home - The Ethical Bookkeeper

As a small business owner, I completely understand the daily pressure you’re under - trying to multitask, coping with the ever-changing demands on your precious time and attempting to be great at everything.

With over 29 years’ experience, let me lighten the load and provide you with top quality bookkeeping that your accountant will love. If you don’t have an accountant yet, I can help with that too.

If bookkeeping doesn’t float your boat; things are getting out of control; you want to update your systems or you need support in streamlining your processes, I’m here to support you and your business. 

Let me use my superpowers to maintain your finances with minimal stress.

Fully Managed Bookkeeping

The first job in bookkeeping is to maintain your ledger. This involves the recording of actual transactions in monetary terms to trial balance, setting up accounting software and linking it with your bank to pull through transaction data. A good bookkeeper will check your ledger regularly to make sure everything is flowing through correctly – and fixing it if it isn’t.

Purchase Ledger

Your purchase invoices will be collated and recorded in your accounts. Supplier invoices will be recorded, both the bank payment and clearing of the supplier debt. I'll analyse your suppliers and prepare a list detailing who you owe money to, ensuring each one has been recorded correctly.

Sales Ledger

Your sales invoices will be collated and recorded in your accounts. All customer receipts will be recorded - both the bank receipt and the clearing of the customer debt. Your customers will be analysed and a list prepared detailing who owes money - ensuring each one has been recorded correctly.

Credit Control

Chasing unpaid invoices can be awkward and is often a job business owners avoid. Overdue debts result in you financing your customers and this doesn't help your cash flow. I can advise on payment terms, monitor ageing receivables, and chase overdue accounts. It can help to have someone from outside of the business making those awkward phone calls about late payments. I can also help you to decide how to deal with serial late payers.

VAT Preparation and Submission

If your company is VAT registered, I'll ensure all payments and claims are recorded correctly. Do you know where the receipts are for your VAT return? Do you know when your VAT return is due and are you claiming all your VAT back at the correct rates? Are you paying all the VAT on your invoices? VAT returns are due quarterly for VAT registered businesses. Figures are calculated so the VAT you collect and pay can be filed for a refund or a payment as this is a requirement by HMRC. We can notify you you when your VAT is due and sort all your relevant receipts and invoices.

Cash and Bank Reconciliations

Every bank receipt and payment will be checked and ticked off against your bank statement. My bookkeeping services include the use of specialist software when carrying out bank reconciliations. The software has a bank feed that automatically transfers information from the bank, ensuring high levels of accuracy. This helps to avoid duplicate or missing entries.

Accounts for 
Sole Traders & Partnerships

A bespoke statement of profit or loss and a balance sheet will be prepared so you know how your business is performing. How else would you really know whether your business was successful?

CASE STUDY 1 Credit Control

An established local company approached me to take over their credit control. The owner had started to let things slip and never enjoyed chasing debts. I was able to build on customer relations, whilst determining reasons for non-payment; locating customer errors involving invoice values or missing invoices and chase payments in a friendly, but authoritative way leaving the owner to focus on developing the business he loved.

Additional support is available to develop better credit control processes and improve cash flow.

CASE STUDY 2 Credit Control

The owner of a newly formed limited company needed bookkeeping support and assistance with VAT. Not only did I save him money by reclaiming prior VAT on purchases, I was able to ensure that all genuine business expenses were claimed for. VAT returns continue to be submitted on a timely basis, so he need never worry about facing penalties from HMRC.

Working with someone you can trust to look after the books gives you space to focus on building your business. 

CASE STUDY 3 Small Business

A small business with a lack of processes and a poor record of bookkeeping needed a rapid response. I was able to bring things up to scratch within 3 months. 

Bank reconciliations are now carried out daily, unnecessary tasks eliminated, and work automated where feasible – in under 3 months the processes are now working like clockwork, leaving the business owner with much more time on his hands.

If you feel out of your depth or overwhelmed and need to chat through your processes, get in touch.

Book your first consultation meeting

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