Bookkeeping for farms and agriculture
Farm income is seasonal and lumpy, with large costs before harvest. Good books show cash needs across the year and support the special tax rules farmers can use.
- Flat £15 an hour
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Bookkeeping for farms and agriculture
Your price
3.5 hours at £15
£52.50
Set-up fee£0
ContractNone
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Qualified team
Qualified team
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The short answer
What does bookkeeping for farms and agriculture involve?
Bookkeeping for farms and agriculture means keeping sales of crops, livestock and produce, feed, seed, fertiliser and fuel, machinery purchases and repairs and the rest of your records accurate and reconciled. At £15 an hour, a typical mixed arable farm (about 90 transactions a month) needs about 3.5 hours a month, which is around £52.50.
What makes these books different.
Every sector has its own records and rules. These are the ones that matter for farms and agriculture.
Seasonal cash flow
Costs arrive early and income late, so a monthly cash picture prevents overdraft surprises.
Grants and payments
Government and environmental scheme payments are recorded separately from sales.
Livestock and stock
Livestock, crops and feed need valuing at year-end, and some farmers elect to use the herd basis.
Income averaging
Farmers can average profits over two or five years, which smooths tax bills if the records are accurate.
£15
an hour, flat
£52.50
a month for a typical mixed arable farm
3.5h
of bookkeeping a month, about 90 transactions a month
0
contract, stop whenever you like
Records we keep for you.
- Sales of crops, livestock and produce
- Feed, seed, fertiliser and fuel
- Machinery purchases and repairs
- Grant and scheme payments
- Contractor and labour costs
- Stock and livestock counts at year-end
Rules worth knowing.
Flat rate farmers scheme
Eligible farmers can use a flat rate scheme to recover VAT at a fixed percentage instead of reclaiming input VAT.
Averaging
Two-year and five-year averaging can reduce the effect of volatile profits on tax.
Capital allowances
Machinery and buildings may qualify for allowances, so purchases and disposals need clear records.
General information, not tax advice. Rules change, so check GOV.UK or ask your accountant. Last reviewed November 2026.
A typical month.
A mixed arable farm with about 90 transactions a month, VAT registered. Here is the time it takes and what it costs.
- Core bookkeeping (31 - 100)3h
- VAT-ready books (MTD)0.5h
Each month
£52.50
Where this sector is most common.
Using ONS business counts for 2026, agriculture is the biggest share of local businesses in these places. We serve all of them online.
- Swansea3% of local businesses, 0.6 times the UK share, about 200 firms
- York3% of local businesses, 0.6 times the UK share, about 210 firms
- Preston3% of local businesses, 0.5 times the UK share, about 160 firms
- Newport2% of local businesses, 0.5 times the UK share, about 95 firms
- Bradford2% of local businesses, 0.3 times the UK share, about 280 firms
- Aberdeen2% of local businesses, 0.3 times the UK share, about 120 firms
Clients say it better than we do.
4.9300+ Google reviews of Accotax
“He took the time to explain every step of the process and made a complex situation much easier to understand.”
Hugo Alvarez
Google review of Accotax
“They take the time to understand how our business works and what our needs are.”
Mael Leboucher
Google review of Accotax
“Very prompt in responding to questions and patient with us even when we seem to be slow.”
Mansur Liman
Google review of Accotax
“The work was completed promptly, my tax return was successfully filed.”
Sergey M
Google review of Accotax
farms and agriculture: your questions.
Can you handle grant income?
Yes. We record scheme and grant payments separately so profit from farming is clear and funder or HMRC queries are easy to answer.
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