Accountants for UK SMEs.
A complete finance function for UK small and mid-sized businesses: bookkeeping, VAT under Making Tax Digital, PAYE/NI payroll, Corporation Tax and Companies House filings. HMRC Agent authorised. ACCA-qualified senior team.
A market built around HMRC, MTD and Companies House.
Accountants for UK SMEs run four filing streams at once: VAT returns from digital records under Making Tax Digital, PAYE reported to HMRC on or before every payday, the Corporation Tax return twelve months after the period end, and annual accounts plus a confirmation statement at Companies House.
The UK is home to 5.5 million SMEs, more than 99% of all UK businesses, and they generate over half of private-sector turnover. Yet small businesses are the segment most underserved by traditional accountancy: too small for the Big 4, too complex for software-only providers, and often overpaying local high-street firms for service that arrives late.
The compliance regime in the UK is deeply digital. Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT became mandatory for almost all VAT-registered businesses in April 2022, and MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment is rolling out from April 2026. HMRC expects digital records, digital links between systems, and submissions via approved software. The era of spreadsheet VAT returns is over.
On top of MTD, UK SMEs face Companies House annual accounts filing, Confirmation Statement updates, Corporation Tax (CT600) returns with payment-on-account thresholds, PAYE Real-Time Information (RTI) submissions every pay period, and the merged R&D relief scheme that landed in 2024. Getting any of this wrong attracts automated penalties.
Accountaire is built for this regime. We hold HMRC Agent authorisation, are Xero Certified Advisors and FreeAgent Practice Partners, and run our entire UK practice on MTD-compliant software. Filings happen on time, via the right gateway, with audit-trail workpapers archived to your cloud drive.
Which of these bite depends on how you trade. Unincorporated businesses should start with our sole trader accountants page, property investors with landlord and property SPV accounting, and owner-managed companies with small business accounting for 5 to 50 employee firms. The VAT side is set out on our VAT and tax compliance service page, and the Making Tax Digital for VAT guide covers what the regime asks for in detail. Two UK regimes sit outside the standard calendar and catch businesses out: the Construction Industry Scheme, covered on our construction accountants page and in CIS scheme explained, and the off-payroll rules in our IR35 guide for contractors. Terms used across these pages are defined in our accounting and tax glossary. UK engagements are assembled from the list of accounting services we run, and the longer guides behind each deadline above are collected on the Accountaire blog.
Built for UK businesses.
Every service in our catalogue, calibrated to the UK regime.
UK cloud bookkeeping
Daily Xero or FreeAgent bookkeeping with UK GAAP coding, bank reconciliation and receipt capture via Dext.
PAYE / NI payroll
Monthly payroll with RTI submission, pension auto-enrolment, P60s and full HMRC compliance.
UK VAT (MTD)
Quarterly MTD-compliant VAT returns filed via HMRC Agent gateway. Flat-rate, cash-accounting and partial-exemption schemes supported.
Corporation Tax (CT600)
Annual CT600 preparation and filing. R&D claim support under the merged scheme. Marginal relief calculation handled.
Management accounts
Monthly P&L, balance sheet, cash flow: UK GAAP-aligned, board-ready, delivered by the 5th.
CFO-as-a-Service
For UK growth businesses ready for fractional CFO leadership ahead of a full-time hire.
UK compliance, handled.
The filings, portals and deadlines we own for every UK client.
- HMRC Agent authorisation (64-8) We register as your tax agent so filings and correspondence flow through us officially. Authorised channels for VAT, PAYE, Self Assessment and Corporation Tax.
- Making Tax Digital for VATQuarterly VAT returns prepared from MTD-compliant software (Xero / QBO / FreeAgent) and submitted via HMRC Agent gateway. Digital records maintained throughout.
- Real-Time Information (RTI) payrollFPS submitted on or before every pay date. Employer Payment Summaries (EPS) where applicable. Year-end P60s issued by the statutory deadline.
- Companies House annual accountsAccounts prepared to FRS 102, FRS 102 Section 1A or FRS 105 (micro-entity) and filed within nine months of year-end. Confirmation Statement updated annually.
- Corporation Tax (CT600)Filed within twelve months of year-end via HMRC. Marginal relief computed for profits between £50k and £250k. Payments on account scheduled.
- R&D tax credit claims Under the merged scheme effective from accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024. Technical narrative, qualifying expenditure and the additional information form prepared.
- PAYE pension auto-enrolment Assessment, contribution calculation, NEST or chosen-provider remittance, declaration of compliance and triennial re-enrolment.
- Self Assessment for directorsDirector personal returns prepared alongside corporate filings, integrating salary, dividends and benefits-in-kind.
What do accountants for UK SMEs file, and when?
The recurring UK obligations we schedule against for every limited company client.
| Filing | Goes to | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| VAT return, from digital records | HMRC | One month and seven days after the quarter end |
| Real Time Information payroll submission | HMRC | On or before each payday |
| Annual accounts | Companies House | Nine months after the accounting reference date |
| Confirmation statement | Companies House | Annually, within 14 days of the review date |
| Corporation Tax payment | HMRC | Nine months and one day after the period end |
| Corporation Tax return (CT600) | HMRC | Twelve months after the period end |
| Self Assessment, where directors file one | HMRC | 31 January after the tax year |
What UK clients tell us they value.
ACCA-qualified, UK-trained.
Every senior holds the ACCA qualification, the UK-headquartered chartered body. We know UK GAAP, FRS 102, HMRC procedure and Companies House mechanics natively.
5-day month-end. 4-hour response.
Contracted SLAs in your engagement letter. Books closed by the 5th business day; queries answered within four business hours during UK office hours.
Xero + Dext + Fathom + Karbon.
A modern UK practice stack. Certified advisors on Xero and FreeAgent. Practice management via Karbon means deadlines never slip through the cracks.
Fixed fees. No HMRC penalty exposure.
Monthly retainers from £120. No hourly surprises. Our practice indemnity covers errors, and our compliance calendar means errors are rare.
"Our previous London firm took ten working days to close the month. Accountaire delivers the same pack by the third, and the leadership team actually reads it now."