Accountancy Services For Small Business London [UK]

Here’s Why Outsourced Bookkeeping Services are Long Term Partners of Small Businesses in London

Most of the small businesses and startups keep doing everything by themselves – sales, marketing, HR, IT and sometimes they manage their own books as well. This constant juggling between the different roles results in unnecessary tiredness; thereby losing focus on the core business activities. As the business owners keep stretching themselves thinner and thinner, at one point of time, they decide to offload as many responsibilities as they can in an attempt to cope with the necessary business activities.

If you are a small business owner or a start up in the UK, then you might be aware about this common mistake. Figure out what’s necessary for the growth of your business – list out the tasks that you need to carry out and list out the task that can be outsourced. Outsourcing is an economical option not only small and medium sized businesses, but most of the established brands across the globe also benefit themselves from this.

Outsourced bookkeeping and accountancy services are helping countless business across the globe and serve them as their long-term partner. Here are some reasons, why outsourced bookkeeping services are considered as the long-term partners of small business in London and across the UK, and they are;

From Recording Transactions to Financial Reporting and Forecasting

In simple to understand words, a bookkeeper is the one who maintains a company’s financial transactions at sequential intervals – every day, in most cases. The definition of a bookkeeper is quite simple, but the task and responsibility associated with the job is much more complex. Depending on the nature of the business, maintaining the company’s financial reporting can be time-consuming and complicated, and it has to be accurate and up-to-date.

Many startups, small and medium-sized businesses understand that keeping the records of all the money that’s coming into and going out of their business on a daily basis — and reconciling those figures at weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly intervals is not their cup of tea. It is a job of a full time professional, and this is the reason why most of the businesses in their growing stages tend to choose outsourced bookkeeping services. Modern day bookkeeping solutions make use of the latest technologies (including the cloud) to offload the business owners as well as to offer them an accurate insight on their financial status.

Working with Your In-house Resource for an Efficient Process

Here’s one more reason for small businesses across the UK to go for outsourced bookkeeping services. During the tax seasons, when it becomes tough for you and your in-house bookkeeper to prepare and submit the tax, the outsourced bookkeeping services come to the rescue and offer the much needed helping hands. Thereby saving you from unnecessary stress. Not only experienced bookkeepers, but outsourced accounting firms have teams of proficient accountants to help you during the Tax Season.

Gaining Real-Time Financial Insight

Here’s the third and one of the most important points. An outsourced bookkeeping services provider allows you to track the key performance indicators (KPIs) of your business. That’s a great way for business leaders to gain new insights into their company’s financial health.

Outsourced bookkeeping services offer you access to all sorts of high-level expertise – from input on how to make the tax laws work in your favor to advice on improving your profit margins.

Hence, to conclude, outsourced bookkeeping services not only save you time and money, but it also offers a level of service and professionalism far beyond what you could attain by doing everything yourself.

Outsourced Bookkeeping Firm in London

If you want to know more about outsourced bookkeeping services, how it works, how it can benefit your business and how it can increase your profit margin, then feel free to contact us at Affinity Associates. You can email us your questions / queries at info@affinityassociates.com or dial +44 20 8903 2077 (London) to talk to our experts. We offer free consultation and quote as well.

Importance of Professional Accountancy Services for Small Businesses in London, UK

From start-ups to small businesses, accountancy services plays a vital role in covering an array of different situations faced by the businesses. This could be quite lenient for the start-ups, however for small businesses it is important to ensure about effective financial management, wherein opting for a professional accountancy services is the key. A well-defined accounting package could help small businesses undertake various accounts operations including, but not limited to tax & compliance, bookkeeping, cash flow, invoices and expenses, etc.

The accounting requirements of any businesses, whether it is small, medium or large, constantly keeps on changing with the overall change in the business structure, its flow, as well as the change in the tax laws. This further makes it important for the business owners to always keep a track on their finances and accounts. DIY to manage business accounts is no longer an option for small businesses, neither hiring a full-time accountant, and nor opting for inexperienced accounting firm. A firm offering a good accountancy services will have the experience, expertise and certified professional accountants, possessing immense knowledge and understanding of the constantly shifting accounting needs of small businesses. They understand and acknowledge the fact that keeping a tab on company’s finances can be a key to the failure and success towards any businesses and accounting plays the crucial role in it.

As said a good accountancy services offer a complete package, and could also offer a dedicated accountant to you, all within your budget. They not only help you to deal with your accounts, bookkeeping, finances and taxes, yet at the same time could guide you when the cash is running low, preventive measures to save on the taxes, ways to increase your finances and budget. Overall, a single service package with a dedicated accountant could take care of your business’s all accounting needs. Yet, the drawback is that there are several accounting firms, all claiming to offer better services than others. Hence, it is advisable to do some research before finalizing the one that could match your business’s requirement.

Affinity Associates is one such prominent accounting firm in London, UK, who has years of industry experience, certified accounting professionals and expertise in managing various small business accounts across London. They offer a wide range of accounting services such as

Payroll
Bookkeeping
Company Secretarial Services
Capital Gains Tax
Special Taxation Services
Inheritance Tax Planning
Statutory & Other Specialist Audits
And more…

Moreover, their accountancy service package starts from as low as £91 per month, which includes an array of services such as dedicated accountant, Xero Subscription to manage online accounting, Invoices and Expenses, etc.

To know more about Affinity Associates and how they can help your business’s accountancy services need, feel free to visit their site at www.affinityassociates.com or email them at info@affinityassociates.com

Bookkeeping and Accounting – Know the Differences

Often, small business owners interchange the important term ‘bookkeeping’ with ‘accounting’ or ‘accounting’ with ‘bookkeeping.’ They should not do that as both these accountancy terms are different.

Bookkeeping and accounting have separate financial functions, and both of them are integral parts of small businesses. It is important to understand these terms because streamlined financial records and organized finances are key to the success of a small business. Understanding these terms also helps when it comes to engaging the right services, i.e., bookkeeping services for small business and accountancy services for small business.

What is bookkeeping?

Bookkeeping is an accounting process of recording all daily financial transactions, both cash and credit, of the business. The one who carries out bookkeeping is called a bookkeeper.

Bookkeepers need to record all the sales, receipts, purchases, and payments transactions of the business in the correct daybook, customer (sales) ledger, supplier (purchase) ledger, or general ledger. You need to keep in mind that a ledger is a principal book. It is the key to the finances of your business; hence, it needs to be accurate.

Bookkeeping can be simple initially, but as the size of your business and the number of transactions increase it can quickly become difficult to manage. In such a case, engaging quality bookkeeping services for small businesses in the UK from a reputable firm like Affinity Associates can be helpful.

Methods of bookkeeping

The two prevalent bookkeeping methods are single-entry bookkeeping and double-entry bookkeeping. Of these two methods, most businesses use the double-entry system. In this system, every entry to an account needs a corresponding and opposite entry to a different account . For example, recording an expense of £20 would need two entries:

A debit entry of £10 to an “Expense” account
A credit entry of £10 to a “Cash” or “Credit” account

Bookkeeping can be carried out on a piece of paper or a spreadsheet, like Microsoft Excel. Today, however, much of the bookkeeping is done using specialised accountancy software applications.

Whether carrying out bookkeeping on paper, spreadsheets, or accountancy software, it is a time-consuming task. Furthermore, whether being an expert or not, an in-house bookkeeper (or you if you are doing the bookkeeping yourself), can make errors. For that reason, it is beneficial to engage bookkeeping services for small businesses, where professional bookkeepers will quickly complete the task, under the direction of an experienced accountant, which by the way, minimizes errors.

What is accounting?

Accounting or accountancy is a broad terminology. It deals with summarising, analysing, and reporting financial information of the business. Accountancy or accounting provides information on the current resources available to the business, how those resources are financed, and the results the business achieves through the use of those resources.

The function of accountancy is to prepare statements of the financial affairs of the business. It also includes the analysis of the figures recorded by the bookkeeper in order to ascertain the financial health of the business. Furthermore, the function of accountancy also extends to the preparation of various business taxes and other financial materials.

The one who carries out the accounting or accountancy is called an accountant. Employing full-time, in-house accountants can be very expensive. Therefore, whenever the need arises, engaging certified accountants for small business in London from a firm like Affinity Associates, can be beneficial.

Who qualifies as an accountant?

In the UK, there are no license requirements for anyone to call themselves an accountant. Nevertheless, it is wise to deal only with trained and qualified accountants. Such a qualified accountant is referred to as a CA (Chartered Accountant) or ACCA (Chartered Certified Accountant). In order to achieve a qualification, an individual needs to pass a series of examinations and undergo a period of appropriate work experience.

Accounting can be difficult, depending on the size and nature of the business. Therefore, as mentioned before, engaging accountants for small business can prove to be sensible for a business owner.

So now you know what bookkeeping and accounting are. You can, of course, carry out both bookkeeping and accounting in-house, but they often prove to be uneconomical, especially for small businesses. Therefore, it will be in your best interest to engage both bookkeepers and accountants for small business.

At Affinity Associates, we offer both bookkeeping services for small business and accountancy services for small business in London and across the UK. Contact us today to discover how we can help you keep your books accurate and up-to-date and how we can help you manage the finances of your business. Get in touch with us through the following link https://www.affinityassociates.com/contact-us/.

What is an Income Statement & Why it is so Important

Why is the income statement important?

Curious about What is an income statement? In this post, you’ll discover the purpose, components, and importance of income statements in financial analysis.

An income statement, otherwise known as a profit and loss (P&L) statement and profit and loss (P&L) account, is a record that measures and shows all the expenses and revenues a company incurred during a specific period of time. The income statement helps determine a company’s financial health and the financial progress it made during a particular period.

The income statement contains Sections for revenue and expenses, which include net sales, gross profit, cost of goods sold, selling expenses, general and administrative expenses, and net profit.

Small businesses can easily prepare an income statement using popular accounting software, such as XERO or QuickBooks. Businesses should consistently prepare a profit and loss statement in order to determine whether they are making a profit or loss and why.

In order to have an accurate income statement, accurate Bookkeeping is necessary.

Why is the Income Statement Important?

The income statement holds immense significance for several reasons:

Financial Performance Evaluation: The income statement outlines a business’s revenues, expenses, and resulting net income or loss during a specific period. This data is essential for assessing the company’s financial health and performance.
Profitability Assessment: Investors, stakeholders, and even management use the income statement to gauge the company’s profitability. By comparing revenue and expenses, stakeholders can determine how efficiently the business is generating profits.
Decision-Making: Informed decisions require accurate financial data. The income statement assists management in making strategic choices, such as adjusting expenses to maximize profitability or identifying areas for growth.
Trend Analysis: By reviewing income statements from different periods, analysts can identify trends in the business’s financial performance. This aids in predicting future financial outcomes and planning accordingly.
Investor Confidence: Investors rely on the income statement to evaluate the company’s financial stability before investing. A healthy income statement can attract potential investors and build investor confidence.

Components of an Income Statement:

An income statement typically includes:

Revenue: The total amount of money generated from sales.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): The direct costs associated with producing goods or services.
Gross Profit: Calculated by subtracting COGS from revenue, indicating the profitability of core operations.
Operating Expenses: Costs incurred in running the business, such as salaries, rent, and marketing expenses.
Operating Income: Derived by subtracting operating expenses from gross profit.
Interest and Taxes: Additional expenses related to interest payments and taxes.
Net Income: The final figure representing the company’s total profit or loss.

Preparing an Income Statement:

To prepare an income statement, follow these steps:

Gather Data: Collect accurate financial data for the specified period.
Calculate Revenue: Sum up all revenue streams.
Determine COGS: Calculate direct costs related to production.
Calculate Gross Profit: Subtract COGS from revenue.
Account for Operating Expenses: List and calculate all operating expenses.
Calculate Operating Income: Deduct operating expenses from gross profit.
Include Interest and Taxes: Factor in interest payments and taxes.
Calculate Net Income: Subtract interest and taxes from operating income.

Ready to Master Your Financial Destiny? Let’s Connect Today!

Elevate your financial prowess with our expert guidance at Affinity Associates. Whether you’re aiming to decode complex financial statements or navigate the intricacies of profit analysis, our team is here to empower your financial journey. Reach out to us now and embark on a path of financial excellence.

The income statement is a powerful tool that offers valuable insights into a business’s financial performance. By analyzing revenue, expenses, and profit, stakeholders can make informed decisions and plan for the future. Whether you’re an investor, manager, or business owner, understanding the significance of the income statement is crucial for making sound financial choices.

Frequently Asked Questions for Income Statement (Income Statement FAQs):

Q1: What Sets Apart an Income Statement from a Balance Sheet?

A: Unveil the financial narrative of your business: while the income statement unravels the story of your revenue conquests and expense sagas over a specific period, the balance sheet captures a frozen moment in time, spotlighting your assets, liabilities, and equity ensemble.

Q2: Can My Quest for an Improved Bottom Line Begin with an Income Statement?

A: Absolutely! Delve into the labyrinth of expenses on the income statement, and you might just uncover hidden chambers of cost-saving treasures. With a keen eye, you can shape a leaner, meaner financial future.

Q3: How Often Should My Financial Chronicles Star an Income Statement?

A: The rhythm of your financial ballad is yours to compose. Whether you’re orchestrating monthly symphonies, quarterly concertos, or annual anthems, the frequency of your income statements serenades the cadence of your financial strategy.

Q4: Does a Negative Tale on the Income Statement Spell Doom? A: Fear not, for every narrative has its twists. A net loss is but a chapter in the grand saga of business. Decode the reasons, learn the lessons, and your next chapter might just herald triumph.

Q5: Is the Dance of the Income Statement Reserved for Titans Alone?

A: Far from it! The dance floor welcomes all, from giants to minnows. Whether you steer a colossal vessel or captain a nimble craft, the income statement waltz guides your steps toward strategic brilliance.

Q6: Is the Cash Flow Tango Linked to the Income Statement Waltz?

A: Two distinct dances, yet their rhythm is harmonious. While the income statement croons of revenue and expenses, the cash flow tango captures the actual swirl of cash. Together, they orchestrate the financial symphony.

Q7: Can the Income Statement Moonlight as a Tax Wizard?

A: Indeed! Amidst its financial incantations, the income statement whispers the magic of taxable insights. Tune in to its secrets to navigate the labyrinthine realm of tax planning with finesse.

Q8: Does the Income Statement Tailor Its Attire for Different Industries?

A: Indeed, it’s a chameleon of finance! Just as fashion evolves, so does the income statement. It weaves a bespoke narrative for each industry, showcasing its unique flair and financial fabric.

Feel free to use these engaging rewrites to captivate your readers and encourage them to delve into the intricacies of income statements and financial analysis.

Tag: Accountancy Services For Small Business London