our specialist sectors

Accounting for Startup Businesses

If you want to build and maintain momentum for your startup, you need to have the accountancy basics to make sure you’re building your business on the firmest of foundations.

There are key areas where professional accounting support can support you;

Cash flow
Budgeting
Hiring employees
Business analysis
Tax and compliance
Scaling up your financial systems.

Why is cash flow critical?

Without cash you cannot pay your bills and not being able to pay your bills will inevitably lead to company failure.

Understanding when cash is coming in and consequently required to go out to pay for bills is crucial to keeping your company alive.

You need to keep track of who owes you money, and who you owe money to. Laying the proper groundwork will prepare you for managing cash flow efficiently and effectively, including systems for:

Issuing and receipting invoices
Chasing late payments
Paying bills

How Should You Budget for Business?

Budgeting is probably the most difficult for startups businesses. Why? Normally budgets are set with pre-existing knowledge and performance in mind. So, if you are in your first year of trading, there may be a lot of guess work involved.

Our advice however is to budget realistically and based on what you genuinely believe performance will be.

You should consider all revenue and expense accounts including taxes when you budget to make sure you have a clear picture of your business.

Make sure you claim all your allowable expenses, and that you include all relevant information in your annual tax return.

Budgets are great for monitoring your company’s performance in your management accounts.

Are You Properly Prepared for Payroll?

If starting up your business requires that you employ staff, then this is a whole other area where you need to stay on top of your accounts.

You’ll have certain obligations regarding payroll and pensions, including National Insurance contributions and auto-enrolment.

This is yet another administrative burden, but it’s one you can easily lighten if you outsource your accounting.

Should You Register for VAT?

The VAT threshold is £85,000, at which point you must register for VAT. But are there tax advantages for startups if they register for VAT anyway?

Registering for VAT can prepare you for growth and help to create a positive perception of your business – if you’re already VAT-registered, you don’t have to worry about hitting the threshold
You can reclaim any VAT you’re charged for goods and services, which may amount to more than the VAT you collect from your customers.

It all depends on where your business is at currently, and where you see it going. An accountant can offer you a fresh, impartial perspective to give you the clarity you need.

Do You Understand Unit Economics?

Unit economics form the business blocks of your business and they cover:

Your customer acquisition costs, and
The revenue you get from each customer over their lifetime.

The lifetime value (LTV) of your customer should be more than the customer acquisition cost (CAC) associated with them. This is what makes your business profitable.

Once you start trading, unit economics become your bread and butter – they’re essential to how your run your business and the decisions you make.

Don’t Rely on DIY Accountancy

A key to successful business growth is knowing when to bring in the help you need. You know your business and what you want to achieve. Let us take care of the numbers and support you in your strategy.

We offer a range of cost-effective, specialist services to startups and SMEs, drawing on dedicated cloud accounting software and years of professional accounting experience.

Please call us on 02080882590, email enquiries@vennaccounts.com or complete our contact form and one of our senior accountants will get back to you as soon as possible.

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what our clients have to say

“I have used Venn Accounts for the past year and they have been amazing - so approachable and knowledgable. They are super helpful and also great at explaining things in a language I can understand! Highly recommended!"

TiffanyCo-Founder

"Great service from Venn accounts in preparing the accounts for my retail business. They were also incredibly helpful with a number of other bits and pieces, including some tricky VAT issues. Very friendly. Would recommend."

Adam BarnesDirector