Preparing for Your Year End Accounts

This helpsheet provides you with an overview of the information to provide to us to enable completion of your end of year accounts. Of course, the more you do, the less amount of time we have to spend on the routine compliance aspects of your affairs, so the lower your accountancy fees or more time is available to assist you with developing your business.

However, every client is different and you should discuss your own requirements with us.

Between us we can decide what you can prepare for us and what we will prepare ourselves. Talking helps to eliminate any misunderstandings.

It's also helpful to agree a time schedule for when you will provide the records and for when we will have your accounts ready for discussion.

Basic ways in which you may find you can help us...

• Adding up and balancing your books such as cross casting of column totals
• analysing your payments and receipts
• filing your invoices in a sensible system so that relevant invoices can be easily found.
• using a mutually agreed cloud bookkeeping product

If you're feeling more adventurous, you can also assist by

• preparing a bank reconciliation that reconciles the balance on your bank statement to that derived from your records after adjusting for unpresented receipts and payments.
• using control accounts for key nominal accounts such as debtors and creditors that reconcile to your year-end list of debtors and creditors.

By using reconciliations and control accounts on a regular basis during the year, you help to ensure there are no errors in the records.

Records to provide to us

Not every business will have all of the following records but if you do and are not using a mutually agreed cloud bookkeeping product, you should provide them to us covering the year (plus one month after)...

1. A back up copy of your accounts software disc for the year if your records are computerised.
2. Your cash book.
3. Petty cash records.
4. Sales and purchase day books.
5. Any ledgers that you keep.
6. Bank statements.
7. Purchase invoices.
8. Sales invoices.
9. Cheque books and paying in stubs.
10. Copies of VAT returns covering the year together with any workings.
11. Your payroll records for the year together with details of PAYE calculations for payments to HMRC.
12. Copies of any new loan or HP agreements taken out during the year.
13. Details of any business income or expenditure that didn't go through your business bank account.
14. Anything else you feel may be relevant - if in doubt, include it.

Schedules to provide to us

In addition the following schedules will assist us in completing your end of year accounts. We can prepares these ourselves but if you wish to do so, it would reduce the time we spend preparing your accounts...

1. A list of fixed asset additions with copy purchase invoices provided.
2. A year end stock list. This should be at the lower of cost and net realisable value.
3. Details of work in progress at the year end.
4. A list of debtors at the year end, their age and an indication of any that are unlikely to pay.
5. Sales ledger control account reconciliation.
6. Reconciliations for all bank and cash accounts.
7. A list of trade creditors at the year end and their age.
8. Purchase ledger control account reconciliation.
9. Details of PAYE owed at the year end.
10. Details of VAT owed at the year end.
11. Schedules of key and tax sensitive profit and loss accounts such as repairs, sundry expenses, entertainment, etc.

How we can help you

Please talk to us about your own situation and what you can do to improve your records and what to provide to us at the end of your financial year.