Balsworth & Co.
Book a free call

Or ring 01632 960 471

Accountants in Norwich since 2009

Small-business accounts for one fixed fee, agreed before we start.

Bookkeeping, payroll, VAT, tax returns and year-end accounts for sole traders, limited companies and landlords. You pay the same every month and ring us as often as you like.

Work out your fee Book a free call
  • 4.9/5 from 126 client reviews
  • 340 local businesses
  • No minimum term
Overhead view of an accountant checking a stamped invoice against a calculator, with coloured folders around

Fixed monthly fee

£84 a month

Example: a decorator with turnover of £50k to £150k, keeping their own books. Prices before VAT.

  • Year-end accounts for your business
  • Self-assessment tax return, filed by us
  • Tax bill estimate by 31 October
  • Quarterly Making Tax Digital updates for Income Tax
  • Unlimited phone and email questions
  • A named accountant who knows your file
Start with this package Price your own

Services

What we look after

Pick the pieces you need. Every service has a published monthly price, and the calculator below adds them up for you.

All services
Hands checking figures on a calculator over an open ring binder of invoices

Bookkeeping

Your books kept up to date every week, reconciled to the bank, with a one-page summary each month you can actually read.

From £30 a month on top of your plan, for turnover under £50k
A payslip being slipped into a brown envelope on a wooden table

Payroll

Payroll run on time every month, payslips sent, submissions to HMRC made on or before payday, and workplace pensions handled.

From £20 a month for one employee, then £5 for each extra person
A hand working a calculator over a blue folder of invoices beside a laptop

VAT returns

Quarterly VAT returns prepared from your books, checked for the usual mistakes, and filed under Making Tax Digital before the 7th.

From £25 a month, covering four quarterly returns
A joiner planing a length of timber at a workbench, shavings curling off the blade

Self-assessment

Your personal tax return prepared, checked and filed, with your tax bill known by 31 October and nothing left for January.

From £49 a month on the sole trader plan, with accounts included
Stacks of worn brown company files, thick with papers

Year-end accounts

Statutory accounts and the corporation tax return for your limited company, agreed with you first and filed well before the deadline.

From £119 a month on the limited company plan, with the tax return included
A hand holding up a bunch of house keys inside a flat

Landlord accounts

Your rental income and costs turned into a property account and a tax return, with every allowable cost claimed and nothing left to guess.

From £39 a month for up to three properties
A lane of red-brick terraced houses with white sash windows, the kind of street many of our clients live and work on

The practice

340 Norwich businesses file on time with us

We are 11 people in one office off Colegate. Every client has a named accountant and a named bookkeeper, and when you ring during office hours someone who knows your file picks up.

In practice since
2009
Returns filed before December
96%
Average reply time
4 hrs
Meet the team

Switching

How does moving to us work?

Most clients switch in 2 weeks, part-way through the year, without missing a filing.

Two people going through printed forms across a white table

A free 20-minute call

Tell us what the business does and what is due. We say plainly whether we are a good fit.

A calculator in a leather notepad holder beside a laptop

Your fixed fee, in writing

One monthly price with everything it covers listed. Nothing starts until you agree it.

Hands going through an expanding file of paper records

We take over from your old accountant

We send the professional clearance letter and collect your records. Most switches take two weeks.

Hands on a laptop trackpad beside a calculator and a notebook

Monthly check-ins, filings on time

A short monthly note on where you stand, reminders well before each date, and returns filed early.

What switching involves

Monthly fee calculator

Work out your fee in under a minute

Choose your business type and what you need. The price you see is the price we agree on the call.

What kind of business?
Annual turnover, or rent received
Who does the bookkeeping?

Count directors paid a salary. £15 plus £5 a person.

Tax calendar

What is due in the next three months

Every date below is on our calendar for each client it applies to. Filter by the ones that are yours.

UK example dates, October 2026 to December 2026.

  1. October 2026

    • Register for self-assessment Self-assessment If you started working for yourself in the 2025/26 tax year.
    • PAYE and National Insurance payment Payroll Paid electronically for the previous tax month.
    • Paper tax return deadline Self-assessment 2025/26 returns filed on paper. Online returns have until 31 January.

  2. November 2026

    • VAT return and payment VAT Quarter to 30 September.
    • Making Tax Digital quarterly update Self-assessment Income Tax, 6 July to 5 October.
    • PAYE and National Insurance payment Payroll Paid electronically for the previous tax month.

  3. December 2026

    • PAYE and National Insurance payment Payroll Paid electronically for the previous tax month.
    • File online to pay through your tax code Self-assessment For bills under £3,000 if you are also employed.
    • Accounts due at Companies House Company For a 31 March 2026 year end.
See all twelve months

Pricing

Pick the plan that fits your business

Each plan starts with the essentials and adds only what you choose. All prices are monthly, before VAT.

Sole trader

Tradespeople, freelancers and consultants filing a self-assessment return.

from £49 a month

Most sole traders pay £69 to £129 a month.

  • Year-end accounts for your business
  • Self-assessment tax return, filed by us
  • Tax bill estimate by 31 October
  • Unlimited phone and email questions
  • A named accountant who knows your file
Book a free call

Questions about this plan

Can I keep doing my own books?

Yes. Choose “you” for bookkeeping and we check your records once a quarter and fix anything before year end.

Does it cover Making Tax Digital?

Add quarterly updates for £15 a month and we submit each one for you from your records.

When will I know my tax bill?

By 31 October each year, three months before it is due.

Chosen by most clients

Limited company

Owner-managed companies, from one-person contractors to teams of twenty.

from £119 a month

Most companies pay £169 to £289 a month.

  • Statutory accounts filed at Companies House
  • Corporation tax return
  • Confirmation statement
  • Self-assessment for one director
  • Unlimited phone and email questions
  • A named accountant who knows your file
Book a free call

Questions about this plan

Is the director’s tax return included?

One director’s self-assessment is included. Each extra director is £12 a month.

Do you plan salary and dividends?

Yes. We set the split at the start of each tax year and check it again before 5 April.

Can you be our registered office?

Yes, at no extra cost, and we forward official post the day it arrives.

Landlord

Individuals letting one to ten properties, including furnished holiday lets.

from £39 a month

Most landlords pay £39 to £79 a month.

  • Property income and costs account
  • Self-assessment tax return, filed by us
  • Allowable costs review every year
  • Unlimited phone and email questions
  • A named accountant who knows your file
Book a free call

Questions about this plan

Do you need my letting-agent statements?

Yes, or your bank statements if you manage the property yourself. We turn them into a property account.

What about mortgage interest?

We claim the 20% tax credit on finance costs and show you how it affects your bill.

Fixed fee or hourly

What does a year actually cost?

An hourly accountant can look cheaper on paper, until every phone call and every catch-up is on the invoice.

Question Balsworth fixed fee Typical hourly accountant
How you are billed Fixed fee: The same amount every month Hourly: Time sheets, invoiced after the work
Phone and email questions Fixed fee: Included, as many as you need Hourly: Charged in 6-minute units
Knowing the cost in advance Fixed fee: Yes, agreed in writing Hourly: An estimate at best
Deadline reminders Fixed fee: Sent for every filing Hourly: Usually up to you
Tidying messy records Fixed fee: Included with bookkeeping Hourly: Extra hours at year end
Example year, limited company Fixed fee: £2,868 (£239 a month) Hourly: £3,400 to £4,200 at £95 an hour

Hourly figures are an example based on 36 to 44 hours of work a year for a small company. Your own quote will vary.

Client stories

What changed, in pounds and hours

4.9 out of 5 from 126 client reviews

Tax bill for the year

Before£6,840

With us£5,210

“I had been leaving out my van and half my phone because I did not know I could claim them. The first return Balsworth filed was £1,630 lighter, and it cost less than that for the whole year.”
Harriet ColeGarden designer, sole trader

Hours on the books each month

Before14 hours

With us2 hours

“We used to do the books on a Sunday night with a shoebox of receipts. Now we photograph them, Tom reconciles everything weekly, and we get Sunday back.”
Sunil and Jas PatelBakery, partnership

Late-filing penalties

Before£400

With us£0

“My old accountant billed by the hour, so I never rang. Now I ask whatever I like, the fee does not move, and nothing has been late in three years.”
Leigh AndersSoftware contractor, limited company

Guides

Read up before the date arrives

Short guides to the deadlines that catch small businesses out, in the order they fall.

All guides

Still wondering about something?

Questions about a particular plan are answered on its card above. These are the general ones.

Every question we get asked
Is the monthly fee really fixed?

Yes. It is set from your business type, size and the services you choose, and it does not change during the year. If your business grows into a new turnover band, we tell you before the next year starts and agree the new fee with you.

Do I pay VAT on top of the fee?

Yes. The prices on this site are before VAT, because most of our clients are VAT registered and reclaim it. The fee agreement shows both figures.

How long is the contract?

There is no minimum term. You can leave with one month’s notice, and we hand your records to your new accountant promptly.

Which accounting software do you use?

We work with the main cloud bookkeeping packages and include a licence when we do your bookkeeping. If you already use one, we work in it; if you use a spreadsheet, we can move you across.

Do you only work with Norwich businesses?

Most clients are in Norfolk and Suffolk and like to drop in, but we work with businesses anywhere in the UK by phone and video.

Talk to an accountant this week

A free 20-minute call. Tell us what the business does and we will confirm your monthly fee before you hang up.

Book a free call See pricing

Or ring 01632 960 471, Monday to Friday 8:30 to 17:30.

The meeting room at the practice, with a table, two chairs and a flip chart