Reply to: Do you know the current state of your business finances?

[opc]

Another NW client here (seems there are many of us)

I find the monthly service prompt and efficient and the staff helpful.

But....

As a previous poster mentioned, it would be very helpful to have a cumulative retained profit figure on the monthly profit sheet.

I keep a very simple spreadsheet that shows my (monthly and cumulative) retained profit after dividends.

[Nixon Williams]

The monthly profit calculation we issue is only ever intended to be a guide and is only as accurate as the information that we receive. So if a client forgets to send a receipt then the profit would be overstated.

However it seems to work fine. We can easily let you know what the cumulative profit is if you contact us, but again this is only a guide. The thorough analysis and checking is undertaken at the year end process. We do not use these monthly estimates to prepare the annual accounts.

If we do make mistakes, and sometimes even we do, we correct them but these would generally be picked up at the year end in any case.

We always appreciate feedback, so keep it coming, it helps keep us on our toes!

Alan

[Red 7]

Another NW client here (seems there are many of us)

I find the monthly service prompt and efficient and the staff helpful.

But....

As a previous poster mentioned, it would be very helpful to have a cumulative retained profit figure on the monthly profit sheet. There are times when I may want to take a larger dividend than usual but cannot easily find out the current position re. profit availability. I'm sure Alan will correct me if I'm wrong, but the service and documentation seems to be geared towards those who would 'withdraw' all available monies every month.

Also, there have been a few (fairly minor) mistakes, these were not picked up by NW and were corrected after I pointed them out. However, Because of these I find myself double checking everything, which kind of defeats the object of having the accounts work taken off your hands. Perhaps I'm just being a little over cautious.

I am generally happy with the service though and hope things will run smoothly going forward

[Waldorf]

I'm with NW and they've been very good for me so far - likewise answered all my dumb newbie questions patiently and accurately. No complaints here whatsoever!

Recommended.

Me too, very happy since I joined, great service at a great price.

[King Cnvt]

Choose your accountant wisely. Switching accountants is like getting divorced. Confusing, frustrating, long winded and costly.

[Dark Black]

I'm with NW and they've been very good for me so far - likewise answered all my dumb newbie questions patiently and accurately. No complaints here whatsoever!

Recommended.

[Nixon Williams]

Nixon Williams monthly service is great but I asked them recently if they could tell me what the (interim) retained profit in my company was. The answer I got was "not until after your year end" which I didn't find very helpful. This is a fairly fundamental number and I would have thought anyone using half decent accounting system could extract this easily enough.

Guys @ NW - better interim / ad-hoc management reporting would enhance what is already a great service!

If I am guessing correctly, I have already emailed you with a figure.

What we tried to explain is that we do not undertake a full accounts review until we prepare the annual accounts. This involves checking that all your invoices have been paid correctly, and that you have taken what you should have done etc.

I will take your comments on board and see what we can do!

Alan

[reginald]

Nixon Williams monthly service is great but I asked them recently if they could tell me what the (interim) retained profit in my company was. The answer I got was "not until after your year end" which I didn't find very helpful. This is a fairly fundamental number and I would have thought anyone using half decent accounting system could extract this easily enough.

Guys @ NW - better interim / ad-hoc management reporting would enhance what is already a great service!

[cordia1982]

apologies, I didn't make myself clear. This system I was talking about is not the Umbrella companie's method, but that of it's sister company which looks after people who have their own ltd companies. Hence why they don't pay the tax etc. themselves.

[Ardesco]

I am just about to start work for an umbrella company that has a sister company which looks after Ltd co's. The system they use is an online portal which gives you a running total of Vat, Tax and NI owing, and allows you to track invoices etc. Have any of you ever had experience using a similar system? Is this something that sounds appealing?

They should be bloody paying it as well!!!

What is the point of an umbrella company if they don't pay the VAT, Tax, and NI that is owed out of the money they are given?

[cordia1982]

I am just about to start work for an umbrella company that has a sister company which looks after Ltd co's. The system they use is an online portal which gives you a running total of Vat, Tax and NI owing, and allows you to track invoices etc. Have any of you ever had experience using a similar system? Is this something that sounds appealing?

[ookook]

I'm also with NW and they have been very good. Answered all my boneheaded questions patiently and quickly for the first few months till I got to grips wth everything.

[~Craig~]

I'm with NW and recommend them to everyone.

All very straight forward to do every month and I get the feeling that there is someone actually looking at what I send them. Not that I'd ever get it wrong of course....... Any problems and I just get a quick call from them to clarify.

The best bit is just being able to forward any stuff from HMRC without getting brainache trying to understand what they want

[Bluebird]

how much are you paying them per year to do your accounts then?

I use a local guy in my home town, and he only charges me £400 per year.

they are both considerably more than that, however I only went Ltd a year ago so it seemed like a good choice at the time, now I know a lot more I'll probably look to move to something cheaper..

[r0bly0ns]

Any other accountants people can recommend; worries me that everyone goes to SJD, although I am sure they are good despite a few negative comments around the forum.

Upton Accountants

(again )