Marchmont
& PikeChartered accountants
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Marchmont
& PikeChartered accountants
HomeMarchmont & PikeLimited companiesAccounts · CT · payrollSole tradersSelf assessment · CISBookkeeping, VAT & payrollThe monthly engineTax estimatorSole trader v companyFeesFixed, monthlyAboutThe people, the officeContactBook a chat
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Bookkeeping, VAT & payroll

Bookkeeping, VAT and payroll, every month.

The monthly engine behind the accounts. Bank feeds reconciled weekly, VAT returns filed with a fortnight to spare, staff paid on the day, pensions handled. You see a clean set of numbers every month instead of a surprise every April.

A desk by a sunlit window with a monitor, keyboard and a coffee cup
The monthly engine

Four services that run quietly in the background.

BookkeepingXero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent

We work in all three every day and set you up on whichever suits the business. Bank feed connected, receipts captured by phone, sales invoices raised from the app. We reconcile weekly, chase the gaps, and close the month within ten days of it ending.

VAT returnsAnd which scheme suits you

Standard accounting means you pay VAT on what you have invoiced. Cash accounting means you pay it on what has actually been paid, which helps if customers are slow. The flat rate scheme swaps reclaiming for a single percentage, which suits some service businesses and punishes others. Annual accounting means one return a year with payments on account. We pick with you, file every return from the books, and tell you the payment and the date before the month ends.

Payroll and pensionsStaff paid, submissions made

Payslips out on your pay day, the real-time submission sent to HMRC, and the PAYE figure in your inbox with the date it is due. Workplace pension duties handled in general: assessing who has to be enrolled, the contributions calculated and submitted to your provider, and the re-enrolment checks when they come round. Starters, leavers, sick pay and parental leave are part of the service, not extras.

Management accountsThree pages and a page of notes

Profit and loss, balance sheet, cash, and a page of notes about what changed. Monthly on the Growing business package, quarterly otherwise, and always before the end of the following month so the numbers are still useful.

What a month looks like

The month, as it happens.

Scroll through it. Every task below is done by us, on or before the day shown, for a business on monthly bookkeeping with staff and a VAT quarter ending this month.

Day 1
Bank feeds pulled and matched

Every transaction from the previous month matched to an invoice, a receipt or a rule.

Day 3
Missing receipts chased

One message with the list. Most people clear it from the phone in five minutes.

Day 7
VAT return drafted

Checked against the ledger, the scheme rules and anything unusual we spotted this quarter.

Day 10
VAT return filed, payment date confirmed

You get the figure and the date in one email, weeks ahead of when it is due.

Day 15
Who owes you what

The aged debtors list, with the ones worth a phone call marked.

Day 20
PAYE and pension figures ready

What is due to HMRC and the pension provider, and when.

Day 25
Payroll run, payslips out

Real-time submission made, pension contributions submitted, starters and leavers processed.

Day 28
Management accounts sent

Three pages, one page of notes. Ten minutes to read, and you know where you stand.

Day 30
Month closed

Books reconciled to the penny, locked, and ready for the next one.

Software

Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent

We use all three daily and will say which we would pick for your business and why. Moving from a spreadsheet, or from software you have stopped opening, is part of the set-up: we bring the opening balances across and check them against the last accounts.

The subscription is yours, in your name, and stays with you if you ever leave. We do not lock clients into software.

Hands typing on a laptop with a pencil and notebook alongside
A hand using a desk calculator over a printed ledger
Monthly services
Fixed monthly
Bookkeeping, done for youOn top of Sole trader or Limited company; included in Growing business
£45
Payroll beyond your packagePer payslip, per month
£4
Monthly management accountsOutside Growing business
£120
Fee band

Priced per month, quoted before the first one.

VAT returns are included in every package for a registered business. Bookkeeping, payroll for a team and monthly management accounts are added on, or come as standard on Growing business. A backlog is quoted by the month it covers, agreed in writing before we open the first statement.

Book a chat

Book a chat

Tell us what the last month looked like.

How many transactions, how many staff, which software, and whether the VAT return is a dread or a non-event. We will quote the monthly fee on the call.