SoS (502) Sole Trader Accounts

SCHEDULE OF SERVICES (502) SOLE TRADER ACCOUNTS

This schedule should be read alongside your letter of engagement (LoE) and the (300) Standard Terms & Conditions.

Recurring Compliance Work

We will prepare your business accounts from your books and records and from the information and explanations you provide to us.

Cash basis accounting is the default for most unincorporated businesses. We will prepare your accounts on that basis unless we consider the accruals basis to be more appropriate for your circumstances, in which case we will prepare them in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice (GAAP).

We will not be carrying out an audit. Our work does not include verifying the assets and liabilities of the business, or independently auditing your income and expenditure. To ensure that anyone reading the accounts is aware of this, we will attach an Accountants’ Report to the accounts. The accounts are prepared for your use as the business proprietor and must not be relied upon by any third party.

Making Tax Digital (MTD)

If you are subject to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT), please refer to SoS (602) Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, which sets out the service tiers available and our respective responsibilities.

If you are also VAT registered and we are engaged to prepare your VAT Returns, MTD for VAT obligations are covered separately under SoS (610) VAT Returns.

Ad Hoc and Advisory Work

Where you ask us to, we will also provide such other advisory services as we agree from time to time. These services are subject to the terms of your LoE and the (300) Standard Terms & Conditions, unless we issue a separate engagement letter. An additional fee may apply.

Where a query requires work or time spent outside the scope of your recurring compliance, we will let you know and agree a fee with you before proceeding where practicable. Where prior agreement is not practicable, we reserve the right to charge for the work or time involved and will notify you as soon as reasonably possible.

Ad hoc queries by, for example, telephone or email are not part of routine compliance and may result in additional fees. Where possible, we will discuss and agree any additional fees in advance, but this is not always practicable and we reserve the right to charge for such work.

Your Responsibilities

You are legally responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information you provide to us, for maintaining adequate accounting records throughout the year, and for paying tax on time.

To enable us to carry out our work, you agree to provide us with:

Records of all cash receipts and payments.
Records of invoices issued and received.
Bank statements, reconciled to your records on at least an annual basis.
A record of business mileage undertaken in the year.
A record of hours worked at home each month, where you wish to claim for business use of your home.
Details of any loan interest paid.
Details of any capital introduced or drawings taken during the year.
Details of the following at the year-end: stocks and work in progress; fixed assets; amounts owing to suppliers; amounts owing by customers; and accruals and prepayments.

If your turnover approaches the VAT registration threshold, you must notify us promptly so that we can advise you on your obligations and registration requirements.

You will keep us informed of material changes in your circumstances that could affect the accounts. If you are unsure whether a change is material, please let us know.

You are responsible for informing us promptly of any material event occurring after the year-end that may affect the accounts or your tax position, up to the date our report is signed. Once we have issued our report, we have no further direct responsibility in relation to the accounts for that financial year.

As part of our normal procedures, we may ask you to provide written confirmation of any oral information and explanations given to us during the course of our work.

Our Professional Approach

Our work will not be an audit of the accounts. Accordingly, we will not seek independent evidence to support entries in the accounting records, or to prove the existence, ownership or valuation of assets, or the completeness of income, liabilities or disclosures in the accounts. Our work will not provide assurance that the accounting records are free from material misstatement, irregularities or error.

Where we consider that the accounts do not conform to the applicable accounting basis, we will inform you and suggest amendments before the accounts are finalised. We have a professional responsibility not to allow our name to be associated with accounts that may be misleading. In extreme cases where this cannot be resolved, we will withdraw from the engagement and notify you in writing of the reasons.

Limitation of Liability

Our services are subject to the limitations on our liability set out in your letter of engagement (LoE) and in the (300) Standard Terms & Conditions. These are important provisions and you should read them carefully.