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Accountant recommendation please (London)

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    #41
    Originally posted by softwaredever
    Hi everyone,

    I'm a ltd company IT contractor, and so far I've been doing my accounts myself as they're very simple (I know, I know...).

    I'm now in need of some accountancy advice, but as things stand I don't want to formally 'get an accountant' (i.e. monthly) as I've already got everything set up the way I want it and most of the services they offer (bar the advice) I already have. What I'd like is a service where I can pay for the advice only on an ad-hoc basis. I understand why accountancy firms prefer to have you as a long-term client, but does anyone know of any who would offer this? I'm based in London but would look elsewhere if necessary.
    You don't want an advisor, you want a financial consultant.

    That aside, the accountants' fees are based on a year's work, since that is what you will be generating. If you only want ad hoc advice, you will likely have to pay for it by the hour, or do your own research with the backup of groups such as IPSE and their various Guides. Or post your question here and similar fora and hope you get an accurate, qualified and supportable (if not legally valid) answer...

    But since any good accountant will save you their fees anyway, why not do it properly?
    Blog? What blog...?

    Comment


      #42
      Originally posted by softwaredever
      Hi everyone,

      I'm a ltd company IT contractor, and so far I've been doing my accounts myself as they're very simple (I know, I know...).

      I'm now in need of some accountancy advice, but as things stand I don't want to formally 'get an accountant' (i.e. monthly) as I've already got everything set up the way I want it and most of the services they offer (bar the advice) I already have. What I'd like is a service where I can pay for the advice only on an ad-hoc basis. I understand why accountancy firms prefer to have you as a long-term client, but does anyone know of any who would offer this? I'm based in London but would look elsewhere if necessary.
      Maybe try a local / high street accountant. You will likely pay a premium. But if you get a quote you may think it is worth signing up to a monthly contractor accountant anyway for the difference it would cost you. Depends what sort of advice you need. Otherwise post the questions here and see what you get back.

      Comment


        #43
        Thanks for the advice everyone

        Thanks to the people who replied to my post. I accidentally deleted it so I'll reproduce it below in case anyone has any more comments. As some of you have said, it may be cheaper to get a monthly one anyway even if I'm not using all their services.

        "Hi everyone,

        I'm a ltd company IT contractor, and so far I've been doing my accounts myself as they're very simple (I know, I know...).

        I'm now in need of some accountancy advice, but as things stand I don't want to formally 'get an accountant' (i.e. monthly) as I've already got everything set up the way I want it and most of the services they offer (bar the advice) I already have. What I'd like is a service where I can pay for the advice only on an ad-hoc basis. I understand why accountancy firms prefer to have you as a long-term client, but does anyone know of any who would offer this? I'm based in London but would look elsewhere if necessary."

        Comment


          #44
          Originally posted by softwaredever View Post
          Thanks to the people who replied to my post. I accidentally deleted it so I'll reproduce it below in case anyone has any more comments. As some of you have said, it may be cheaper to get a monthly one anyway even if I'm not using all their services.

          You accidentally deleted your post? It's not like it's one mouse click.

          Perhaps an accountant isn't all you need.
          See You Next Tuesday

          Comment


            #45
            Originally posted by Nixon Williams View Post
            From our experience of taking over accounts from other accountants I can understand your comments, but it unfair to assume that they are all the same.

            We are aware of "specialists" and local accountants who appear to have no idea what they are doing but we manage to get the client back on track.

            Examples of errors we have seen (from both types of "accountant") are treating dividends as an expense, reporting company gross turnover as salary income on the tax return, not claiming the VAT Flat Rate saving. None of the clients were are aware of this until be pointed it out.

            In what way were your past accountants "crap" it would be interesting to hear your views.

            Alan
            I wouldn’t touch these guys with a barge pole. In fact I’d be wary about any accountant that have been acquired by a private equity. No matter how good NXW say they are the proof is in the service and it was below par for me. I’m still dealing with HMRC issues for FY2016/17 these clowns left me with.
            Last edited by rocketjet; 10 April 2018, 06:15.

            Comment


              #46
              Originally posted by softwaredever View Post
              Thanks to the people who replied to my post. I accidentally deleted it so I'll reproduce it below in case anyone has any more comments. As some of you have said, it may be cheaper to get a monthly one anyway even if I'm not using all their services.

              "Hi everyone,

              I'm a ltd company IT contractor, and so far I've been doing my accounts myself as they're very simple (I know, I know...).

              I'm now in need of some accountancy advice, but as things stand I don't want to formally 'get an accountant' (i.e. monthly) as I've already got everything set up the way I want it and most of the services they offer (bar the advice) I already have. What I'd like is a service where I can pay for the advice only on an ad-hoc basis. I understand why accountancy firms prefer to have you as a long-term client, but does anyone know of any who would offer this? I'm based in London but would look elsewhere if necessary."
              The problem is you may have what you think is a short question for your accountant, like "how much should I take in dividends this tax year". Nobody can answer that well without finding out a load more info first.
              - What retained profit do you have?
              - Is your bookkeeping data good enough that the answer to the above is reliable? Possibly we need to check your data.
              - What salary are you taking (and you are submitting it correctly via RTI, right)?
              - Do you have any income from other sources?
              - Do you expect income to be higher or lower next tax year?
              - What are your views on needing money now, vs stashing away for later...maybe a big pension contribution is a better idea?
              - Does your company/you personally have a big war chest/rainy day fund, and what's your attitude to risk/confidence in securing work continually?
              - What are your plans for 2-3 years down the line, eg looking to get a mortgage for a house/emigrate? These could impact your choices.
              - Do you have a long term partner, and if so, what do they earn?

              Typically you then get annoyed because you thought the accountant might charge you for 5 minutes to give their answer, but they end up charging you for an hour or two (maybe much more if they need to do work on your books first). If you want someone half decent, you're going to be looking at very high tens to several hundred pounds per hour (depending upon location and seniority). You then proclaim your accountant is a rip off, charging you hundreds of pounds just to answer a simple question.

              If they skimp on some of the data collection before giving you a figure, then you/they may well find out a year down the line it was really bad advice. You then proclaim your accountant is rubbish, can't even give a good answer to a basic question.

              Or maybe they figure you won't want to pay much, so point you to a fairly generic guide to help you answer the question yourself...at which point you grumble as you could've easily got that from a Google search.

              Or maybe they answer that question perfectly, but it turns out your bookkeeping data was rubbish, or you weren't actually doing RTI submissions just nominally deciding £X/month leaving your bank account was salary...so then further down the line you have other problems arising. You think "surely my accountant should have spotted that", and again proclaim they're rubbish.

              This is why that kind of model is basically dying out. Our view is we either want to oversee everything, or not get involved at all. IMHO the half way house is a recipe for disaster.

              Comment


                #47
                What he said - which is what I said only in rather more detail and from a professional
                Blog? What blog...?

                Comment

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