Bolton has one of the longest lists of accountants in the North West. We show all 119 with their Google ratings, and if you would rather not choose alone, one form gets you up to 4 quotes for your Making Tax Digital updates.
Accountants across the borough
Claimed firms first, then by number of Google reviews. Ratings come from each firm’s Google Business Profile (86 of 119 have reviews). Any paid placement is labelled Sponsored.
Example: how your firm could look here
Your office address, Bolton
★★★★★ Your Google rating and reviews
Two lines in your own words: who you help, how you handle the quarterly updates, and what a sole trader or landlord pays.
Belmont Suite, Paragon House Paragon Business, Paragon Business Park, Chorley New Rd, Horwich, BL6 6HG
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5, Canon Court, Institute St, BL1 1PZ
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67 Chorley Old Rd, BL1 3AJ
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9 Prescott St, BL3 3LZ
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361 Wigan Rd, BL3 5QU
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235 Tonge Moor Rd, BL2 2HR
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315 Halliwell Rd, BL1 3PF
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342 Derby St, BL3 6LF
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24 Bowness Rd, Little Lever, BL3 1UB
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81 Chorley Old Rd, BL1 3AJ
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Unit A9b, Eagley House, Deakins Business Park, Blackburn Rd, Egerton, BL7 9RW
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341 Derby St, BL3 6LR
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Is your firm missing or wrong? Claim or correct your listing.
Already on Xero, QuickBooks or a spreadsheet? We match you with firms that work that way.
From the town centre to Horwich and Westhoughton, chosen to suit you.
Compare what each firm charges for four updates and the final declaration.
No fee from you, no obligation to go ahead.
Drive out of Bolton towards Horwich on Chorley New Road and you pass more than a quarter of the borough’s accountants. Of the 119 firms on this page, 32 have offices on Chorley New Road or Chorley Old Road, the two long roads that run west from the town centre through Heaton, Smithills and Doffcocker in BL1. Our own count of Companies House records tells the same story: 30 of the 248 accountancy companies registered in the borough give one of those two roads as their address.
There are smaller groups elsewhere. Horwich (BL6) has 10 firms, from Lee Lane to the offices at The Parklands beside Middlebrook and the Toughsheet Community Stadium, close to junction 6 of the M61. Westhoughton (BL5) has 9. Derby Street in Daubhill, Tonge Moor Road in BL2, Farnworth (BL4) and Bromley Cross in BL7 account for most of the rest. Parts of Kearsley use the Manchester M26 postcode, so not every Bolton-borough firm has a BL address.
Software and MTD
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is built around software. From your start date you need digital records of your income and expenses, and your quarterly updates must be sent to HMRC from a compatible product, by you or by your accountant. HMRC does not make its own product for this and does not recommend any; it publishes a software finder on GOV.UK instead.
The software you choose shapes which firms suit you and what they charge, so it is worth deciding first. There are four broad routes.
Suits you if: You already keep a tidy spreadsheet and want to carry on.
Bridging software reads the totals from your spreadsheet and sends the update. Cheapest change; relies on you keeping the spreadsheet accurate.
Suits you if: You want bank feeds, receipt scanning and less typing.
The app pulls in transactions from your business bank account. More to learn at first, less work each quarter, and most accountants can log in alongside you.
Suits you if: Your affairs are simple: one business or one property, few transactions.
GOV.UK says free products exist for simple tax affairs, but they may cap transactions. Check you will not outgrow it mid-year.
Suits you if: You would rather not touch software at all.
Send receipts and statements each quarter; the firm keeps the records and files. Usually the dearest option, but the least of your time.
On the websites of the Bolton practices we checked, Xero is the name that comes up most often, then QuickBooks and Sage. That is a good reason to tell firms up front what you use. If you are on Xero already, a Xero-partner practice can usually log in to your file the day you sign up. If you are on a spreadsheet, ask whether the firm uses bridging software or will want you to move to an app, and whether moving would cost extra.
Two questions save arguments later. First, who pays for the software: some firms include a licence in a monthly fee, others expect you to pay the provider directly. Second, who presses send: GOV.UK notes that each submission can only use one product, so agree whether you or the firm will send each quarterly update. If you will have a bookkeeper and an accountant, check the product lets more than one agent work on your records.
On 25 March 2026, GM Business Growth Hub, the council’s Business Bolton service and The Wellsprings, the council’s innovation hub on Howell Croft Street, opposite the Central Library, ran a session called “Making Tax Digital: What You Need to Know”, aimed at sole traders, landlords and small business owners. The Wellsprings is run by Oxford Innovation Space for Bolton Council and offers flexible offices, co-working and start-up support. If another session is announced, it is a useful free hour before you pay anyone for advice.
GM Business Growth Hub is publicly funded and free to businesses; its EnterprisingYou programme is aimed at the self-employed. Business Bolton is the council’s own business support service, with one-to-one advice and help for people starting out. The University of Greater Manchester, formerly the University of Bolton, on Deane Road, runs business engagement and enterprise support too. None of these replace an accountant, but they can help you set up well before your first update.
Bolton questions
Yes, as long as you pair it with bridging software, which reads the figures from your spreadsheet and sends the quarterly update to HMRC. Many Bolton firms are happy to work this way for clients with simple records.
GOV.UK says free products are available for people with simple tax affairs, though they may limit things like the number of transactions. HMRC does not recommend any particular product.
Among the Bolton firms whose websites we checked, Xero comes up most often, followed by QuickBooks and Sage. If you already use one, ask for quotes from firms that work with it; it saves a move.
It helps but is not required. Each submission to HMRC is made through one product, so agree with the firm which product will send your updates and who pays for the licence.
Paper alone will not be enough from your start date. You will need digital records of each income and expense item. Some firms will take paper and key it in for you each quarter; expect that to cost more than if you scan receipts yourself.
Along Chorley New Road and Chorley Old Road, west of the town centre, where 32 of the firms on this page have their offices. Horwich and Westhoughton have clusters of their own.
Yes. On 25 March 2026 GM Business Growth Hub, Business Bolton and The Wellsprings ran a session called Making Tax Digital: What You Need to Know, for sole traders, landlords and small business owners. Check The Wellsprings and the Growth Hub for future sessions.
Use HMRC’s software finder on GOV.UK: it asks a few questions and tells you whether your current software works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and lists others that do.
Sole traders and landlords whose self-employment turnover and gross rents together were over £30,000 on their 2025 to 2026 return. The threshold drops to £20,000 from April 2028.
Each submission can only use one product, but GOV.UK notes that agents can use more than one product across their clients. Ask the firm how it would handle two income sources, and whether the software allows more than one agent if you need that.
Fill in the short form on this page. We pass your request to up to four firms that suit what you need, at no cost to you, and they contact you directly.