Get Accountant now or later

[GeorgeB]

Hi,

General setup question...

How long does it take to get set up with an accountant for the first time?

I'm available and actively looking for a contract now, but should I wait till i get offered a contract then set up accountant, limited etc or is it best to do it straight away?

I'm thinking, if I don't find a contract in the next month then I'll incur another month of charges without money coming in.

Many thanks,
George.

[Clare@InTouch]

A company can be set up within a a few hours, VAT takes a few weeks, as does PAYE and sometimes a bank account. If you want to do those bits yourself then you could start now, and then appoint an accountant later. You could talk to a few now though, does no harm to get some free advice to make sure you're setting it up right

Or, as a company is so quick to set up you could wait until you have the draft contract, and get an accountant to handle the setup.

It should take only a few days to appoint an accountant once you've decided on one, and then their fee would start from that date (which you can coincide with your contract start date).

[Bumfluff]

Hi,

General setup question...

How long does it take to get set up with an accountant for the first time?

I'm available and actively looking for a contract now, but should I wait till i get offered a contract then set up accountant, limited etc or is it best to do it straight away?

I'm thinking, if I don't find a contract in the next month then I'll incur another month of charges without money coming in.

Many thanks,
George.

First contract you might be better off using an umberalla to start then set up the ltd in the background if you think you will get a contract quickly. Getting an accountant is easy and they can setup a ltd company for you quickly a day or so, but getting your VAT, company bank account will take longer factor in week or so for the company account (Natwest took 5 weeks with mine) and a month or so for VAT though you can still invoice without the VAT but then claim it back later but its a hassle.

[Jeremiah@RHJAccountants]

Hi,

General setup question...

How long does it take to get set up with an accountant for the first time?

I'm available and actively looking for a contract now, but should I wait till i get offered a contract then set up accountant, limited etc or is it best to do it straight away?

I'm thinking, if I don't find a contract in the next month then I'll incur another month of charges without money coming in.

Many thanks,
George.

Generally speaking having a contract in place is a good start

However if you do have an accountant from the start at least they can help with the set up of your limited company and offer other specialist advice with regards to PAYE,VAT and FRS etc.

It should not take long to set up with an accountant we can register clients same day at Smith Craven Charterted Accountants and send out the formal documents like Engagement letter etc.

Again to set up a limited most accountants should be able to do this same day or 1 day max.

Good luck and i hope you get your first contract very soon

[Danielsjdaccountancy]

I guess it really depends on how much company paperwork you want to deal with whilst working on your contract?

In my experience most clients like to get the company setup, bank account opened and VAT registered before they start the contract.

That way they can

a) Not worry about it on their first day of working
b) Commence the contract as they have bank details available for the agency/end client (I have seen clients miss out on contracts due to not having this available)
c) Invoice at the end of the month as they have account details ready to be paid into, plus they won't need to worry about any VAT only invoices at a later date. (I have seen many clients miss the invoice run due to not having a bank account in place and then have to wait another month to be paid)

There is a lot of stress at the start of a contract so why add the stress of setting the company up properly.

If I was contracting I would allow 6 to 4 weeks to get everything in place ready to contract.

I imagine people would disagree with me, but I am comparing people who set the company up early to those who do it the Friday before they start on the Monday.

Note I am not even talking about appointing the accountant; simply get the formation process completed.

[GeorgeB]

Many thanks for your very quick responses

I could create the bank account now, and then appoint the accountant at the time of offer. I'm assuming no bank account = no invoicing, so this is one thing which should be sorted quickly!

Does this sound like a good idea?

Thanks,

[GeorgeB]

I guess it really depends on how much company paperwork you want to deal with whilst working on your contract?

In my experience most clients like to get the company setup, bank account opened and VAT registered before they start the contract.

That way they can

a) Not worry about it on their first day of working
b) Commence the contract as they have bank details available for the agency/end client (I have seen clients miss out on contracts due to not having this available)
c) Invoice at the end of the month as they have account details ready to be paid into, plus they won't need to worry about any VAT only invoices at a later date. (I have seen many clients miss the invoice run due to not having a bank account in place and then have to wait another month to be paid)

There is a lot of stress at the start of a contract so why add the stress of setting the company up properly.

If I was contracting I would allow 6 to 4 weeks to get everything in place ready to contract.

I imagine people would disagree with me, but I am comparing people who set the company up early to those who do it the Friday before they start on the Monday.

Note I am not even talking about appointing the accountant; simply get the formation process completed.

Just seen your post Dan.

I'm thinking I might just bite the bullet and get the ball rolling.

[Bumfluff]

Many thanks for your very quick responses

I could create the bank account now, and then appoint the accountant at the time of offer. I'm assuming no bank account = no invoicing, so this is one thing which should be sorted quickly!

Does this sound like a good idea?

Thanks,

You need to have the Ltd setup ie have a certificate or incorporation before the bank will start the account setup for you.

[Jeremiah@RHJAccountants]

You need to have the Ltd setup ie have a certificate or incorporation before the bank will start the account setup for you.

Agreed i was about to echo those same comments make sure the Ltd is set up before bank account and registration process with HMRC for VAT, PAYE etc.

[GeorgeB]

OK, thanks everyone.

Playing safe is probably the best move, I'm going to kick things off now.