For any business, knowing how to value and price what it sells is fundamental to success. Yet many small firms still rely on guesswork or simply copy competitors’ prices without understanding whether their own costs, quality or value proposition justify those figures. Accountants can play an important role in helping clients to take a structured approach to pricing and valuation, ensuring that products and services deliver both profit and sustainability.

Understand the true cost base
The starting point for any pricing decision is to establish the real cost of production or service delivery. This includes not only direct costs such as materials, wages and subcontractors, but also a fair allocation of overheads such as rent, utilities, marketing and administration. Once a business has a full understanding of its cost base, it can identify the minimum viable price required to cover costs and earn a profit margin. Accountants can assist by reviewing costing methods and ensuring that indirect costs are not overlooked.

Add value, do not just add margin
Too many businesses apply a simple markup to costs and call it pricing. A more strategic approach looks at the perceived value from the customer’s perspective. What problems does the product or service solve, how is it different and what benefits does it offer compared with competitors? Value-based pricing allows firms to charge more when the customer sees a clear benefit or saving. For example, if a service saves a client several hours each week, the price can reflect part of that time saving as additional value.

Use segmentation and flexibility
Not all customers are the same and pricing does not have to be either. Offering packages or tiers can help serve different market segments without undercutting core pricing. For example, a “standard,” “premium,” and “enterprise” level can target different budgets and expectations. Seasonal discounts, early payment incentives, or loyalty pricing can also be effective if managed carefully. The key is consistency and transparency.

Monitor performance and adjust regularly
Pricing is not a one-off exercise. Markets, costs and demand all change. Businesses should regularly review their margins, conversion rates and customer feedback to assess whether their pricing remains competitive and profitable. Accountants can add value by providing performance reports and benchmarking against industry standards.

If you would like help reviewing your pricing structure or working out how to value what you sell, please get in touch. We can help you analyse your costs, benchmark performance and design a pricing model that supports long-term profitability.

From 18 November 2025, all company directors and people with significant control (PSCs) will be legally required to verify their identity at Companies House. This verification is being phased in over 12 months and Companies House is contacting companies directly with guidance regarding what needs to be done and by when.

These changes are intended to help ensure that people setting up, running and controlling companies are who they say they are. An estimated 6 to 7 million people will need to verify their identity by November 2026. The verification process will usually be a one-time requirement. Verification can be undertaken directly with Companies House through GOV.UK One Login or via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP).

If you are using GOV.UK One Login you will be asked simple questions to find the best way for you to verify your identity. You must provide answers about yourself, not your company. Depending on your answers, you will then be guided to verify:

• with an app 
• by answering security questions online 
• by entering your details from your photo ID on GOV.UK One Login first, then going to a participating Post Office

To verify your identity at Companies House, you can use the GOV.UK online verification service if you have one of several accepted photo identification documents. These include a biometric passport from any country, a full or provisional UK photo driving licence, a UK biometric residence permit or card or a UK Frontier Worker permit.

If you do not have any of the accepted forms of photo ID but live in the UK, there are alternative ways to verify your identity. This includes verifying your identity in-person at a Post Office or using details from your bank or building society account together with your National Insurance number.

If you are unable to verify your identity using any of the available online or in-person methods, you can appoint an ACSP, such as an accountant or solicitor to verify your identity on your behalf. The ACSP must be registered with Companies House and a UK Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervisory body. You will need to provide approved documents as evidence of your identity and the agent may charge a fee for their services.

If you have sold a UK residential property since 6 April 2020, it is important to be aware that the reporting and payment deadlines for Capital Gains Tax have changed. For property sales completed on or after 27 October 2021, any Capital Gains Tax that becomes payable must now be reported and paid within 60 days of completion. This applies where the property is not fully covered by the private residence exemption. For example, where the property was a rental property, a second home, or only partly used as your main residence. If the property was jointly owned, each owner must report their own share of the gain.

To calculate the gain, you will need information about the dates of purchase and sale, the original purchase price, legal fees and other costs, plus any significant improvement expenses. Estate agency and legal costs on sale will also be needed. The sooner you gather these details, the easier it is to meet the deadline.

For other types of capital gains, for example shares, investments, or commercial property sold by a UK resident, the reporting is usually carried out through your Self Assessment return for the tax year concerned. In some cases it is possible to report gains in real time, rather than waiting until the tax return is due, but this depends on the circumstances. 

If you use the “real time” Capital Gains Tax service, this is available for UK residents disposing of certain assets (not including UK residential property) in the current tax year. If this route is used, the reporting deadline is by 31 December after the end of the tax year of disposal, with payment due by 31 January.

If you think you may have sold or are planning to sell a property or other asset that could give rise to a taxable gain, please contact us as soon as possible. Early information means that we can ensure the calculations are correct and the reporting deadlines are met, which helps avoid unnecessary interest or penalties.

Companies can reduce their Corporation Tax bill through a range of reliefs, including R&D credits, Patent Box, and creative industry tax reliefs, all of which will help to lower the overall tax on profits. Your company can also claim capital allowances for assets such as equipment, machinery and cars bought to use in your business.

The basic Corporation Tax reliefs include the following:

Research and Development tax reliefs – The R&D expenditure credit (RDEC) and enhanced R&D intensive support (ERIS) came into effect for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024. While the expenditure rules for both are the same, the calculation methods differ. The merged RDEC scheme is a taxable expenditure credit available to eligible trading companies subject to UK Corporation Tax. Even if a company qualifies for the ERIS, it may choose to claim under the merged scheme instead, but both schemes cannot be claimed for the same expenditure.

The Patent Box – This relief allows qualifying companies to apply a lower 10% corporation tax rate on profits arising from patent exploitation.

Creative industry tax reliefs (CITR) – This is the term for a collection of Corporation Tax reliefs that allow qualifying companies to claim a larger deduction, or in some circumstances claim a payable tax credit when calculating their taxable profits. The relief applies to qualifying expenditure in the production of certain films, high-end television, animation, video games, children’s television, theatre, orchestra and museum & galleries exhibitions.

Relief on goodwill and relevant assets – If the relief is available, it is at a fixed rate of 6.5% a year. This is on the lower of the cost of the relevant asset or 6 times the cost of any qualifying IP assets in the business purchased.

Loss relief – There are various Corporation Tax reliefs that may be available where your company or organisation makes a trading terminal, capital or property income losses. For example, trading losses may be used to claim relief from Corporation Tax by offsetting the loss against other gains or profits of the business in the same or previous accounting period.

If you are UK resident and receive income from abroad, such as overseas wages, rent, or investments, you may need to pay UK Income Tax and report it through Self-Assessment.

Income Tax is generally payable on taxable income received by individuals including earnings from employment, earnings from self-employment, pensions income, interest on most savings, dividend income, rental income and trust income. The tax rules for foreign income can be complex. 

However, as a general rule if you are resident in the UK you need to pay UK Income Tax on your foreign income, such as:

• wages if you work abroad
• foreign investments and savings interest
• rental income on overseas property
• income from pensions held overseas

Foreign income is defined as any income from outside England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are classed as foreign. Different rules may apply if you’re eligible for Foreign Income and Gains relief.

If you are a UK resident, then you will usually need to complete a self-assessment tax return for foreign income or capital gains. The main exceptions are if your only foreign income is dividends and your total dividends (including UK dividends) are less than the £500 or you have no other income to report.