Compare the bookkeeping, reports and tax work in each package. We confirm the entities, periods and workload in your proposal before the engagement starts.
Ongoing · monthly close and reporting
Accounts
Monthly bookkeeping and financial reporting
Who it suits
Owners who need current accounts, a regular review of the figures and a clear list of anything still outstanding.
Bring invoices, expenses and account balances into a consistent monthly routine. Your team supplies the records; we prepare and reconcile the agreed accounts.
What’s included
Starting records & working setup5 items included
Review the latest trial balance and available handover records
Check account codes against your trading activity
Agree document cut-offs and the reporting timetable
Confirm software access and the people who approve changes
List opening balances that need further evidence
Day-to-day bookkeeping5 items included
Record sales, receipts and credit notes from your documents
Enter supplier purchases and supported business expenses
Allocate customer receipts and supplier payments
Code transfers, charges and other routine account movements
Keep a query list for missing documents and unclear transactions
Reconciliations & period close6 items included
Match ledger balances to the agreed bank and card accounts
Investigate unmatched receipts, payments and duplicate entries
Review customer and supplier balances against available evidence
Prepare supported accruals, prepayments and routine adjustments
Maintain agreed fixed-asset and depreciation schedules
Record management-approved adjustments with their explanations
Reports you can review5 items included
Profit and loss report for the agreed accounting period
Balance sheet with supporting account schedules
Customer balances and amounts awaiting collection
Supplier balances and amounts awaiting payment
Notes on significant movements and unresolved items
Review & record handover5 items included
Discuss the reporting pack at the agreed review points
Track questions requiring a decision or further information
Organise working schedules alongside the accounting records
Provide the agreed ledger and report exports for your records
Identify separate tax, payroll or historic clean-up work
Scope & separately agreed work
The proposal states the entities, transaction workload, accounts, currencies and reports covered. Inventory, project accounting and complex intercompany balances need an agreed scope of their own.
Tax returns, tax registrations, payroll, historic reconstruction, software migration, outsourced CFO work and an independent audit are separate unless expressly added. Software subscriptions and third-party costs are identified separately.
Ongoing · monthly accounts and agreed tax periods
Accounts + tax
Bookkeeping, VAT and corporate tax support
Who it suits
Businesses that want accounting records and agreed tax returns prepared within the same engagement.
Connect the monthly accounts to the figures used in your tax filings. We agree the return periods, review responsibilities and approval process at the outset.
What’s included
The full Accounts scope5 items included
Starting-record review and an agreed document timetable
Transaction entry, account coding and supporting queries
Bank, card, customer and supplier reconciliations
Supported closing adjustments and account schedules
Monthly financial reports and the agreed review discussion
VAT return working papers5 items included
Review sales and purchase records for the agreed VAT period
Check the VAT coding of transactions within the filing scope
Reconcile VAT ledger balances with the return calculation
List missing invoices and items needing tax-treatment review
Prepare the return figures and supporting explanations
Corporate tax computation5 items included
Review the accounts for the agreed corporate tax period
Identify relevant accounting-to-tax adjustments
Prepare the tax calculation from the available supporting records
Record the basis of reliefs or elections included in the return
Flag related-party or other specialist matters needing further work
Return review & filing support5 items included
Prepare agreed VAT and corporate tax returns for review
Explain the figures, assumptions and outstanding questions
Obtain approval before any authorised submission
Provide filing support using the access and appointment agreed
Keep the submission record and identify payment responsibilities
Reporting & filing calendar5 items included
Maintain a calendar for the returns included in the engagement
Agree internal document and approval dates before filing
Connect tax schedules to the relevant ledger balances
Carry unresolved record queries into the next review
Provide the financial reports covered by the Accounts scope
Questions arising from the work5 items included
Discuss routine questions about the returns being prepared
Identify changes in activity that may affect the agreed tax work
Set out additional information needed for uncertain transactions
Explain where a separate registration, correction or advice project is required
Hand over the working papers and records specified in the proposal
Scope & separately agreed work
The proposal identifies the VAT periods and corporate tax year, the entities covered, who authorises submission and who pays the tax. VAT frequency follows your assigned periods; it is not assumed to be quarterly.
Registrations, deregistration, refunds, voluntary disclosures, tax audits, transfer pricing studies, detailed restructuring advice and historic clean-up are separately agreed. Tax, penalties, software subscriptions and authority charges are not professional service fees.
One project · specified historical periods
Catch-up
Backlog accounting for unfinished periods
Who it suits
Businesses with missing months, unreconciled balances or records that need repair before reporting, tax work or a handover.
Establish what can be relied on, rebuild the agreed periods and document what remains unresolved. The project covers the historical work set out in your proposal.
What’s included
Assess the backlog5 items included
Map incomplete periods and the records available for each
Identify the latest closing position that can be supported
Review the ledger for gaps, duplicates and unusual balances
List documents and exports needed from previous providers
Agree the reconstruction order and any reporting dependencies
Rebuild the transaction record5 items included
Organise available invoices, statements and expense records
Enter supported transactions missing from the agreed periods
Review incorrect coding and duplicate postings
Trace receipts and payments to customers and suppliers
Log unclear transfers, owner transactions and missing evidence
Resolve balances & adjustments5 items included
Reconcile the agreed bank and card accounts
Investigate outstanding customer and supplier balances
Check supported loan, owner and other opening balances
Prepare a schedule of proposed accounting corrections
Record approved adjustments and any remaining limitations
Completion records5 items included
Reconstructed ledger for the periods named in the proposal
Closing trial balance and agreed financial reports
Reconciliation schedules and explanations of corrections
Register of unresolved items and missing documents
List of potential differences requiring a tax or audit review
Handover & next-period plan5 items included
Review the completed work and remaining decisions with you
Confirm the point from which ongoing bookkeeping can resume
Provide the agreed records and software exports
Set out document routines to prevent another backlog
Identify any separately needed filing or specialist engagement
Scope & separately agreed work
We agree the period, entities, record availability, opening position and expected outputs after an initial assessment. The timetable depends on the evidence available and answers to outstanding questions.
Rebuilding the books does not amend a filed return. Tax computations, original or corrective returns, voluntary disclosures and audit opinions are included only if expressly listed. Ongoing monthly bookkeeping starts under a separate agreed scope.
These are starting scopes. Your written proposal confirms the work included, the information you provide and the reporting or filing schedule.
Choose the right scope
Compare the work, line by line.
Read each package alongside its scope. Additional work can be combined into the same proposal when it is needed.
Ongoing accounts, tax or historical clean-up
Work included
Accounts
Accounts + tax
Catch-up
Initial record assessment
Current records and handover
Current records and filing position
Historical gaps and opening balances
Bookkeeping period
Agreed ongoing months
Agreed ongoing months
Specified past periods
Bank and account reconciliation
Recurring
Recurring
For the project periods
Financial reporting
Monthly agreed pack
Monthly agreed pack
Completion pack
VAT return preparation
Can be added
Agreed return periods
Can be added
Corporate tax computation and return
Can be added
Agreed tax year
Can be added
Return approval and filing support
If added to scope
For included returns
If added to scope
Historic clean-up
Separate project
Separate project
Core project work
Registrations, refunds or corrections
Separately agreed
Separately agreed
Separately agreed
Payroll and outsourced CFO support
Can be added
Can be added
Separate engagement
Independent external audit
Separate engagement
Separate engagement
Separate engagement
Before work starts
What your proposal records.
01
Your entities and records
Legal entities, accounts, currencies, transaction workload and the condition of the opening records.
02
The periods and outputs
Accounting months, tax periods, financial reports, working papers and any historical work.
03
Who does what
Document preparation, review, approvals, submission access and responsibility for payments.
04
Additional work and costs
Registrations, specialist advice, software, authority charges and third-party appointments are identified in the proposal.
Before choosing a package
Questions about the work.
Start with the records and the periods you need covered.
Which accounting package should I choose?
Accounts is a starting point if you need regular bookkeeping and reports. Accounts + tax adds the VAT and corporate tax returns agreed in the proposal. Catch-up is for unfinished historical periods. If you have both a backlog and ongoing requirements, we can describe them as separate phases of the same proposal so the starting position and responsibilities are clear.
What exactly is included in Accounts + tax?
It combines the Accounts scope with preparation of the agreed VAT returns, the corporate tax computation and return, reconciliations supporting those figures and filing support. Your proposal names the periods, entities, approvals and access arrangements. It does not automatically include registrations, refunds, voluntary disclosures, tax audit representation or specialist advice unrelated to the included returns.
Can you keep our current accounting software?
Our team works with Zoho Books, QuickBooks and Xero. We review your current setup, edition and access before recommending a change. Continuing in an existing system and migrating to another are different jobs. Any migration, subscription or additional integration is identified in the proposal rather than assumed to be part of monthly bookkeeping.
Will Catch-up include our overdue tax returns?
Only if the relevant tax work is expressly included. Catch-up establishes and repairs the accounting records for specified periods. We flag potential differences from prior filings and identify returns that may need attention. Preparing or correcting a return requires its own review, approval and submission process, which we can add to the proposal where needed.
What do you need before proposing a package?
Start with your trade licence, number of entities, accounting system, approximate transaction workload and the periods you need covered. Tell us about overdue accounts or filings and any approaching deadline. We then request the records needed to assess the work, agree a reporting or filing schedule and set out the deliverables and fee. Financial documents do not need to be uploaded through this website.
Speak to Firswood
Tell us what needs doing.
A set of accounts, a filing or a question that needs an answer. Start there.
