Recommend a good accountant in Manchester

[stek]

If you simply require a company, you should be able to set-up a company on Companies House for about £13 which normally takes 1 (possibly 2) working days and register for Corporation tax at the same time.

If your agency simply requires this company number, this would be the easiest and fastest option.

As mentioned in a previous post, VAT registration can take a few weeks, however you can simply issue a VAT invoice further down the line once registration is complete.

There are a number of accountants locally to Manchester who deal with contractors, however I would choose someone that you feel comfortable with and will provide a good service at a fair price. Typically your fee should be circa £1,000 for a compliance based service and £1,500 for a bookkeeping based service.

Things to look out for would be (a) can you speak to an accountant who can deal with your queries and not just a call centre based approach (b) what are the hidden extra costs - ensure that the price quoted is the price paid, (c) watch out for so-called "all inclusive services" that give you access to an online bookkeeping service - ensure that your accountant will provide you with detailed and meaningful payment advice notices and not just "management accounts" based on the information provided, (d) ask for some form of tax planning if they are to do your self assessment to ensure that tax is minimized and (e) for peace of mind, ensure that your accountant is qualified with the letters ACCA, ICAEW or CA for maximum quality assurance.

What kind of bell end responds to a three year old post for a first post?

And with such a post that really says absolutely nothing?

This is General, right?

[MarillionFan]

Set your own Ltd up. Apply for your own Bank Account and if necessary go and VAT Register.

You don't need an accountant off the bat to go contracting. They are there to fill in the paperwork behind you.

IMO the whole monthly fee, do my expenses, VAT etc is money for nothing.

I want them to do my accounts at the end of the year an that's it!!!!

[sweetandsour]

I am by no means a seasoned contractor and therefore coming from a permie to a contractor the immediate salary jump appears great even if it seems low to you seasoned pro's (Sorry harsh but true).

Don't forget that while "the jump" might seem high at first, you won't be able to invoice when you are on holiday, sick or between contracts.

Noone is going to pay into a pension for you or sort out a life insurance, permanent health insurance or medical insurance scheme now either.

Lets not kid ourselves, if you are lucky enough to be in a contract 40 weeks out of the year then the money beats being a permie by a long way . I haven't worked in 2009 yet though.

I was contemplating starting the contract using parasol umbrella then switching to Quay (partner Co.) and comments greatly received.

There is nothing wrong with using an umbrella to start with and setting your company up later if you are not 100% sure that contracting is for you.

If you are going to set up your company anyway then I would start using it straight away if I were you.

[Disnew2this]

Thanks to all your posts

I have been contacted by quite a few today Quay, SJD and many more.

I must admit initial response to Quay was good and very informative (if anyone has any negatives let me know).

It turns out the contract won't commence until Friday at the earliest... for some reason (not worried though).

Speaking to a few people my rate is not great, but not bad for a first timer. However I have recently done loads of Oracle 9i, 10g and 11g migrations and suddenly getting quite a few calls and think my rate should be higher (Any hints here).

I am by no means a seasoned contractor and therefore coming from a permie to a contractor the immediate salary jump appears great even if it seems low to you seasoned pro's (Sorry harsh but true).

I was contemplating starting the contract using parasol umbrella then switching to Quay (partner Co.) and comments greatly received.

[Fred Bloggs]

If you're tempted by a firm that begins with D and has 6 letters in it's name PM for an opinion.

[kaiser78]

You don't need a local accountant. The amount of physical paperwork that moves between you and your accountant will be minimal. I have never even spoken to my accountant, let alone met them in person, despite working a short distance from his office for a while.

Personal preferance but I deliberately went for a local accountant - even though as stated the amount of physical paperwork is minimal I have found it useful having someone up the road that I can discuss things with face to face when required and also out of standard hours - he is available to me in evenings and weekends.

The other bits can be done over the internet, co set up, bank account etc which is covered in other responses. If interested, Abbey do a no charges internet based business banking account.

[weemster]

Can't help with specifics in Manchester but would advise (a previous
post of mine) :-

Cheaper is by no means better. I pay £1200 to my accountant (known him or many years) and I am confident that if I was ever investigated (we have spoken about it) lots of factors come into play including the fact he is very well respected in his field (by tax officials aswell) and subsequently the whole IR35/Salary issue is about two things 1) Keeping you off the Radar and 2) The ease in which the tax man can/prove you owe money - A good accountant will do 1) and also make 2) completely cost ineffective to the tax man.

The sort of differences we are talking about here on accoutancy fees are insignificant and are easily saved by a good accountant.

Good Luck !

[Shimano105]

Blimey, Ken D giving tax advice - oh the irony

[Ken Dodd]

Try Reilly McMordie in Sale. They are not cheap but are ok..

I have been with them for 5 years now.

[PhilAtBFCA]

Online Company Formation + Bank Account

Disnew2this

Welcome to the world of freelancing and contracting :-)

Ltd Co Formation normally happnes within 4 hours if you get it done in the morning, its online, costs arround £25 as said and you will get what you need to sign contracts. ( the company name with certainty and a certificate of incoporation).

A bank account takes longer - even using Cater Allen - who understand contractors very well indeed, it can take 7-14 days, so do not bank on having an account to draw money from before that time. You will need your certificate of incoporation and be a director of the company, so dont buy an off the shelf company and then register yourself asa director. I would form the company with you as a director from the start, its generally more efficient IMHO.

Any Cater Allen introducer can give you the bank account number before you open an account, useful to tell the agency straight away, but the account is not opne until cater allen say it is :-)

VAT Registration and PAYE registration can take about to 4 weeks, but that should not be an issue for you, in the meantime invoice without VAT.

For your cashflow - i would reckon on not being able to get at any money for 4 weeks, so your expectations are reasonable. If you went with an umbrella then there would be a quicker turnround Im sure. Running your own business just takes a bit more time at first.

Best of luck and hope thats a help

Phil

[TykeMerc]

You will need to get your company set up quick so that you can sign the contract on its behalf, but that can be turned around within a couple of hours.

The bank account will take longer because you will need to apply and the bank will need to do the usual money-laundering checks, but you can live without that until you issue an invoice.

You don't need a local accountant. The amount of physical paperwork that moves between you and your accountant will be minimal. I have never even spoken to my accountant, let alone met them in person, despite working a short distance from his office for a while.

WHS +1

Good luck on the new contracting life it can be great.

Company formation is quick and painless there are loads of online sites that charge about £25 for the lot and it takes a matter of minutes.

There are plenty of contractor savvy accountants some of whom post on here like Nixon Williams and SJD to name only two, some of them have local offices if you feel the need to see them in person, odds are at least one of them has an office in Manchester.

[sweetandsour]

I am new to contracting and won a contract on Friday to start this Wednesday.
The agent was trying to get me into their recommended umbrella but I think a little more paperwork is fine for me so I am going down the LTD company route.

I am looking for a personal recommendation for a good accountant, local or otherwise.

Any help is gratefully received i.e. I need to buy an ots company and set-up a business account in a day (any further tips or pitfalls to avoid).

Thanks D

You will need to get your company set up quick so that you can sign the contract on its behalf, but that can be turned around within a couple of hours.

The bank account will take longer because you will need to apply and the bank will need to do the usual money-laundering checks, but you can live without that until you issue an invoice.

You don't need a local accountant. The amount of physical paperwork that moves between you and your accountant will be minimal. I have never even spoken to my accountant, let alone met them in person, despite working a short distance from his office for a while.

[tino]

I am new to contracting and won a contract on Friday to start this Wednesday.
The agent was trying to get me into their recommended umbrella but I think a little more paperwork is fine for me so I am going down the LTD company route.

I am looking for a personal recommendation for a good accountant, local or otherwise.

Any help is gratefully received i.e. I need to buy an ots company and set-up a business account in a day (any further tips or pitfalls to avoid).

Thanks D

That's tight.

[Disnew2this]

I am new to contracting and won a contract on Friday to start this Wednesday.
The agent was trying to get me into their recommended umbrella but I think a little more paperwork is fine for me so I am going down the LTD company route.

I am looking for a personal recommendation for a good accountant, local or otherwise.

Any help is gratefully received i.e. I need to buy an ots company and set-up a business account in a day (any further tips or pitfalls to avoid).

Thanks D

Mod note: Useful article here: https://www.contractoruk.com/first_t...anchester.html