The accounting team for Longford businesses, fully online

Longford is the county town, and the people who run its shops, workshops and clinics need accountants in Longford who reply fast and understand a Midlands business. staxo is a complete team for management, bookkeeping and accounting. We work fully online, day and night with AI, and serve the town from Ireland, so there is no office to visit. We handle company formation in Longford as well, from the CRO name check to the first VAT return, and you approve every filing before it reaches Revenue or the CRO.

At the April 2022 census, 10,952 people lived in Longford, with an average age of 37.3. One in five residents at work was in manufacturing, and about as many in professional services. The town sits on the N4 and N5, with trains on the Dublin to Sligo line. Local Enterprise Office Longford and the County Council are on Great Water Street, and the EDI Centre on the Athlone Road rents desks and offices. Planning to start a business in Longford? We keep the numbers straight from the first invoice.

10,952 people lived in Longford in April 2022 (CSO Census 2022)

Business in Longford

Longford's working residents lean towards making things and serving people. Census 2022 counted 4,032 residents of the town at work: 822 in manufacturing, 837 in professional services, 719 in commerce and trade, 209 in public administration and 192 in building and construction. Those figures describe the jobs residents hold, and some of them commute out. As county town, Longford is home to the council, the LEO and State offices. It sits on the N4 from Dublin to Sligo and the N5 to Westport, Bus Éireann routes 22 and 23 stop in the town, and the Longford Town Local Area Plan 2025-2031 took effect on 3 June 2025.

Manufacturing and food processing

Manufacturing accounts for 822 Longford residents at work, 20.4%, almost level with professional services. A summary of the Local Area Plan lists agri-business, food processing, and medical and biopharmaceutical industries among the town's activities. Firms that supply plants like these, such as maintenance engineers, hauliers and electrical contractors, invoice against purchase orders and wait on long credit terms, so job costing and a clear debtors list matter.

Professional services and State offices

837 residents at work (20.8%) are in professional services and 209 (5.2%) in public administration. The Irish Prison Service has its headquarters in Longford, and the Department of Social Protection runs a centre in the town. Consultants, care providers and contractors who sell to public bodies need clean invoices, a current tax clearance record and accounts that hold up in a tender.

Retail and the town centre

719 Longford residents at work, 17.8%, are in commerce and trade. Longford Shopping Centre, with Tesco and Penneys, and the N4 Axis Centre are the main retail sites, and the town has a four-screen Omniplex cinema. Independent shops and takeaways juggle several card terminals, part-time rosters and stock sold at two or three VAT rates.

Tourism and heritage

Visit Longford lists St Mel's Cathedral in the town, and Center Parcs Longford Forest, near Ballymahon in the county, which it calls Ireland's first Center Parcs resort. For cafés, guesthouses and the trades that service them, busy visitor weekends bring peaks in sales and staff hours that the books need to show clearly.

What staxo does for a Longford business

staxo is the complete team behind the management, bookkeeping and accounting of a small business in Longford. We work fully online from Ireland, day and night with AI, and nothing goes to Revenue or the CRO until you approve it.

Bookkeeping in Longford for trades and factory suppliers

Take Cronin Electrical Ltd, a fictional electrical contractor based in Longford, rewiring a unit in Mastertech Business Park on Monday and servicing a food plant's control panels by Thursday. Each wholesaler bill, fuel receipt and stage payment reaches staxo as a photo or a bank line. We code it to the right job, match it to the invoice and chase what is overdue, so by Friday the owner knows which jobs made money.

VAT returns for a café near St Mel's Cathedral

Harbour View Café, a fictional café we place near St Mel's Cathedral, serves breakfast to staff from the State offices, lunch to shoppers and coffee to people catching the Sligo train. Hot food, cold drinks and cakes can sit at different VAT rates. staxo sorts each sale to its rate, prepares each VAT3, shows you the figure ahead of the deadline and files on ROS only when you say yes.

Payroll for Longford employers

Blackrock Physio, imagined here as a Longford clinic near the shopping centre, hires a receptionist and a second physiotherapist. staxo registers the practice as an employer, runs each pay period, issues payslips and reports every pay date to Revenue on ROS. A subcontractor with shift crews at a plant, or a shop adding Christmas staff, gets the same routine, and nobody is paid until you approve the run.

Year end, CT1 and Form 11 without the scramble

At year end staxo prepares the financial statements, the CT1 for a company or the Form 11 for a sole trader in Longford, and the CRO annual return, with each deadline flagged months ahead. Tidy accounts count when you sit down with LEO Longford about a Priming Grant, bid for work with a public body or ask the bank to fund new equipment for a workshop on the Athlone Road.

Cash, margins and the rates bill each month

Every month you get a short report: cash in the bank, who owes you, margin by job or product and the tax put aside. For a Longford shop or workshop, staxo builds the rates bill into the cash plan at the 2026 ARV of 0.2753. If you take over premises around the turn of the year, we check who occupied them on 1 January, because that occupier is liable for the year's bill.

Company formation in Longford, fully online

staxo forms a limited company online from €199, or registers you as a sole trader from €49, with nothing to post. The CRO asks for an acceptable name, a director with a PPSN, a company secretary, a registered office in the State and a constitution, filed on Form A1 with a CRO fee of about €50. Your home in Longford town or county can be the registered office, so no lease is needed. The ordinary online A1 queue at the CRO is currently about two weeks.

1. Tell us the name; we check it against CRO rules and can reserve it.
2. Send director and secretary details, including each director's PPSN.
3. Pick the registered office, often your Longford home, and approve the constitution.
4. Sign Form A1 online and we file it with the CRO.
5. Once incorporated, we register the company with Revenue on ROS.

Within five months the company records its beneficial owners with the RBO. We register it for corporation tax, plus VAT and PAYE if needed. A different trading name goes to the CRO as a business name. The first annual return is due six months after incorporation, and every date goes in your calendar.

New Longford companies can book mentoring or an advice clinic at LEO Longford on Great Water Street, take its subsidised Start Your Own Business course and ask about a Priming Grant in their first 18 months. The EDI Centre in Mastertech Business Park rents desks and meeting rooms.

How company formation works in Ireland · Register a business online

Local Enterprise Office and supports

Local Enterprise Office Longford sits in the town at Áras an Contae, Great Water Street, open 9:00 to 5:00 on weekdays, phone 043 3344284. It offers one-to-one mentoring, business advice clinics, a Start Your Own Business course and other training it subsidises, and a Priming Grant for micro enterprises in their first 18 months with no more than 10 employees. Its Grow Digital listing offers a free five-minute digital readiness check.

Local Enterprise Office Longford · Longford Chamber · EDI Centre, Mastertech Business Park · CO:WORX, Edgeworthstown

Rates, the council and Revenue

Longford County Council sets the Annual Rate on Valuation at its budget meeting, and Tailte Éireann decides the rateable valuation of each property. For 2026 the ARV is 0.2753, up from 0.2647 in 2025, and your bill is the valuation times that rate. Bills issue on 1 January to whoever occupies the premises that day. You can pay by standing order, card by phone, online banking or at the Cash Desk in Camlin Court, Great Water Street.

Revenue lists no office in Longford. Its public offices are in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, open 09:30 to 13:30 on weekdays. A Longford sole trader registers through ROS or myAccount, a company is registered by its tax agent on ROS, and questions go through MyEnquiries. staxo handles all of it for you as your agent.

Nearby towns we also serve

The same team and the same books follow you if you trade across County Longford or open in a second town.

• Accountants in Mullingar
• Accountants in Athlone
• Accountants in Tullamore
• Accountants in Sligo

All towns we serve

Guides

Plain guides for Irish owners on the filings that come up most.

• What it costs to set up a limited company in Ireland
• Registering as an employer: your first employee and payroll checklist

Accountants in Longford: your questions

Which council sets commercial rates in Longford, and what is the 2026 rate?

Longford County Council. After adopting its 2026 budget, the council set the Annual Rate on Valuation for County Longford at 0.2753, and the Tailte Éireann national table gives 0.2647 for 2025. Your bill is that rate times the rateable valuation of your premises. Bills issue on 1 January, and rates queries go to rates@longfordcoco.ie.

Where is the Local Enterprise Office for Longford town?

Local Enterprise Office Longford is at Áras an Contae, Great Water Street, Longford, N39 NH56, open Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 5:00. Call 043 3344284 or email info@leo.longfordcoco.ie to ask about mentoring, an advice clinic, the Start Your Own Business course or the Priming Grant. Its grant page states no maximum amount and says each application is considered case by case.

Do I need an office in Longford to register a company?

No. The CRO needs a registered office in the State, and your home in Longford town or anywhere in the county will do. staxo forms the company from €199: you give us the name, a director with a PPSN, a secretary and the address, approve the constitution and sign Form A1 online. The CRO fee is about €50, and the ordinary online queue is currently about two weeks.

How do I register as a sole trader in Longford?

Start with your PPSN, which becomes your tax reference number. Register for income tax on ROS, or in myAccount if you are already on PAYE, and add VAT or employer registration through eRegistration if you need them. Trading under a name other than your own also needs a CRO business name. staxo handles the registration from €49 and keeps the books for your Form 11.

Is there a Revenue office in Longford?

No. Revenue lists public offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, open 09:30 to 13:30 on weekdays with priority for appointments, and offers virtual appointments at its offices in Castlebar, Dundalk, Letterkenny, Tralee and Waterford. For a Longford business the practical route is online: ROS for registration and returns, MyEnquiries for questions. As your tax agent, staxo deals with Revenue for you.

Is there co-working or a hot desk in Longford?

Yes. The EDI Centre at Mastertech Business Park, Athlone Road, N39 Y0F4, is the town hub of the council's Longford Works network, open weekdays from 8:30 to 5:00 with dedicated and flexible desks, offices, a conference room, phone booths and free parking. Longford Works also lists hubs at Edgeworthstown, Ardagh, Moydow, Moyne, Granard and Abbeyshrule, and the council notes that charges apply.

Sources and last reviewed

Last reviewed 2026-10-16. Rates, grants and hub details change, so check the source before you act on a figure.

Start or run your Longford business with staxo

Register online, then let staxo keep the books, VAT and payroll in order while you approve each step.

Company formation in Ireland · Online accounting · Sole trader accounting · Limited company accounting · VAT returns · Pricing