Hi guys,
I incorporated an e-commerce business in October 2024. Since then, I have incurred expenses such as stock orders, graphic design, photography fees, web hosting, and email hosting.
The issue is that the business is still in its pre-trading period. Due to a chronic health flare-up, I’ve had to put my product launch on hold, meaning the business has generated no revenue so far.
I plan to return to the business and launch in the next 3–4 months. However, my first annual accounts filing is due at end of July 2026 and I have no accountant in place. The business has no payroll and is not VAT registered.
I only have around 30–40 transactions through the business to date. Some of these were payments to a manufacturer in China, so there are a small number of international transfers and foreign exchange conversions.
How can I keep my accounting and filing fees to an absolute minimum? I was tempted to try and file it myself, but I’m not sure how to handle the foreign exchange side properly.
I can prepare an organised Excel sheet of transactions with supporting receipts. What would an accountant need from me to make this as straightforward (and therefore as cheap) as possible? And what sort of cost am I looking at for annual accounts and corporation tax filing (which should be nil, as there is no revenue or profit)?
And finally does anyone know any cheap accountants that could submit this for me for a lump sum without insisting on tying me in to a large monthly fee?
Thanks!