Accountancy Services for Startups, SMEs and Growing Businesses

There are a number of reasons why all businesses need accountancy support. All companies have to submit year-end accounts for corporation tax purposes and complete VAT returns in order to be compliant with HMRC. However, equally important is the ability for founders to make informed decisions that come from regular and accurate reporting. Working with an accountant can help limit tax liability, ensure compliance and enable effective, long term planning.

Dragon Argent offer completely bespoke engagements. We can provide any accountancy support that a company might need from bookkeeping and payroll, to tax advice and right through to a fully outsourced Finance Director function. We'll deliver the services you need, when you need, with a frequency that suits your stage and needs.

Like our engagements themselves, our fees are bespoke, based on clients’ needs at a given point in time. We've found that retainers for fast paced clients seldom work. Instead, we focus on flexibility and transparency. We'll understand your needs and forecast an accurate estimate for the following 6-12 months and communicate any changes with you.

In the first stages of a startup company’s existence, the lines between a director’s finances and the company’s finances can be blurry. Especially prior to incorporation when the company may not have a business banking facility, but expenditure needs to be made to get up and running. The movement of money between a director and the business creates a director's loan account (DLA) on the balance sheet where all the money a director has either borrowed from your company, or lends to it, is recorded.

Our specialist accountants for startups look at exactly how a directors loan account functions, what it can help a director to achieve and tax planning opportunities that arise. Learn more.

A good CFO will take a seat at strategy planning meetings, maintain compliant and accurate financial reporting, and play an integral role in the growth journey of the company. Having an individual with strong accounting competencies involved at a strategic level of any business is a huge benefit to the management team – but an appropriately qualified and experienced professional is an expensive resource. Not all small businesses, be they ambitious startups or small to medium enterprises, can afford to engage a senior finance professional on a full-time basis.

However, there is an alternative approach – outsourcing your finance function to an external CFO. Here we look at the major benefits of using an outsourced model until a point that the business can afford to onboard a permanent hire. Learn more.

For many startup founders, one of the chief causes for concern is availability of cash – often referred to as runway. We’ve all heard a variation of the phrase, cash is king, and cash often forms the stepping stones between funding rounds for startups on which their business moves forward. Without which they would quickly sink.

It’s for this reason that regular, accurate cashflow forecasting is essential – which is why our accountants in London have taken a detailed look at in this week’s newsletter. Learn more.

Many new businesses spend the first season of their existence researching and developing a concept or a prototype. If any project on which the company works is seeking to make an advance in the fields of science or technology, the costs of that project may be eligible to provide the company with extra tax relief, through its annual corporation tax return.

We have taken a brief look at R&D Tax Relief and the costs that are eligible for tax relief. This extra relief could be as much as 25% of the cost of the project. For a loss-making company, a cash rebate of up to 33.5% is available in lieu of tax relief, which is often paid within 4 weeks or a successful claim being made.

This relief or rebate could make a huge difference to a bootstrapping startup and as HMRC believe that 75% of business who could be claiming R&D tax relief do not, it is too often a missed opportunity. Learn more

A P11D is a type of tax form used in the UK to report taxable expenses and benefits provided to employees, by their employers, that have not been run through payroll.

Employers are required to submit P11D forms to HMRC for each employee who has received benefits, or other non-cash payments during a tax year. A tax year runs from 6th April to 5th April. Benefits can include, but are not limited to, private medical insurance, company cars or even employer loans that have been written off.

Learn more.

Choosing a legal structure is one of the most important decisions a new business owner needs to make and can be one of the most difficult to understand. The hardest part, is that the best option is dependent on your personal circumstances too. This article highlights the two different types of business structures, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

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Small businesses play a crucial role in the UK economy, and small business owners have a significant impact on contributing to its growth and prosperity. Grants play a pivotal role in achieving your aspirations and business growth. In this blog, we will explore the small business landscape in the UK, the various types of grants available, and how Dragon Argent, can help you secure these grants. Learn more.