by Pi Accountancy | Jun 11, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Business, Frequently Asked Questions
Double Entry Bookkeeping forms the foundation of modern accounting. It records every transaction twice. One entry appears as a debit and the other appears as a credit. This shows how each transaction affects your business in two ways. In other words, money always...
by Pi Accountancy | Jun 11, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Business, Frequently Asked Questions
Gross Profit shows how much money a business earns from its core activities. It measures the difference between sales revenue and the direct cost of producing goods or services. Simply, it shows how much money remains after covering production costs. This figure...
by Pi Accountancy | Jun 11, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Business, Frequently Asked Questions
Net Profit is the money left after you pay all business costs. These costs include: Materials Wages Rent Interest Taxes Simply, it is your “bottom line” which shows what you actually keep from your sales once everything gets paid. This figure reflects the...
by Pi Accountancy | Jun 10, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Business, Frequently Asked Questions
Debits and Credits form the backbone of accounting. Once you understand them, you can record transactions with confidence and accuracy. You will also gain a stronger understanding of how your business finances operate. Explaining Debits and Credits Every financial...
by Pi Accountancy | Jun 9, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Frequently Asked Questions, Payroll and Employment, Taxes
A tax code tells your employer or pension provider how much Income Tax to deduct from your pay or pension. Each source of income has its own tax code, which HMRC creates and issues. Therefore, if you have more than job or pension, you will receive more than one tax...
by Pi Accountancy | Jun 3, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Business, Regulations and Schemes
Trivial benefits are small gifts or perks an employer gives to an employee. They offer a simple and effective way to reward employees. To qualify as a trivial benefit, it must meet all of the following conditions: It costs £50 or less (including VAT) It is not cash or...
by Pi Accountancy | Jun 2, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Frequently Asked Questions, Regulations and Schemes, Taxes
National Insurance (NI) is a tax on earnings. You pay it when you work and earn above certain limits. It also applies to profits if you run your own business. National Insurance helps you qualify for several state benefits, as your contributions can support: The State...
by Pi Accountancy | Jun 2, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Regulations and Schemes, Taxes
Small Business Rate Relief helps eligible businesses reduce the amount of Business Rates they pay. These rates work in a similar way to Council Tax, although they apply to commercial properties instead of homes. Most businesses operating from physical premises must...
by Pi Accountancy | May 29, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Companies House, HMRC, Regulations and Schemes, Taxes
Tax in the UK follows a progressive structure. This means the more you earn, the higher the percentage of tax you pay on the additional income. We have created a breakdown of the most common tax bands, rates and allowances. Your Tax-Free Personal Allowance Your...
by Pi Accountancy | May 28, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Payroll and Employment, Regulations and Schemes
Statutory Sick Pay, or SSP, provides a basic level of income when illness or injury prevents an employee from working. UK law requires employers pay SSP to eligible employees. This support allows people to focus on recovery. It also helps workplaces reduce the spread...
by Pi Accountancy | May 26, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, CIS, Regulations and Schemes, Self-Employment and SMEs
The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) is a tax scheme that applies to most construction work. Under CIS, contractors deduct tax from payments they make to their subcontractors. The contractor then reports these deductions and pays them to HMRC each month. These...
by Pi Accountancy | May 26, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, CIS, Regulations and Schemes, Self-Employment and SMEs
The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) is a tax scheme that applies to most construction work. For contractors under CIS, they must deduct tax from subcontractor payments and then pay the deductions to HMRC each month. These deductions act as advance payments towards...
by Pi Accountancy | May 22, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Regulations and Schemes, Taxes, VAT
Families across the UK could enjoy cheaper days out this summer following a temporary VAT reduction. The government will reduce VAT from 20% to 5% on selected family activities and children’s meals between 1 July 2026 and 31 August 2026. This announcement forms...
by Pi Accountancy | May 21, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Frequently Asked Questions, Payroll and Employment, Regulations and Schemes
A P11D reports Benefits In Kind and certain expenses provided to employees or directors during the tax year. HMRC treats many of these benefits as taxable income, so employers must report them carefully. The submitted information allows HMRC to calculate how much tax...
by Pi Accountancy | May 19, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Payroll and Employment, Pension, Regulations and Schemes
Auto-Enrolment is a pension initiative that began in October 2012. It aims to help more people build savings for retirement. Previously, many workers needs to opt in to a pension scheme. As a result, many missed out. Now, eligible workers join automatically....
by Pi Accountancy | May 15, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Payroll and Employment, Regulations and Schemes, Self-Employment and SMEs
IR35 is the common name for off-payroll working rules. The rules mainly target situations where a worker provides services through an intermediary. This intermediary often takes the form of a limited company. However, the legislation can also apply when services pass...
by Pi Accountancy | May 14, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Business
Working Papers are documents that accountants prepare while completing a client’s work. They support the information included in accounts and tax returns. These records provide evidence that the accountant completed the work correctly. Additionally, they help...
by Pi Accountancy | May 13, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Business, Frequently Asked Questions, Regulations and Schemes
Management Accounts are internal financial reports which help business owners and senior managers monitor performance. They contain detailed financial information as well as commentary and analysis. Businesses usually prepare them either monthly or quarterly. Unlike...
by Pi Accountancy | May 12, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Frequently Asked Questions, Software
CSV stands for Comma-Separated Values. A CSV file stores information in a simple table-like format using plain text. Each line in the file represents a row of data. A comma then separates each value within the row. This structure allows software to organise...
by Pi Accountancy | May 7, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Director, Frequently Asked Questions, Payroll and Employment
Directors’ Remuneration is the total compensation a director receives for their work. This includes more than just a salary. A typical package may include: Salary or director’s fees Performance-based bonuses Pension contributions Share options or equity...
by Pi Accountancy | May 6, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Business, Frequently Asked Questions
Overheads are the ongoing costs required to run your business. However, they do not link directly to one product, service or job. Simply, these costs support your business as a whole. You should still pay them even if sales slowed down for a period. When a bakery...
by Pi Accountancy | May 5, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Frequently Asked Questions, Taxes
When selling your home, you may not need to pay Capital Gains Tax. Private Residence Relief can reduce or remove this tax liability when you sell your main home. Simply, you do not pay tax on the profit you made from selling your home. The relief applies to your only...
by Pi Accountancy | Apr 29, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Business
Alphabet Shares can add flexibility to a company’s share structure. They can also introduce extra legal steps and tax considerations. Many owner-managed limited companies use these shares to tailor dividends and voting power. However, the structure must comply...
by Pi Accountancy | Apr 28, 2026 | Advisory and Resources, Self-Employment and SMEs
If you run a limited company, you must prepare accounts each year. You must then submit these accounts to Companies House, where they become publicly available. However, many small companies do not need to file full Statutory Accounts. Instead, they can choose to...
