Cash flow problems are undoubtedly one of the main factors in business failure in the UK because without a steady stream flowing in and out a business' credit and growth can be adversely affected. To avoid these problems and encourage your business to grow it is vital that you manage and forecast your cash flow. Most UK chartered accountants offer a number of services that will help you to keep the money flowing smoothly through your business, these include:

• Forecasting your cash flow by studying your customers' paying habits so you can predict when and how much they will spend. The amount forecasted will be within five percent of your receivables each month.
• Tracking your expenses each month by comparing your projected expenses to your actual expenses. This will help you to anticipate the need for more cash and therefore react immediately.
• Projecting your sales revenues monthly, quarterly and yearly so that you can spend accordingly.

All companies have to pay Corporation Tax at the end of every trading year, and so a substantial amount of a firm's earnings from the year needs to be put aside for paying the tax bill when it comes. Deciding how much to save for tax and the process of paying it can be a complicated issue for someone not specifically trained in dealing with taxation, and that is why it is advisable to seek professional help from a tax accountant who can work out your payments correctly.

Although you only have to register for VAT if your company's turnover exceeds £83,000, you can voluntarily register if your turnover is below this threshold. If you hire a tax accountant to do this paperwork for you then they will be able to arrange recovery of the VAT that you have been charged on company expenses. Tax accountants can also help self-employed people to complete their self-assessment tax returns, as well as calculating how much tax you're likely to be charged.

Along with general UK chartered and certified chartered accountants, who can usually deal with all financial aspects of running a business or organisation on a basic level, there are also specialist chartered accountants, who work in specific areas such as corporate recovery, corporate finance, taxation and forensic accounting.

There are also many different titles for an accountant, such as a chartered accountant, certified accountant, personal accountant, business accountant and tax accountant, which may all seem different to the general public but often offer similar accountancy services.