Skip to content

Year zero

Start-up accounting that gets the first year right, vehicle, records, first return.

Sole trader or limited, a bank that will have you, and no folklore from a Facebook group.

Year zero

Business Start-ups

The tell
First 90 days · vehicle · UTR
Software
Xero · Sage · QB · FreeAgent
Reply
Same day before 4pm

What we usually fix

  • The Facebook-group structure
  • A personal account doing company work
  • No idea what is a real expense
4.9TrustpilotChecked 16 Oct 2026 · 182 reviews
ICO ZA551114XeroFreeAgentSageQuickBooks

What this sector actually gets wrong

The first twelve months decide whether accounting is a system or a crisis. We help new businesses in Nelson, Warrington and across the UK choose a vehicle, set up software, and file the first return without learning tax by penalty.

01

The Facebook-group structure

A limited company because a stranger said so. Drawings already a mess.

02

A personal account doing company work

The bank will not like this. HMRC will like it even less.

03

No idea what is a real expense

The new laptop, the new trainers, the new ‘brand trip’.

You probably need this if

The businesses in their first year who call us

  • A Facebook group chose your structure
  • There is no separate bank account
  • You cannot say what is an allowable expense
  • Month four and nobody has set up records

Business Start-ups

Who we act for

Year-zero founders

Vehicle, bank, software, first return, in that order.

Side projects going live

When the personal account has to stop being the till.

People who incorporated too early

We will tidy the director’s loan and tell you if you should have waited.

What sits in the monthly fee.

4 lines, all included

Vehicle advice
Sole trader, partnership or limited, with the tax and the admin attached.
Formation if you need it
Shares, SIC codes, registered office, tax registrations.
Software on day one
So year one is not reconstructed from a photos folder.
The first return
Filed, explained, and used as the plan for year two.

Then the calendar takes over.

  1. 01

    A one-hour start

    What you sell, to whom, and how much you need to take home.

  2. 02

    Set-up week

    Bank, software, records. A one-page ‘do / don’t’.

  3. 03

    First quarter review

    Before bad habits harden.

From the files

The first CT600 was boring. That is the win.

What actually happened

A designer who incorporated too early

We ran the sole-trader comparison, tidied the director’s loan, and put her on a salary-and-dividend she could actually take.

In plain English

Business Start-ups accounting, written properly

The first twelve months decide whether accounting is a system or a crisis

We help new businesses in Nelson, Warrington and across the UK choose a vehicle, open the right bank, set up Xero or FreeAgent, and file the first return without learning tax by penalty. Sole trader, partnership or limited, with the admin attached, not just the status.

You need a system in month one

An accountant is how that system stays honest. A one-hour start, a set-up week, a first-quarter review before bad habits harden. If you are not in Lancashire we still do the work. The offices are here if you want a table.

Business Start-ups questions

That is a cash question as much as a tax one. We will help you see the runway. We will not cheerlead a leap.

You need a system in month one. An accountant is how that system stays honest.

Yes. Online accounting is most of what we do. The offices are here if you want a table.

Both offices

One number. Whichever desk you land on.

01925 670289Or message us on WhatsApp
Nelson
The Innovation Centre, Brunswick Street, BB9 0PQMap
Warrington
Ragan House, 674 Knutsford Road, WA4 1JHMap

info@countplus.co.uk
Monday–Friday, 9:00–17:00. Same-day response before 4pm.

Write to a human

Accounts, tax or consultancy. Pick a topic.

Same-day response before 4pm on weekdays. We only use these details to reply, and never sell them. Privacy policy.

Countplus Accounting, since 2019

Talk to an accountant who already works with businesses in their first year.

A monthly number in a minute, or a conversation with the person who would do the work.

Get a quote, or call the desk on 01925 670289, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. Write before 4pm and a named person answers the same day.