You’ll know by now that here at TLC, we totally love calculators and we totally love (ice) cream – which nearly works!

Of course, TLC also means tender loving care. And, oh my!, how we’ve all needed a bit of that over these past two years.

Whether that’s for each other, ourselves or our businesses, it seems more important than ever that we look out for one another and make sure we are all in good shape for whatever this crazy world throws at us next.

No more surprises, please – I think that’s what we want on the menu for a good while to come!

Unsure what to order?

That’s why TLC – that’s us this time, the accountants! – thought it would be a good time to remind our customers what we look after for them, what’s in the service we provide, and more importantly, what’s not.

On occasion we have had some clients unsure of what‘s in their monthly package and what comes in as extra.  We’d all like the extra to be free but as we all know, there are no free lunches (I so wish there was!).

So, let’s have a look at some of the services that come at an extra cost, the ones that people have asked for that aren’t provided for in their monthly fees. Think of these as the ones on the specials board that cost a little bit more.

No surprises

Book-keeping. That’s one we get asked for a lot. Depending on the package you’ve picked, this might be included in our fee but if it’s not already in there, then anything taking over and above 15 minutes or so is charged. Of course, general support and advice and queries are covered by us.

Xero work.  We get asked about set-up, training and support and about help changing systems; things like moving from a spreadsheet to Xero and template set-ups.  We can do this, of course: it just needs to be in the package you’ve chosen.

Mortgage letters and proof of income. Clients often need official certificates and/or letters from accountants to prove their income for a mortgage. This all takes time and we don’t include it in the standard packages as not everyone will need this extra service every year.

Capital gains on additional property sales. If you’re selling a property that isn’t your main residence, you’ll be liable to pay capital gains tax on the profit you make. Paying it is your responsibility, and the timescale for getting the money to HMRC is much shorter than it used to be. If you need help calculating what you’ll owe, we need to charge you a fee for doing this.

Confirmation statements. Filing confirmation statements to Companies House is an annual legal requirement for limited companies and it is a service we offer. We will send you a reminder and a separate invoice to cover both the submission fee and the time we spend doing the paperwork for you.

Registered office. We include this free for the first year, but charge £8/month after that as managing and forwarding the post takes time and is a material cost.

We also get asked about stock-take assistance, break even calculations and cash flow forecasts. Sometimes clients want to know about how to add extra directors and shareholders or, at the other end of the scale, need help with closing a business. None of this is in the day-to-day service package so we can always help you, but it will cost for us to spend that time on your business. Of course, we can always point you to other specialists as well, if that’s what you need.

And that includes help or advice about taking on new employees, opening a PAYE scheme if you haven’t needed one before, or setting up a workplace pension for staff – and dealing with pension uploads.

We are always here on the end of a phone or the click of a mouse, so if you’re not sure what’s in your monthly package, we can help. We also know that sometimes business needs change so if you feel like it’s time to reassess the service you need, please get in touch.

Let’s face it; sometimes people just want a different flavoured ice-cream. So if you chose chocolate but now you need strawberry instead have a look at https://www.tlcaccountants.com/  and let us know how we can help.

Photo credit: Meelika Marzzarella on Unsplash