Next Step (Help Needed!)

Luke101189

Hi all,

I have recently got my license through and got my PII insurance sorted.

I have not registered through HMRC yet as a business do I need to do this before I can get my agent services log in.

Also is there a portal that would assist me with documents that I would need when taking on new clients ie letter of engagement etc.

Iam also struggling with setting up a pricing sheet.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

BenWatkins

Hi there, congrats on getting your licence and PII sorted — you're well on your way!

To answer your questions:

1. HMRC Registration Before ASA Login
Yes, you'll need to register as a business with HMRC before you can set up your Agent Services Account. The ASA is specifically tied to your business registration, so without that, you won’t be able to act on behalf of clients just yet. Once registered, you can apply for the ASA through the gov.uk portal — just search "HMRC Agent Services Account setup" and it should come right up.

2. Documents for Client Onboarding (LOE, etc.)
There’s no official HMRC portal for this, but if you’re a member of a body like AAT, ICB, or ACCA, they often provide templates for:

Letter of Engagement (LOE)
AML checks
Privacy policies

If not, you can check AccountingWeb or use software like Ignition, GoProposal, or even Senta, which are brilliant for automating proposals, letters, and onboarding workflows.

3. Struggling with Pricing – You’re Not Alone!
Pricing is tough when you're starting out. What helped me was creating 3 service tiers:

Basic (e.g. bookkeeping only)
Standard (bookkeeping + VAT + payroll)
Premium (add management accounts, reporting, etc.)

Also, base your prices on time, complexity, and risk. A sole trader with 50 transactions/month will be a different beast compared to a Ltd company with 3 bank feeds and CIS!

If you’re not ready for tools like GoProposal yet, a simple Excel sheet works too - just make sure you’re factoring in your time and value, not just the "task".