A company registered but not yet trading must still keep accounts, close its financial statements, have them audited and file them on time. Neglecting this in the belief that there is nothing to record produces penalties that accumulate and years of records to reconstruct.
In practice the accounts are not only for filing. Work permit applications are assessed on the financial statements and tax returns. Shareholder disputes are decided on the figures. Bank facilities start from the last few years of statements.
Our accountants work in the same office as the lawyers, so matters with both an accounting and a legal side are handled together.
What we do
- Monthly bookkeeping, posting entries and keeping the supporting documents in proper form.
- Preparing and filing monthly withholding tax and VAT returns.
- Preparing and remitting employee social security contributions.
- Closing the annual financial statements and working with the auditor.
- Convening the shareholders' meeting to approve the statements and filing them with the Department of Business Development.
- Reconstructing accounts for companies years behind, with an assessment of the exposure.
- Setting up the document flow and chart of accounts for the business.
What a deductible expense needs
- A tax invoice with every particular the law requires: name, address, tax ID and a description of the goods or services.
- A receipt or verifiable proof of payment.
- A contract or purchase order for items of significant value.
- Evidence that the expense relates to the business and is not personal to a director or shareholder.
Expenses without support, or with documents missing required particulars, may be disallowed — which raises the taxable profit above what was recorded.
What to keep separate from the start
- The company bank account and the director's personal account. Mixing them makes income and expenditure hard to prove on an assessment.
- Money taken out by a director must be recorded as a loan, salary or dividend — each carries a different tax treatment.
- Cash income must be recorded exactly as banked income is.
This page is general information, not accounting advice for your business. Deadlines and rates change; tell us what the business does and the applicable obligations can be checked.