Frequently asked questions

We are not your typical high street firm, however, we are an award-winning accountancy practice, that is innovating the way traditional firms operate. Virtue Accountants are nimble enough to cater to the ever-changing economy and innovative enough to stay ahead.

We have a team of experienced and qualified accountants who understand how traditional businesses operate, and we believe we are building for the future.

With the Covid-19 pandemic, it is has impacted the way practices see clients face-to-face. We have prepared ourselves for this, and feel online accountancy is the way forward.

Virtue appreciates some of our clients wish to have face-to-face meetings too, therefore we have nationwide Account Managers, who you can see in our offices should you prefer this method.

As with all accountancy firms, the range of qualifications and experience vary. We have apprentices who aspire to be qualified accountants in the future, those who are on the verge of qualification, and others with many years of post-qualification experience. One of our key beliefs is to invest in staff, and develop our employees - this includes regularly placing staff on courses to ensure their accountancy knowledge is up to date, and so we can continue to innovate.

Senior staff who review final client accounts are Chartered Accountants - this is essential as per our company policy.

Yes! Our team has a vast range of experience and qualifications. We provide reassurances we can meet all your accounts, tax, VAT, bookkeeping, and payroll requirements.

We strongly recommend you allow our accountants to prepare all your returns for you as it would provide a complete understanding of your business - allowing you to benefit from long-term synergies. Alternatively, we allow our packages to be tailored so you can only outsource those tasks which are not viable for your business to do in-house. Either way, we would love to help your business!

Of course! Although we urge our clients to allow us to benefit from a complete and holistic overview of your business, we understand it is sometimes more feasible for businesses to prepare their own bookkeeping and/or payroll. We would still look forward to working with you for accounts preparation.

Our payroll cut off date is the same for all of our clients. The cut off date is important as it allows our team to prepare the payroll for businesses and inform HMRC.

There is often a misconception that all new businesses should register for VAT - this is not always the case.

Businesses in the UK must be VAT registered if their annual turnover is above the government threshold (currently £85k). If your turnover is below this amount, then you can still voluntarily register for VAT but it is not a binding requirement.

Of course! In some cases, it is better to register for VAT as your turnover is nearing the threshold.

Our team will be able to advise on when to register for VAT and can handle the registration for you.

Our market research shows, different business formation usually requires the services in each package e.g. limited companies will need accounts and taxes.

Packages can be tailored and adjusted to your requirements - we understand no two businesses have an identical formation, therefore we allow flexibility.

Yes! We allow packages to be altered to match your business needs - if you are seeing business growth and wish to increase the number of bookkeeping transactions in your package, our software will allow for this.

You can either pay for a 12-month period once and have Virtue prepare your accounts during this period.

Alternatively, you can sign up for a rolling monthly contract, providing flexibility and easing of cashflows throughout the period.

If you are making your own package the price is calculated based on a number of factors; starting with business formation (whether you a soletrader, partnerships, or limited company).

Additional requirements such as payroll and bookkeeping are calculated depending on the number of payslips and transactions recorded. The higher the transactions and payslips needed the more time it will take our team to record transactions.

Yes and no. This is dependent on your business set up. Although it isn't necessary for you to provide all your documents every month, we strongly urge you to provide everything as soon as possible.

This is to ensure we have enough time to complete accounts and tax returns within the required period.

By providing frequent documents to our team it will provide us with a thorough understanding of your dealings too - which will allow our team to really add value to your business!

As part of our complimentary service, our team handles your Companies House and HMRC post on your behalf. Upon the arrival of any post, we will scan and securely upload documents.

We will request an account manager to get in touch if the letter has any specific requirements from you.

In order for our team to represent you, we will require authorised agent status.

This will enable us to act on your behalf when dealing with HMRC and Companies House.

At Virtue we allow clients to tailor their packages to meet their business needs - however, we offer ongoing and continuous support to all, irrespective of your package.

We will give regular reminders of key dates in the financial year, helping you avoid penalties from HMRC and Companies House.

Our team of business professionals and qualified accountants will be on hand, providing you excellent advice and informing you of your options. This can be in relation to anything ranging from day-to-day management of your business, or specific tax questions.

We are often asked how we can provide excellent award-winning accountancy service, for such a low price.

We can afford to be cheaper than other accountancy practices offering the same service. Our business setup allows us to be more proficient and our structure alienates the need for scanning, printing, filing, and other secretarial tasks - in turn allowing our team of professionals to concentrate on the things that really matter, which is to add value to your business!

Virtue Accountants work more proficiently, so we can charge you less and give you more!

Yes! You can get a quote online, and provide all necessary information. We have an electronic signature function that will need to be provided once you have read and agreed to our terms and conditions.

Once you have provided all the relevant information, our team will carry out the necessary security checks and an Account Manager will be in touch to answer any questions.

It depends on your circumstances. If you are a limited company we will request you to provide your company details and bank account information.

If you have not registered your business, our team can do this with Companies House too.

If you are changing accountants we will request previous accounting records in addition.

If you have just completed a financial period, this is a quick and simple process. It is simply a case of inputting opening balances, and a dedicated Account Manager will help you to speak to your previous Accountants to confirm the records.

Your Account Manager will work with you to advise HMRC and Companies House of the change in accountants.

Please note a start-up fee may be charged depending on the time of year you start.

Although this is not ideal, we understand some clients wish to change accountants during a period due to circumstances - therefore we are happy to onboard part way.

By changing Accountants part way through a period there is likely to be a catch-up required to get your accounts up to date. For example, if you decide to switch to Virtue Accountants in March, and your financial year-end is in December, then there is a backlog of bookkeeping for Jan-Feb. Our team of experts will accommodate your request and treat such instances as a priority to ensure your business does not fall further behind. However, it is worth noting in such instances you will have a higher monthly payment for the first month to cover the backlog of requirements.

Once the backlog has been cleared and your accounts are up to date, you will revert to paying your normal monthly payment.

No. We have set up Virtue Accountants with the aim of having minimal disruption to our clients as possible.

Once you have received a quote online and provided us with the necessary information, we will be in touch to introduce your account manager and provide a welcome pack.

We will also request some documents to be sent to us after this introduction to prepare your accounts.

If you wish to meet someone from our team, we can arrange this for you, feel free to drop an email or contact us by telephone anytime.

We have partnered with Xero, who are a market-leading accountancy software provider. Xero has an excellent SLA record and known to be an innovator in the accountancy field.

We can provide you with access to Xero through your accountancy package, depending on your requirements.

We do not charge extra for your use of Xero as we have a partnership with the software provider.

That’s great, and no you do not need to register again! You can simply provide us with access details, or if you wish to set up a new account through us, our team can arrange this for you too.

No we will do all the heavy lifting for you. We will request certain information from you, which can either be emailed to us or uploaded using the mobile application.

Of course. Our business model requires the use of cloud-based software, but there is no necessity for our clients to have access to a computer.

Our team is prepared to handle all your financial dealings meaning you just need to forward certain documents to us. These can be sent via email or using our mobile application.

The application requires you to log in using your unique client information, select the document you wish to upload, and provide a brief description of the document provided.

You will receive an alert to advise if the upload has been successful. Our mobile application provides you with information for upcoming deadlines and outstanding information too. These alerts are sent directly to your smartphone. For further information relating to using the application please see this video.