Bath's construction scene deserves an accountant who understands CIS inside out
From Georgian restoration to new-build developments, Bath contractors juggle heritage regulations and HMRC compliance simultaneously. We handle the CIS side so you can focus on the build.
Heritage city. Complex builds. The same HMRC deadlines as everyone else.
Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That means every renovation, every extension, every loft conversion in the city centre comes with planning constraints that most contractors elsewhere never deal with. Listed building consent, conservation area restrictions, and the requirement to use Bath stone all add complexity and cost to projects.
What they also add is subcontractors. A heritage restoration project might involve a stonemason, a specialist plasterer, a lime mortar supplier, a lead roofer, and a period joinery specialist — all working under CIS. Each with their own verification status, their own deduction rate, their own monthly reporting requirement.
Most Bath contractors we speak to are running 3-8 subcontractors at any given time. That's 3-8 deduction calculations per payment run, 3-8 verification statuses to track, and a monthly return that needs to be accurate and filed by the 19th — every single month, even when there's nothing to report.
Getting CIS wrong doesn't just mean a fine. It means your stonemason gets less cash than expected, your plasterer questions why you deducted more than last time, and your relationship with the specialist trades you depend on starts to fray.
The problems we solve — and how
CIS deductions on typical Bath projects
Every construction project in Bath involves subcontractors. Here's what CIS looks like on projects we see regularly from local contractors.
A Bath contractor hires a specialist stonemason (verified, 20%) for facade repair. Gross: £12,000. Bath stone materials: £4,500. Labour: £7,500.
CIS deduction: £7,500 × 20% = £1,500. Net payment to stonemason: £10,500.
Two subcontractors on the same job: an electrician (unverified, 30%, no materials) and a plumber (verified, 20%, £800 materials). Electrician gross: £3,200. Plumber gross: £4,600.
Electrician: £3,200 × 30% = £960. Plumber: (£4,600 − £800) × 20% = £760.
A carpenter with gross payment status (0%) does the structural work. Gross: £8,000. Timber: £2,200. Labour: £5,800.
CIS deduction: £5,800 × 0% = £0. Full £8,000 paid. Still reported on the monthly return.
A contractor pays a new roofer £5,000 without verifying. HMRC rate: 30%. If they'd verified first: £5,000 × 20% = £1,000 deducted.
Because they didn't verify: £5,000 × 30% = £1,500. The roofer loses £500 in cash flow — and blames the contractor.
CIS management that works the way Bath contractors actually work
You're on site at 7am. You don't have time to log into separate CIS software, cross-reference spreadsheets, or wait for your accountant to get back to you about a deduction calculation. You need answers now — and you need them to be right.
Ask Chloe-AI at any time: "How much CIS have we deducted this month?" "Is Dave's verification still current?" "What does our March return look like?" You get an instant answer from your live data — at 7am, at 11pm, whenever the question comes up.
Your CIS management is built into the same platform as your bookkeeping, VAT, and cash flow forecasting. CIS deductions feed directly into your cash flow forecast, so you always know when the HMRC payment is due and exactly how much it will be. One platform. One accountant. One monthly fee.
We're based in Bath (BA1). We understand the local construction market. We understand heritage projects take longer, cost more, and involve more specialist trades than standard builds. And we understand that CIS compliance shouldn't be the thing that keeps you up at night.
Bath contractor? Let's talk about your CIS.
A 30-minute discovery call to understand your subcontractor setup, review your current CIS process, and show you how our system handles it. No obligation.
Book a Discovery Call