Chartered Accountants in Poplar
Chartered Certified Accountants for Poplar’s trades, service firms and small companies, minutes away in E1.
Poplar sits between Canary Wharf and Bow, and its business base reflects both. A great deal of the work here is supplying the towers next door — cleaning contracts, security, catering, maintenance, courier and cab firms — alongside the established local trade around Chrisp Street and the East India Dock Road.
MSCO is a firm of Chartered Certified Accountants a short DLR ride away on Mile End Road. We handle accounts, corporation tax, self assessment, VAT, CIS and payroll for E14 businesses, on fixed fees agreed before we start.
- Chartered Certified Accountants
- Providing a first-class service since 2007
- Fixed fees agreed in advance
- Free initial consultation
What we do
Accountancy services for Poplar 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 Poplar:
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
Poplar businesses we work with
Service contracting is the theme. If your income comes from a handful of large contracts, two things matter more than anything else: getting the payroll right, because staff costs are most of your cost base and mistakes compound monthly, and managing cash flow around payment terms that you do not control. We see companies with healthy profit on paper and no money in the bank purely because nobody modelled the gap between paying wages weekly and being paid in sixty days.
- Cleaning, security and facilities firms contracting to Canary Wharf and the docks
- Catering and food service businesses across E14
- Construction subcontractors and trades working under CIS
- Minicab, courier and delivery businesses
- Independent shops and traders around Chrisp Street Market
- Landlords letting in Poplar, Blackwall and the surrounding estates
Why MSCO
Why Poplar clients choose MSCO
For a business with staff, the accountant you want is one who runs the payroll properly and picks up the phone when a P45 or a pension query lands on a Friday. We do the payroll in house on a fixed monthly fee, so it is not subcontracted somewhere you cannot reach.
- 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
One thing worth flagging for E14 service firms: employment status for your staff. If you engage cleaners or operatives as self-employed but control their hours, supply their equipment and direct their work, HMRC is likely to treat them as employees — and the unpaid PAYE and National Insurance becomes your liability, not theirs, often going back years. It is a common and very expensive assumption. We would rather review it now than help you argue it later.
Local proof
The work we do in Poplar
Two situations that come up repeatedly here, and how they are usually dealt with:
Cleaning, security and facilities firms serving the Wharf
The issue we flag most often for E14 service companies is employment status. If you engage operatives as self-employed but set their hours, direct their work and supply their equipment, HMRC is likely to treat them as employees — and the unpaid PAYE and National Insurance lands on the business, often going back years. It is a common and expensive assumption, and it is much cheaper to review now than to argue later.
Contract cash flow around long payment terms
The other recurring piece of work is a profitable company with no money in the bank, because nobody modelled the gap between paying wages weekly and being paid in sixty days. A simple forecast, the right VAT scheme and not paying tax earlier than necessary will not make a client pay faster, but it removes the surprise.
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 Poplar 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 Poplar – frequently asked questions
Can you run payroll for a cleaning or security firm with varying hours?
Yes. Variable hours, multiple sites, weekly and monthly runs, starters and leavers, pensions auto-enrolment and National Minimum Wage checks are all standard for us. You send the hours, we do the rest and send the payslips out.
My staff are self-employed. Is that allowed?
Sometimes, but the test is the reality of the working relationship, not what the contract says. Where you control when, where and how someone works and provide their equipment, HMRC will usually argue employment — and the back tax lands on the business. We will review your arrangements and tell you plainly where you stand.
Cash is tight because clients pay late. Can you help?
We can build a simple cash flow forecast so you can see the pinch points before they arrive, advise on VAT scheme choice such as cash accounting where it helps, and make sure you are not paying tax earlier than you have to. It will not make a client pay faster, but it stops the surprise.
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 Poplar
Poplar to Mile End Road is a short DLR ride via Limehouse, or fifteen minutes by bus up the East India Dock 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