Property Accountants
We work with key players in the property space, from visionary family offices and real estate agents to savvy developers and investors. As experienced property accountants, we are well placed to advise on all aspects of your finance function, including reporting, compliance, FD services, tax structuring and more…
Outsourced Solutions
We use the latest cloud based technologies and apps to take away the hassle of accounting and VAT and tax compliance. You can run your business smarter and have time to concentrate on realising your property ambitions.
Reporting
You want real time management reporting in an easy to read format highlighting your key performance indicators. Using the latest technologies we will streamline your processes and give you meaningful and timely KPIs and financial information.
Compliance
Compliance with VAT rules, MTD, CIS filings, payroll, corporation tax and LLP filings can all be daunting. And the penalties for getting things wrong can have significant impact. We know the rules inside out and we will deal with your filings.
FD Services
You need a reliable and trusted adviser who will act as your “Finance Director”, cutting through complexity to give you the guidance and advice you need and help build your strategy. Our skill set, our tax knowledge and our experience in the real estate sector add real value. Rely on us as your FD support.
Tax Structuring
The right ownership structure from the very outset and throughout the life of your property business is important, for taxation, commercial, and legal reason. Your choice can have very significant implications, in terms of the management of tax flows and absolute after-tax returns. We help you get it right from the start and as you progress your business, avoiding nasty surprises.
Digital Advisory
Our specialist digital advisory team are well-versed in applying tech-led solutions to improve processes and drive efficiencies, with a particular specialism for advising multi-branch estate agents. We have a track record of implementing end-to-end systems – making your internal processes simpler and enabling you to spend more time on your property business.
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Outsourced Solutions
Get ready to be impressed with what outsourcing can do for you and your property business, whilst also removing the hassle and worry of trying to run your finance function in house.
We use the latest cloud-based technologies and apps to take away the hassle of accounting and VAT and tax compliance. You can release time to run your business and can concentrate on what is important in realising your property ambitions.
The development of cloud technology has seen the emergence of a wide range of cloud-based accounting software and associated add-on applications. The on-demand availability of these cloud-based systems enables us to collaborate in real-time with our clients delivering efficiencies across their entire finance function, helping them work faster and smarter.
By taking advantage of API technology it’s also possible to configure integrated end-to-end cloud-based solutions enabling companies to operate their businesses more efficiently.
Harold Sharp has partnered with all the major cloud accounting providers to be able to tailor solutions based on your business needs rather than being tied to one particular product or provider.
Making Tax Digital (MTD) is a major change to the way businesses have to communicate with HMRC and we specialise in offering MTD compliant solutions to our clients.
Harold Sharp also offers a range of fully outsourced FD services, where we can run your entire finance function for you, offering everything from day-to-day bookkeeping through to management accounts, statutory accounting, budgeting and strategic financial management.
We strive to make your life easier. We will liaise with your key relationships to ensure a coordinated and efficient approach. We can give you the management reports you want and undertake the tax reporting compliance you need. You can be confident that you have the information you need when you need it. You can impress your stakeholders with prompt, relevant information, whether that is the bank, your co-investors or your funders.
All at the pace you need and with the accuracy you need. We give you the time to realise your ambitions.
Reporting
Get timely reports which give clarity. Impress your stakeholders and investors with the quality and presentation of your management information. Work with a team which understands your pressures is responsive and is there to help.
We know that you want meaningful management reports which are:
- Accurate
- Produced to strict timescales
- Contain information which is relevant and easily understood.
We are used to tight reporting deadlines – typically 5 working days after a month end. We understand that keeping to these deadlines is not optional – you can rely on us to deliver. To do this we make use of the latest technologies and coordinate and communicate with both you and your key relationships – your property managers, your lawyers, your funders – to understand your business and make sure we get things right.
We streamline the accounting and reporting processes and, wherever we can, make sure there is digital transfer of information. But with a high number of qualified accountants on our team and years of experience, we know what we are doing. We know the output we are expecting and we make sure the reports we issue are accurate and complete.
We can also assist with ad hoc reporting requirements, budgeting, cash flows, IRR calculations, covenant testing and a range of other reporting. We provide a highly qualified resource for you when you need it. All in all, it is a very cost-effective way of dealing with your financial reporting requirements and ensuring you have accuracy of output.
You will be impressed by the quality and professionalism of our reports. We will build a good understanding of your business and requirements before we start to undertake your work. Your team will enjoy working with us and build up strong relationships with our team.
We are there to cut complexity and be a support to your business.
Compliance
We provide a full tax compliance service alongside our fully outsourced accountancy service. We take away the headache of dealing with tax issues, giving you peace of mind that you are compliant and that your filings are done on time.
Real Estate often involves a host of tax compliance requirements and ever-changing legislation. This is where our outsourced services come into their own, providing peace of mind that the compliance aspects of your business are being dealt with by professionals.
Services we typically provide to our clients include:
- VAT registration, options to tax, VAT filings.
- Corporate tax calculations and filings – often involving a host of considerations: deductibility of legal fees, rent spreading, treatment of premiums etc.
- Partnership tax computations and partnership tax return filings (LLPs, LPs or simple partnerships).
- CIS returns
- Payroll filings (a full payroll service is available if required)
- Trust tax returns.
- Trust IHT returns.
- Personal tax returns.
- Capital allowances maximisation
This is often provided alongside a fully outsourced accountancy service, but we will tailor our services to your needs.
The depth, breadth and complexity of the UK tax code is such it is a challenge for all businesses, and individuals alike, to get everything “right”; and yet the risks of getting things wrong can be costly, ramped up by interest on underpaid tax and the most severe penalty regime ever faced in the UK.
We can keep you valuably compliant, sleeping peacefully at night, and do not be surprised if we find some tax-saving opportunities along the way
FD Services
Ever wanted to just pick up the phone and talk through your latest deal with someone who speaks your language. Ever wanted the resource of a Finance Director for your business but don’t employ one in house. We are that resource.
You want someone to be there at meetings and to be there on the end of the phone, to act as the “Finance Director” support for the business. You want a trusted adviser who cuts through complexity and speaks your language – so you can use them as a guide to the financial and tax aspects of your property transactions.
We have a wealth of experience and we are there to support you and your business. We are not just number crunchers, or there to advise on a single transaction. We have excellent knowledge and experience of real estate tax, compliance and accounting matters. You can use us as a resource to provide the Finance Director type support you do not have in-house.
We can talk through the financing and structuring of your deal in a language you understand. We are there to discuss your strategy and your exit.
We can cut through the complexity of the VAT and SDLT position, the reporting and compliance requirements and a host of other matters. We can pre-empt potential issues. We can help you present reports to your investors, Board or stakeholders.
You can dip into our network of contacts – banks, legal advisers, operators, property managers, investors – to help you maximise the potential for your Real Estate business.
We strive to help you succeed and we see ourselves as integral to your team.
Tax Structuring
Getting the structure right at outset will maximise after-tax returns. We believe in simplicity not complexity. There are many pitfalls which, with early advice, can easily be avoided. Tax may not be the only driver – you may also have concerns about asset protection for your family.
Choosing the right ownership structure at the very outset of your business is important, for taxation, commercial, and legal reasons. Your choice can have very significant implications, at a time of potentially acute financial constraints, in terms of the management of early tax flows. But ownership structure needs to be kept under regular review throughout the business’s entire life cycle because it is quite likely to change for a host of good reasons.
Getting this right, to suit the needs and circumstances of both you and your business, can save an enormous amount of tax longer term, avoid a whole lot of commercial risk and remove a significant amount of anxiety from your working life.
In the UK alone, there are a whole host of options for what you use as your business “vehicle”. These include personal ownership, joint personal ownership, general partnership, Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), limited company, trust ownership, pension fund, and even overseas options in special circumstances.
These all have widely differing features, benefits and tax implications, so taking advice, and planning your structure with experienced assistance, are highly desirable.
You may be an investor or a developer and this could drive the conversation on structuring in very different ways. You may be investing alone or through a joint venture – there is a lot to consider and get right.
Assisting start-ups and organising growing, and mature Real Estate investor businesses is “bread and butter” advisory work for our tax professionals within the Harold Sharp Proptech team
Digital Advisory
Our specialist Digital Advisory team are well-versed in applying tech-led solutions within the property sector – most recently designing and implementing an app ecosystem to meet the finance needs of over 40 estate agent branches.
Whilst our broader Property team specialises in providing a comprehensive cloud-based outsourced solution to the property sector, our Digital Advisory team take that one step further.
We will work closely with you to conduct an initial review of your existing financial workflows and then provide methods to optimise your finance function using cloud technology. Ultimately, helping to drive efficiencies and enhance decision-making within your business.
Your proptech specialist
We work with you to cut through complexity and use the latest technologies to give you the time to realise your ambitions.
Our highly experienced property accountants team will help to:
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- Streamline your administration
- Assist information transfer
- Introduce digital solutions
- Use cloud solutions to give you extra fast and accurate reporting
At the same time, we know the sector and we make sure you are properly structured, tax compliant and take advantage of all reliefs.
“The team have supported the family for over 100 years, through many ups and downs, successions, recessions, restructurings, joint ventures. They have not only provided solid tax advice but have always understood, valued and respected us as a family at the centre of those discussions.”
Laura Montgomery, Managing Director – The Ellis Campbell Group