Chartered Accountants in East Ham
Chartered Certified Accountants for East Ham’s family businesses, retailers, pharmacies and care providers.
High Street North and High Street South together form one of the busiest independent retail strips in London. Groceries, pharmacies, jewellers, clothing, restaurants, travel agents, phone shops — almost all family owned, many trading for decades, and a great many with an accounting arrangement that has not been reviewed since the business opened.
MSCO is a firm of Chartered Certified Accountants working across E6 and Newham. We handle accounts, self assessment, corporation tax, VAT, payroll and bookkeeping on fixed fees, with a free first consultation.
- Chartered Certified Accountants
- Providing a first-class service since 2007
- Fixed fees agreed in advance
- Free initial consultation
What we do
Accountancy services for East Ham businesses and individuals
Whatever stage you are at, we cover the full range of compliance and advisory work from our office a short journey from East Ham:
Year-end accounts
Statutory accounts prepared and filed at Companies House, with the numbers explained in plain English.
Bookkeeping
Cloud bookkeeping on Xero, QuickBooks or Sage so your figures are current, not six months old.
Payroll
RTI payroll, pensions auto-enrolment, payslips and P60s handled every pay run.
VAT returns
Registration, scheme selection and Making Tax Digital compliant quarterly filing.
Tax returns & self assessment
Personal and business tax returns prepared, checked for reliefs and filed before the deadline.
Business start-ups
Company formation, HMRC registrations and the structure decisions that are hard to unwind later.
Sole traders
Straightforward accounts and tax for self-employed people, including CIS subcontractors.
Compliance
Confirmation statements, Companies House filings and HMRC correspondence kept on schedule.
Who we help
East Ham businesses we work with
Retail at this density lives or dies on margin and stock, and the tax questions follow from that. Whether the VAT scheme fits a business selling a mix of zero-rated and standard-rated goods, which grocers almost always are. Whether the stock figure at year end is defensible. Whether family members helping in the shop are on the payroll properly. And, increasingly, what happens when the founder wants to step back and a son or daughter takes over.
- Grocers, convenience stores and food retailers on High Street North and South
- Pharmacies and healthcare businesses across Newham
- Restaurants, takeaways and catering businesses
- Care agencies and domiciliary care providers
- Travel agents, jewellers and independent specialist retailers
- Landlords and property investors letting in E6 and E12
Why MSCO
Why East Ham clients choose MSCO
Long-standing family businesses usually get filing and never get advice. We start by reviewing structure, family remuneration and succession, because those are where the money actually is, and then run the compliance quietly on a fixed fee. Everything is confidential, including the parts that are awkward to discuss.
- Chartered Certified Accountants, providing a first-class service since 2007
- Free initial consultation with no obligation and no sales pressure
- Fixed fees agreed in advance, so there is never a surprise invoice
- A named accountant who answers the phone, not a ticket queue
- We handle the switch from your current accountant, including the professional clearance letter
- Xero, QuickBooks and Sage certified, with in-person or video meetings as you prefer
Local expertise
Local knowledge, not a call centre
Mixed-rate retail is the technical issue worth naming here. A grocery shop selling both zero-rated food and standard-rated goods needs a retail scheme that apportions takings properly. Get it wrong and you either overpay VAT quarter after quarter, which many shops silently do, or you underpay and face an assessment with penalties. Reviewing the scheme is a one-off piece of work that can pay for itself many times over across a few years.
Local proof
The work we do in East Ham
Two situations that come up repeatedly here, and how they are usually dealt with:
Mixed-rate retail on High Street North
A grocery or convenience shop selling both zero-rated food and standard-rated goods needs a retail scheme that apportions takings properly. Many shops in E6 are on the wrong scheme, or applying an apportionment that no longer reflects what they actually sell, and quietly overpay VAT quarter after quarter. Reviewing it is a one-off piece of work that can pay for itself several times over across a few years.
Family businesses planning succession
The second common conversation is a founder wanting to hand the shop to a son or daughter. Whether the business is a sole trade, partnership or company changes everything about how it can be passed on and what tax arises, and the inheritance tax reliefs for trading businesses depend on conditions met over time. It is a conversation to have several years ahead of the handover, not at it.
Our credentials
Who prepares your accounts
MSCO Accountants has provided a first-class accountancy service since 2007. The practice is led by Moshin Miah, LLB(Hons), FCA, FCCA, a Chartered Accountant listed with the ICAEW and a Fellow of both the ICAEW and ACCA, admitted in 2011 and holding a current practising certificate. Work is carried out in accordance with applicable UK tax, Companies House and professional accountancy requirements.
- London clients500+
- Small businesses150+
- Sole traders100+
- Start-ups75+
- Payroll clients50+
- Trading since2007
What clients say
Client feedback
Very professional and friendly team. They have helped me in a lot of ways and now I feel like my business is in safe hands now. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.
Sam
Before meeting MSCO, taxes were a headache for me. This company has helped me a lot in all kind of taxes without any kind stress — really appreciate them.
Kamran
Find us
Our East London office
We work with East Ham clients from our office at Suda House, 100 Mile End Road, London E1 4UN — a few minutes from Stepney Green and Mile End Underground stations, on the A11. Street and paid parking is available nearby. Appointments are recommended, and full directions, parking and transport detail are on our directions page.
Common questions
Accountants in East Ham – frequently asked questions
My shop sells both food and general goods. How should VAT be calculated?
Through an appropriate retail scheme that apportions your takings between zero-rated and standard-rated sales, based on your actual purchases or point-of-sale data. Many shops are on the wrong scheme, or apply an apportionment that no longer reflects what they sell. It is worth reviewing — the difference is usually not small.
Can I pay family members who help in the business?
Yes, provided the payment is genuinely for work actually done and the amount is commercially reasonable. It must go through the payroll like any other wage. Done properly it is legitimate and efficient; done casually as cash it creates a PAYE problem for the business.
I want to hand the shop to my son. What should I be thinking about?
Whether the business is a sole trade, partnership or company changes everything about how it can be passed on and what tax arises. There are inheritance tax reliefs for trading businesses that depend on conditions met over time, so this is a planning conversation to have several years ahead rather than at the point of handover.
How much do your accountancy services cost?
Fees depend on the size of the business and how much work is involved, so we quote after a short conversation rather than publishing a one-size-fits-all price. What we can promise is that the fee is fixed and agreed in writing before we start. Most sole traders and small limited companies find our pricing sits comfortably against comparable London firms.
How do I switch from my current accountant?
It is easier than most people expect and takes about ten minutes of your time. You tell your existing accountant you are moving, we write to them for professional clearance and your records, and we handle the handover of your HMRC and Companies House authorisations. You can switch at any point in the year, not just at your year end.
Do I have to come into your office?
No. Plenty of our clients we meet in person, and plenty we have never met at a desk at all — documents come in by email or cloud folder and we talk by phone or video. Both work equally well. If you would rather sit down together, our office on Mile End Road is easy to reach and parking nearby is manageable outside peak hours.
Get in touch
Talk to an accountant near East Ham
East Ham to Whitechapel is a straight run on the District and Hammersmith & City line, then a few minutes to our office on Mile End Road.
Visit usMSCO Chartered Accountants
Suda House, 100 Mile End Road, London E1 4UN
Call us020 7790 0793
07958 943459
Email usinfo@mscoaccountants.co.uk
Nearby areas