloud-first through Xero, FreeAgent or QuickBooks, with one named accountant on your file, so you get a national specialist who answers within a working day rather than whoever happens to be down the road.

What does a fixed-fee accountant include?

Your fee is agreed up front and covers the scope you sign off: usually year-end accounts and tax filings, plus payroll, VAT or self assessment where relevant, and questions through the year. Ad-hoc advice is not billed by the hour. One-off projects outside the scope, such as an R&D claim, an incorporation or a disposal, are quoted separately before any work starts.

Do you work with sole traders and partnerships, or only limited companies?

All four UK trading structures. Sole traders, partnerships, LLPs and limited companies are all on the engagement roster. The work that applies depends on the structure: self assessment for sole traders and partners, partnership returns where relevant, and corporation tax with director pay planning for limited companies.

Should I be a sole trader or a limited company?

It depends mostly on profit. Below roughly the level where you draw all the profit to live on, a sole trader is simpler and the tax difference is small. Once profits rise and you can leave money in the business, a limited company usually wins on tax and gives you limited liability, at the cost of public filing and more admin. We model both on your real numbers before you decide.

When does my business need to register for VAT?

You must register once your VAT-taxable turnover passes £90,000 in any rolling twelve-month period, or if you expect to pass it in the next thirty days alone. You can also register voluntarily below that, which sometimes pays. We watch the threshold for you and handle registration and scheme choice when the time comes.

Who writes and reviews the content on this site?

Articles are written and reviewed by James Holloway, a senior accountant with the firm. Every figure is traceable to a primary source: HMRC guidance, Companies House, or the relevant statute. The content explains the mechanics; it is editorial, not tailored advice. For advice specific to your business, book a short call. No pitch, no obligation.

How does the relationship work, week to week?

Cloud-first through Xero, FreeAgent or QuickBooks, depending on what you already use, with one named accountant on the engagement. Email and scheduled calls, with ad-hoc questions answered within one working day. The annual cycle runs from bookkeeping handover through VAT quarters where relevant, monthly payroll, year-end accounts, and a planning conversation before the next year starts.

Making Tax Digital is live for sole traders

Fixed-fee small business accountants for UK limited companies, sole traders and contractors

UK business accounting, done with conviction. Year-round compliance and the advisory you actually want: one named accountant, cloud-first delivery, and fixed fees agreed up front.

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Fixed fees agreed up front

One named accountant

24-hour response window

Cloud-first (Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent)

UK-wide, remote-first

Free tax calculators

378

Plain-English guides

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Service lines covered

Sound familiar?

You are running the business. The tax side is running on guesswork.

Structure, director pay, VAT timing and payroll are all decisions with right answers. Most owners never get told what theirs are, because filing the return is where a lot of accountants stop.

If two or more of these sound like you, nothing has gone wrong. You are just guessing at questions somebody should have answered for you.

Book a free call

Structure
“I have been a sole trader for three years and I still do not know if I should be a limited company.”
Director pay
“I take a bit of salary and a bit of dividend because someone told me to, and I have never checked the split.”
VAT
“Turnover is creeping towards the VAT threshold and I do not know what happens the month I cross it.”
Making Tax Digital
“I keep getting emails about Making Tax Digital and I cannot tell which of them apply to me.”
Payroll
“I am about to take on my first employee and I have no idea what I am signing up for.”
Corporation tax
“The company made more than I expected this year and now I am worried about the bill.”
Bookkeeping
“My records are a bank feed and a shoebox, and year end is in eight weeks.”
R&D
“We build our own software and people keep telling me there is a tax credit, but nobody will tell me if we qualify.”
Accountant fit
“My accountant files the accounts and never once has told me anything I did not already know.”
Exit
“I might sell in two years and I do not know what I should be doing now to make that go well.”

Structure
“I have been a sole trader for three years and I still do not know if I should be a limited company.”
Director pay
“I take a bit of salary and a bit of dividend because someone told me to, and I have never checked the split.”
VAT
“Turnover is creeping towards the VAT threshold and I do not know what happens the month I cross it.”
Making Tax Digital
“I keep getting emails about Making Tax Digital and I cannot tell which of them apply to me.”
Payroll
“I am about to take on my first employee and I have no idea what I am signing up for.”
Corporation tax
“The company made more than I expected this year and now I am worried about the bill.”
Bookkeeping
“My records are a bank feed and a shoebox, and year end is in eight weeks.”
R&D
“We build our own software and people keep telling me there is a tax credit, but nobody will tell me if we qualify.”
Accountant fit
“My accountant files the accounts and never once has told me anything I did not already know.”
Exit
“I might sell in two years and I do not know what I should be doing now to make that go well.”

Who we are

A small business accountant for every UK structure

A good small business accountant does more than file your accounts. We handle the full year for UK limited companies, sole traders, contractors and partnerships: the compliance that has to be right, and the planning that decides how much tax you actually pay.

Most UK firms compete on price. The ones worth hiring compete on the cost of the advice you did not get. We work to the second standard.

Accountants across the UK. Find your area or search accountants near you.

Limited companies
Sole traders
Contractors and freelancers
Partnerships and LLPs
Just starting out

Why choose us

Why UK business owners choose a fixed-fee accountant

We quote a fixed fee in writing after a short discovery call, based on what the work actually involves: turnover, payroll size, VAT scheme, number of directors, and whether you need management accounts as well as year-end. Nothing is added without your sign-off.

You can ask questions through the year without watching a clock, because we do not bill by the hour. The engagement letter is plain English, and you can leave with reasonable notice. One-off projects outside the agreed scope are always quoted before any work starts.

Wondering what accountants charge across the market? Read our guide to UK accountancy fees for 2025/26.

Our services

What a small business accountant does across the year

Four blocks of work cover most of what a UK business owner needs: the year-end filing, the VAT rhythm, the payroll, and how you pay yourself. Everything else is built on top of those.

Year-end accounts and CT

Statutory accounts and the CT600, with marginal relief and the small profits rate applied where they fit.

VAT and MTD

Registration timing, the right scheme, digital links and the quarterly rhythm.

Payroll, PAYE and pensions

Monthly payroll, RTI, employer National Insurance and auto-enrolment, run and filed on time.

Director pay and self assessment

The salary and dividend split modelled on this year's thresholds, and the returns that follow it.

What we cover

What we handle across the year

Compliance is the floor, not the service. The work that pays for itself is the advice that sits on top: the right VAT scheme, a sensible pay structure, an R&D claim that holds up, a disposal timed for relief.

Corporation tax and year-end accounts
Statutory accounts and CT600 filing, with marginal relief modelled across the £50,000 to £250,000 band and the 19% small profits rate applied where it fits.
How corporation tax works HMRC Company Taxation Manual
VAT and Making Tax Digital
Registration timing against the £90,000 threshold, scheme selection (Standard, Flat Rate, Cash, Annual) and the quarterly Making Tax Digital discipline.
When to register for VAT gov.uk VAT registration
Payroll, PAYE and pensions
Monthly payroll, RTI submissions, employer National Insurance, salary-sacrifice schemes and workplace pension auto-enrolment.
Payroll services HMRC PAYE for employers
Self assessment and MTD for Income Tax
Self assessment for sole traders, partners and directors, with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax phasing in from April 2026 for the self-employed and landlords over the income threshold.
MTD for Income Tax guide gov.uk MTD sign-up checker
R&D tax credits
Merged-scheme R&D claims with the qualifying-activity narrative written in-house, costs eligibility reviewed, and enhanced support applied where the loss-making intensive route qualifies.
R&D tax credits explained HMRC R&D (CIRD) manual
Companies House and exit planning
Confirmation statements and annual accounts filed on time, plus Business Asset Disposal Relief planning (18% from April 2026, £1m lifetime limit) when it is time to sell or wind down.
All services Companies House filing

Who we help

Limited companies
Statutory accounts, the CT600 corporation tax return, and the salary-versus-dividend split modelled to each director's personal position.
Limited company accounting
Sole traders
Self assessment done properly, every expense you are entitled to claim, and a clear view of when incorporating starts to pay.
Sole trader accounting
Contractors and freelancers
IR35 status reviewed, the most efficient way to draw income, and the admin kept light so you can get on with billing.
Contractor accounting
Partnerships and LLPs
Partnership returns, profit-share allocation, and each partner's self assessment, all handled together so the figures reconcile.
Small business guide
Just starting out
Sole trader or limited company, when to register for VAT, and the first-year decisions that are expensive to undo later.
Sole trader vs limited company

Accountants by trade and industry

Every trade has its own tax quirks: CIS deductions for subcontractors, equipment allowances for photographers, badges of trade for forex traders. We publish dedicated guides for the industries we work with most.

Sole trader or limited company?

The structure you trade under changes how much tax you pay, what you file publicly, and how protected you are personally. The short version:

Sole trader compared with limited company
Area	Sole trader	Limited company
Setting up	Register for self assessment with HMRC. Minimal admin.	Incorporate at Companies House, then register for corporation tax.
How profit is taxed	Income tax plus Class 4 National Insurance on all profit.	Corporation tax (19% to 25%), then tax on the salary and dividends you draw.
Public filing	Your accounts stay private.	Accounts and directors sit on the public Companies House register.
Best when	Profits are modest and you want simplicity.	Profits are rising, you reinvest, or you want limited liability.

Setting up
Sole trader: Register for self assessment with HMRC. Minimal admin.
Limited company: Incorporate at Companies House, then register for corporation tax.
How profit is taxed
Sole trader: Income tax plus Class 4 National Insurance on all profit.
Limited company: Corporation tax (19% to 25%), then tax on the salary and dividends you draw.
Public filing
Sole trader: Your accounts stay private.
Limited company: Accounts and directors sit on the public Companies House register.
Best when
Sole trader: Profits are modest and you want simplicity.
Limited company: Profits are rising, you reinvest, or you want limited liability.

Note: Example figures displayed

Read the full comparison

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From the blog

Latest guidance for UK business owners

VAT and Making Tax DigitalVAT and Making Tax Digital

Agent or Principal: What Counts as Your Turnover for VAT

If you act as an agent, your turnover is your commission. If you act as a principal, your turnover is the whole amount the customer pays you, even though most of it goes straight back out to a supplier. That single distinction decides whether you cross the £90,000 VAT registration threshold and what VAT you charge. This guide sets out the agency test, the boundary between disbursement and recharge, and all eight HMRC conditions that a payment must meet to sit outside the value of your own supply.

Sole Trader and Self EmploymentSole Trader and Self Employment

Cash Basis Allowable Expenses: When You Deduct, Not What

Under the cash basis you deduct an expense in the tax year you pay it, not the year you are billed for it. The wholly and exclusively test still decides whether a cost is allowable at all. What the cash basis changes is timing, plus the treatment of capital spending, which comes off as an ordinary expense when paid instead of going through capital allowances. This page covers the timing rule, the ITTOIA 2005 s.33A excluded list, interest now that the £500 cap is gone, stock, and the errors that cost people money.

Sole Trader and Self EmploymentSole Trader and Self Employment

Cash Basis: The Rules Since 6 April 2024

The cash basis means you count income when the money arrives and expenses when you pay them. Since 6 April 2024 it is the default way sole traders and partnerships of individuals calculate trading profit, there is no turnover threshold of any kind, and you leave it only by electing on your tax return to use traditional accounting. This page explains the rule, who is shut out, what changes in practice, and the three old drawbacks that no longer exist.

View all articles

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Tell us briefly where the business sits today. We'll come back with a short note on what the engagement would look like and what it would cost. No pitch deck, no follow-up sequence.

24-hour response, usually same dayYou hear back from a person, not an autoresponder
Fixed fees, agreed before any workIn writing, before anything starts
One named accountant, not a team inboxThe same person every time you call

Book your free consultation

Common questions

Fixed-fee small business accountants for UK limited companies, sole traders and contractors

You are running the business. The tax side is running on guesswork.

A small business accountant for every UK structure

Why UK business owners choose a fixed-fee accountant

What a small business accountant does across the year

Year-end accounts and CT

VAT and MTD

Payroll, PAYE and pensions

Director pay and self assessment

What we handle across the year

Corporation tax and year-end accounts

VAT and Making Tax Digital

Payroll, PAYE and pensions

Self assessment and MTD for Income Tax

R&D tax credits

Companies House and exit planning

Who we help

Limited companies

Sole traders

Contractors and freelancers

Partnerships and LLPs

Just starting out

Accountants by trade and industry

Sole trader or limited company?

Work out where you stand before you call anyone

Salary & Dividend Optimiser

Take-Home Pay Calculator

Employer NI & cost-to-hire calculator

Your team

Sole Trader vs Limited Company Calculator

Latest guidance for UK business owners

Agent or Principal: What Counts as Your Turnover for VAT

Cash Basis Allowable Expenses: When You Deduct, Not What

Cash Basis: The Rules Since 6 April 2024

Talk to an accountant. Free, no obligation.

Book your free consultation

The honest answers

How much does a small business accountant cost?

Do I need an accountant for a limited company?

Can I switch my accountant part-way through the year?

Online accountant or local accountant: which is better?

What does a fixed-fee accountant include?

Do you work with sole traders and partnerships, or only limited companies?

Should I be a sole trader or a limited company?

When does my business need to register for VAT?

Who writes and reviews the content on this site?

How does the relationship work, week to week?

Salary & Dividend Optimiser

Take-Home Pay Calculator

Employer NI & cost-to-hire calculator

Your team

Sole Trader vs Limited Company Calculator