1
Understand your goals
A free call about your practice or business, your software and your HMRC deadlines, so we scope the right work.
Outsourced bookkeeping for UK accountancy practices and their clients
A white-label bookkeeping team for UK practices, and digital records, quarterly updates and VAT returns prepared for sole traders, landlords and small companies.
Why UK practices and businesses choose HOF Partners
A remote team that knows HMRC deadlines and UK software, with every piece of work checked before it reaches you.
One team for books, VAT and payroll
Built around MTD and HMRC deadlines
Working in Xero, QuickBooks and Sage
Monthly, quarterly or year-end support
Permission-based, secure access
Checked before anything reaches you
Overview
UK practices have more client work than people to do it, and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is adding more. From 6 April 2027, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £30,000 must keep digital records and send HMRC an update every quarter, so records that were tidied once a year now have to be right four times a year.
HOF Partners is an accounting firm with its team in Dubai. We work as a white-label bookkeeping team for UK accountancy practices, inside their software and under their procedures, and we keep MTD-ready books for sole traders, landlords and small companies. We prepare the work; the practice or the client approves it and files it.
Who we work with in the UK
UK accountancy practices
White-label bookkeeping, VAT and payroll preparation for practices that want more capacity without more hires. Your brand, your software, your client relationship.
- Client files prepared in your software, to your checklists
- Extra hands for MTD quarters and the January peak
- Your team reviews, signs off and files
Sole traders and landlords
People moving onto Making Tax Digital for Income Tax who want their records kept for them, not learnt from scratch.
- Digital records kept in HMRC-compatible software
- Quarterly figures ready to approve before each deadline
- Rental income tracked property by property
Small and growing companies
Limited companies that need their books closed every month and their VAT return ready on time, without a finance hire.
- Books closed on the same date every month
- VAT returns prepared in MTD-compatible software
- Management accounts you can make decisions from
The UK rules your books have to meet
The main rates, thresholds and dates as of October 2026. Each has conditions, so read this as a map, not advice for your facts.
| Rule | What it means for your books |
|---|---|
| Making Tax Digital for Income Tax | Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 joined on 6 April 2026. Over £30,000 join on 6 April 2027, based on the 2025-26 tax return, and over £20,000 on 6 April 2028. Qualifying income is turnover and gross rent before expenses. See the full MTD timeline. |
| MTD quarterly updates | One update per self-employment or property business, due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. The tax return and any tax owed follow by 31 January after the tax year. |
| VAT registration | Registration is compulsory once taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, or is expected to in the next 30 days alone. The deregistration threshold is £88,000. |
| Making Tax Digital for VAT | Every VAT-registered business keeps digital records and submits returns through MTD-compatible software. Quarterly returns and payment are due 1 month and 7 days after the period ends; a fourth late return brings a £200 penalty. |
| Corporation tax | 19% on profits up to £50,000, 25% above £250,000, with marginal relief in between. Tax is due 9 months and 1 day after the year end; the CT600 return is due 12 months after. |
| Annual accounts | A private limited company files accounts at Companies House within 9 months of its year end, or 21 months from incorporation for its first accounts. Directors must verify their identity with Companies House. |
| Payroll (RTI) | A Full Payment Submission goes to HMRC on or before each payday. Employer National Insurance is 15% above £5,000 a year, and workers aged 22 to State Pension age earning over £10,000 are auto-enrolled into a pension. |
| Property income rates | From 6 April 2027, property income is taxed at 22%, 42% and 47% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and finance cost relief is given at 22%. |
Sources, checked October 2026: GOV.UK guidance from HMRC on Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and for VAT, VAT registration, Corporation Tax rates, rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, and changes to tax rates for property income; Companies House guidance on filing accounts and identity verification; the DWP automatic enrolment thresholds review for 2026/27. Rates and thresholds change; we confirm the current position for your business before you act.
What we handle for UK clients
- Monthly or quarterlyFor accountancy practicesWhite-label bookkeeping, VAT workings and year-end files prepared in your practice's software for your team to review.
- QuarterlyMaking Tax DigitalDigital records kept in HMRC-compatible software and each quarter's figures prepared for sole traders and landlords to approve.
- MonthlyBookkeepingBank, card and payment accounts reconciled and every invoice posted, with books closed on a fixed date each month.
- MonthlyXero bookkeepingXero files reconciled, coded and cleaned up, with bank rules and VAT settings that keep them clean.
- QuarterlyVAT returnsVAT returns prepared in MTD-compatible software and reconciled to the ledger, ready to approve before the deadline.
- MonthlyManagement accountsA monthly pack with profit, balance sheet, cash flow and budget comparison, plus a short written commentary.
- Every pay runPayrollWhite-label pay runs for practices and payroll bureaus: payslips, RTI figures and pension files prepared for your review.
- QuarterlyLandlordsRents, agent statements and costs recorded property by property, with MTD quarterly figures ready to approve.
Your path to getting started
Five steps from a first call to a month-end you can rely on.
- 1Understand your goals
- 2Agree a clear plan
- 3Smooth onboarding
- 4Stay connected
- 5Deliver with accuracy
2
Agree a clear plan
Scope, monthly timeline, who does what and how we report back, written down before we start.
3
Smooth onboarding
Permission-based access to your software and bank feeds. We tidy opening balances without disrupting your routine.
4
Stay connected
Regular updates, one named contact and a shared list of open questions, inside UK working hours.
5
Deliver with accuracy
Reconciliations and returns are checked against a review checklist before they reach you for approval.
How we work with UK clients
We prepare. You approve. You file.
Our team is in Dubai. This is how a UK month runs with us.
A working day that overlaps yours
We are four hours ahead of London in winter and three in summer, so your whole morning falls inside our working day and questions are answered the same day.
Your software, your procedures
We work in the cloud accounting and payroll software you already use, under logins you control. Practices hand work over through their own job tracker or a shared one we agree at the start.
Every figure checked before you see it
Books, returns and payroll are checked against source records before they reach you, with reconciliations attached and open questions listed, so your review is a review and not a rebuild.
Questions UK practices and businesses ask us
Yes. UK rules care about how your records are kept, not where your bookkeeper sits: Making Tax Digital requires digital records in compatible software, and cloud accounting makes that the same from any location. We work in your software and you keep full access at all times.
No. We prepare VAT returns, MTD quarterly figures and payroll submissions in your software, check them against your books and send them to you for approval. They are then submitted from your HMRC connection in the software, or by your UK accountant. Company accounts and the CT600 are filed the same way at Companies House and HMRC.
We work under your practice's name, in your software, to your checklists. Your clients deal with you, and your team reviews, signs off and files everything we prepare. Most practices start with a pilot on a few client files. See outsourced bookkeeping for accountants.
If your self-employment turnover and gross rents added together were over £30,000 on your 2025-26 tax return, yes. The test uses income before expenses, so a landlord with high mortgage costs can still be in. See Making Tax Digital bookkeeping for what it involves.
Every engagement is quoted after the free consultation, based on your transaction volume, the number of entities or client files and the services you need. You receive a written proposal with a fixed scope before any work begins.
Your books stay in your cloud software, under individual logins and permissions you control. We ask only for the access each task needs, and you can review or remove it at any time. Because our team works from the UAE, we agree UK GDPR data processing and international transfer terms with you before work starts.
Reading for UK practices and businesses
All insights
United KingdomBookkeepingMaking Tax Digital for Income Tax: Thresholds & Dates
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is live for sole traders and landlords with gross income over £50,000, and the threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027. Here is who is in, when, what quarterly reporting involves and where non-resident landlords stand.
12 min read
GlobalOutsourcingOutsource Bookkeeping Offshore: Costs, Risks, Checklist
A buyer-side guide to outsourcing bookkeeping offshore: how to compare the real cost, what to keep in-house, the data-protection rules for EU, UK, US and UAE clients, and how to choose and onboard a provider.
12 min read
GlobalBookkeepingMonth-End Close Checklist for Small Businesses
A step-by-step month-end close checklist that works whether you report in AED, USD, GBP or EUR: what to reconcile, what to accrue, what to review and when to lock the period.
12 min read
Talk to us about your UK books
A free consultation: we review your records, deadlines and workload and tell you exactly what your practice or business needs.