Software & Property
I’m Clive — a qualified Chartered Accountant and hands-on property investor with over 30 years’ experience helping people make smarter financial decisions and build long-term wealth.
My day-to-day work is split between:
Investing in high-yield HMO properties across the North West and Yorkshire
Advising landlords, builders, and small businesses on tax, accounting and compliance
And I love both.
Because I believe smart property investing and smart tax planning go hand-in-hand — and most people don’t get either right.
Hello... I'm Clive Cass
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Accounting Software
There are 4 ways to maintain your accounting records:
Manual (paper and pen);
Excel which is a spreadsheet that replicates manual records;
Integrated Accounting software such as Quickbooks, Xero, FreeAgent & SAGE.
Integrated Systems
Integrated accounting systems are the way to go when your accountancy and tax requirements reach a certain level of complexity. This will often be the case if you act as a limited company and need a Balance sheet or where you are VAT registered. I am happy to advise what software you will need now and when it is time for you to move on to something else.
Microsoft Excel
Excel is MTD compliant however will not easily cope with more complex issues such as VAT, large portfolios and limited companies where a balance sheet is required. If this is all you can manage it is however a reasonable way (and better than manual records) to provide the information to your book keeper to transfer, if necessary, to accountaing software. I can of course set you up on a suitable Excel accounting system, such as my free one designed for small businesses.
These systems are ideal for landlords of Buy to Lets who want to either manage them rather than get an estate agent to do so or who want to at least be actively involved in some aspects of the management.
The accounting systems are excellent but are limited in that they generally cannot handle VAT or produce a balance sheet which is a requirement for limited companies.
The real beauty of these systems is that they are really simple to use and provide a lot of management information from simple reminders about deadlines for insurance or safety checks to details of tenancies and even great financial information such as rental yields, equity and remortages.
Property Management & Accountancy Systems
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CIS - Are you a property investor or developer?
CIS - Are you a property investor or developer?
Most Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) documentation only refers to contractors and subcontractors. However, there are other classifications in the case that your job doesn’t entirely fit into one of those categories.
This fact sheet explains the differences between property developers and property investors and how they are categorised for CIS tax purposes.
What is a property developer?
A property developer is described as an individual or entity that constructs new buildings, renovates existing buildings or takes part in other civil engineering works.
Property developers are considered ‘mainstream contractors’ for CIS purposes.
Mainstream contractors must register with the CIS if they hire subcontractors to carry out construction work, or if they have spent more than £3 million on construction in the 12 months since their first payment.
Mainstream contractors are also responsible for deducting a portion of each subcontractor's pay and transferring the amount to HMRC, as well as submitting monthly CIS returns.
What is a property investor?
A property investment business isn’t the same as a property developer. A property investor buys or sells buildings for capital gain or rental purposes.
A property investment business has a number of properties it needs to prepare before letting. Minor refurbishments are generally required in order for those buildings to be suitable enough to let.
Property investors are considered ‘deemed contractors’ for CIS purposes if they spend over £3 million on construction in a 12 month period.
Deemed contractors include property investors, local authorities and housing associations.They generally do not carry out construction work but have exceeded the £3 million threshold on construction work in the 12 months since their first payment.
It’s important to monitor your construction expenses if you think you’re likely to become a deemed contractor.
The scheme must be applied for any work done on property that is:
●not used by the business for business purposes
●for sale or to let
●is held as an investment
Property investors do not need to apply for the CIS if the construction expenditure is solely for their business property, for instance, an office.
Deemed contractors follow similar rules as mainstream contractors. They must register for the CIS, verify each subcontractor, make deductions from subcontractors’ paychecks and submit monthly returns to HMRC.
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