Sole traders & freelancers
Self assessment, expense treatment and quarterly bookkeeping where the business and the household budget sit close together.
- Good fit if
- You invoice under your own name and want one set of books kept straight all year.
Bookkeeping · Payroll · Year end
Accounts that close early, not at the deadline
We keep a steady quarterly rhythm for sole traders, small limited companies and landlords — so your figures are finished, explained and filed long before the cut-off.
Three ways we work
- 01 Full ledger Monthly bookkeeping, VAT returns and payroll handled end to end.
- 02 Year end only You keep the books; we prepare accounts and the tax return.
- 03 Review & tidy A fixed-scope clean-up of records before a filing or a sale.
Who we act for
Pick the description closest to you
Most of our work sits in three lanes. Each one has a different set of returns, a different rhythm, and a different conversation at year end.
Small limited companies
Statutory accounts, corporation tax, confirmation statements, payroll runs and director remuneration planning in one schedule.
- Good fit if
- You have one to about twenty people on payroll and need filings coordinated.
Landlords & property
Rental schedules per property, allowable finance costs, capital versus repair decisions and disposals handled with the paperwork kept together.
- Good fit if
- You hold one or more let properties, personally or through a company.
Services
What is actually included
Scope is written down before we start. Each line below states the cadence, so you know what lands in your inbox and when.
Bookkeeping
Bank and card feeds reconciled, supplier bills matched, and a short note on anything we could not identify. You get a plain-language summary rather than a raw ledger dump.
VAT returns
Scheme checked against how you actually trade, partial exemption and reverse charge applied where relevant, and the return shown to you before submission.
Payroll & pensions
Payslips, submissions and pension uploads run on a fixed date each month, with starters, leavers and statutory pay handled from the detail you send us.
Year-end accounts
Statutory accounts and the corporation tax computation, prepared from a closed trial balance and walked through with you line by line before anything is filed.
Self assessment
Personal returns covering trade, property, dividends and interest, with the payment schedule set out in advance so nothing arrives as a surprise in January.
Planning reviews
A seated review twice a year on remuneration mix, capital spend timing, VAT thresholds and whether your current structure still earns its keep.
Fees are quoted as a fixed monthly or annual figure once we have seen a year of records. We do not bill by the email or the phone call.
Ask for a scoped quote
The year
A year with Lark & Margin
The same four stages repeat every year. Nothing waits for a deadline letter to start it.
-
Stage 01
Handover
We collect prior accounts, agree the scope in writing and set the calendar below against your actual year end. If you are leaving another accountant, we handle the professional clearance.
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Stage 02
Running months
Books closed monthly, VAT and payroll filed on schedule, and one short query list instead of a drip of messages. Anything unusual gets flagged in the month it happens.
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Stage 03
Pre-year-end review
Roughly two months before your year end we look at the position while it can still be changed — capital purchases, salary and dividend mix, and any relief worth claiming in time.
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Stage 04
Close & file
Accounts and returns drafted, explained in a sitting, approved by you, then filed. You keep a tidy copy of everything that was submitted and the figures behind it.
Working calendar
What we prepare, and what we need
An example year for a company with a 31 March year end. Your dates shift with your own year end, but the shape of the work stays the same.
| Period | What we prepare | What we need from you |
|---|---|---|
| Apr — Jun | New-year bookkeeping opened, payroll re-rated for the new tax year, Q1 VAT return. | Confirmed pay rates, any new starters, and receipts for the final month of the old year. |
| Jul — Sep | Draft statutory accounts for the year just ended, plus the corporation tax computation. | Stock and work-in-progress figures, loan statements, and answers to one query list. |
| Oct — Nov | Accounts signed and filed, personal self assessment drafted, payment schedule issued. | Approval of the accounts and details of any income held outside the company. |
| Dec — Jan | Self assessment filed, dividend and salary position reviewed against the tax year. | Confirmation of dividends taken and anything claimed personally. |
| Feb — Mar | Pre-year-end review, capital allowance planning, and the closing checklist. | A short conversation and sight of any purchase you are considering before year end. |
If you join part-way through a year, we start at the stage you are in and catch the rest up rather than waiting for the next cycle.
Questions
Asked before signing
The six things people most often want settled before they move their books.
How much work is it to switch accountants?
On your side, roughly one email. You tell your current accountant you are moving, and we write to them for professional clearance and the handover file — prior accounts, tax computations, capital allowance pools and payroll records.
Mid-year moves are normal. We would rather pick up a part-finished year than have you wait nine months to start.
What format do my records need to be in?
Bank statements and sales records in any consistent format are enough to begin. Spreadsheets are fine; so are exports from most common bookkeeping software, and so is a shoebox for the first clean-up if that is honestly where you are.
What matters is that the same method is used all year, so figures can be compared period to period.
How are fees worked out?
We look at a representative year of records and the filings you need, then quote one fixed figure — monthly for ongoing work, or a single amount for a year-end-only engagement.
If the scope genuinely changes, for example you register for VAT or take on payroll, we re-quote before the extra work starts rather than after.
What happens if my records arrive late?
We tell you plainly what the knock-on is: which filing is at risk, what the realistic new date is, and what the shortest route back to a tidy position looks like.
Late records are mostly a scheduling problem, not a moral one. We would rather you send incomplete information early than complete information in the final week.
Can you deal with letters from HMRC?
Yes. Once authorisation is in place we can be the point of contact on the taxes we handle for you, answer routine queries directly, and prepare the response and figures for anything more involved.
Correspondence that falls outside the agreed scope — an enquiry into an earlier year, for instance — is quoted separately before we take it on.
Do I have to use particular software?
No. We work with the main cloud bookkeeping packages and with spreadsheets. If you already have a system your team understands, keeping it is usually cheaper than migrating.
If you are choosing for the first time, we will recommend based on your transaction volume and whether you need stock, projects or multi-currency — not on which package pays a commission.
Enquire
Tell us where your books are now
A short description is enough to start. We will reply with the questions we need answered to put a fixed figure in front of you.
- 01You send a few lines about the business and your year end.
- 02We ask for a sample of records — usually a bank statement and last accounts.
- 03You get a written scope and one fixed fee, with no obligation to proceed.