Our history

Our team's experience goes back more than 25 years – long enough to have kept books by hand in cashbooks and ledgers, and to have guided clients through every major change in the way HMRC wants records kept and returns filed.

Where we started

Verdi Bookkeeping Services Ltd grew out of hands-on bookkeeping for London's creative and professional businesses: entertainment and voice agencies, TV production companies, publishers, solicitors and barristers, and many self-employed individuals. These are businesses with irregular income, lots of transactions, royalties and fees, and clients who would rather be doing their real work than chasing receipts.

From the beginning the idea was simple: give every client one person who understands their business, meet them face to face, and hand their accountant a complete, well-organised set of records at the year end.

Changes we have guided clients through

Over the years the rules have changed many times. Each change meant new deadlines, new forms and new software for our clients – and each time we did the learning so they didn't have to.

• Manual booksCashbooks, sales and purchase day books and hand-written ledgers – still the foundation of how we think about double-entry bookkeeping today.
• Online Self AssessmentHMRC moved individuals towards filing online, with the 31 January online deadline becoming the key date in every self-employed client's calendar.
• Workplace pensions (from 2012)Automatic enrolment was phased in, and every employer we work with had to assess staff, enrol them and make pension contributions through payroll.
• Real Time Information payroll (April 2013)Employers began reporting pay to HMRC on or before every payday. We moved all our payroll clients onto RTI submissions.
• Making Tax Digital for VAT (2019 – 2022)VAT-registered businesses had to keep digital records and file through compatible software – first those above the threshold, then all VAT-registered businesses from April 2022.
• Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (April 2026)Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 now send quarterly updates, with thresholds of £30,000 from 2027 and £20,000 from 2028.

What hasn't changed

Technology has made bookkeeping faster, but the heart of the job is the same: accurate records, sensible routines and someone you trust. That's why we still offer appointments at our office on Maiden Lane, still pick up the phone, and still assign each client a named member of the team.

"In all the years of having VBS deal with my accounts and finances, I have always been very happy with their services and trust them to do a very good job and would thoroughly recommend them to anyone"Michael Vine, Objective Productions Ltd.

Looking ahead

With Making Tax Digital extending to more self-employed people and landlords each year, and Companies House introducing identity verification, the pace of change isn't slowing down. We keep our knowledge current so that our clients can stay compliant without the stress. Read our latest thinking in our articles, or find out more about who we are.