Reply to: Accountant for contractor who also sells software?

[eek]

Apart from the fact that the accountant doesn't know how, or care how, to encrypt email........ Are you so sure it's not already encrypted in transit anyway? Most good email providers will do that by default. If you're really paranoid then you have your own server where you can enforce mandatory TLS anyway.

No accountant is going to change he way he runs for you. For a start why would they pay £££ to fix a problem you perceive when you're worth less money to them than it would cost to 'fix'?

No but at least the op is telling the accountant I'm going to be awkward so they can turn down the business before it begins

[northernladuk]

Apart from the fact that the accountant doesn't know how, or care how, to encrypt email........ Are you so sure it's not already encrypted in transit anyway? Most good email providers will do that by default. If you're really paranoid then you have your own server where you can enforce mandatory TLS anyway.

No accountant is going to change he way he runs for you. For a start why would they pay £££ to fix a problem you perceive when you're worth less money to them than it would cost to 'fix'?

Nice post. Probably completely lost on the OP but still, nice post.

[Lance]

Oh, and I'm also concerned about privacy, so don't want a crappy accountant who's going to bail if I have to ask them to encrypt emails (although ideally I wouldn't need to ask...).
Does anyone have any thoughts on this topic?

Apart from the fact that the accountant doesn't know how, or care how, to encrypt email........ Are you so sure it's not already encrypted in transit anyway? Most good email providers will do that by default. If you're really paranoid then you have your own server where you can enforce mandatory TLS anyway.

No accountant is going to change he way he runs for you. For a start why would they pay £££ to fix a problem you perceive when you're worth less money to them than it would cost to 'fix'?

[Lewis]

I've been with Nixon Williams for many years, I'm a contractor but a few years ago I also developed a product which I sell in reasonable numbers whilst still contracting. They have been great dealing with both sides of the business (incl. processing European Sales) and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

[GillsMan]

Hi,
So, just 4 months after last searching for an accountant (and starting contracting), I'm looking again (turns out my last one took exception to the constructive suggestion of encrypting emails with personal information in them!).

I'm a Ltd Company, 1 director/employee etc. I do consulting, but also write software which I try and sell (one sale so far!). I'm not anticipating huge numbers of sales - a hundred a year if I'm super lucky.
There are plenty of suggestions for contractor-dedicated accountants here, and I've found a lot online, but what about ones who will also accommodate the (hopefully burgeoning) software-sales part of my business? I've seen a few that also cover small businesses:
* Clever accounts
* Accountsnet
* Crunch (referenced here a few times including in the sticky)


Oh, and I'm also concerned about privacy, so don't want a crappy accountant who's going to bail if I have to ask them to encrypt emails (although ideally I wouldn't need to ask...).
Does anyone have any thoughts on this topic?

I'm not going to answer the security part of your question, because as others have mentioned, there's a fair amount of tin foil hattery in your requirements.

With regards to a contractor having more than one income stream, I'd expect any accountant to be able to handle that - there's not really much "handling" to do, it's only a case of looking at your LtdCo earnings and determining the VAT scheme etc you'd be on. My old accountant wouldn't have even been aware what my income streams were (everything was just listed as sales). My new accountant (KPMG SBA, using Xero) could see that as I have three different Sales chart of accounts, and multiple clients, but whether I had that or I was a bog standard BOS (bum-on-seat) contractor, it wouldn't make a difference.

[Old Greg]

I hacked your web cam because you are using the internet which isn't secure and took a screen shot of you...

And there was me thinking your missus had lost weight.

[LondonManc]

Just deal with them face to face and use a flash drive. You may have to pay for the privilege but it takes all of that stuff offline.

[Fred Bloggs]

I think FreeAgent resides on Amazon's servers. I guess they are spread across the globe?

[SueEllen]

No, No you wouldn't:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Papers
Apple toughens iCloud security after celebrity breach - BBC News
United Airlines breached by Chinese hackers behind OPM cyber attack - report | Computing
Dropbox details security breach that caused spam attack - BBC News
(just a small sampling from 30 seconds with google).

But my bigger issue with "the cloud" is that the T&C's always have a clause saying they can sell your data to third parties anyway. I know Sage did when I looked. FreeAgent allows "third parties" too it seems (Privacy Policy - FreeAgent).

I was taking the p*ss.

[northernladuk]

I hacked your web cam because you are using the internet which isn't secure and took a screen shot of you...

[inpots]

Depends on the country it's in - wouldn't want the FBI, GCHQ, the chinese, a bribed Indian worker or some 15 year old bored British kid to hack in now....

No, No you wouldn't:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Papers
Apple toughens iCloud security after celebrity breach - BBC News
United Airlines breached by Chinese hackers behind OPM cyber attack - report | Computing
Dropbox details security breach that caused spam attack - BBC News
(just a small sampling from 30 seconds with google).

But my bigger issue with "the cloud" is that the T&C's always have a clause saying they can sell your data to third parties anyway. I know Sage did when I looked. FreeAgent allows "third parties" too it seems (Privacy Policy - FreeAgent).

[SueEllen]

That is if a cloud based portal is secure enough for you.

Depends on the country it's in - wouldn't want the FBI, GCHQ, the chinese, a bribed Indian worker or some 15 year old bored British kid to hack in now....

[northernladuk]

The OP was hoping for more constructive responses and is not seeking to be a victim of identity theft. It is for me to decide whether my personal information should be private or not (although the data protection act has a "Secure" principle).
E-mail is tantamount to a post-card - how many of would be willing for your pay information to be delivered on a postcard? Or a better idea - to all those unconcerned about the issue, please post all of the following to prove it:

Full Name,
Address,
Salary,
NI number
Tax-Code

because that's what's on the payslip, and if it's in an email, it's just that public, and with the other personal information that transacts with an accountant is more than enough for identity theft (Date of Birth, UTR (which the govt documentation clearly says to keep confidential), etc).
[the above is rhetorical - I hope no-one is actually going to do to do that.]

Just reads like a tin foil hat conspiracy story that does. I can understand protecting your identity but going as far to lecture accounts on their methods that all use without a problem is just going too far. The feedback you've had so far would support that and that is from IT people that probably have a better idea than most. But if that's how you want to be then fair enough. You've just got expect a vast number of people not to agree.

So, back to my original question - which accountants are there suitable for a contractor that also sells software?

I'm with Gorilla accounting who use freeagent. They will be set up to handle software sales as well. They use the freeagent portal to send their documents and everything like VAT and corp tax is handled in their so there is no need to be sending anything via email which should fit your criteria.
The FA also allows you to create projects do you can bill and track separately to your contracting stream etc.

That is if a cloud based portal is secure enough for you.

[SueEllen]

The OP was hoping for more constructive responses and is not seeking to be a victim of identity theft. It is for me to decide whether my personal information should be private or not (although the data protection act has a "Secure" principle).
E-mail is tantamount to a post-card - how many of would be willing for your pay information to be delivered on a postcard? Or a better idea - to all those unconcerned about the issue, please post all of the following to prove it:

Full Name,
Address,
Salary,
NI number
Tax-Code

because that's what's on the payslip, and if it's in an email, it's just that public, and with the other personal information that transacts with an accountant is more than enough for identity theft (Date of Birth, UTR (which the govt documentation clearly says to keep confidential), etc).

Heard of the Royal Mail?

While it's illegal to tamper with the post many people do so.

[inpots]

Does anyone encrypt emails? I remember all the hype about PGP decades ago, but practically nobody every used it.

Alas no. Well, except the NHS and public sector in general - they have secure internal networks and communications.

Why do you think it's necessary for an accountant to accommodate your software sales business? You think an accountant is only going to do part of your accounts?

I'm afraid I don't understand the question. I was wondering if there were different accountancy requirements for software sales than just contractual work, hence the question. I believe different accountancies specialise in different areas. Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear on that part.