Reply to: Comparing Accountants

[youngguy]

Ta - I don't see it making much difference to me. My bank account automatically feeds into InTouch and I don't have enough transacations to make it a problem to categorise (and I'd still want to check it was doing everything correctly anyway). Savings account doesn't have an automatic feed that I'm aware of so I'd have to look at what freeagent does for a manual feed.

I can't remember the last month where I could just copy the invoice exactly from one month to the next - even some fixed price work that I had wasn't the same because it was fixed price plus expenses. I can't use anything to generate an invoice because the client OCR is so flaky it has to be exact or it gets rejected without telling anyone that it's been rejected.

If I was moving accountant then I'd look at it more closely, but I don't see any need to change at the moment - I'm happy where I am and InTouch have saved me a significant amount of money.

It's good to know first (second?) hand what people see as the big differences are though so thanks

Happy to help. Sounds like InTouch have made improvements if there are now bank feeds. (FA does allow Csv bank uploads for those who don't want the feed).

I just realised I forgot a couple of things: FA automatically does dividend vouchers and you can create invoices in the portal so that saved me creating a couple of standalone xls and doc as well.

There is some short term pain with moving accountants so if you are happy and it meets your needs then there probably is not a reason to move.

[RonBW]

Well I found after the portal changes it was taking much longer.

I had to do all the invoices (with free agent you can duplicate an existing one)
I had to download a bank Csv then import it and then categorise each item (with free agent you set up a feed once and it learns the regular stuff so pre categorises)
Similar stuff on expenses and mileage - much quicker with FA.

The biggest thing I found post portal changes were constantly having to scroll right as the portal didn't autosize on my laptop and I had a lot on unnecessary clicking as you couldn't tab through rows etc

With FA it takes about 5 mins to do invoices (duplicate and change date), 5 to do bank stuff and maybe 5 to do expenses and mileage.

Ta - I don't see it making much difference to me. My bank account automatically feeds into InTouch and I don't have enough transacations to make it a problem to categorise (and I'd still want to check it was doing everything correctly anyway). Savings account doesn't have an automatic feed that I'm aware of so I'd have to look at what freeagent does for a manual feed.

I can't remember the last month where I could just copy the invoice exactly from one month to the next - even some fixed price work that I had wasn't the same because it was fixed price plus expenses. I can't use anything to generate an invoice because the client OCR is so flaky it has to be exact or it gets rejected without telling anyone that it's been rejected.

If I was moving accountant then I'd look at it more closely, but I don't see any need to change at the moment - I'm happy where I am and InTouch have saved me a significant amount of money.

It's good to know first (second?) hand what people see as the big differences are though so thanks

[youngguy]

How long does it take you now each month? I spend about 20 minutes a month on my accounts with InTouch, maybe half an hour.

Well I found after the portal changes it was taking much longer.

I had to do all the invoices (with free agent you can duplicate an existing one)
I had to download a bank Csv then import it and then categorise each item (with free agent you set up a feed once and it learns the regular stuff so pre categorises)
Similar stuff on expenses and mileage - much quicker with FA.

The biggest thing I found post portal changes were constantly having to scroll right as the portal didn't autosize on my laptop and I had a lot on unnecessary clicking as you couldn't tab through rows etc

With FA it takes about 5 mins to do invoices (duplicate and change date), 5 to do bank stuff and maybe 5 to do expenses and mileage.

[RonBW]

I was with InTouch. They have their own portal and it is ok, but is nowhere near as advanced as free agent. Moving from them to a free agent accountant saved me around an hr of time per month . For me they were also a bit inflexible when moving away and their service seemed to go downhill the last two yrs I was with them.

Free agent really is your best bet

How long does it take you now each month? I spend about 20 minutes a month on my accounts with InTouch, maybe half an hour.

[ladymuck]

FA is rapidly gaining traction in the industry and is getting much closer to being the default option for contractor's book keeping. This has huge advantages when/if you want to change accountants. Changing from one FA accountant to another is simple. On top of that, FA is by far the best and easiest way yet for a contractor to see in real time the company finances and liabilities. It does stacks of clever stuff, you need to look at it. You can get a fully functioning trial account if you wish, for 28 days at no cost to try it out.

Well, yes and no. I have used Sage Instant Accounts for years. All I do is take a data file back up at the end of the year and email it to my accountant. He loads it up and does the CT bits and bobs. If I changed accountants, all I have to do is email that file to a different person. The latest Sage version has some online malarkey element whereby it backs up "to the cloud" and your accountant can log in and access the files.

[youngguy]

Following advise from this forum talked to some accountants and I find it difficult to choose between them because they are all helpful.

So did some research again and this time InniAccounts looks good because of the following reasons

Pros

Online accounting software is better(they claim)
Provide all features other competitors provide and more(with an exception of IR35 review)
No fee up to 3 months when not in contract
2105 Small accountant award winner from CUK

Cons

their pro-active account is 107 pm, more than comparable providers
no FreeAgent
no IR35 review(InTouch has it)

They have a comparion tool in the website

InTouch Accountants versus inniAccounts - inniAccounts

What other members think? How useful is IR35 review?

I was with InTouch. They have their own portal and it is ok, but is nowhere near as advanced as free agent. Moving from them to a free agent accountant saved me around an hr of time per month . For me they were also a bit inflexible when moving away and their service seemed to go downhill the last two yrs I was with them.

Free agent really is your best bet

[Lost It]

@NLUK Do you pay for FreeAgent yourself or is it part of your Accountants package?

Mine is part of my accounting package with Darren from Dynamo. Have to say even a numpty like me can use it... I'm good at what I do. Keeping the financials in good order has never been my forte.

[northernladuk]

I used a spreadie for 12 years before I swapped to FA. Honestly, if you aren't impressed when taking the 28 day trial, you're a real tough nut to crack!

This. I was very happy with the SJD spreadsheet offering at the time. I'd rather chew my own arm off than go back to that.

[Fred Bloggs]

Thanks for this. I may have another look at the product as I am not convinced of the sole benefits...I use a spreadsheet solution, and have been for the past 10 years (with tweaks during this time) , and works for me fine.

I used a spreadie for 12 years before I swapped to FA. Honestly, if you aren't impressed when taking the 28 day trial, you're a real tough nut to crack!

[kaiser78]

FA is rapidly gaining traction in the industry and is getting much closer to being the default option for contractor's book keeping. This has huge advantages when/if you want to change accountants. Changing from one FA accountant to another is simple. On top of that, FA is by far the best and easiest way yet for a contractor to see in real time the company finances and liabilities. It does stacks of clever stuff, you need to look at it. You can get a fully functioning trial account if you wish, for 28 days at no cost to try it out.

Thanks for this. I may have another look at the product as I am not convinced of the sole benefits...I use a spreadsheet solution, and have been for the past 10 years (with tweaks during this time) , and works for me fine.

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

@OP - what the comparisons don't tell you is how the firms run, specifically is it a help desk style of support or something more traditional - neither are right or wrong, but the relationships will be different.

I would also ask what the qualifications and experience are amongst the senior staff team, and how broad a range of advice they can offer. You may or may not need it, but it's useful to help to understand the firm you are proposing to instruct.

[Fred Bloggs]

Based on what reasoning is FA a must please ?

FA is rapidly gaining traction in the industry and is getting much closer to being the default option for contractor's book keeping. This has huge advantages when/if you want to change accountants. Changing from one FA accountant to another is simple. On top of that, FA is by far the best and easiest way yet for a contractor to see in real time the company finances and liabilities. It does stacks of clever stuff, you need to look at it. You can get a fully functioning trial account if you wish, for 28 days at no cost to try it out.

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

FWIW, I would not advise anyone to engage an accountant who is not a FreeAgent accountant. See my posts about a good GBP 49 a month option too, if you're interested, that is.

It's worth noting that most accountants will happily work with FreeAgent even if they don't actively promote it.

I say "most" - the accountancy sector serving the PSC / contractor market is unusual in having operators who have invested heavily in proprietary portals and similar - outside of the firms that narrowly focus only on that sector accountancy firms normally work with whichever system a client chooses to use. For example, we have clients on FreeAgent, Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, Money, even TasBooks (yes, it still runs), and also a free spreadsheet for those who find that suits.

Personally I would err away from any portal driven firm, I think it's too many eggs in one basket.

[kaiser78]

FWIW, I would not advise anyone to engage an accountant who is not a FreeAgent accountant. See my posts about a good GBP 49 a month option too, if you're interested, that is.

Based on what reasoning is FA a must please ?

[Fred Bloggs]

FWIW, I would not advise anyone to engage an accountant who is not a FreeAgent accountant. See my posts about a good GBP 49 a month option too, if you're interested, that is.