Accountants in Kent: McLean Reid Chartered Accountants in Aylesford

Our Firm: We were founded in the 1970s and have gained a wealth of experience since then, dealing with a wide range of clients from various sectors.
Our People: Meet the team behind McLean Reid.
Testimonials
Vacancies: Accounts/Tax Assistant position
Why Choose Us?: We offer a friendly and personal service tailored to meet your needs.
Business start up: The support of a team of trained experts...
Compliance services: Supporting all aspects of business administration...
Consultancy & systems advice: Offering you the best advice...
Investments & pensions: Independent financial advice and specialist knowledge...
Support services: Helping your business to grow and increase profitability...
Taxation: Working closely with you to ensure you pay the minimum tax...
Services for Businesses
Accountancy: We can prepare accounts for all types of business, from sole traders to partnerships and limited companies.
Accounts Software: We can advise you on the best accounting system - manual or computerised - for your business and help you set it up.
Auditing Services: We can perform your auditing and financial analysis with a minimum of fuss and maximum efficiency and accuracy.
Auto Enrolment: Workplace pensions were introduced in response to difficulties arising from increased life expectancy and low pension savings.
Bookkeeping: We can help you organise your records, from spreadsheets to bulldog clips to electronic portals where needed.
Business Start-ups: We offer business start-up support when it’s most needed. Experience counts and you can count on us!
Business Structures: With our expertise we can help advise you on the best structure for your business, and of course we explain why.
Company Secretarial: We can provide peace of mind, by taking the hard work off your hands.
Corporate Tax Planning: Our services will help to minimise your corporate tax exposure and relieve you of the administrative burden.
Digital tax is coming: Be prepared for the change!
Fee Protection Scheme: A service we have offered our clients for many years and it proves popular because it protects against spiralling expenses in the event of an HMRC investigation.
HMRC Investigations and Inquiries: We will liaise with HMRC on your behalf and provide expert help and support.
Other Specialist Services: We offer a wide range of services to all our clients but we have specialist expertise in a number of areas.
Payroll: We can help to relieve the payroll burden with our comprehensive payroll service. We are also active in auto-enrolments.
Strategy and Consultancy: Our experienced team of advisers will take the time to sit down with you and work out the best business strategy for you.
VAT: Many businesses unintentionally over or underpay Value Added Tax (VAT) as a result of its complexity. We provide an efficient VAT service.
Services for Individuals
Estate and Inheritance Tax Planning: We provide a discreet estate planning service.
Fee Protection Scheme: A service we have offered our clients for many years and it proves popular because it protects against spiralling expenses in the event of an HMRC investigation.
HMRC investigations and Inquiries: We will liaise with HMRC on your behalf and provide expert help and support.
Personal Tax Planning: Whether you need help filling in your tax return or know-how on estate planning or trust funds, we can assist you.
Academy Schools: Converting a school to academy status brings a range of financial challenges – and we provide all the expert help and advice you need.
Charity and Not-for-Profit Organisations: Our specialist advisors can guide you through the maze, helping your organisation to save valuable time and resources.
Foster Carers & Fostering Agencies: We can help you deal with all of the complicated regulations that fostering involves, giving you more time to concentrate your resources and efforts where they are needed most – your foster children.
Garages: We specialise in providing an unrivaled accountancy service for all members of the garage service and motor vehicles trade, as well as any people or companies who are associated with the motor industry.
IT Consultants: The IT sector is constantly evolving which means that you need an accountant who can keep up!
Your business
Developing your business
Branding
Avoiding the brand pitfalls: Branding blunders to avoid…
Building your brand: Key elements of a good brand.
Business finance
Can you cut your interest payments?: Minimise the payments on your borrowing.
Don't cut costs - manage them: An introduction to target costing.
Negotiate credit card fees: Make sure you get the best credit card deal.
Obtaining better financial control: The importance of monitoring projections and results.
Raising finance: Maximise your chance of raising funds.
Reduce your utility bills: A checklist for utility savings.
Save money on office furniture and equipment: Advantages of buying secondhand.
Three steps to cheaper financing: Keeping down the costs of external financing.
Track your leases: Set up a tracking system for your equipment leases.
Watch your margins when the good times roll: Beware a common trap of allowing margins to slip with business is good.
Business processes
Benchmarking best practice: Ways to monitor your progress and efficiency.
Designing for profit: Good product design is at the heart of business profitability.
Does your business pass the risk test?: A business risk assessment checklist.
Get better deals from suppliers: How to negotiate with suppliers while keeping good relations.
Is outsourcing the best strategy?: Which functions are best outsourced?
Making the most of your company meetings: Don’t waste time in board or company meetings.
Should you buy in or manufacture materials?: Checklist for the pros and cons of in-house manufacturing.
Stock answers: Inefficient stock management can be one of the biggest drains on profitability.
Ten reasons to benchmark your business: The benefits of benchmarking.
When cutting costs is counterproductive: Improving profits without just cutting costs.
Exit planning
Do you have a succession plan in place?: Don’t leave it to the last minute to plan for the next generation.
Preparing your partnership: Planning for a successful exit from a partnership.
Selling your business: An introduction to the issues involved in a business sale.
Selling a business - your questions answered: Frequently asked questions on making a business sale.
General
7 ways to protect your business against a downturn: Protect your business against economic downturns.
Could your business survive without you?: Plan now to protect yourself, your family and your business if the unthinkable happens.
Getting more from your business meetings: Tips for more effective business meetings.
Helping the environment - and your business: Using energy efficiently could significantly reduce your running costs.
Identifying and preventing fraud: Minimise the risk of fraud to your business.
Leasing equipment: Checklist for what to consider when leasing.
Most common fraud risk factors: Eleven of the most common fraud risk factors for your business.
Protecting against disaster: Your business should have a strategy for dealing with disaster.
Relocating your business: Relocating your business requires careful planning.
Use corporate giving to improve your bottom line: Corporate giving can make a substantial contribution to your profitability.
When you suspect employee fraud...: Suspecting an employee of fraud can put you in a difficult position.
Work and travel: Ideas to help make your business trips more successful.
Working from home: The do’s and don’ts of home working.
Management skills
Break the management mould: A twelve-point programme to help business owners and managers to avoid complacency.
Effective time management: A time management skills checklist.
Leadership checklist: Are you a manager or a leader?
Presentation skills: Tips for delivering public presentations.
The art of negotiation: Hone your negotiation skills.
Managing your staff
Bringing training in-house: Bringing trainers to you can be more cost-effective than sending staff out.
Conducting a successful interview: Ten great interview questions.
Consulting your staff: Getting the most from your employees' ideas.
Employee incentives...that won't break the bank: Affordable ways to incentivise staff.
Getting the most out of staff appraisals: Make sure appraisals are effective and useful.
Hiring winning sales staff: What do you look for when hiring new sales staff?
How to keep your best staff: Ways to reduce staff turnover.
Identify your star employees: Checklist for identifying your most valuable employees.
Keep a look-out for signs of stress: Tackle staff stress before it costs you money.
Managing absence: Strategies for effective absence management.
Opening the books can improve profitability: Should you open the books to employees?
Recruiting executives: Checklist for hiring executives.
Recruiting the right staff: Make sure you have a structured process for recruitment.
The do's and don'ts of incentive schemes: Strategies for motivating employees.
Your staff handbook: Key elements of a staff handbook.
Planning and strategy
An introduction to strategic planning: Key elements of strategic planning.
Avoiding traps in strategic planning: Strategy errors to avoid.
Building strategic alliances: How collaboration can benefit your business.
Finding your market niche: Capitalise on your corner of the marketplace.
How to survive when times get tough: Protect your business in a downturn.
Innovate to grow: The three basic skills behind innovation.
Make your planning meetings count: Tips for effective planning meetings.
No business is an island: Understanding your place in the chain.
Pricing strategies: Different approaches to setting a price.
Six reasons why business plans fail: Business planning traps to avoid.
Six steps to an effective business plan: Review your business planning.
Small is profitable: The advantages of being a small business.
Strategies for increasing revenue: Including the product/market matrix.
The right kind of growth: Is growth always healthy?
Sales and marketing
A customer satisfaction survey: Knowledge is power when it comes to customer satisfaction.
A networking strategy: Effective networking checklist.
A 16 point marketing plan: Simple tips for effective marketing.
Benchmarking and competitor analysis: Conducting a competitive analysis.
Encourage customer complaints: Turn complaints into outstanding service.
Keep your sales force selling: Do your sales staff spend more time on admin than sales?
Marketing versus selling: Know what your customers want.
When the customer is not right: Sometimes you have to fire a bad customer.
Your customers' experience: Your customers won’t always tell you when they’re unhappy.
Essentials
Management
Buy, HP or lease?: Deciding whether to buy, hire purchase or lease an asset.
Expansion – is your business ready?: Our guide to expanding your business.
Keeping an eye on your cashflow: Including a cashflow checklist.
The General Data Protection Regulation: An overview of the rules on data protection.
The value of outsourcing: Which functions could you outsource?
Other essentials
Making Tax Digital for Individuals: Outlining the Making Tax Digital regulations for individuals.
VAT - Making Tax Digital: An overview of the Making Tax Digital for VAT regulations.
Bribery Act 2010: This factsheet gives an overview of the procedures you must put in place in relation to the Bribery Act 2010.
Capital allowances: An introduction to the main capital allowances.
Cash Basis for the self-employed: An overview of the cash basis scheme for small unincorporated businesses.
Criminal Finances Act 2017: A guide to the Criminal Finances Act 2017.
Charities: trustees' responsibilities: The main responsibilities for charity trustees.
Charities in Scotland: trustees' responsibilities: We consider the various responsibilities of being a Scottish Charity Trustee with particular emphasis on accounting and audit requirements.
Employed or self employed?: How to determine whether you are employed or self-employed?
Employer supported childcare: An introduction to the rules governing ESC.
Accounting records: What records should you keep – and for how long?
How to gain the most from your accounting records: Reducing the time needed in your accounts preparation.
Husband and wife businesses: The tax and legal issues of owning a business with a spouse.
Preventing Late Payments: Tips to help businesses avoid falling victim to the 'late payment culture'.
Salary sacrifice: A guide to the tax and NIC advantages.
Take care to avoid a penalty: Make sure your tax affairs avoid an HMRC penalty.
The Construction Industry Scheme: Rules for contractors.
The National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage: Ensure you are compliant with all the rates.
Limited companies
An Introduction to Corporation Tax: Key information about company tax.
Companies - tax saving opportunities: Pre-year end tax planning is an important consideration and this factsheet outlines some of the key areas. Topics covered include corporation tax, capital allowances, dividends payments and capital gains.
Company secretarial duties: Information on the duties of a company secretary.
Corporation tax self assessment: The company tax return and other corporation self assessment issues.
Directors’ responsibilities: Information on Directors’ duties and guidance for company directors.
Forming a limited company: A guide to the process of setting up a limited company.
How much dividend can I take?: Paying dividends is a more complex area than is generally realised.
Off-payroll working and Personal Service Companies: An overview of the IR35 legislation.
Register of people with significant control: Reviewing the Persons with Significant Control register requirements for UK companies.
Small Company Accounting: Explores the impact of GAAP on small company accounting.
Statutory records: The records you must keep up-to-date.
PAYE, NICs and benefits
Car or van?: What counts as a ‘van’ for tax purposes?
Cars for employees: An overview of how company car tax is calculated, and how to save money.
Employee Expenses: A guide to reporting expenses and benefits.
Employing your spouse or civil partner: The benefits of transferring income to your spouse or civil partner.
Employment benefits: A guide to tax-free benefits and expenses payments for employers.
Fixed rate expenses: Details of the optional fixed rate expenses scheme.
Minimising the risk of employer compliance visits: Making sure your PAYE operation is compliant.
National insurance: Ways for employers to save NICs.
Payroll - basic procedures: A guide to Pay-As-You-Earn administration.
Payroll Real Time Information: A guide to the Real Time Information payroll rules.
Payslips: The legal requirements for payslips.
Pensions - automatic enrolment: If you employ staff, you'll need to ensure you comply with the auto-enrolment regulations.
Pooled cars and vans: The rules governing pooled vehicles.
Reform of National Insurance for the self-employed: Outlining the NICs that are required to be paid by the self employed.
State Pension top up: Class 3A voluntary national insurance contributions: Aspects of voluntary NICs.
The Employment Allowance: A guide to the Employment Allowance.
Starting a business
Before you begin: Key questions to ask before starting a business.
Start-ups - your business and the law: The legal essentials for new start-ups.
Tax and tax planning for start-ups: We can help you to minimise your tax bill.
Getting started
Allowable Expenses: What can you claim tax relief for?
An introduction to the tax system for the self employed: Key tax issues you need to know about.
A mission statement: Defining your business purpose.
Building a brand: Key tips for developing a memorable image.
Choosing a year end: Be tax efficient when deciding a year end date.
Incorporation: Considerations when operating as a company on incorporation.
Insuring your business: Are you sufficiently covered?
Limited liability partnerships: LLPs explained.
Names, trademarks, patents and other registrations: The key legal requirements.
Premises and location: Essential considerations when choosing your base.
Raising finance: Maximise your chances of gaining funding.
Should you buy a franchise?: The pros and cons of buying 'off-the-shelf'.
Which business structure?: Choosing the structure that best suits your needs.
Working from home: Home working do's and don'ts.
Writing a business plan: How to write an effective business plan.
Your business vision: What are your ultimate goals?
Growing the business
Contingency and disaster planning: Protect yourself from the worst-case scenario.
Sales and marketing: Some essential tips for improving your marketing.
Stock control: Poor stock management can hurt your profits.
Suppliers and purchasing: Building relationships with suppliers.
Taking on staff: Issues when hiring employees.
Managing money
10 tips for avoiding bad debts: 10 tips for avoiding bad debts.
Borrowing and loans: Keep the costs of borrowing down.
Cash flow management: Basic ways of monitoring your financial performance.
Accounting records: What records should you keep – and for how long?
Maintaining good financial control: Basic ways of monitoring your financial performance.
VAT
Group VAT Registration: Advantages and disadvantages of VAT grouping.
Recovering VAT on staff expenses: How to reclaim VAT on supplies made to your employees.
VAT - a summary: A general overview of the principles of VAT.
VAT - annual accounting scheme: A guide to the annual accounting scheme.
VAT - bad debt relief: The conditions and requirements of claiming VAT relief on bad debts.
VAT - cash accounting: A guide to the cash accounting scheme.
VAT do's and don'ts: Key actions to take and traps to avoid.
VAT - flat rate scheme: A guide to the simplified scheme for small businesses.
VAT - how to survive the enforcement powers: Making sure you comply with the rules.
Your money
Personal taxation
Are you still on track for retirement?: Are you saving enough for the end of your working life?
Capital gains tax and the family home: The CGT rules when selling a home.
Land and Building Transaction Tax: Reviewing the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax applicable to land transactions occurring in Scotland.
Land Transaction Tax: Reviewing the Land Transaction Tax applicable to land transactions occurring in Wales.
Changes affecting landlords of residential properties: A summary of the new changes affecting landlords of residential properties.
Child Benefit charge: A guide to the income tax charge relating to Child Benefit for higher earners.
Dividends and interest: This factsheet considers the Savings and Dividends Allowances.
Does your estate planning pass the test?: Check if your estate is protected from the tax man.
Furnished holiday lettings: A guide to the tax rules governing FHL.
Charitable giving: You can get tax relief on gifts to UK charities if you give under Gift Aid or through a Payroll Giving scheme or by making a gift of shares or land. We outline the reliefs available.
Inheritance tax - a summary: Ways to minimise your estate's liability to inheritance tax.
Lasting Powers of Attorney: An introduction to the LPA rules.
Making a will and other related matters: One of the most important elements of estate planning.
Planning for a year's prosperity: How forward planning can save you tax.
Personal tax - self assessment: A guide to the personal tax return.
Personal tax - when is income tax and capital gains tax payable?: Advice on when key tax payments under Self Assessment are payable.
Repayment of student loans: How student loan repayments are administered and collected.
Stamp Duty Land Tax: A guide to the charges on transfers of land, shares and interests in partnerships.
Statutory Residence Test: Determining the UK residence status of individuals.
Supporting your children: Tax consequences of assisting your children financially.
Savings & investments
Capital gains tax: The latest rules on CGT.
Tax-Free Childcare: An introduction to the rules governing TFC.
Capital Gains Tax on disposal of chattels: Tax planning for chattels.
Enterprise Investment Scheme: A guide to the investment scheme.
Individual Savings Accounts: An overview of the rules governing ISAs.
Pension savings - tax aspects: An overview of a complex tax area.
Property investment - buy to let: Key elements of buy-to-let.
Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme: The tax advantaged venture capital scheme.
VCT, EIS & SEIS compared: An at-a-glance comparison of tax efficient schemes.
Venture Capital Trusts: An introduction to shares in VCTs.
Tax information
Autumn Budget
Article
Spring Statement
Article
Tax calendar
Tax rates and allowances
Article
Tax strategies
Tax and financial strategies 2025/26: How tax planning can benefit you, and some recent changes.
A comfortable retirement: Planning for the end of your working life.
Exiting your business: Planning for a tax-efficient business exit.
Making the most of savings and investments: Take advantage of tax saving opportunities.
Planning for yourself and your family: Tax planning for private individuals.
Strategies for your business: Tax planning ideas for business owners.
Tax and employment: Tax issues for employers and employees.
Tax-efficient estate planning: Ensuring your estate is protected from the tax man.
Interactive tools
Calculators
Your business
CIS tax deductions: This calculator helps calculate any necessary CIS Tax Deductions.
Company car and fuel benefit-in-kind: Calculate the taxable benefits on your company car.
Gross profit: Calculate your gross profit, and your gross profit margin.
More profit: Find out how you can create more profit.
Startup: A calculator to assist you in working out how much funding you will need to support your new business startup.
VAT: Work out the VAT due or paid on any amount.
Your money
APR: Convert a nominal rate of interest (compounded monthly) to an annual percentage rate.
Fuel cost: Find out how much you spend on fuel per year.
Inheritance tax: Work out your total IHT liability.
Loan: Calculate the monthly repayments and interest on a loan.
Mortgage repayments: Work out the cost of your monthly mortgage repayment.
Payslip: Check the amount of tax that should be deducted from your monthly/weekly pay.
Savings: Work out how much your savings will be worth.
Stamp duty: Calculate the stamp duty on the purchase of property.
Companies House forms
HMRC forms
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