Setting up
Advice on structure and help with the registrations a new business needs.
- Sole trader or limited company
- Company formation with Companies House
- Corporation Tax and PAYE set-up
For new and early-stage businesses
Accountants for StartupsStart with the right set-up.
Find an accountant who works with startups and can help you choose a structure, set up your books and plan for VAT, payroll and your first year end. The Business Review Co. introduces you to an independent accountant, so you can compare support and fees before you commit.
Free initial review · No obligation · Find better-value accountants for startups
Your first year
Your first year
Set up well. Stay on track.
- Structure & registration
- Company, Corporation Tax & PAYE
- Books from day one
- Software, records & routines
- Taxes as you grow
- VAT timing & R&D tax relief
The Business Review Co. helps you find a provider. Your provider agrees and carries out the work.
Support, at the right level
Startup accountants. Help from the first day.
Early decisions about structure, software and registration shape your paperwork for years. An independent accountant can help you make them in the right order.
Books & systems
A bookkeeping routine and software that will still work as you grow.
- Accounting software choice
- Bank feeds and receipt capture
- Monthly or quarterly reviews
First filings & growth
Your first accounts and tax return, and the taxes that arrive as you grow.
- First accounts and CT600
- VAT registration timing
- R&D tax relief signposting
Fundraising support, valuations, share schemes and legal advice are usually separate services. Ask what the accountant covers and what they refer to other advisers.
Review the cost. Understand the value.
Startup accounting: what should the first-year fee include?
Startup packages often begin cheaply and rise as you grow. Check what happens to the fee once you register for VAT, take on staff or raise investment.
Review my support & costsFree initial review. Any saving depends on your current fees and the service you choose.
- Set-up work
- Is help with company formation, registrations and software set-up included, or charged once?
- Growth triggers
- How does the fee change when you register for VAT, start payroll or your transactions rise?
- Advice & reporting
- Are management accounts, cash flow forecasts or investor reporting part of the package or extra?
Setting up
Your structure and first registrations. In the right order.
Most new businesses start as a sole trader or a limited company. Each comes with different responsibilities, and the choice affects how you are taxed, how you pay yourself and what you file each year.
Starting as a sole trader.
A sole trader registers for Self Assessment once they earn more than £1,000 in a tax year, and HMRC works out the Income Tax and National Insurance due on their profits from the return. In law the owner and the business are the same, so the owner is personally responsible for all of the business’s debts.
Starting as a limited company.
A limited company is legally separate from the people who own it, and one person can be both its only shareholder and its only director. You register it with Companies House and can set it up for Corporation Tax at the same time. The company then files accounts and a Company Tax Return every year, and its first accounts are due 21 months after it registers.
Payroll from the first payday.
If the company pays anyone, including a director who is its only employee, it registers with HMRC as an employer before the first payday. An accountant can tell you whether a director’s salary makes sense in your first year and set up payroll if it does.
There is no single right structure for every startup. An accountant can compare the options against your plans and expected income before you register anything.
Books and VAT
Bookkeeping set-up and VAT timing. Get them right early.
Records kept well from the start make your first year end quicker and give you figures you can rely on. VAT is the other early decision, because registering affects your prices, your invoices and your admin.
Bookkeeping from day one.
A company must keep records of the money it receives and spends, its assets and debts, and the receipts and invoices behind them. Choosing software, connecting the business bank account and agreeing how receipts are captured in the first weeks stops records falling behind. A company’s banking must also be kept separate from personal banking.
When VAT registration becomes compulsory.
You must register for VAT if your taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or if you expect it to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days alone. A startup that grows quickly can reach that point sooner than planned, so it helps to check turnover every month.
Registering voluntarily.
You can choose to register for VAT below £90,000. Once registered you can reclaim VAT on business costs, but you also charge VAT on your sales and send regular returns. Whether that helps depends on who your customers are and what you spend, so ask an accountant to work through your figures.
Digital records from the start.
Most VAT-registered businesses keep digital VAT records and send returns through software that connects to HMRC. Choosing compatible software at the start saves a change later.
R&D tax relief
R&D tax relief. Worth checking early if you innovate.
Startups that develop new products, software or processes may be doing work that qualifies for R&D tax relief. What matters is the scientific or technological advance you are seeking and the uncertainty your work is trying to resolve.
The current schemes.
For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, companies claim through the merged R&D expenditure credit scheme or enhanced R&D intensive support. Which route could apply depends on your accounting period, qualifying spend and tax position.
How a claim is made.
The claim goes on the Company Tax Return. A company claiming for the first time may need to send HMRC a claim notification form within a set period beforehand, so plan for it ahead of your first year end.
Records that support a claim.
Noting the technical problems you worked on, the people involved and the costs as you go makes a claim easier to prepare and support. Your accountant can set up a way to track these costs in your books.
Not every accountant prepares R&D claims. The Business Review Co. can introduce you to an independent accountant for your day-to-day work and, separately, to an R&D specialist through our R&D tax relief service.
How it works
A simple start. A clear agreement.
Start with a free initial review. You choose whether to go ahead after discussing the service and fees with an independent provider.
- 01
Tell us where you are
Let us know whether you have registered yet, what the business does and the help you need. No documents are needed.
- 02
Explore an introduction
We review your enquiry and agree any introduction with you. An independent accountant can then discuss your plans and set-up.
- 03
Agree the scope & fees
Confirm the set-up work, the ongoing fee and how it changes as you grow before work starts.
The Business Review Co. is an introduction service. Work is carried out by an independent provider and paid for separately. We may receive an introduction fee. How we are paid.
Guides
Guides to business accounting
- bookkeeping for a limited company
What bookkeeping involves for a UK limited company, the records the law expects, how long to keep them and who can do it.
- accounts filing
What a UK limited company's annual accounts contain, who signs them, the filing deadlines and what happens if they are late.
- company tax return
Who files a Company Tax Return with HMRC, filing it with software or on paper, how to read the CT600, deadlines, late penalties, appeals and amendments.
- filing company accounts
How a UK company files accounts at Companies House: filing routes, normal deadlines, first accounts, extra time and what late filing may mean.
- VAT filing and payment dates
When VAT returns and payments are due, how annual accounting changes the date, ways to pay HMRC, refunds and what happens if a deadline is missed.
- the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant
The practical difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant for a UK limited company, where the roles overlap and what to check.
Your questions
Accountants for startups: common questions.
The scope, fees and responsibilities to discuss when choosing your provider.
How much does an accountant cost for a small business in the UK?
Accountants usually charge a fixed monthly fee for a package, a fixed fee for the year-end accounts and tax return, or an hourly rate for one-off advice. For a startup, the price usually depends on your structure, your number of transactions, whether you are VAT registered or run payroll and how much set-up help you need. Ask how the fee changes as you grow.
Is it worth me becoming a limited company?
It depends on your expected profits, your plans and how much administration you want. A limited company is legally separate from you, while a sole trader is personally responsible for the business’s debts. A company files accounts, a Company Tax Return and a confirmation statement every year, and it is taxed differently. An accountant can compare both using your figures.
Do you have to tell HMRC if you start a business?
Yes, in most cases. A sole trader registers for Self Assessment if they earn more than £1,000 in a tax year. A limited company registers with Companies House and can be set up for Corporation Tax at the same time. A company that pays anyone registers as an employer before the first payday, and VAT registration follows once turnover passes £90,000.
How do I pay myself from a limited company?
Directors usually take a salary through payroll, dividends from available profits, or a mix of the two. Paying a salary means registering the company as an employer. Each dividend needs a directors’ meeting with minutes and a dividend voucher. The right mix depends on your profits and other income, so an accountant can suggest an approach for your first year.
For official guidance, see GOV.UK: set up a private limited company.
Let’s make a start
Let’s get your new business set up properly.
Tell us what stage you are at and what you need help with. We’ll reply about the next step.
For UK startups, sole traders and limited companies.
Free initial review · No obligation · No documents needed
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