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Total Tax Accountants
Terms of Engagement and Terms of Use
Total Tax Accountancy Limited, trading as Total Tax Accountants (a registered trade mark).
Registered in England and Wales, company number 11058594. Registered office: 30 High Street, High Wycombe HP11 2AG.
VAT registration number GB 347527578. ICO registration number ZA683231. Supervised for anti-money laundering by the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA).
Effective date: June 2026. Version: 2026 update.
We are pleased that you have chosen Total Tax Accountants to be your accountant. Please read the following terms of engagement carefully and ensure that you fully understand its contents, as it establishes the terms of our appointment. If you have a question, concern or do not understand anything you should contact us before consenting. We recommend taking appropriate advice before consenting to our terms of engagement.
Scope of these terms. These terms apply both to the professional services we provide to you as our client (our terms of engagement) and to your use of our website at www.totaltaxaccountants.co.uk (our terms of use). In these terms, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Total Tax Accountancy Limited trading as Total Tax Accountants, and “you” and “your” mean the client or website user, as the context requires. Nothing in these terms removes or limits any right you have that cannot be removed or limited by law.
Terms and Conditions: Terms of Engagement………………………………………………………………. 1
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These terms, together with any engagement letter, quotation or written confirmation of the services we have agreed to provide, form the agreement between us. Where there is any conflict, the engagement letter or written confirmation specific to your services takes precedence over these general terms.
In these terms: “the services” means the accountancy, tax and related services we agree to provide; “the website” means www.totaltaxaccountants.co.uk; “Data Protection Legislation” means the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 (as amended, including by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003; “the Money Laundering Regulations” means the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (as amended); and “IFA” means the Institute of Financial Accountants.
By instructing us, by continuing to instruct us, by paying our fees, or by using our website, you accept these terms. If you do not accept them, you should not instruct us and should not use the website.
The paragraphs in these terms detail the services that we will provide as part of this business relationship. If at any time you require additional services from us, you must inform us in writing by email or letter. From time to time, we may offer you additional services, and you will be informed of these recommendations in writing. If you decide to accept additional services offered by us, you must confirm this in line with these terms of engagement.
Any work we complete will be based upon the information you and your business provide us with. The accuracy of the work we produce will be influenced by the accuracy of the information you provide us with.
Our fees are calculated based on the time spent and the level of expertise required for the work undertaken. The complexity of the task and the qualifications of the staff involved are also considered in determining the charges. For transparency, it is important to note that our fees are agreed upon through direct communication with you, our client. This agreement is made by email, letter or phone conversation, ensuring clarity and mutual understanding of the charges before any work commences.
Wherever an address facility is provided, please note this is solely for correspondence purposes. We do not allow our address to be used for parcel deliveries, Google promotions or advertisement.
We will try to assist where necessary. However, contacting HMRC, Companies House, or any other body or institution on your behalf, whether by phone, by email or in writing, is not covered within the fees unless we agree otherwise in writing.
Unless otherwise agreed, our fees will be charged under the heading of “Accountancy and Tax Services” for each main class of work, and will be billed upfront to be collected before the work commences, which allows us to allocate the best resources.
We will charge for any parking charges (excluding any fines or penalties) and any public or private transport fares or fuel expenses incurred while undertaking work on your behalf outside our office or at your premises.
Where agreed fees are to be billed on a monthly basis, they will be collected by Direct Debit during the year. As accountancy work may require monthly engagement, should Direct Debit monthly payments be consistently delayed or defaulted for two months or more, we reserve the right to cease work with immediate effect without notice.
Where annual accounting fees are to be collected on a monthly cycle, please note that, due to regular monthly engagement and the time spent on your accountancy and tax affairs, there will be no refund due should you wish to cancel our services midway through the company’s financial year. If you re-join during the year, and we are expected to prepare your year-end statutory accounts or tax returns, the difference (yearly fees minus the amount already paid) of the full year accountancy fees will become payable.
Your fees, or your monthly accountancy fees, are subject to a periodic review. We may change your monthly price plan due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic fluctuations, market conditions, changes in labour costs, or revisions in statutory regulations. In the event of any adjustment to this rate, we will provide you with prior notification either through a formal letter or by email, with a minimum notice period of 30 days.
If at any point your details change, you agree to notify us as soon as practicable.
As an unincorporated business, an individual, or a corporate entity, you are personally liable, as applicable, for the actions and liabilities of your business or enterprise. It is ultimately your responsibility to ensure that:
You are responsible for providing all necessary information, documents and assistance required for the completion of our services.
You shall ensure that all information provided is accurate, complete and timely.
You agree to inform us of any change in your business operations, financial status, or any other relevant matter that may affect the services provided.
Our responsibilities are limited to the services expressly agreed between us, except for any legal, regulatory or professional obligations which cannot be excluded. The nature of our relationship and our responsibilities is governed by this document, any engagement letter, and any other document issued for the purposes of establishing our relationship.
We will carry out the agreed services with reasonable care and skill, and in accordance with the standards and ethical guidelines of our professional bodies.
Upon receipt and thorough review of your documents, we will prepare your accounts and tax return. However, it is important to emphasise that our services do not include an audit of the documents and information you provide. The responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of this information lies solely with you. You must ensure that all information supplied to us is accurate and complete, as we rely on this data without conducting an independent verification or audit.
Once we have compiled your accounts and tax return based on the information you have provided, and with your approval and signature, we will submit them to Companies House and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), as required. In the event of your tax return being rejected by HMRC, we will inform you immediately and assist in addressing any issues for a successful resubmission.
We stress the importance of providing accurate and complete documents and information. Any errors or omissions in the data you provide could affect the accuracy of your financial reporting and tax obligations. Our commitment is to manage your accounting and tax-related matters efficiently and professionally, based on the information you provide.
Where we file online with HMRC or Companies House, you authorise us to act as your agent for the services we have agreed. You remain responsible for keeping appropriate records, including digital records where Making Tax Digital applies to you, and for the accuracy and completeness of the information on which any filing is based.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not responsible for delays, errors, rejected filings or losses caused by the failure, downtime, maintenance or change of HMRC, Companies House or other government systems, or of any software we are required to use, where these are outside our reasonable control.
Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, company directors, members of limited liability partnerships, persons with significant control (PSCs), and certain people who deliver documents to Companies House are required to verify their identity. Identity verification has been a compulsory part of incorporation and new appointments since 18 November 2025, and is being phased in for existing directors and PSCs through the annual confirmation statement process.
Where we agree to assist you with identity verification, including where we are appointed and able to act as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), we will carry out the checks required by law and current Companies House guidance. It remains your responsibility to provide accurate identification documents and information and to complete verification within the deadlines set by Companies House.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any penalty, rejected filing, strike-off, criminal sanction or other consequence arising from your failure to verify your identity, or to provide accurate information, on time.
The data controller for our practice is Maz Zaheer. If you have any concerns about data protection in relation to this engagement, please contact our data controller.
We process personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended (including by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025), together with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under registration number ZA683231.
During our engagement, we will process certain personal data relating to you and your business. Personal data will be processed fairly, lawfully and transparently.
Data will be collected by direct request to you. Data may also be requested from third parties with whom you have worked in the past, for example your previous accountant.
Data will normally be stored electronically, although from time to time it might be necessary for us to store data in a non-electronic format. We have in place appropriate technical and organisational security measures and safeguards to protect your data.
Use of third parties and sub-processors. To deliver our services efficiently and to allocate the best resources, we may use third party software providers and may outsource certain functions to sub-processors, some of whom store information on servers that are not located at our premises, including cloud-based servers. Where we engage a processor or sub-processor to process personal data on our behalf, we put in place a written contract and appropriate safeguards as required by Article 28 of the UK GDPR, and we take reasonable steps to satisfy ourselves that they provide sufficient guarantees to protect your data. We remain responsible for our own compliance with Data Protection Legislation. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any loss, damage, breach or compromise of data caused solely by the act, omission or default of a third party that is beyond our reasonable control, provided that we have complied with our own obligations under Data Protection Legislation. Nothing in this paragraph limits or excludes any liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law, including any liability that a processor may have directly under the UK GDPR.
We will retain any financial information relating to this engagement for a period of six plus one years (seven years). Any information relating to client due diligence carried out on you will be stored for ten years. After the applicable period has passed, the data will be securely destroyed.
Throughout our engagement, we will return to you or safely discard any original documents used to prepare your financial statements, once we have completed the agreed work, unless otherwise stated in these terms or subsequent correspondence.
We may disclose personal data about you in order to facilitate completing this engagement, to prevent crime, and to comply with both statutory and voluntary regulatory requirements. From time to time we may disclose the information we hold on you to our professional and regulatory bodies, including the Association of Accounting Technicians, the Association of International Accountants, and the Institute of Financial Accountants, for assurance purposes to ensure that we continue to provide an ethical, compliant and competent service.
If you wish to access the personal data we hold about you, or to exercise any of your other rights under Data Protection Legislation, you may make a written request to us. We will respond within one calendar month of receiving your request, although we may extend this by up to two further months where the request is complex or where we receive a number of requests from you, in which case we will tell you and explain why. We may ask you for information to confirm your identity and, where the law allows, we will carry out a reasonable and proportionate search.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you may complain to us. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and respond without undue delay. You also have the right to complain to the ICO at ico.org.uk, although we would ask that you contact us first so that we can try to resolve matters.
A full copy of our practice’s data protection policy can be requested from us.
We will conduct appropriate due diligence before confirming our appointment or engagement. Once we have conducted due diligence, we may decide not to pursue the engagement. If this is the case, we will notify you in writing no later than twenty working days after this letter has been issued. We will refund any fees paid to us during this period.
Our customer due diligence process requires us to verify your identity. This process will require us to have access to government-issued photographic identification documents. This process may also require us to conduct a “soft search” of your credit records. We currently do not use any Credit Reference Agency (CRA).
We reserve the right to contact your previous accountant as part of our due diligence process.
Money laundering is an offence defined in section 340(11) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. This offence includes possessing, concealing, using or converting the benefits of any activity that constitutes a criminal offence in the UK, or creating any arrangement that facilitates the acquisition, retention, control or use of such benefits.
Under section 330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, we are required to report to the National Crime Agency (NCA) any suspicion we have of money laundering. We are obliged to make such reports to the NCA without your knowledge.
For the purposes of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (as amended), we are supervised as an accountancy service provider by the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA). We are required to carry out customer due diligence and ongoing monitoring, and to keep records, in accordance with those Regulations and current HMRC and supervisory guidance for the accountancy sector.
We operate in accordance with the Bribery Act 2010 and maintain reasonable procedures to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion under the Criminal Finances Act 2017. We will not participate in, and you agree not to ask us to participate in, any arrangement that is dishonest, fraudulent, or designed to evade tax or to facilitate the evasion of tax by any person. We may decline to act, or cease to act, where we reasonably suspect such conduct.
We maintain a conflicts of interest policy. Under this policy, we are required to disclose to you any conflict of interest which we identify.
Where appropriate, we will develop and implement proportionate safeguards against any conflict of interest. If, however, we feel that we cannot implement appropriate safeguards, we will, with regret, terminate this engagement. If we arrive at this decision, we will notify you promptly.
From time to time, we may receive commissions or other benefits from third parties for making a referral. If at any point we make a referral and a commission or other benefit will be transferred to us for making the referral, we will notify you in writing before the referral is made. This notification will include details of the type and amount of commission or benefit to be transferred.
We are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to conduct investment business or to provide financial or investment advice. If you require investment business services, we may refer you to a business regulated by the FCA to offer such services independently of us.
We will treat the information you provide as confidential and will not disclose it except as permitted by these terms, as required by law or by our professional or regulatory obligations, or with your consent.
You agree to keep confidential any advice, documents, tools, templates, calculations and other materials we provide, and not to share them with any third party without our written consent, except where required by law. This obligation does not apply to information that is, or becomes, public through no fault of the receiving party.
We may communicate with you and with others on your behalf by email and other electronic means. While we take reasonable precautions, electronic communication carries risks, including delay, non-delivery, interception and the transmission of viruses. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of electronic communication that is beyond our reasonable control. You accept these risks unless you ask us in writing to communicate by another method.
We cannot accept any responsibility or liability for any loss or damage incurred because of a change in the law, a change in the interpretation of the law, or a change in the practice of HMRC, Companies House or any other authority, including any change that has retrospective effect. We are not obliged to update advice after it has been given to reflect later changes, unless we have separately agreed in writing to do so.
Any advice we give is based on the law, regulations and published practice in force, and on the information available to us, at the time it is given. It is provided solely for your use and for the purpose for which it was requested. It should not be relied upon for any other purpose, by any other person, or after a material change in the law or in your circumstances, without first confirming the position with us.
We confirm that we currently hold sufficient professional indemnity insurance for our practice. This is a requirement of holding a practising certificate with the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA).
We retain the right to, and all intellectual property rights in, any documents, reports, calculations, templates, models, spreadsheets, tools and other materials we prepare during this engagement, except where the law specifically provides otherwise. On full payment of our fees, you may use the deliverables we provide for the purpose for which they were prepared, but you may not resell, republish or commercially exploit them without our written consent.
All content on our website, including text, graphics, logos, calculators, interactive tools, articles, images and design, is owned by or licensed to us and is protected by copyright, database rights, trade mark and other intellectual property laws. “Total Tax Accountants” is a registered trade mark. You may view and print content from the website for your own personal or internal business reference only. You must not copy, reproduce, republish, scrape, data-mine, frame, sell, or otherwise exploit any part of our website or its content, nor use it to train or develop any software, dataset or model, without our prior written permission.
The content on our website is provided for general information only and does not constitute professional, legal, tax or financial advice. You should not act, or refrain from acting, on the basis of website content without taking appropriate professional advice. While we take reasonable care to keep the website accurate and up to date, we do not warrant that it is complete, accurate, current or free from error, or that it will be available without interruption. Our website may contain links to third party websites, and we are not responsible for the content of those websites. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of, or reliance on, our website or its content.
We welcome feedback from any of our clients. Should you wish to congratulate us, or highlight something we have done well, please contact our Director on 01494 264826 or by email at maz@totaltaxaccountants.co.uk.
Should you feel the need to make a complaint, please contact the Director on 01494 264826 or by email at maz@totaltaxaccountants.co.uk, who will aim to resolve your complaint informally. If you feel we have not been able to resolve your complaint informally, please write to us, and we will issue a response within twenty working days. More details can be found in our complaints policy and in the Compliments and Complaints Procedure below.
Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) any other liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded.
Subject to the paragraph above, our liability for any loss or damage arising from the provision of our services, whether in contract, in tort (including negligence), for breach of statutory duty or otherwise, is limited to a sum equal to the fee charged for the part of the service which is the subject of the claim, except in cases of fraud or where such limitation is not permitted by law. We do not accept liability for any indirect or consequential loss, or for any loss of profit, revenue, goodwill or anticipated savings.
We will not be liable for any loss arising from inaccurate, incomplete, late or misleading information provided by you or on your behalf, or from your failure to act on our advice or to meet a relevant deadline.
We consider these limits to be fair and reasonable, having regard to the nature of our services, the fees charged and the availability of professional indemnity insurance. They are intended to satisfy the reasonableness requirement of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and, where you deal with us as a consumer, the fairness requirements of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If any limit is held to be unenforceable, the remaining limits will continue to apply.
These limitations and exclusions apply, to the fullest extent permitted by law, for the benefit of our practice and of our directors, partners, employees and agents, each of whom may rely on them.
Except where you deal with us as a consumer, you agree to indemnify us, and our directors and employees, against any claim, loss, liability, cost or expense we reasonably incur as a result of: (a) information you provide that is inaccurate, incomplete or misleading; (b) your breach of these terms; or (c) any unlawful, dishonest or fraudulent act or omission by you or on your behalf. This indemnity does not apply to the extent that the loss is caused by our own negligence, fraud or breach.
We are committed to a safe and respectful environment for our staff, and we will treat you with courtesy and respect. We expect the same in return. We will not tolerate abusive, threatening, discriminatory or harassing behaviour towards our directors or staff, whether in person, by telephone, in writing or online. Where such behaviour occurs, we may decline to continue communicating through the relevant channel and, in serious or repeated cases, may suspend or terminate the engagement.
These terms and any engagement under them shall be governed by English law. The Courts of England shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any dispute, claim or difference relating to these terms and any matter arising from them.
This engagement and all work produced under it is intended for the addressed individual or entity. We accept no responsibility to third parties for any advice or work produced under this engagement. Except for our directors, partners, employees and agents (who may enforce the provisions of these terms that are expressed to benefit them), a person who is not a party to this agreement has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any of its terms.
We may, from time to time, hold money on your behalf. This money will always be held in a separate client bank account.
If compelled by law, we may refuse a request for money to be transferred from a client bank account to you.
We will not claim fees owed from any money held in a client bank account, unless you have given permission in writing for us to do so.
We are not liable for any failure or delay in performing our services that is caused by events outside our reasonable control, including, without limitation, acts of God, fire, flood, epidemic or pandemic, power or internet failure, cyber-attack, industrial action, or the failure of HMRC, Companies House or other third party systems. Where this happens, we will let you know and take reasonable steps to limit the effect.
These terms, together with any engagement letter or written confirmation of services, form the entire agreement between us in relation to the services and supersede any previous arrangement, understanding or agreement.
We may update these terms from time to time to reflect changes in the law, regulation or our practice. The current version is published on our website, and your continued instruction of us, or use of the website, constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. Any change to your specific engagement will be agreed with you in writing.
If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force. A failure or delay by us in exercising any right is not a waiver of that right. You may not assign or transfer your rights under these terms without our written consent; we may assign our rights and obligations to a successor practice.
You may terminate this engagement under any clause within these terms. At any time, you may terminate this agreement by providing us with written notice within ten working days of the date you wish to terminate this agreement. You will be liable to pay fees of £250 plus VAT, or fees equal to the work completed, whichever is greater, to cover the preparation of sending your files to your new accountant or to yourself.
We may terminate this engagement under any clause within these terms. We may terminate this engagement by issuing you with written notice within fifteen working days of the date we wish to terminate this agreement.
We aim not to terminate this agreement if we feel it will be unreasonably detrimental to your ability to meet HMRC or Companies House deadlines, unless we suspect you are involved in criminal activity or have directly breached any part of these terms.
A disengagement letter will be sent, by post or email, to the registered office of the company or to the email we hold on file. We may do the same for all stakeholders, and any other individual within the business or related entities, who we feel need to be informed of the disengagement.
We welcome feedback from all of our clients.
Compliments. If you wish to highlight positive feedback or commend our services, please contact the Director on 01494 264826 or by email at info@totaltaxaccountants.co.uk, for the attention of Maz Zaheer.
Complaints. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our service, please contact the Director on 01494 264826 or by email at info@totaltaxaccountants.co.uk, for the attention of Maz Zaheer. We will endeavour to resolve your complaint informally in the first instance.
If the matter cannot be resolved informally, please submit your complaint in writing. Upon receipt of a written complaint, we will issue a formal acknowledgement within five working days.
We will then investigate the matter in accordance with our internal complaints-handling procedures and aim to provide a substantive written response within twenty working days, where reasonably practicable. In any event, we will seek to conclude our investigation and issue a final response within eight weeks of receipt of your complaint.
Escalation. If you have exhausted all stages of our complaints procedure and remain dissatisfied, you may refer your complaint to our professional body, the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA). Further details of this process are available on the IFA website. Please note that the IFA does not intervene in disputes relating to fees.
This letter is given to the addressee in confidence and only for the purposes for which it was requested in good faith and on the basis available to us at the time it is given.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information.
Client’s Name (if printed): ____________________________________________
Signature: ____________________________________________
Date Signed: ____________________________________________
Yours faithfully,
Leading Accountants High Wycombe and the surrounding areas.
Total Tax Accountants ® (Reg Trade Mark)
Trade name of Total Tax Accountancy Ltd
Member In Practice Firm AAT & IFA in UK
Approved Firm by ACCA Employer in UK
Office Address
30 High St, High Wycombe HP11 2AG
© 2008-2023 Total Tax Accountants ®