Industries
The four trades we know inside out
Every accountant says they work with small businesses. Ask them what the VAT reverse charge does to a subcontractor's cash flow and watch what happens. We live in these four sectors, every day, and it shows in the questions we ask you.
Owner-drivers, hauliers, couriers and private hire
In transport the vehicles are both your biggest asset and your biggest cost, and the tax treatment changes depending on how each one is financed. Margins are thin. A mis-coded expense isn't a rounding error here.
What we watch for
- Overnight subsistence, and whether you qualify for the agreed rates
- Vehicle finance treated correctly, HP against lease against contract hire
- Capital allowances on trucks, trailers and plant
- Fuel cards split properly rather than dumped into motor expenses
- Whether your drivers are genuinely self-employed, before HMRC asks
- Mileage on the right basis, and when actual costs beat the flat rate
Typical clients
- Owner-drivers with one vehicle
- Haulage operators running small fleets
- Courier and last-mile delivery drivers
- Taxi and private hire drivers and operators
- Transport agencies placing drivers
Typical clients
- CIS subcontractors working for main contractors
- Contractors paying their own subcontractors
- Groundworks and civils firms
- Electricians, plumbers and joiners
- Small builders and developers
CIS, the reverse charge, and getting your money back
Construction is where we most often find money that should have come back and never did. Usually it's CIS tax, deducted at source and quietly forgotten, sometimes for years.
What we watch for
- CIS suffered tracked and actually reclaimed, not just recorded
- Gross payment status applications where you qualify for them
- The VAT domestic reverse charge applied correctly on both sides
- Materials separated from labour, because only labour is subject to CIS
- Tools, protective clothing and van costs claimed properly
- Monthly contractor returns filed before the 19th, every month
Locums, agency staff and care providers
A locum can easily have three income streams at once, half PAYE and half self-employed, plus pension rules that apply to nobody else in the country. Set the structure up right at the start and everything after gets simpler.
What we watch for
- Mixed PAYE and self-employed income reconciled properly
- IR35 and off-payroll status where you work through agencies
- Professional fees, indemnity insurance and registration costs claimed
- Training and CPD, and which parts are actually allowable
- NHS pension interaction with self-employed earnings
- Whether a limited company genuinely helps you, or just adds admin
Typical clients
- Locum doctors, nurses and pharmacists
- Agency healthcare workers
- Domiciliary and residential care providers
- Dentists and private practitioners
- Therapists and independent clinicians
Typical clients
- Recruitment agencies placing temporary workers
- Transport and driver agencies
- Healthcare staffing agencies
- Construction labour suppliers
- Umbrella and contractor payroll operations
Weekly payroll, self-billing and the cash flow gap
An agency pays its workers on Friday and gets paid by its clients whenever the clients feel like it. Living in that gap takes weekly payroll at volume and a proper cash flow forecast, and most general practices simply aren't built for it.
What we watch for
- Weekly payroll runs at volume, filed on time every week
- Self-bill invoices reconciled against what clients actually pay
- The cash flow gap forecast, so payroll week is never a surprise
- Worker status, IR35 and agency legislation applied correctly
- Auto-enrolment across a workforce that changes constantly
- Holiday pay accrual calculated and provided for
Not in one of the four?
We do have clients outside these sectors, and have since 2019. But if another firm genuinely knows your trade better, we'd rather point you at them than learn on your time. Ask us. You'll get a straight answer either way.