Works with: Founders and the delivery team
Focus: Day-to-day ownership of a startup client portfolio, from monthly compliance through to year end accounts and corporation tax
Overview
Startup Accountancy is a practice built around founders. We work with early-stage businesses all year round, not just at year end, keeping their numbers clean, their deadlines met, and their founders clear on where they stand so they can get on with building.
We're hiring a Client Manager to look after a portfolio of startup clients. You'll have regular, hands-on contact with founders and their teams, and look after the full picture: bookkeeping, VAT returns, payroll, year end accounts and corporation tax. You'll prepare and review the technical work, keep junior team members on track, and spot what founders need to know before it becomes a problem.
You'll work closely with the Partner and founders, with real input into how we deliver and a clear path to Senior Manager as we grow.
If you're a strong all-round practice accountant who wants proper relationships with clients, rather than seeing their file once a year, this is the role.
Key responsibilities
- Own a portfolio of startup clients across bookkeeping, accounts, tax, and payroll.
- Review VAT returns and make sure they are filed on time.
- Oversee payroll and pensions compliance across your clients.
- Work closely with founders and their teams on day-to-day queries, and escalateto the Partner where needed.
- Make sure deadlines and SLAs are met across the portfolio.
- Uphold our client-first standards: clarity, speed, and service quality.
2. Year end accounts
- Prepare and review year end statutory accounts for micro and small companies (FRS 105 and FRS 102 Section 1A).
- Prepare year end adjustments: accruals, prepayments, deferred income, fixed assets, and intercompany balances.
- Review bookkeeping quality in Xero before year end and resolve issues with the client.
- File accounts at Companies House on time and keep client files complete and audit-ready.
- Prepare corporation tax computations and CT600 returns, and file with HMRC.
- Prepare R&D tax relief claims, or support specialists where we use them.
- Advise on startup-specific tax points: losses, associated companies, marginal relief, and payment dates.
- Flag tax planning opportunities and risks to clients and the founders.
4. Team support and review
- Review work from juniors and seniors and give clear, practical feedback.
- Help develop technical skills on accounts and tax.
- Support the Senior Manager and Head of Client Services on workload and capacity.
5. Systems and processes
- Work within and help improve our core systems: Xero, Karbon, Ignition, and Tally.
- Keep year end and tax workflows efficient and documented.
- Suggest changes that cut errors, delays, and duplication.
6. Compliance and technical knowledge
- Stay current on tax and reporting changes relevant to startups.
- Make sure client files are accurate and compliant with practice standards and AML requirements.
- Share technical updates with the team.
Requirements
- ACA or ACCA qualified, or qualified by experience with strong practice background.
- At least 4 years' experience within a UK accountancy practice.
- Hands-on experience preparing corporation tax computations and CT600 returns.
- Working knowledge of FRS 105 and FRS 102 Section 1A.
- Experience managing your own client relationships and deadlines.
- Experience with VAT returns and payroll for owner-managed or early-stage businesses.
- Comfortable reviewing others' work and giving feedback.
- Right to work in the UK.
- Experience preparing Self Assessment tax returns
- Experience with practice tools such as Karbon, Ignition, or similar.
- Exposure to startup clients, R&D tax claims, EIS/SEIS, or share schemes.
- Experience with CCH, TaxCalc, IRIS, or similar accounts and tax production software.
You’ll fit in if you
- Are tech-savvy and keen to use automation and AI to work faster.
- Explain things clearly to founders who aren't accountants.
- Want to grow into a more senior role as the practice scales.
- Work with ambitious founders building new businesses, not legacy clients on autopilot.
- Modern, cloud-first systems and a team that actively builds tools to remove admin.
- Direct access to the founders and real influence over how we deliver.
- A clear route to Senior Manager as the practice grows.
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