Christine Harwood ACMA CGMA

Managing Director

Qualifications:
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
Association of Accounting Technicians
Xero Certified Advisor
Quickbooks Certified Advisor

Experience:
Over 20 years of experience working in accounts and bookkeeping roles in the public sector and in practice.
Previously traded as LA1 Accounting Services Ltd (established in 2016).
Services provided: Year-end accounts, personal and company tax returns, management accounts, business planning services and forecasting, xero and quickbooks set up and training.
Joined Accounts Matters in January 2020

Josie Smith MCIPP, FIAB, FICB

Director

Qualifications:
In Practice fellow of International Association of Bookkeepers.
In Practice fellow of Institute of Certified Bookkeepers.
Diploma in Advanced Payroll Management.
Member of Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals.

Lyndsey Beckett FCCA

Accountant

Qualifications:
Qualified Accountant (Fellow of the ACCA).

Experience:
Year end accounts, Personal and Company tax returns, Management Accounts, Business Planning and Cashflow Forecasts.
Joined Accounts Matters in 2014.

Margaret Armitt ACIPP

Payroll Bureau Manager

Qualifications:
Payroll Technician of CIPP
Payroll Bureau and Pensions Administration
Joined Accounts Matters in 2014

Leonie Clare

Bookkeeper

Qualifications:
Level 4 AAT
Bookkeeping
Joined Accounts Matters in 2015.

Bookkeeping, Payroll and Accounting
Services for Small Business.

“The art of delegation is one of the key skills any entrepreneur must master” Richard Branson

Accounts Matters specialises in bookkeeping, payroll, and accounting services for smaller business across Lancaster, Morecambe and north Lancashire. Services aimed to:

Avoiding you becoming bogged down in paperwork rather than growing your business
Ensure you have reliable and accurate information at your fingers tips so you can make key decisions with confidence
Keep on top of your obligations to HMRC and Companies House by filing accounts and tax returns on time
Collect cash from customers when it is due, reducing the risks of bad debts and unnecessary bank interest both of which hit the bottom line
Avoid the added complexity and costs of managing your accounting and payroll in-house. We share with you our economies of scale.

Bookkeeping

If you are swamped with paperwork and worried your finances are getting out of control, then we have a range of bookkeeping services that will get you back on track:

Processing your paperwork to keep your books up to date using industry leading book keeping software, such as SAGE, Quickbooks, Xero and Kashflow or, if you prefer, your own manual system.
Bank reconciliation
Management accounts and other producing financial reports such as age creditors and aged debtors analysis, cashflow and break-even analysis
Ad-hoc support and training if you have your own internal accounts team to keep them up to date on VAT and tax requirements or dealing with complex journals such as when you buy new assets or take out finance.

Payroll

Helping you pay your employees the right amount on time every time whilst dealing with complicated issues such as pension contributions, sick pay, maternity pay, child maintenance, Attachment of Earnings and Employers Allowance. With our help you get access to expert knowledge and experience, whilst avoiding the costs of keeping it in-house including payroll software training and all the other challenges of keeping up to date with complex changes to the rules and regulations.

Efficient and reliable processing of your monthly, 4 weekly, fortnightly or weekly payroll
Auto-enrolment processing and support
Payslips either printed or emailed
Reporting, filing PAYE and Real Time Information (RTI) requirements to HMRC
Processing BACS salary & wage payments
Ongoing guidance & support on best practice
Auto-enrolment set-up guidance and processing and recording contributions after your staging date has passed.

Tax & Accountancy Services

Whether you own a limited company, a partnership or operate as a sole trader, we can help you manage your obligations to Companies House, HMRC and Charity Commission including:

Processing and submitting Self-Assessment, Corporation Tax, VAT and CIS returns to HMRC
Preparing and filing Year End Accounts in statutory format
Advising on the correct VAT and tax treatment and how best to account for them.

Credit Control

Recognising “Cash is King” for all businesses it is important that your customers pay on time so you can keep on good terms with your own suppliers, avoid paying unnecessary bank interest and invest in growing your business, we support our clients with a complete range of credit control services:

Sending out monthly statements
Chasing outstanding accounts by phone, email and letter and a regular timely basis to limit bad debts
Providing you with monthly reports such as aged debtors analysis and highlighting problem accounts
Managing credit control risk when taking on new clients or existing clients fall into arrears and are struggling to pay.

Business Support

Support and guidance to help you overcome financial and other barriers to growth. With a wealth of experience, knowledge and skills, we offer a broad range business support services, delivered by experts, that include:

Setting up processes and systems to help you manage money and costs better.
Providing training and support to those within your team responsible for managing money
Installing and setting up online book keeping systems so that your financial information is only a click away
Finding ways to improve efficiency, productivity, cost control and increase profit margins
Ensuring that you have ease of access to financial information and budgets critical to manage the performance of other key functions such as sales, marketing, people management and production or service delivery.

Support for Start-up Businesses

We have an affordable start-up service specially designed for new businesses that helps them manage their finances simply and effectively right from the start that includes:

Simple bookkeeping and credit control solutions suitable for a new business
Arranging Banking facilities
Setting up a new company or register with HMRC for PAYE, VAT and Tax
cashflow, budgeting, pricing and break-even analysis
training and ad-hoc support

If you would like to find out more about how Accounts Matters can help you manage your finances and grow your business, please call us today on 01524 61688 or email info@accountsmatters.co.uk for a no obligation discussion about your bookkeeping, payroll, tax and accounting needs.