Accountants for care homes and healthcare providers
Care is a staffing business with a property attached. Almost every financial question comes back to occupancy and staff cost, so that is what the reporting has to make visible.
AccountsHelp provides accounting and tax services to care homes and healthcare providers across the United Kingdom, covering the mix of local authority and private fee income, staff and agency cost analysis, occupancy reporting and the financial information regulators expect.
Where care homes need more than generic accounting
Mixed funding sources
Local authority placements, NHS funding and private fees are paid at different rates and on different timescales. Reporting them separately is what shows you which part of the business is actually profitable.
Staff cost and agency spend
Staffing is the dominant cost and agency use is the fastest way for margin to disappear. Tracking permanent against agency spend per occupied bed makes that visible while you can still act on it.
Occupancy is the key ratio
Cost per occupied bed and occupancy rate say more about the business than the profit figure alone. Management accounts built around those measures are far more useful than a set of statutory accounts once a year.
Property and capital spend
Whether the property is owned or leased changes the accounts significantly, and refurbishment brings capital allowance questions that are worth planning before the spend rather than after.
Regulatory reporting
Regulators and commissioners expect financial information at a level of detail that a basic set of accounts will not provide. Building the reporting to meet that from the start saves scrambling later.
The service that usually fits
Every package is an all-inclusive fixed monthly fee, agreed before we start, with no hidden charges at the year end. We work online with clients right across the UK.
Small limited companies and start-ups →
Starting a new business or running an existing one brings a filing calendar that does not forgive late entries.
From £60 per monthSole traders and partnerships →
A dental practice, a car mechanic, a repair shop, an off licence, a plumber or a freelance writer. Whatever the trade, the books are your responsibility.
From £20 per monthSelf Assessment and landlord accounts →
HMRC requires a Self Assessment return if you are a director, shareholder, sole trader, receive untaxed income, or pay tax at the higher rate.
From £125 per yearQuestions from care homes
Can you report on local authority and private fee income separately?
Yes, and we would recommend it. The two are paid at different rates and on different timescales, and reporting them together hides which part of the business is carrying the other.
What financial reporting do care regulators expect?
Regulators and commissioners generally want more detail than statutory accounts provide, particularly around solvency, occupancy and staffing. It is much easier to build reporting that meets that from the start than to reconstruct it under a deadline.
How should agency staff costs be tracked?
Separately from permanent staff, and ideally per occupied bed. Agency spend is where margin usually disappears in this sector, and it needs to be visible monthly rather than discovered at the year end.
Do you provide management accounts for care homes?
Yes. For a care business, monthly or quarterly management information built around occupancy and cost per occupied bed is considerably more useful than annual accounts alone. It falls under our bespoke pricing, agreed before we start.
General information about how we work with this sector, not advice for your circumstances. Any tax figures mentioned were checked against gov.uk and are set out with their sources on our tax dates and rates page.
Talk to someone who already knows the sector
Tell us about the business and we will tell you what you actually need, and what you do not. The first consultation is free and carries no obligation.
Other sectors we work with
Dentists and dental practices →
Dentistry is one of the sectors where generic accounting genuinely falls short. The mix of NHS and private income, the way associates are engaged, and the scale of equipment spending all change how the numbers work.
Restaurants and hospitality →
Hospitality has thin margins and awkward tax rules, which is a difficult combination. Most of the problems we are asked to fix come from the same handful of areas.
Contractors and freelancers →
We have worked with contractors online for more than ten years. The questions are consistent, and getting them right early is worth far more than getting them right at the year end.