In 2017, the United Kingdom recorded over 36,000 accounting firms across the nation. A year later, the numbers saw a decline as almost 500 firms closed up either due to partnerships or acquisitions. As a result, the UK’s remaining accounting firms are in constant need to compete in this critical sector. In this article are three primary services provided by accounting establishments such as Smart Solutions Taxation and Accounting.

Tax filing and planning

This is the lawful process of monitoring and analysing a financial plan to minimise any issue of tax liability. In the UK, relief provisions are available to reduce taxes legally, without falling into the tax avoidance pit-hole. Therefore, an accounting firm worth its salt should be able to steer this narrow path without landing clients in trouble. As a notable speciality area, accounting firms help clients understand new tax codes that aid standard financial reporting procedures.

In doing this, the establishment is mindful of IRS regulations, individual company liabilities and meeting deadlines. Even more crucial in this particular service is an accounting firm’s ability to empower your company on unique matters on acquisition, market share dilution and mergers. All three involve complex tax issues that only accounting specialists can resolve.

Payroll services 

Payroll is an essential service for any business establishment. Across the UK, the general acceptance for payroll outsourcing is what fuels this accounting service. In simple terms, payroll service is the calculation of wages or salaries to workers. Depending on the company, this can be done weekly or monthly. The payroll function is a prominent feature in UK accounting services because it takes the pressure off organisations who need in-house staff to work on it. Examples of essential payroll services include:

• Payslip generation
• Record-keeping compliance
• Disbursement of payroll funds

Fortunately, modern accounting practices (with the help of technology), help establishments avoid some critical payroll issues. These are faulty systems, inaccuracy, inconsistency and sometimes, non-compliance with UK’s legislation on wages. These issues if not properly handled could land an organisation in a legal war. Therefore, to avoid this, many businesses prefer to rely on accounting services in the UK to undertake this complex work.

Bookkeeping services

Modern bookkeeping takes its roots from the late 15th century. Signor Frater Luca Pacioli, an Italian mathematician, described standard accounting systems in his book, titled, “Everything about Arithmetic, Geometry and Proportion.” This came to be known as the double-entry system. Bookkeeping thrives on regularly recording all financial transactions made by a company. Indeed, without bookkeeping services, businesses would be in the dark about their past or current financial standing. 

As an extremely essential accounting service, bookkeeping works on the concept of record analysis. Without this highly-skilled service, it’d be impossible to generate reports on:

• Income statements
• Business balance sheets
• Cash flow

Additionally, acceptable bookkeeping practices result in excellent audit reports.

Every accounting firm should be able to provide these three important services with ease. As a business strategy, many firms prefer to specialise in a particular accounting area. However, if you’re looking for a credible accounting firm, the advisable thing is to settle on one that performs at least three essential accounting services.