Accountants for estate agents in Fulham and West London

Commission, completions and cash flow

A sales agency can have a strong pipeline and still run short of cash. Fees are normally earned only when a sale completes, and chains collapse. A busy spring of offers on houses between Fulham Road and New King's Road may not turn into money until the summer, while rent, salaries and portal subscriptions go out every month.

We help you see this clearly. Monthly management accounts show fees actually earned against costs, and a simple cash flow forecast based on your pipeline shows the months to watch. For the year end accounts, we make sure fees are recognised at the right point, so profit is not overstated by deals that have not completed.

Client money and lettings

Letting agents collect rent and often hold deposits and money for repairs on behalf of landlords and tenants. That money is not yours. It must be kept in a separate client account and recorded so that every landlord's balance can be shown at any time.

In England, letting agents who hold client money must belong to a government approved client money protection scheme, and must also be a member of a property redress scheme. Your scheme will expect proper reconciliations and may ask for an accountant's report. We keep your client and office records separate in the books, help reconcile them regularly, and point out problems early so they can be fixed quietly.

Your management fees are your income. We make sure they are taken from client funds correctly and recorded in the right period. Tenancy deposits are a separate matter again, because in England they must be protected in a government backed deposit scheme, and the record of which deposits sit where should match your books.

Anti money laundering registration with HMRC

Estate agency businesses must be registered with HMRC for anti money laundering supervision before they trade. Letting agents also need to register if they handle lettings where the monthly rent is 10,000 euros or more, which is not unusual for larger family homes in Fulham and Chelsea.

Registration means having a written risk assessment, policies, staff training and customer checks. HMRC can visit and ask to see your records, and it can issue penalties if they fall short. We are not a compliance consultancy, but we make sure your registration fees and supervision dates are tracked, your financial records support your checks, and you know where to get specialist help if needed.

Paying negotiators and staff

Agency pay is often a modest basic salary with commission or bonus on top. Those payments go through payroll, with tax and National Insurance worked out in the month they are paid. Employer National Insurance is 15% above the secondary threshold, so a strong quarter of bonuses has a real cost to the business. Eligible employers can claim the Employment Allowance of £10,500 against that bill.

Some agencies use self employed negotiators or valuers. That can work, but HMRC looks at the reality of the arrangement, not just the contract. If someone works set hours under your direction and only for you, they may be an employee in HMRC's eyes. We review these setups and run payroll for those who are employed, including pension auto enrolment and company car benefits.

• Monthly payroll with commission and bonus
• Employment status reviews for self employed negotiators
• Company car and fuel benefit reporting
• Pension auto enrolment for agency staff

VAT, company tax and owner pay

Estate and letting agency fees are standard rated, so almost every agency is VAT registered. We prepare your VAT returns under Making Tax Digital and check how VAT is handled on fees charged through client account and on costs such as portal listings and boards.

Most agencies trade as limited companies. Corporation tax is 19% on profits up to £50,000 and 25% above £250,000, with marginal relief in between. We help directors plan the mix of salary and dividends, and think ahead if you are looking to open a second branch, bring in a partner or sell the business to a larger group.

Working with agents in Fulham and nearby

Fulham has a large number of independent agencies alongside the bigger chains, with offices around Fulham Broadway, Parsons Green and along New King's Road. Many of our agency clients use property software that can export directly into cloud accounting, which keeps bookkeeping quick.

We start with a free review of your current accounts and records, then agree a fixed fee before any work begins. If you are leaving a larger agency to set up on your own, we can also help you form the company, register for VAT and payroll, and plan the first year of costs before the first completion fee arrives.

Common questions