Preparing the Year End Books

Many businesses use an accountant to file their accounts and tax returns on a yearly basis. Hiring the right accountant can save you a great deal of time and money. However, for an accountant to do their job properly it is crucial that you provide them with appropriate and sufficient information as regards your business transactions. Indeed, it is very important that this information is complete and accurate. Some businesses hire bookkeepers to ensure that this happens, while others choose to keep the books and records themselves.

Keeping the books and records of a business tends to be easier and more manageable if you update them on a regular basis.

Outlined below are just a few tips, which you may find helpful when compiling your books and records for the accountant:

1. Make sure you organise all the receipts which support your income and expenditure. All of the invoices should be filed in separate binders or other folders in date order, or according to invoice number for sales invoices. They should also have folio references entered on them which tally to the cash book or other nominal accounts.

2. Keep all the documents which support the wages and salaries paid to employees in separate confidential files. These files should include a full list of all the amounts paid during each payroll cycle and detail any PAYE and NIC deductions. Copies of all the year end payroll forms submitted to HMRC should also be retained and provided to the accountant e.g. P35 and P11ds.

2. If you have any income from additional sources other than those from the business, make sure you keep a separate record of these items and the documentation which relates to them.

3. Compile a list of any other deductions which you may be eligible to claim either through the business or personally. This can include items like pension contributions or charitable donations. Again, make sure that you keep any correspondence or documentation which supports these figures.

4. Provide summaries of any loan accounts or hire purchase accounts taken out in the name of the business, with a copy of any agreements.

5. If you deal with physical stock then provide a list of all the items held by the business at the year end and their associated costs.

6. Provide a list of the debtors and creditors relating to the business at the year end. Automatic reports can be produced for these if you run your bookkeeping through an accounting software package such as Sage or QuickBooks.

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