If you already have a contractor accountant, moving only makes sense if the service will be materially better. Simpsons combines the usual limited-company accounting and tax compliance with scenario-based planning so salary, dividends, pension funding and company cash can be considered before you make the decision.
Contractor accounting and scenario planning from Stuart Simpson FCMA MCSI.
Most established limited-company contractors do. The question is not whether your existing accountant can file accounts, payroll and tax returns. The question is whether the accounting relationship helps you make decisions while there is still time to change the outcome.
When your day rate changes, a contract ends, you spend time out of contract, want to fund a pension or need more personal cash, repeating last year’s salary and dividend pattern may no longer be the right answer.
You should not move accountant simply to receive the same service somewhere else.
The statutory work still matters. The difference is what happens around it — and whether the information is used before the year is over.
All of these services remain important and form part of a sound contractor accounting relationship.
Contractor Forecast is the scenario-planning framework used to compare different ways of running and extracting value from your company. It brings the company and personal consequences into one view before a remuneration or pension decision is implemented.
It is not a generic online calculator. The assumptions are agreed, the scenarios are compared on a consistent basis and the result is interpreted in the context of what you actually want the company to achieve.
Would a different salary and dividend mix change current personal cash?
Would an employer pension contribution produce a stronger overall result?
What happens if you want £20,000 to remain in the company?
What happens if a £750/day contract becomes £600/day after a month on the bench?
One contractor. One £165,000 revenue forecast. Four different ways of using the same company economics. The figures below are taken from an approved 2026/27 Contractor Forecast comparison rather than a generic tax calculator.
Illustrative assumptions: 2026/27, one director, Outside IR35, Standard VAT and maximum available dividends. The pension scenario uses a fixed £40,000 employer contribution. The VA scenario uses a genuine £6,000 annual-gross employee assumption and confirmed Employment Allowance within the model. Pension allowance and Employment Allowance eligibility still require review before implementation.
Personal-allowance salary with the remaining post-tax company profit extracted as dividends.
A zero-profit salary strategy removes Corporation Tax and dividends, but that does not make it the strongest personal-cash outcome.
Keep the basic salary, direct £40,000 into pension and compare the reduction in current cash with the pension value created.
Combine the salary-focused strategy with a genuine £6,000 employee / VA and model the Employment Allowance interaction.
| Metric | Basic | Salary focused | Pension | Salary + VA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forecast revenue | £165,000.00 | £165,000.00 | £165,000.00 | £165,000.00 |
| Director salary | £12,570.00 | £138,913.04 | £12,570.00 | £142,695.65 |
| VA gross salary | — | — | — | £6,000.00 |
| Employer pension | £0.00 | £0.00 | £40,000.00 | £0.00 |
| Employer NIC borne | £1,135.50 | £20,086.96 | £1,135.50 | £10,304.35 |
| Corporation Tax | £34,753.04 | £0.00 | £24,153.04 | £0.00 |
| Planned dividends | £110,541.46 | £0.00 | £81,141.46 | £0.00 |
| Personal Income Tax | £35,239.57 | £48,713.87 | £19,529.32 | £50,416.04 |
| Personal spendable cash | £87,871.89 | £85,410.31 | £74,182.14 | £87,415.10 |
| Company cash retained | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
All four scenarios use maximum dividends / extraction under their selected strategy, so this example deliberately ends with £0 company cash retained. The second worked example tests a specific retained-cash target.
If your circumstances remain unchanged, the familiar salary and dividend structure may remain appropriate. The value of planning becomes more apparent when the company or your objectives move away from last year’s assumptions.
These are decisions that are most useful before the year end — not once the accounts are being prepared.
The calculation is only half the service. Each forecast explains what is driving the difference, what assumptions matter and what should be checked before implementation.
Headline outcomes first, so the commercial decision is clear before the technical detail.
Salary, employer NIC, pension, Corporation Tax, dividends, personal cash and company cash shown on the same basis.
Accountant commentary identifies the material driver and the trade-off behind the numbers.
When a contractor moves to Simpsons Cloud Accounting, the starting point is not simply to reproduce the previous accountant’s salary and dividend pattern. We first understand the expected contracts, costs, personal cash requirements, pension objectives and amount you want to retain in the company.
Where appropriate, a Contractor Forecast is prepared at onboarding so the remuneration strategy begins with current assumptions.
We may conclude that the existing structure remains appropriate. The difference is that it has been reviewed rather than automatically repeated.
Why a simple contractor company can still need more than year-end accounts
The original forecast assumed £165,000 of revenue. The revised contract position reduces forecast revenue to £148,500 while still protecting a £20,000 company cash buffer.
The revised scenario uses the working assumptions entered into Contractor Forecast.
The revised scenario uses the working assumptions entered into Contractor Forecast.
Under the billable-day assumptions entered into Contractor Forecast, forecast revenue falls from £165,000 to £148,500. The company still retains £20,000, so the lower revenue is absorbed through lower Corporation Tax, lower dividends and lower personal tax rather than by abandoning the cash-buffer target.
| Forecast measure | Original £750 plan | Revised £750 / £600 plan | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forecast revenue | £165,000.00 | £148,500.00 | −£16,500.00 |
| Operating costs | £6,000.00 | £6,000.00 | £0.00 |
| Director salary | £12,570.00 | £12,570.00 | £0.00 |
| Employer NIC payable | £1,135.50 | £1,135.50 | £0.00 |
| Pre-Corporation-Tax profit | £145,294.50 | £128,794.50 | −£16,500.00 |
| Corporation Tax | £34,753.04 | £30,380.54 | −£4,372.50 |
| Post-tax company result | £110,541.46 | £98,413.96 | −£12,127.50 |
| Planned dividends | £90,541.46 | £78,413.96 | −£12,127.50 |
| Personal Income Tax | £23,589.57 | £18,554.24 | −£5,035.33 |
| Personal spendable cash | £79,521.89 | £72,429.72 | −£7,092.17 |
| Company cash retained | £20,000.00 | £20,000.00 | £0.00 |
| Effective extraction tax rate | 22.88% | 20.39% | −2.49 pp |
The revised £148,500 revenue is the approved Contractor Forecast output under the working-day assumptions entered for this scenario. The website therefore shows the modelled result rather than inferring billable days solely from calendar dates.
Contractor Forecast can stand alone, or the planning can sit inside an ongoing accounting relationship.
A focused planning exercise without changing accountant immediately.
A straightforward one-director limited-company accounting and tax relationship.
For contractors whose income, contracts, pension funding or extraction requirements can change during the year.
For an existing model where circumstances materially change. A fundamentally new planning exercise may require a new scope.
Contractor package pricing assumes a straightforward one-director limited company with relatively low transaction volume. Additional directors, employees, higher-volume bookkeeping, specialist VAT work and other services are quoted separately. Xero software is billed separately.
If you decide to move, we handle professional clearance and coordinate the transfer of accounting records with your existing accountant.
Confirm what is moving and when responsibility changes.
Simpsons contacts your existing accountant and requests the records needed for the handover.
Accounting records and opening balances are reviewed before changes are made.
Forecast assumptions, accounting responsibilities and the future remuneration plan are agreed.
You do not need to manage the handover between the two firms yourself.
Learn how switching accountants worksStandard VAT can be reflected in Contractor Forecast. Flat Rate Scheme planning can be reviewed separately where relevant; the current forecast examples should not be read as software-generated FRS calculations.
For illustration, “Business services not listed elsewhere” is 12%, but the correct sector depends on the actual activity. Other activities can use different percentages. A first-year VAT-registration reduction may apply, and limited-cost-trader rules can produce a 16.5% rate.
Stuart Simpson FCMA MCSI combines approximately 20 years of financial-services experience with practical limited-company accounting and scenario-based planning.
The forecast supports professional judgement; it does not replace it. The purpose is to make the financial consequences visible so the appropriate tax, pension, employment and legal checks can be made before implementation.
If you are considering changing contractor accountant, the first discussion is about what you want the accounting relationship to do differently.
No obligation to switch. Contractor Forecast can also be commissioned as a standalone planning exercise.