Recommend a good accountant in Manchester

[Disnew2this]

Thanks to all your posts

I have been contacted by quite a few today Quay, SJD and many more.

I must admit initial response to Quay was good and very informative (if anyone has any negatives let me know).

It turns out the contract won't commence until Friday at the earliest... for some reason (not worried though).

Speaking to a few people my rate is not great, but not bad for a first timer. However I have recently done loads of Oracle 9i, 10g and 11g migrations and suddenly getting quite a few calls and think my rate should be higher (Any hints here).

I am by no means a seasoned contractor and therefore coming from a permie to a contractor the immediate salary jump appears great even if it seems low to you seasoned pro's (Sorry harsh but true).

I was contemplating starting the contract using parasol umbrella then switching to Quay (partner Co.) and comments greatly received.

[sweetandsour]

I am by no means a seasoned contractor and therefore coming from a permie to a contractor the immediate salary jump appears great even if it seems low to you seasoned pro's (Sorry harsh but true).

Don't forget that while "the jump" might seem high at first, you won't be able to invoice when you are on holiday, sick or between contracts.

Noone is going to pay into a pension for you or sort out a life insurance, permanent health insurance or medical insurance scheme now either.

Lets not kid ourselves, if you are lucky enough to be in a contract 40 weeks out of the year then the money beats being a permie by a long way . I haven't worked in 2009 yet though.

I was contemplating starting the contract using parasol umbrella then switching to Quay (partner Co.) and comments greatly received.

There is nothing wrong with using an umbrella to start with and setting your company up later if you are not 100% sure that contracting is for you.

If you are going to set up your company anyway then I would start using it straight away if I were you.

[MarillionFan]

Set your own Ltd up. Apply for your own Bank Account and if necessary go and VAT Register.

You don't need an accountant off the bat to go contracting. They are there to fill in the paperwork behind you.

IMO the whole monthly fee, do my expenses, VAT etc is money for nothing.

I want them to do my accounts at the end of the year an that's it!!!!

[stek]

If you simply require a company, you should be able to set-up a company on Companies House for about £13 which normally takes 1 (possibly 2) working days and register for Corporation tax at the same time.

If your agency simply requires this company number, this would be the easiest and fastest option.

As mentioned in a previous post, VAT registration can take a few weeks, however you can simply issue a VAT invoice further down the line once registration is complete.

There are a number of accountants locally to Manchester who deal with contractors, however I would choose someone that you feel comfortable with and will provide a good service at a fair price. Typically your fee should be circa £1,000 for a compliance based service and £1,500 for a bookkeeping based service.

Things to look out for would be (a) can you speak to an accountant who can deal with your queries and not just a call centre based approach (b) what are the hidden extra costs - ensure that the price quoted is the price paid, (c) watch out for so-called "all inclusive services" that give you access to an online bookkeeping service - ensure that your accountant will provide you with detailed and meaningful payment advice notices and not just "management accounts" based on the information provided, (d) ask for some form of tax planning if they are to do your self assessment to ensure that tax is minimized and (e) for peace of mind, ensure that your accountant is qualified with the letters ACCA, ICAEW or CA for maximum quality assurance.

What kind of bell end responds to a three year old post for a first post?

And with such a post that really says absolutely nothing?

This is General, right?