Hi Guys,
I recently entered the world of contracting when I was offered a contract following an introduction by a recruitment agency.
It was a quick start and the recruitment agency also introduced me to a company which provides contractor accounting services.
Following the sales pitch which included personalised breakdowns and browsing through the shiny brochure, I opted for the 'premium' subscription as it included setting up the company, prestigious company office address for all mail, VAT registration, all insurances, accounting portal, dedicated accountant, monthly/quarterly forecasts, all accounts, all submissions, everything I had ever dreamt of for the sum of £230 a month.
As I was all excited about my new opportunity and wanted to avoid getting caught up in form filling & admin, I thought why not, looks like a reputable 'global' company who will take care of it all for a smooth experience
So 3 months later and the only 'premium' I'm feeling is the monthly subscription
Firstly, looks like my prestigious office address is actually my home address and I have had to forward correspondence to them - customer services says its setup correct and how it works; directors can't avoid their address being used for correspondence - not what their brochure says.
Then nobody advised me that they can't submit my VAT registration application until I get a business bank account; five week delay.
Then I started being chased as a debtor for not paying my subscription when it wasn't due.
Then customer services told me not to contact them anymore instead my 'dedicated accountant' will contact me and to deal with them from now on. My accountant did contact me to repeat some previous information and I haven't heard from them since.
I was chased by the HMRC for further information and when I asked my 'premium' contractor accounting service to deal with it, I was told to fill out the form, send it to them and they'll have a look.
My 'accounting portal' just looks like a quickbooks £15 a month jobbie.
Other contractors I've spoken with basically went "HOW MUCH???" when I told them what I'm paying.
They basically said they use quickbooks or equivalent for day-to-day accounting/payroll and an accountant to review their accounts monthly/quarterly - which costs £150 a quarter.
Some use registered office services for £100 per annum but the majority just use their home address without any issues.
As for insurances they just have basic £1m/£1m/£10m (Indemnity/Public/Employers) policies for hardly anything per month.
So I've decided to leave my 'premium service' and do what others do, handle it myself - well get an accountant to check over things 2-3 times a year
If you're still awake...
I wanted to ask for your advice into how to make the transition from a contractor accounting service to handling my own accounting
1. I'll need to take out new insurance policies.
2. Check/change the company registered address.
3. Accounting portal; extract my existing data from the current one and sign up with a new one, then import the data - is that possible to do?
4. Find an accountant.
5. HMRC; my VAT registration is still in progress - would it be wiser to wait until it is complete?
6. Government Gateway (PAYE); ask for existing logon details or get new user id created?
7. Should there be a set of monthly/quarterly accounts I should expect to be given?
What else do I need to do/forgotten to consider?
Thx
I recently entered the world of contracting when I was offered a contract following an introduction by a recruitment agency.
It was a quick start and the recruitment agency also introduced me to a company which provides contractor accounting services.
Following the sales pitch which included personalised breakdowns and browsing through the shiny brochure, I opted for the 'premium' subscription as it included setting up the company, prestigious company office address for all mail, VAT registration, all insurances, accounting portal, dedicated accountant, monthly/quarterly forecasts, all accounts, all submissions, everything I had ever dreamt of for the sum of £230 a month.
As I was all excited about my new opportunity and wanted to avoid getting caught up in form filling & admin, I thought why not, looks like a reputable 'global' company who will take care of it all for a smooth experience
So 3 months later and the only 'premium' I'm feeling is the monthly subscription
Firstly, looks like my prestigious office address is actually my home address and I have had to forward correspondence to them - customer services says its setup correct and how it works; directors can't avoid their address being used for correspondence - not what their brochure says.
Then nobody advised me that they can't submit my VAT registration application until I get a business bank account; five week delay.
Then I started being chased as a debtor for not paying my subscription when it wasn't due.
Then customer services told me not to contact them anymore instead my 'dedicated accountant' will contact me and to deal with them from now on. My accountant did contact me to repeat some previous information and I haven't heard from them since.
I was chased by the HMRC for further information and when I asked my 'premium' contractor accounting service to deal with it, I was told to fill out the form, send it to them and they'll have a look.
My 'accounting portal' just looks like a quickbooks £15 a month jobbie.
Other contractors I've spoken with basically went "HOW MUCH???" when I told them what I'm paying.
They basically said they use quickbooks or equivalent for day-to-day accounting/payroll and an accountant to review their accounts monthly/quarterly - which costs £150 a quarter.
Some use registered office services for £100 per annum but the majority just use their home address without any issues.
As for insurances they just have basic £1m/£1m/£10m (Indemnity/Public/Employers) policies for hardly anything per month.
So I've decided to leave my 'premium service' and do what others do, handle it myself - well get an accountant to check over things 2-3 times a year
If you're still awake...
I wanted to ask for your advice into how to make the transition from a contractor accounting service to handling my own accounting
1. I'll need to take out new insurance policies.
2. Check/change the company registered address.
3. Accounting portal; extract my existing data from the current one and sign up with a new one, then import the data - is that possible to do?
4. Find an accountant.
5. HMRC; my VAT registration is still in progress - would it be wiser to wait until it is complete?
6. Government Gateway (PAYE); ask for existing logon details or get new user id created?
7. Should there be a set of monthly/quarterly accounts I should expect to be given?
What else do I need to do/forgotten to consider?
Thx
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