Dispensing With Accountants

[jamesbrown]

With furlough and Self-Assessment RTI being introduced in 2023 (4 tax returns to file in the year), you will have to have an accountant. Only they can do these filings for you.

Yeah, nice try

[SallySageAccounting]

Please provide corroboration of that because I very much doubt it.

(I don’t doubt the tax returns, only that accountants are needed to do them.)

My Account Manager at FreeAgent had advised us of only an accountant being able to file. Looking into it, I doubt it is correct. From what we can see, you will just require RTI friendly software, such as FreeAgent.

[SallySageAccounting]

That sounds a bit odd.

Furlough ends in September and it's always been possible to submit your own information via the portal on gov.uk so what about that is coming in 2023?

There is a good article here

https://www.rossmartin.co.uk/self-em...-means-for-you

[eek]

[QUOTE=SallySageAccounting;n4176970]

That sounds a bit odd.

Furlough ends in September and it's always been possible to submit your own information via the portal on gov.uk so what about that is coming in 2023?

/QUOTE]

There is a good article here

https://www.rossmartin.co.uk/self-em...-means-for-you

And in that article it repeatedly says you need software to submit the items.

so as I've posted before I suspect it will result in people needing accountants to do far less than they did before rather than far more.

One reason why CT600 were not automated quickly was because if you only need to do them once a year, it's a job you offload to someone else. When you have to do them quarterly (say like you VAT tax return) software is written to allow you to do it yourself.

[ladymuck]

That sounds a bit odd.

Furlough ends in September and it's always been possible to submit your own information via the portal on gov.uk so what about that is coming in 2023?

There is a good article here

https://www.rossmartin.co.uk/self-em...-means-for-you

What's that got to do with furlough? Why must people have an accountant for the one month left of the furlough scheme when they may have been managing for the past year or more to submit it themselves?

EDIT: and, it's only for the self employed and landlords. Not for the average LtdCo contractor.

I have to say, I wouldn't pick you as my accountant based on your posts so far...

[northernladuk]

Welcome to CUK Sally

[PerfectStorm]

Who is it and are they Nixon Williams?

[northernladuk]

Who is it and are they Nixon Williams?

They aren't on the recommended list

[Fred Bloggs]

Given that FreeAgent can submit my tax return and can even do a CT600 where do you get the idea that an accountant will be required.

Heck some of the small business banks already have built in accounting software and that will be all that is required going forward for most people.

I seriously expect the need for accountants will go down when these changes are implemented rather than increase.

My recent experience is that I think you are absolutely correct. The sausage machine accountants who don't give a stuff are likely to lose a lot of their market. Whilst the better firms are going to have to raise their game considerably in adding value to their clients business if they are to keep clients. (Something I have never seen actually happen). I am very happy I am not an accountant. Yet even I managed to complete Companies House and CT600 submissions on my own this year end using the numbers from QuickFile. I have no previous book keeping experience and my business is dead simple. The gov.uk portal could be slicker but it worked just fine. Just one input error I had to think about and fix before submitting to Co Ho and CT600. I am sure that with FreeAgent, there's going to be a lot of very experienced folks out there wondering exactly what they are paying the accountant for.

[cojak]

Quite.

If I go contracting again I won’t be rushing out to look for an accountant. The last one gave me no value whatsoever.

it will either be FreeAgent or QuickFile for me.