Sole Trader Accountants in Wirral

Being a sole trader means you are an individual who has registered with HMRC as self employed and who runs your own business. In terms of liability, you are not seen as a separate entity to your business, meaning in theory, if things went wrong, you would be liable for your debts and would potentially have to sell personal assets to cover the cost.

Operating as a sole trader makes sense for many small business owners, freelancers, and tradespeople, but may not be so appropriate for larger businesses with more at stake. For these individuals, operating as a limited company may make more sense.

A sole trader is somebody whose business and personal assets are not separate. However, as a limited company you are seen as a separate entity from your business. Legally, you and your business are not the same thing when operating as a limited company, so any business debts are your business’, and not yours personally.

For larger businesses with larger turnovers and profits it makes sense to operate as limited companies because there is more at risk. If something were to go wrong you would still need to pay for your business premises, goods and services, etc as a sole trader, even if that meant selling your house to do so. As a limited company, you would not have these same expectations.

Which you decide to operate as is completely up to you, but if you’d like to discuss it with a member of our team then get in contact today. We’ll offer you the latest advice and take a look at your business to determine the best course of action for you.

A Self Assessment is a tax return that must be completed each year if you’re self employed. It’s HMRC’s only way to collect income tax from individuals who don’t get paid in more traditional ways where tax and national insurance is taken from your wages automatically every time you’re paid.

Your Self Assessment tax return will tell HMRC key information about your business, such as its annual profits and any business expenses you have. With all the information you provide, HMRC will be able to accurately determine how much tax and national insurance you need to pay.

If you choose to contribute throughout the year and overpay, then HMRC will return this to you as a tax rebate at the end of the financial year. If you contribute and don’t quite pay enough tax or national insurance throughout the year, then you’ll simply have to make up the difference by the 31st January after you’ve submitted your Self Assessment.

You don’t HAVE to have an accountant. Nobody does. Even the largest businesses in the world could handle their own finances if they chose to – although this would be incredibly time consuming and would leave little room in the day for anything else.

As a smaller business, you might be able to manage both your daily tasks and your accounting tasks, especially if you’re good with numbers and you’re good at keeping track of every business expense and every penny earned. But for many sole traders this isn’t why they get into business.

If you’re not interested in organising your accounts and preparing yourself for tax returns and Self Assessment deadlines, then you probably should get an accountant to help. Whether you don’t enjoy doing it or you’re too busy to find the time is of little interest to HMRC. You still need to submit an annual self assessment, and it needs to be organised and monitored properly throughout the year to ensure you have all the relevant documents and information to hand.

If you think you could benefit from our sole trader accounting services, then get in touch today.

Our sole trader accounting package is completely bespoke to each client. That’s because sole traders operate in a variety of different industries, get paid in a variety of different ways, and deal with very different turnovers and annual profits. What advice we’d give to one sole trader will not be the same as we’d give to another.

That’s why at the start of every new client relationship our accountants make it their priority to really get to know your business and understand your business goals. This then allows us to give you the best advice for your business to ensure you’re always moving towards business growth and further success.

Because of this bespoke package, however, we charge different amounts to each of our clients, because each of our clients require different services. We can guarantee you this: all of our services are offered at competitive rates, we always set our prices fairly, and our quotes are all free and completely no-obligation. So why not reach out today and find out how much our services could be for you?

Yes. If you know how to complete sole trader accounts, your Self Assessment, pay your income tax and are confident with making National Insurance contributions, then you can absolutely handle your accounts yourself.

If you find that you struggle to find time in your day to properly keep track of payments made and received, and aren’t great at recording every transaction for reference later, then you’ll likely benefit from accounting support from a dedicated accountant at APH.

Sole trader accounting is about more than just filing your Self Assessment each year and calling it a day. In order to file that assessment you need to record all of your business expenses and earnings, calculate your National Insurance payments and likely income tax so you have savings to pay for it at the end of the financial year (that’s if you don’t choose to make contributions throughout the year, as many sole traders do), and that’s just the start.

There’s far more to a sole trader’s finances than most people realise and keeping everything organised is a difficult job. If you’re struggling to manage your finances as a sole trader, then work with us today. We’re always on hand to answer any questions you have or offer you any business or financial advice.

Yes. While we’re based in Wallasey Village, we support sole traders across Wirral including Birkenhead, West Kirby, Heswall, and throughout Merseyside. We also work with self employed businesses further afield. Whether you prefer face to face meetings at our office or working remotely, we’re here to help.