Our expertise

Accountants for Conveyancing Firms in York

There’s a lot going on in the finances of a conveyancing practice that won’t necessarily show up in the annual accounts. Take the client account for example, the firm handles significant sums of client money every day (deposits, completion monies, SDLT payments) and none of it is the firm’s own income, so the distinction between client funds and the practice’s own finances runs through everything. Then there’s work in progress on transactions that haven’t yet completed, since conveyancing fees are almost always recognised on completion rather than when the work’s actually done. And a volume of deals that moves sharply with interest rates makes cashflow harder to read from the outside.

We look after conveyancing solicitors, licensed conveyancers and property law firms across York, Yorkshire and the UK, from sole conveyancers running a tight transaction pipeline to multi-partner firms managing significant volumes in a market that rarely stands still. We understand how the practice finances work alongside the client account obligations, and we handle the firm’s own accounts without adding to the regulatory load.

In a nutshell: we’ll handle your annual accounts and tax, and the things that make conveyancing accounting different: work in progress on uncompleted transactions recognised correctly at year-end, firm income clearly separated from client funds in the way the accounts are structured, management accounts that give you visibility on cashflow and pipeline in a rate-sensitive market, and the right practice structure for directors and partners drawing income efficiently. Fixed fee, agreed upfront. Plain English at every step.

Why conveyancing firms need a specialist accountant

A generalist accountant can file the accounts. Where conveyancing firms catch them out is in the specific mechanics of how the firm’s income is earned, timed, and separated from the client funds flowing through the same business.

The client account and the office account are two distinct things, and the distinction matters. Conveyancing firms hold client money under SRA or CLC rules in a client account that’s entirely separate from the firm’s own office account. We handle the office account: the practice’s own income, costs, payroll and tax. We understand the client account context, we’re aware of the compliance framework, and we make sure the office account is structured in a way that doesn’t create problems for the client money audit. What we don’t do is act as the firm’s compliance auditor for client money, which needs a specialist regulatory accountant with SRA or CLC recognition.

Work in progress on uncompleted transactions needs correct accounting treatment. Conveyancing fees are almost universally recognised on completion of the transaction. Before completion, the work being done has value but hasn’t yet generated income on the face of the accounts. At year-end, any significant pipeline of near-completion transactions creates a work in progress position: partially earned fees that need to be accounted for correctly rather than simply ignored. Get this wrong and the year-end accounts either overstate or understate income, which affects both the tax position and the picture the accounts present to the partners or to a funder.

SDLT payments pass through the firm, but they’re not firm income. When a conveyancing firm files a Stamp Duty Land Tax return on behalf of a client, the SDLT itself is client money, not fee income. The distinction is straightforward in principle but needs maintaining carefully in the bookkeeping to make sure SDLT flows don’t distort the firm’s VAT position or revenue figures. The firm’s professional fee for handling the SDLT return is income. The SDLT sum itself is not.

Practice structure shapes how partners and directors draw income efficiently. Conveyancing firms run as limited companies (including ABSs), traditional partnerships, or LLPs. Each structure has different implications for how profits are distributed, how directors or partners are taxed, and what the firm’s compliance obligations are. We’ll walk through the accounting and tax consequences with you before any change of structure is made, whether that’s moving from partnership to ABS or taking on an equity partner for the first time.

Management accounts matter more in an interest-rate-sensitive market. Conveyancing volumes move with the housing market, and the housing market moves with mortgage rates. In a slow period, a firm’s cashflow position (the gap between work in progress and cash collected, set against fixed overheads) can tighten quickly. We’ll build management accounts that track WIP value, completion rates and the pipeline, so the partners have the visibility to manage that position rather than discover it at year-end.

Here’s how we help

The services conveyancing solicitors and licensed conveyancers call on most, each with the full detail on its own page:

This page talks about why having a specialist is important. The individual service pages show how each bit of the work gets done.

How we work with conveyancing firms

Every firm takes a different mix of services. A sole licensed conveyancer with a straightforward transaction pipeline needs different support to a multi-partner firm handling a hundred completions a month, with a payroll to run and partners who want monthly management accounts. We’ll tailor our services to suit where you are now, and change things in line with your needs.

Staying in regular contact through the year will keep things moving. Whatever we’re looking after, you’ll have a specialist team on hand whenever something comes up: a question about how to treat an unusual fee arrangement in the accounts, a potential change of structure to think through, a funder asking for management accounts in a specific format. If HMRC writes to you about anything, forward it on and we’ll either explain it or tell you to ignore it.

Records come through ShareFile, and we work with Xero, FreeAgent and Dext for clients on cloud bookkeeping. Keeping your books current through the year makes the WIP conversation at year-end far more straightforward.

Year-end is where we pay closest attention to the WIP position. Every significant uncompleted transaction at year-end needs to be assessed: how far along the work is, what fee has been earned, and what needs to be recognised in the current year rather than waiting until completion. Done correctly, this gives the partners a year-end picture that reflects the real state of the firm.

If you’re already working with another accountant, moving over is more straightforward than most people expect, and our guide on how to change accountants walks you through it.

Fixed fees, no surprises

You’ll know what you’re paying before we start, and the fee won’t change unless the work does. Every firm is different. A sole conveyancer with a modest pipeline isn’t the same job as a firm of ten with monthly management accounts, a payroll to run, and partners drawing different profit shares, so a short conversation will help us set the right fee for the work you need.

Ask for a fixed fee for your firm

A couple of minutes on our online form, and we’ll come back to you as soon as we can.

Frequently asked questions

Do you handle the client account audit for conveyancing firms?

No, and it’s important to be clear about that. SRA-regulated firms require an accountant’s report from an accountant who has met the SRA’s specific requirements for reporting accountants. CLC-regulated firms have equivalent requirements under CLC rules. We handle the office account: the practice’s own income, costs, tax and payroll. We work alongside, and are happy to liaise with, the reporting accountants who handle the client account compliance. If you need a recommendation for a regulated client account auditor, ask us.

How is work in progress treated at year-end for a conveyancing practice?

Work in progress represents fees that have been partially earned but not yet invoiced or recognised as income because completion hasn’t occurred. At year-end, a conveyancing firm with a meaningful pipeline of near-completion transactions will have a WIP figure that needs assessing: what proportion of the fee has been earned based on the work done, and how should it be recognised? Getting this right prevents either overstating income (and paying tax on it prematurely) or understating it (and presenting a year that looks worse than it was). We work through the pipeline with you at year-end to get the number right.

Does my firm need to charge VAT on conveyancing fees?

Conveyancing is a standard-rated legal service for VAT purposes, which means VAT should be charged on professional fees once the firm is VAT-registered. The SDLT paid on behalf of clients is a disbursement: it passes through the firm as client money and is not subject to VAT. The line between taxable professional fees and VAT-exempt or outside-scope disbursements needs to be drawn clearly in the invoicing, both for the firm’s own VAT return and for the client’s records.

What are the tax implications of moving from partnership to ABS?

Converting a traditional partnership to an Alternative Business Structure (a limited company or LLP with non-lawyer ownership) has tax consequences that need planning in advance. For an LLP conversion, the assets and liabilities transfer at book value under certain conditions, but the timing and structure of the change affect the partners’ Capital Gains Tax and Income Tax positions. For a straightforward limited company conversion, Corporation Tax, Capital Gains Tax and the treatment of goodwill all need to be considered. We walk through the specific numbers for your firm before any change is made.

What records should a conveyancing firm keep for HMRC purposes?

HMRC requires limited companies to keep accounting records for six years from the end of the financial year they relate to. For partnerships and LLPs, the retention period is five years after the Self Assessment deadline. These HMRC requirements sit alongside the SRA or CLC record-keeping obligations, which have their own timelines. Cloud bookkeeping through Xero or FreeAgent keeps the firm’s accounting records in order as a matter of course, separate from the client file records that the practice management system handles.

Why clients stay with us

We’ve been working with conveyancing solicitors and property law firms across Yorkshire since Stacey McVeighty FCCA started the practice in 2014. Today we look after around 800 clients from our York office. We’re ACCA-accredited, and we hold 38 five-star reviews on Google, rated 5.0, most from clients who’ve been with us for years.

Fixed fees. Plain English. The same team next year, and the year after that.

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