What is the best limited company business account?

When it comes down to it, the best limited company business account is one that’s going to actively improve your financial management. 

This guide will cover all the different features that only the best business accounts can offer you. Features that will make your financial management easier, faster, and more beneficial to your limited company. 

Limited companies are legally separate entities from their business owners. So, if you’re running a limited company, it needs to have its own dedicated business account. Any money the company receives belongs to the company, not you. This is a legal requirement. 

But not all business accounts are the same. So, because you’ll need one anyway, you should look for one with helpful features that actually help your limited company. 

Below, we’ll look at some useful features to look for in a business account, including:

• Invoice creation.
• Tax estimates.
• MTD compatibility
• Expense categorisation
• Cash flow insights
• Profit and loss statements. 
• Accountant access. 

Invoicing is a standard part of running a limited company. Your income will rely on your ability to create and manage invoices for all of your clients. 

In theory, invoicing is fairly simple, but as your limited company grows, it can become more complicated and time-consuming

The two in one Countingup business account and app will let you create and send professional invoices in seconds. 

With the Countingup app, you can:

• Create an unlimited number of customised invoices.
• Add a logo to invoice templates.
• Send invoices to customers.
• Receive a notification when an invoice is paid.
• Match payments to specific invoices.
• Duplicate invoices.
• Change an invoice’s due date.

The app makes it easy to create and manage invoices, leaving you more time to focus on the more enjoyable parts of running your company. 

Limited companies need to pay corporation tax on all of their taxable income, meaning the amount of tax you have to pay will change depending on the amount of money your company makes. 

The Countingup business account comes with built-in accounting software that will show you accurate tax estimates based on your earnings, so you’ll know how much to set aside for corporation tax without having to do the calculations yourself. 

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is the UK government’s plan to transition all VAT-registered businesses to online submissions.  MTD is already mandatory for businesses earning over £85,000 per year, and those earning less will need to do the same as of April 2022. 

Under the new rules, MTD submissions need to be submitted every three months, and missing deadlines could lead to trouble with HMRC. Normally, this would just mean more time on financial admin for limited companies, but you can save that time by doing MTD VAT submissions through the Countingup business account.

The Countingup business account is compatible with Making Tax Digital. The app’s digital tax filing service automatically calculates the VAT associated with all of your business transactions. Then you can file your tax return directly with Countingup’s free accounting software. 

When it comes to paying corporation tax, limited companies can claim a number of allowable expenses to lower their overall taxable income. Some common allowable expenses for limited companies include:

• Office costs.
• Travel costs.
• Clothing expenses.
• Staff costs.
• Things you buy to sell on.
• Financial costs.
• Costs of your business premises.
• Advertising or marketing.
• Training courses related to your business.

To claim allowable expenses, you need to keep a detailed record of all your financial transactions. The Countingup business account can automate this for you. 

The Countingup app has an automatic expense categorisation and receipt capture tool that makes it simple to keep an accurate, digital record of your business expenses. 

After you scan a receipt with the app, each expense is automatically categorised into an HMRC approved category. 

With this feature, you can keep your financial records organised and save time spent remembering and inputting expenses for your tax return. 

Find out more about how it works here. 

Tracking cash flow is essential if you want to understand the financial health of your company. The Countingup business app shows you cash flow insights in real time, so you know exactly how much is in your business account at any given moment. 

A profit and loss statement is a summary of your company’s income, costs, and expenses over a certain period. Typically produced every quarter, a profit and loss statement is incredibly useful for the following reasons:

• Tax purposes: You need accurate financial records when filling in a Self Assessment tax return. 
• Proving the financial state of your business: If you ever need funding, banks and investors will ask to see a profit and loss statement.  
• Improving your business: You’ll be able to see where you’re making and losing money, allowing you to make better spending decisions. 

The Countingup business account automatically generates profit and loss statements based on financial transactions, so you can quickly and easily see how all of your decisions will affect your long term finances. Plus, you won’t need to enter data manually.

Finally, the best business account for a limited company is one that makes it easier to share your accurate data with your accountant. Unlike other business current accounts, when you use Countingup, you can share your live bookkeeping data directly with your accountant. 

Instead of wasting precious time sending them information via post, email, or over the phone, they’ll have access to your data whenever they need it. It’s faster, easier, and more secure. 

Countingup is the unique business current account with built-in accounting software that allows you to manage all your financial data in one place. 

With the wide array of time-saving features, Countingup had earned its Trustpilot “Excellent” rating by helping small business owners like:

• Pietr: “A great service for small businesses.”
• Jonathan: “So easy to use and keep track of everything.”
• Wael: “Great and fast service.”

Those are just three of the 50,000 UK business owners who have already set up their accounts. Find out more and start your 3-month free trial here.

Update: Countingup now offer a limited company formation service.