First-Year Accounts for Startups
Your first year of trading, filed correctly.
You have incorporated, started trading and now the clock is running on your first statutory accounts. Most founders are not entirely sure what is due, when it is due, or what the Corporation Tax liability looks like. OD Accountants handles the filing, calculates the tax early and sets up your cloud accounting from the start. Chartered management accountants, fixed fee, same-day replies.
- Statutory accounts prepared and filed before the Companies House deadline
- Corporation Tax calculated well before the nine-month payment window closes
- Cloud accounting set up correctly from the first transaction, not retrofitted later
- One fixed fee covering accounts, Corporation Tax and Companies House — no invoice surprises
No long-term contract. If the engagement is not working after three months, you leave with clean books and nothing owed.
Get a free quote
Fixed pricing. Same-day reply.
What our clients say
★★★★★
Welcoming From the Very First Day
"Niall at OD Accountants has been very welcoming and supportive. All our prior queries and issues have been resolved, and he is always available to meet the needs of our team."
★★★★★
Confident, Informed, Every Step
"We always feel well-informed and confident about our financial processes and data. Highly recommend."
★★★★★
Always On the End of the Phone
"They're always on the end of the phone to advise and assist and provide a top service for our accounting needs."
★★★★★
Savings More Than Cover the Fees
"His fees are very reasonable and the money he has saved me more than covers them."
Sound familiar?
Not sure what your first year actually requires?
Most startup founders know accounts need filing at some point — fewer know the exact deadlines, what the Corporation Tax bill will come to, or whether their bookkeeping is in any state to support a set of statutory accounts. Year one tends to arrive faster than expected. The filing deadline does not move.
- ✕ No clear picture of what Corporation Tax will be, or when it is due
- ✕ Books kept in a spreadsheet that will need significant work before accounts can be prepared
- ✕ Uncertainty about what actually needs filing with Companies House and HMRC in year one
What the first year looks like handled
A chartered firm takes on the preparation, the filing and the tax calculation. You know the liability before the payment window opens, the accounts are filed on time and the books are on a modern platform from the point we take over.
- ✓ Corporation Tax calculated early — liability known before cash needs to move
- ✓ Books brought up to date and migrated to cloud software before accounts are prepared
- ✓ Statutory accounts and all Companies House filings handled under one engagement
- ✓ One fixed fee agreed upfront — covers accounts, CT600, Companies House and bookkeeping catch-up
What startup clients say after year one
Both clients below came in at the beginning — one a new limited company, one a founder navigating non-standard circumstances. Both are still with the firm.
As a new start up and having never dealt with an accountant, Niall at OD Accountants has been very welcoming and supportive. All our prior queries and issues have been resolved, and he is always available to meet the needs of our team.
Been with OD Accountants for over a year now. Niall and the team are brilliant. They helped me set up a company and get everything I needed in place to run my business. I'm a tricky client due to my 'digital nomad' status, but their advice…
Everything your first year requires
One engagement covering statutory accounts, Corporation Tax, Companies House filings and cloud bookkeeping setup — all on a fixed fee agreed before work begins.
Statutory Accounts and CT600 Filing
Your first-year statutory accounts are prepared from your bookkeeping records and filed at Companies House within the nine-month deadline. The CT600 Corporation Tax return is filed with HMRC at the same time, so both obligations are discharged in one process. The tax liability is calculated early enough for you to plan the payment.
Included as standardCloud Bookkeeping Setup and Catch-Up
If your records are in a spreadsheet or a legacy system, they are migrated to a modern cloud platform before accounts are prepared — not left as a manual reconciliation job. Xero and compatible SaaS integrations are configured to match how your business actually operates. From that point forward, your books are current and accessible in real time.
Cloud-first from day oneCompanies House Filings and Compliance
Confirmation statements, registered office requirements and all statutory filings are handled directly under the firm's Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) status. Nothing gets missed because a deadline was not in your calendar. For clients who want it, ongoing management reporting can be added once the first year is closed — giving you a forward view, not just a historical one.
ACSP authorisedClients across sectors, same result
From hospitality and retail to SaaS and consulting — the consistent theme across verified Google reviews is availability, accuracy and fees that make commercial sense.
Confident, Well-Informed, Every Month
“The service from OD has been excellent, as has their advice. It's great to have access to a financial team who can guide us with such confidence and seamlessly integrate with our internal team. We always feel well-informed and confident about our financial processes and data. Highly recommend.”
Always Available, Top Service Delivered
“Niall and his team are supportive, clear and directional accountants who have supported our small business staff up. They're always on the end of the phone to advise and assist and provide a top service for our accounting needs. Plus they're just nice people which helps too!!”
Years In, Still Going Above and Beyond
“I've been there for years and Niall and his team go above and beyond the duties to provide accounting services but also general advices. They are always available if you need anything while charging very competitive prices. I could not recommend them enough.”
What makes the difference in year one
Getting the first year right sets the pattern for everything after it. These are the three things that matter most when choosing a firm for first-year accounts.
Books set up right first time
Most first-year problems trace back to bookkeeping that was never set up properly. OD Accountants migrates records onto a modern cloud platform — Xero and best-of-breed app integrations — before preparing accounts, not after. That means statutory accounts are prepared from clean data, and the platform is already configured correctly for year two and beyond.
Tax visible before the deadline arrives
Corporation Tax is due nine months after your accounting period ends. That window shrinks quickly if the liability is not calculated until the last minute. A chartered management accounting approach means the CT600 and tax position are worked out early, giving you time to plan the payment rather than scramble for it.
Chartered depth for a startup fee
Founder Niall O'Driscoll FCMA, CGMA spent 10+ years in freelance restructure and turnaround work across listed UK and overseas companies before founding OD Accountants. That depth of commercial finance experience is applied to first-year startup engagements — not reserved for larger clients. You get strategic input alongside the compliance output, for the same fixed fee.
Up and running in four steps
The process is designed to be straightforward from your side. Most of the work happens on ours.
Book a discovery call
A short call — typically 20 to 30 minutes — to understand your situation: incorporation date, trading activity, current bookkeeping setup and what you need from year one. No preparation required on your part. You will leave the call knowing exactly what is included and what the fixed fee is.
We review what you have
Once instructed, the team reviews your existing records — spreadsheet, software or otherwise — and identifies what needs to be brought up to date before accounts can be prepared. A catch-up plan is agreed and costed before any work starts, so there are no invoice surprises mid-engagement.
Accounts and tax are prepared
Statutory accounts and the CT600 are prepared from the cleaned and reconciled records. You review a draft before anything is filed. The Corporation Tax liability is confirmed at this stage, giving you a clear payment date to plan around.
Filed, closed, looking forward
Accounts are filed at Companies House, the CT600 at HMRC, and all confirmation statement obligations are met under the firm's ACSP status. Year one is closed. Your books are on a modern cloud platform, your tax is paid and visible, and the foundation is in place for year two to run considerably more smoothly.
“My other-half introduced me to Niall at OD Accountants and I have to say my finances are so much the better for it. Unlike my previous Accountants, Niall is far more hands-on, available for advice and able to care for me as an individual, rather than a faceless client. His fees are very reasonable and the money he has saved me more than covers them. If you need an Accountant who cares, Niall and OD Chartered Management Accountants are the way to go.”
What most startup founders ask first
When exactly does my first set of accounts need to be filed?
For a UK limited company, your first statutory accounts are due at Companies House nine months after your accounting reference date — which is typically set to the last day of the month in which you incorporated. HMRC requires the CT600 and any Corporation Tax payment within nine months and one day of the end of the accounting period. The deadlines can align closely or diverge depending on your incorporation date, which is one of the first things the team confirms when you come on board.
What does a first-year accounts engagement typically cost?
Fees are fixed and agreed before work begins, so the number you are quoted is the number on the invoice. The exact figure depends on the volume of transactions, the state of the existing bookkeeping and whether a catch-up is required. Clients in Google reviews consistently describe the pricing as very reasonable, with tax savings that more than cover the engagement cost. Contact the team for a fixed-fee quote — it takes one call.
My bookkeeping is in a spreadsheet and is not particularly tidy. Is that a problem?
It is not unusual. Most startup clients arrive with records in some state of disarray — a spreadsheet, a partial software setup or a mix of both. The team reviews what exists, agrees a catch-up scope and cost before starting, and migrates everything onto a cloud platform before preparing the accounts. Messy records at the start do not prevent a clean set of statutory accounts at the end.
Is there a long-term contract or minimum commitment?
There is no long-term contract. Clients are not locked in. If the engagement is not working after three months, you can leave with clean books and nothing owed beyond work completed. The firm's client reviews go back more than a decade, with multiple clients still active after seven, ten and eleven years — which is a more reliable indicator of quality than any contractual retention mechanism.
Can you also handle my personal Self Assessment as a company director?
Yes. Personal tax and Self Assessment for directors are within scope as a separate engagement, or as part of a combined package covering both the limited company and the individual. Director loan accounts, dividends and salary mix are part of the calculation — the team handles the CT600 and the personal return together where that is more efficient.
Once the first year is filed, what does ongoing accounting look like?
Most clients move to a monthly or quarterly bookkeeping and management accounts arrangement once year one is closed. That means the second-year accounts are prepared from clean, current records rather than a year-end scramble. Clients who want a closer commercial input can add virtual finance director support — KPI dashboards, forecasting and strategic finance at a level that would normally require a full-time hire.
Get your first year filed correctly.
One fixed fee covering statutory accounts, Corporation Tax, Companies House filings and cloud bookkeeping setup. Chartered management accountants, no long-term contract.