Tips for your first year in business

From understanding taxes to tracking expenses and paying yourself correctly, there’s a lot to get your head around in the early days. That’s why we’re here to help.
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Ember combines user-friendly accounting software with real-time insights into your finances and taxes, so you always know where your business stands. Our in-house team of qualified accountants is on hand to support you with everything from tax efficiency advice to payroll and year-end filings.
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Ember is designed to make running your business simpler, smarter, and stress-free.

Below, you’ll find practical guidance on your key obligations and how Ember makes each one simpler.

Accurate transaction categorisation is key to keeping your accounts clean and your taxes right. Every transaction should be reviewed and assigned to a relevant category, such as:

Ember provides tools to make categorising your transactions quick and efficient. You can apply the same category to multiple transactions at once, or set up transaction rules that automatically categorise recurring items.

Tip: Only business accounts should be linked to your Ember account.

Check out our guide to categorising transactions.

Need to raise an invoice for a client? Ember makes it simple:

Check out our guide to creating your first invoice.

One of the best ways to reduce your Corporation Tax bill is to claim all legitimate business expenses. These are costs incurred wholly and exclusively for business purposes, including things like:

For a detailed breakdown, check out our article on how to save on Corporation Tax

If you’ve paid for business-related expenses using your personal funds, don’t worry - you can still claim for these in Ember.

To do this:

These will still reduce your taxable profit, even if the payment didn’t come directly from the business account.
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For more information on recording this in Ember, check out our article on adding out of pocket expenses.

As a company director, the two most common ways to pay yourself are through:

Typically, a small salary up to the personal allowance threshold combined with dividends offers the most tax-efficient setup.

Want to learn more? Read our guide on how to pay yourself.

You must register for VAT if your business’s VAT-taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 (as of 2024/25). You can also register voluntarily below that threshold, which might be beneficial depending on your clients and costs.

We’ve got detailed guides to help you:

If you're paying yourself a salary through the company or hiring staff, you’ll need to register as an employer with HMRC and operate PAYE (Pay As You Earn).

As an employer, you're responsible for:

Ember automates much of this for you, including RTI filings and payslip generation, but it's important to stay on top of your obligations. If you're unsure, our team can help guide you through setup and compliance.

Find out more about PAYE and your responsibilities as an employer with our PAYE guide.

As a director of a limited company, you’ll almost always need to file a Self Assessment tax return with HMRC each year.

You’ll typically need to report:

The deadline to submit your Self Assessment online is 31st January following the end of the tax year (e.g. for the 2024/25 tax year ended on 5th April 2025, the deadline is 31st January 2026).

Ember offers a self assessment filing service to take care of this for you.

Each year, your limited company is required to:

Your annual accounts provide a snapshot of your company’s financial activity for the year, while the CT600 outlines how much Corporation Tax (between 19% and 25%, depending on your profit threshold) is owed on your profits.

With Ember:

Running a business means juggling multiple deadlines—whether it's VAT returns, payroll submissions, or annual accounts. Missing any of these can lead to penalties, so staying organised is key.

Ember makes it easy to stay on track with compliance by showing your upcoming responsibilities directly in the My Tasks section of your dashboard.

Here, you'll find personalised reminders and prompts for:

Each task includes a due date and clear steps, so you know exactly what needs to be done and when.

Tip: Make it a habit to check your My Tasks tab regularly - especially at the start or end of each month.