Accountants for start-ups and new businesses.
The right structure, the right registrations and a routine that works from the first invoice.
GS Associates in Uttoxeter helps new businesses across Staffordshire start properly: an honest conversation about sole trader versus limited company, the formation and HMRC registrations, a bookkeeping routine from day one, and payroll when you take on staff. Start with what you need now and add the rest as you grow. Fixed fees agreed upfront.
If you're just starting out
Get the first decisions right.
The rest gets easier.
A few decisions are easier to make before you start trading. These are the three we help with most, and each is cheaper to get right at the start than to fix later.
- The wrong structure
- A company when a sole trader would do, or the other way round. We look at profit, risk and how you'll pay yourself before recommending either.
- Mixed-up money
- Business and personal spending from one account, with no records. A separate account and a simple app from day one prevent it.
- Missed registrations
- HMRC deadlines for Self Assessment, Corporation Tax, PAYE and VAT are easy to miss when you're busy. We check which apply, register you and diarise the rest.
Start small, add as you grow
What we do
for you.
In the first year, many new businesses need setup, a bookkeeping routine and a first return. Payroll, VAT, management figures and cash-flow forecasts come later, when the business needs them: for example, working out the cash needed to take on your first employee.
- Setup and registrations
- Company formation if it's right for you, and the HMRC registrations that apply.Company formation
- Bookkeeping from day one
- FreeAgent, Sage, Xero or QuickBooks set up so records are simple to keep and the digital tax rules are covered.Bookkeeping
- Payroll when you hire
- We check whether PAYE applies, set up the payroll and handle the workplace pension assessment.Payroll & pensions
Start-ups
Your questions,
answered.
When should a new business get an accountant?
Before the first decision you can't easily undo: choosing between sole trader and limited company, registering for VAT, taking on your first employee, or borrowing. A short conversation at the start is cheap; untangling the wrong structure a year later is not.
Sole trader or limited company to begin with?
Many people start as a sole trader because it's simpler, and form a company later when profit and risk justify it. Others need a company from day one, for a contract, a lender or a co-founder. We'll go through your situation honestly and set up whichever fits.
Company formation, and whether it suits you
What do I need to register for?
It depends on how your business is set up and when it starts trading. Sole traders normally register for Self Assessment once annual trading income is over £1,000. Companies need to deal with Corporation Tax when they become active. We'll also check whether PAYE applies if you take on staff, whether VAT registration is needed or would suit you, and whether CIS applies if you work in construction. We register what applies and diarise the rest.
GOV.UK: set up a business
Can you look after everything as we grow?
Yes. Many new businesses want one place for bookkeeping, VAT, payroll and year-end rather than three suppliers. We start with what you need now and add the rest as you grow, with the fee agreed at each step.
What does it cost for a start-up?
A fixed fee agreed upfront for the work you need at the start, often the setup, a bookkeeping routine and the first return. As the business grows the scope grows, and we review the fee with you rather than surprising you.
How our fees work
Starting a business and want to start right?
Tell us what you're planning and where you are with it. We'll talk through the options honestly and agree a fixed fee.
