Terms and Conditions

Acumen+ is a firm of accountants based in London providing bookkeeping, VAT, payroll, year end accounts, corporation tax, self assessment and general business advisory services to clients across England and Wales. Where the words "we", "us" or "our" appear in these terms, they refer to Acumen+. "You" refers to the client named in the engagement letter.

Work begins once you have accepted the engagement letter setting out the services, the fee basis and the period covered, and once we have completed our client verification checks. The engagement letter defines the scope of our work. Anything not listed in it is outside our responsibility unless we agree it in writing.

Each engagement is separate. Completing one piece of work, for example a VAT return, does not oblige us to carry out any other work unless the engagement letter says so.

As an accountancy practice we are required by the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 to verify the identity of every client and, where relevant, its directors and beneficial owners. We will ask for photographic identification, proof of address and details of your business ownership before we start work.

We are required to keep these records for the duration of the relationship and for five years after it ends. If we cannot complete these checks we cannot act for you. We also have a legal duty to report knowledge or suspicion of money laundering to the relevant authority, and we are prohibited by law from telling you that we have done so.

You remain legally responsible for your own statutory filings and for the accuracy and completeness of the records you give us. In particular you agree to:

• provide complete and accurate books, records and supporting documents in good time for statutory deadlines
• tell us promptly about changes to your business, directors, shareholders, registered office, trading name or VAT status
• review and approve accounts, returns and computations before we submit them on your behalf
• keep your own copies of records for the periods required by HMRC and Companies House
• settle amounts due to HMRC and Companies House yourself, since we do not make payments on your behalf

If records arrive too late for us to complete work before a filing deadline, we cannot accept responsibility for penalties or interest charged as a result.

We will carry out your work with reasonable skill and care, in line with the professional and ethical standards that apply to our profession. We will keep you informed of relevant statutory deadlines and of progress on your work.

Unless the engagement letter expressly says otherwise, we do not audit your records. Our work is based on the information you supply, and we are entitled to rely on it as complete and accurate. Where an audit is required by law, that is a separate engagement.

Fees are set out in your engagement letter, either as a fixed fee for a defined piece of work or on a time basis at the hourly rates in force at the time the work is done. All fees are quoted in pounds sterling and exclude VAT, which is added at the prevailing rate where applicable.

Invoices are payable within the payment terms shown on the invoice. We reserve the right to charge interest on overdue accounts under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and to suspend work while an account remains unpaid. Work outside the agreed scope will be quoted separately before we start it.

We give you access to an online portal to upload records, view deadlines, review documents and see invoices. You are responsible for keeping your login details confidential and for activity carried out under your account. Tell us straight away if you think someone else has gained access.

You must not upload material that is unlawful, that infringes another party's rights, or that contains malicious code. We may suspend portal access where we reasonably believe it is being misused, or where it is necessary to protect the security of our systems.

We aim to keep the portal available at all times, but access may be interrupted for maintenance or for reasons outside our control. The portal is a convenience for exchanging information and does not replace your own record keeping obligations.

We treat your affairs as confidential and will not disclose your information to a third party without your consent, unless we are required to do so by law, by a regulator, or by our professional obligations. We may share information with subcontractors or software providers who support the delivery of your work, and where we do so they are bound by equivalent confidentiality duties.

Documents and records belonging to you remain yours. Our own working papers, schedules and internal files remain our property. Where the law allows, we may retain your papers while fees properly due to us remain unpaid.

We accept liability for loss caused by our negligence or breach of contract, subject to the limit stated in your engagement letter. We are not liable for loss arising from information that was incomplete, inaccurate or supplied late, nor for the acts or omissions of any third party, including software providers and other advisers you appoint.

Nothing in these terms limits our liability for fraud, for fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.

Either of us may end the engagement by giving written notice. You remain liable for fees for work carried out up to the date the engagement ends, together with any work reasonably required to hand your affairs over. On request we will provide professional clearance information to your incoming accountant once outstanding fees have been settled.

If you are unhappy with any part of our service, contact the partner responsible for your work in the first instance so that we can put matters right. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and set out how we intend to deal with it. If we cannot resolve the issue between us, we will tell you what further steps are open to you.

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them.

We may update these terms from time to time to reflect changes in law, regulation or the way we work. Where a change materially affects the service we provide to you, we will tell you before it takes effect.

Acumen+, London, United Kingdom. Email info@acumenaccountants.co.uk or call +44 20 1234 5678.