Specialist IT Ltd Company Accountant

[weboo]

I currently run a private limited company via AMS contractors in Swindon, but was tinkering with the idea of not paying them the 27quid a week (1400pa) and the odd 80 quid for tax returns. Instead trying a specialist accountant that specialises in IT contractors that is value for money and in berkshire.

Does anyone know of an accountant that you can recommend? I'm sure there is are pros and cons to doing this...I like the umbrella of AMS as they do everything apart from do the client work and send timesheets...so being a lazy bastard like me, its cool. But I am perhaps thinking of doing other work on the side at times and I am sure there are better fiddles(creative accounting) that are on offer.

Please only reply to this thread if you can recommend a good accountant that can offer me the service and locality.

Thanks, Weboo

[Lucifer Box]

Unless you have unusual or particular circumstances, there is no real need for a local accountant (which will be ten a penny for a generalist accountant). You may have heard of these new fangled telephone things and this interweb wotsit. You want a specialist accountant, so you have to go to them.

The usual recommendations of the board are SJD, 1st Accountancy Services, and Nixon Williams.

[DaveB]

The other popular one here is 1st Accountancy but dont know if they have an office down south.

In any case the physical location of your accountant isnt really that important as everything can be done by e-mail, phone or post anyway.

[xoggoth]

Except for IR35 (and most accountants will not be experts in that - best to get insurance/contract advice from the specialists) there is nothing in contracting that does not apply to any small limited company business. Use a decent local high street bloke.

[ratewhore]

I agree with Xog. I have been through a couple of the 'IT Contractors Accountants' and got sick of the conveyor belt mentality. They do not offer proactive tax planning advice (other than low salary - high divvy), you fill in your monthly accounts (online/spreadsheet/whatever) and if there are any problems they will send it back rather than fix it themselves. Some of them won't even bother filling in your P11D. Plus my first accountants got my accounts and PAYE calcs wrong! Useless bunch of cnuts.

No; for me, local accountants are useful for building a relationship with and offer so much more than filling in your forms for you...