Your money is sitting in retentions and CIS deductions. Somebody should be telling you that before the tax bill lands.
Nasir Rasheed, Director
Accountant for construction industry directors who want the tax bill before it lands
Accountant for construction industry limited companies in Milton Keynes and across the UK, for directors with staff, subcontractors, retentions and a corporation tax bill that keeps arriving as a surprise.
Most construction directors I meet are profitable on paper and short of cash in the bank. The money is in retentions, in CIS suffered that was never reclaimed, and in a tax bill nobody forecast. That is a reporting problem, and it is fixable.
Nexus Tax and Accounting Solutions is a Milton Keynes accountant for construction industry limited companies, run by Nasir Rasheed MAAT AATQB. One monthly fee covers accounts, corporation tax, VAT, bookkeeping, payroll and the director’s self assessment, with CIS handling, VAT scheme review and a corporation tax forecast a month ahead included.
Accredited and certified
- Nasir Rasheed MAAT AATQB
- Established 2024
- Three new clients a month
- Milton Keynes · UK-wide remote
What you get with Nexus
Your corporation tax figure a month early
You see the number and your dividend headroom before the year end, so the cash is set aside.
CIS deductions reclaimed, not written off
Deductions suffered are tracked against the company’s liabilities so the money comes back to you.
A reply from Nasir, not an account manager
You deal with the same person every time, because Nexus takes three new clients a month.
Three decisions construction directors get wrong without advice
These are the things I hear in the first meeting with a construction company.
- Cash
“We had a good year on paper, but there was nothing in the bank. Half of it was sitting in retentions we had never chased.”
Retentions were invoiced and recognised, then forgotten. The profit was taxed while the cash sat with the main contractor.
- CIS
“Nobody told me the CIS deducted from our invoices could be set against the PAYE bill. We just paid both.”
Deductions suffered were never reconciled to the company’s account. That is real money left with HMRC for years.
- Tax bill
“The corporation tax number came through nine months after the year end and I had already spent it on a van and a hire.”
The hire and the van were fine decisions made on the wrong figure. The bill then had to be funded from the next job.
- Day 90
What changes once the advice is in the room
Your books get a routine, so retentions, CIS suffered and job costs are current rather than reconstructed in month nine. I forecast the corporation tax and your dividend position before the year end, so the money is there. Then the hire, the van and the tender are decided on numbers you trust.
Quick check · no email
If your accountant cannot tell you whether your VAT scheme is right, what your construction company’s tax bill will be before it lands, and get back to you this week, you have the wrong accountant
Answer these three about the accountant you have now.
Question 1 of 3
Could they tell you this week how much CIS your company has suffered this tax year and what has been reclaimed?
Could they give you your corporation tax figure and dividend headroom before the year end rather than after it?
Could they explain why you are on your current VAT scheme, given reverse charge on construction services?
Three noes means nobody is looking at the numbers that decide your cash position. The set-up review is where that gets checked properly.
You are in a reasonable position with one area unattended, and it is usually the forecast or the CIS reconciliation. The construction company who kept asking to be switched back to me had the same gap.
You are well served and you should stay put. Read the guides if you want a second view on retentions and CIS timing.
A filing-only accountant against advice you can act on
Both file the accounts. Only one of them tells you anything before the deadline.
The year-end only firm
Accounts arrive months after the year end.
CIS suffered is taken from whatever you send them.
VAT scheme was set at registration and never revisited.
A different account manager each year.
Nexus
Corporation tax and dividend position forecast a month ahead.
CIS suffered reconciled and set against company liabilities.
VAT scheme reviewed against how you actually invoice.
Nasir answers, every time.
Eight things to check about your construction company’s set-up
Answer these about your own company rather than your accountant.
- 01
Do you know your CIS suffered figure for the current tax year?
It should be visible in your books, not gathered up in April.
- 02
Are retentions tracked separately from ordinary debtors?
If not, your profit and your cash tell two different stories.
- 03
Has your VAT scheme been reviewed since the reverse charge came in?
Many construction companies are on a scheme chosen for a different business.
- 04
Do you know your corporation tax figure before the year end?
If it arrives with the accounts, it arrives too late to plan around.
- 05
Has anyone looked at your salary and dividend split since incorporation?
Most directors have never had it reviewed once.
- 06
Are subcontractor verifications and monthly returns filed on time every month?
Late returns attract penalties that are entirely avoidable.
- 07
Can you see gross margin by job rather than for the year as a whole?
Pricing the next tender needs the job figure, not the annual one.
- 08
Do you get an answer from your accountant within the week?
If not, decisions get made without the numbers.
What Nexus runs for a construction company
One monthly fee, with the advice built in.
Accounts, corporation tax and CIS
Year-end accounts, CT600, confirmation statement and monthly CIS returns, prepared from books that reconcile.
VAT scheme review and payroll
The right scheme for how you invoice, plus payroll and pensions run on schedule for your staff.
Forecasting and management figures
Corporation tax and dividend forecasts, plus management accounts and cash flow for hiring and pricing decisions.
Entry 01
The construction client who kept asking for the same accountant
One entry from the proof library, anonymised by type.
Clients described by type. Names withheld.
What clients say
What the first ninety days with Nexus look like
Four stages, starting before you have moved anything.
You know what is wrong before you commit
The set-up review covers structure, VAT scheme, salary and dividends, CIS and software.
Your books show the real cash position
Retentions, CIS suffered and job costs get a routine, and the handover from your old accountant is dealt with.
The tax number stops being a surprise
Corporation tax and dividend headroom are forecast ahead of the year end.
Decisions get made on current figures
A check-in flags anything concerning, and queries in between get a prompt reply.
Who Nexus is not the right accountant for
Start-ups in their first or second year, where there is not yet enough trading to advise on.
Sole trader tradespeople under £150,000 of turnover, where incorporation is not yet the obvious move.
Cash businesses and property-only landlords.
Price-driven buyers who want filing done and nothing said in between.
If you are an established construction limited company with staff, subcontractors and real overheads, the set-up review is where we start.
Questions construction directors ask
What does the monthly fee include for a construction limited company?
Year-end accounts, corporation tax, the confirmation statement, VAT returns, bookkeeping, payroll and pensions, CIS returns and the director’s self assessment. Proactive tax planning is included on a fair-use basis: VAT scheme selection, salary and dividend planning and a corporation tax forecast a month before the bill lands. Capital gains tax returns are charged separately.
We already have an accountant, so why change?
Plenty of construction companies have an accountant who files on time and says nothing in between. The question is whether they have told you your corporation tax figure before the year end, reconciled the CIS you have suffered, and reviewed your VAT scheme. If the answer is no, the set-up review will show you what that is costing.
Do we have to move to different bookkeeping software?
Not automatically. Software is one of the things Nasir looks at in the set-up review, alongside structure, VAT scheme and pay. If what you use works for a construction business with subcontractors and retentions, you keep it. If it is causing the month nine reconstruction, he will tell you why and what to change.
What happens with our current accountant when we move?
You do not chase them yourself. Nexus writes for professional clearance, collects the records and deals with the handover, then runs the set-up review and sets a first-year timetable so nothing is missed in the changeover. There is no separate charge for the handover.
Can an accountant for construction industry companies handle CIS and subcontractors?
Yes. Subcontractor verification, monthly CIS returns and the reconciliation of CIS suffered against the company’s PAYE and corporation tax liabilities are part of the monthly routine. That reconciliation is where a lot of construction companies leave money with HMRC, because nobody tracks the deductions taken from their own invoices.
Do you work with construction companies outside Milton Keynes?
Yes. Nexus is based in Milton Keynes and works across Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, including Bletchley, Newport Pagnell, Bedford, Northampton and Luton, and with clients UK-wide remotely. Nasir rarely needs to meet in person, and you deal with him directly wherever the company is based.
Three ways to take the next step
Take the two-minute quiz
If the fit is right, Nasir books the set-up review and comes back with a written list of what to change and why.
See if Nexus is the right fit 02 · A question firstWant to ask about CIS or retentions first?
Call or email and Nasir will answer the question himself, before you decide anything.
Ask Nasir a question 03 · Still decidingStill deciding
The guides cover VAT schemes, dividend planning and what a construction company should be able to see in its own numbers.
Read the guides →