HMRC registration deadline · 5 October
New sole trader. A year of trading. No books.
They have to register with HMRC by 5 October, and behind that form is a year of business run through a personal bank account. Build the first year’s bookkeeping and opening position from the statements, using the rules you already have.
| Account | Opening | Movement | Closing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 Current Account | 10,000.00 | 11,536.31 | 21,536.31 |
| 1010 Savings Account | 5,000.00 | 4.11 | 5,004.11 |
| 4000 Sales Revenue | 0.00 | (12,750.00) | (12,750.00) |
| 4200 Interest Received | 0.00 | (4.11) | (4.11) |
| 7200 Rent & Rates | 0.00 | 950.00 | 950.00 |
| 6300 Computer & IT | 0.00 | 263.69 | 263.69 |
| 9999 Opening Balance Equity | (15,000.00) | 0.00 | (15,000.00) |
| Totals | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
They didn’t know they needed an accountant until now.
They started trading last year, ran it all through their current account, kept some receipts and have just found out about the deadline. So the real job is rebuilding a year of bookkeeping from a bank statement, quickly, and it rarely fits the fee for a first year of accounts.
Build the year from the bank, set any opening position once, and the client starts your normal process with the numbers already straight.
Before and after
Bring the trader in without rebuilding the year by hand.
FAQ
Registration-deadline questions.
What is the 5 October deadline?
Someone who became self-employed during a tax year has to tell HMRC by 5 October after that tax year ends, so they get a Self Assessment record in time to file. Missing it risks a failure-to-notify penalty. Entrio doesn’t do the registration (that’s a short HMRC form), but it’s usually when a firm takes the client on and finds a year of bookkeeping to build.
The client has never had an accountant. Where does the history come from?
The bank. For a new sole trader it’s the one complete record. Import the statements from the day they started trading, let your rules file them, and you have a reviewed position for the year.
What if there’s no opening position at all?
For a real start-up there often isn’t one. Where there is (money put in, a van brought into the business, stock on hand), you enter it once and it goes into the trial balance.
I’m taking on several new sole traders before October. Does that scale?
Yes. Each client has its own books but they share your firm’s rules, so the second trader arrives mostly filed by the rules you wrote for the first.
What if they’ve only traded for a few months?
Then it’s a short year and a quick job: import, review, reconcile. Doing it now means it stays quick instead of competing with everything else in January.
Founding firms · 22 of 25 places left
Start with the next trader who signs.
Fourteen days free and no card. A sample client is set up when you sign up, so you can see the whole thing before any real data goes in.
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