Forming company & business bank before choosing an accountant?

[MrBrown]

Hi CUK - Having permd for 20 years plus, I've decided to take the plunge into contracting.

The choice is endless.

Do I focus on just getting the company formed and setting up a Business Bank account?

Or, do I just take the plunge tomorrow with any accountancy firm?

My head is currently in stackoverflow mode with all the information I've taken in, any advice is much appreciated..

[teapot418]

Hi CUK - Having permd for 20 years plus, I've decided to take the plunge into contracting.

The choice is endless.

Do I focus on just getting the company formed and setting up a Business Bank account?

Or, do I just take the plunge tomorrow with any accountancy firm?

My head is currently in stackoverflow mode with all the information I've taken in, any advice is much appreciated..

You don't need an accountant to form your company. You can do that yourself. A business account can take some time to set up, so that should be your priority.

Get your contract reviewed for IR35 and read up - there's some good guides --->

I'm assuming your contract is not public sector - if it is, then IR35 just got a whole lot more complicated.


Regarding accountants, I'm with InTouch and very happy with them, but if I was choosing a new accountant now, I'd go with one that offers freeagent - there are several who regularly post on here. Ring a few and see who you get on with.

And don't be rushed - you're not going to lose the contract over a couple of days.

[northernladuk]

Have a look at the Accountant Rcommendation sticky at the top if the accounting section. There are a list of accountants there recommended and used by some if the posters here. First and foremost you want a Freeagent accountant so that cuts down your list very quickly.

Have a look at the sticky, ring a few and see who you click with.

[Fred Bloggs]

A little off topic, maybe. But you mention the large difference that various accountants charge in fees. This is true. But I would go on to say that cost alone is NO guide to how well the accountant will look after you and your business. In fact, I would go as far as to say that some of the very worst accountants charge amongst the highest fees out there, in my opinion, of course. Inevitably, in the contractor market there is an element of "the sausage machine" approach and that's OK as far as it goes. It's the details that make the difference and you will not have much idea until you appoint an accountant.

I would strongly recommend you put the first priority on using a FreeAgent account. For many reasons, but a very powerful one is that if you start from day one on that software and you need to change accountants for any reason, using that platform "should" make moving much easier than in the past.

HTH.

[MrBrown]

Thanks for your advice all..

You don't need an accountant to form your company. You can do that yourself.

Having read quite a few threads on here, this appears to be a big No No, based on the risk of ending up costing me more, in case of mistakes (although the process does look pretty simple).

I'm assuming your contract is not public sector

Thats correct, its not public sector.

[Michael at BI Accountancy]

Recommendations are about the best place to start.

That said, ring round and speak to each accountant getting a feel for the one who's the "right fit" for you. Everybody is different in how they like to operate and you need to make sure the accountant you pick can support you.

As the guy's have said go for FreeAgent, don't be tied to any in-house software as it becomes a little messy if you do look to switch accountants.

Good luck!

[Willapp]

Another +1 for finding an accountant that uses FreeAgent. I have just started the process of switching from my local accountant to Danbro (who use FreeAgent). I wasn't unhappy with the local chap but he's a bit old school (prefers phone to email, uses Sage so no online access to my accounts), and for the same money I can get one that uses FreeAgent and is, I suspect, a bit more geared towards contractors so will probably offer better advice as well.

Point being that switching accounts, while not necessarily painful, isn't something you really want to do, so better to pick the right one first time around. Having one that uses FreeAgent is better though because in theory if you want to switch later and the new accountant uses FreeAgent then it should just be a case of porting the account over.

[MrBrown]

Thanks for your replies all. It looks like FreeAgent is a must.

I'm about to sign up to a low cost online only accountant, that sets me up with a company, and potentially a Bank account if I choose to go with Metro Bank, although I may look into others.

Only thing is that, I wont get a personal service, or be advised on how to make the best of my returns..

Does this sound like a sensible approach, considering I need to be set up quick?

[northernladuk]

It doesn't to me. It sounds like you are doing on the cheap rather than starting off properly with full advice and guidance.

[SueEllen]

Nope.

Start of with full advice and only when you are clued up change to a cheaper package/accountant.