Reply to: Which accountant should I switch to?

[Troy]

Don't Use any Accountant!

Get a good software package like Xero, then find an accountant who will set you up for free! I know at least one who does, but I am sure there are more.

[Emigre]

I sympathise with your problem and yes it does come up on this forum every other week but clearly with good cause.

The problem is one of being clear what you need your accountant to do, and seemingly everyone has a different set of requirements. If they are going to charge say £50/month they are going to need 200 clients to gross £120k pa before staff and other office overheads. At that price we cannot expect a personal service. Pay more, maybe.

Define requirements, talk to Phil at BFCA, to SJD and Nixon Williams who are both contractor centric accountants and advertise on this site, select, and go.

[northend]

There are a lot of accountants out there and I would suppose most of them are reasonable. However, it depends on what you want. I've been with Giant (www.giantgroup.com) since 1997 - when they were IAS - and have no complaints at all.

However, it's all done remotely and online - so if you want the personal touch you might not get it from here.

I am not saying they are the best in the world, but it would take a significant balls up or a "super-accountant" to get me to move from them....

[PhilAtBFCA]

FreeAgent Central

Phil, does BFCA support the use of FreeAgent for freelancers on its books?

Sorry for the delay, I was travelling.

Yes we do, and there is a list of FreeAgent Friendly Accountants on their website.

And apologies that I didnt make that clear, if forgot to add " Disclosure: BFCA Ltd Recommend FreeAgent to all our Professional Contractor and Freelancer clients."

Phil

[Manic]

Have a look at www.xero.com as well.

[Epiphone]

That's great, thanks. I might be starting a thread to ask how to boil an egg in a minute, if you could keep an eye out for that as well.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/lif...cle6675958.ece

[dang65]

I suggestion you do a Google Serch - type in "online accountancy" - Use pages from the UK option!

Theres a lot of them out there, and most have lists of accountants they recommend for you to choose from to provide support etc. Just pick the online package that suits you and take it from there! Contact a couple of firms you are interested in, and see how they "reply" and answer any questions you may have.

That's great, thanks. I might be starting a thread to ask how to boil an egg in a minute, if you could keep an eye out for that as well.

[Little'Old Me]

I suggestion you do a Google Serch - type in "online accountancy" - Use pages from the UK option!

Theres a lot of them out there, and most have lists of accountants they recommend for you to choose from to provide support etc. Just pick the online package that suits you and take it from there! Contact a couple of firms you are interested in, and see how they "reply" and answer any questions you may have.

[DiscoStu]

I use Nixon Williams and am very happy with the service I get. And you don't have to fill out a huge spreadsheet each month

[dang65]

Jesus wept this gets asked every other week. Use the flipping search function or at least have the decency to post "I can't be arsed doing any of my own research, can someone do it for me".

Yeah, I have used the internet before, like. I just think that some subjects will always be raised over and over again, simply because they are too dense to search.

I mean, if I enter "online accounts" into the advanced search, and filter results to the last 6 months and just in the Accounting/Legal forum, then I get 178 threads to look through. And half of them will start with a perfectly civil question, followed by three pages of web fascists going, "Use the search facility." D'uh. It's rare to find a clear and concise thread (including this one now).

Another reason I think it's reasonable to start new threads on these kind of topics is that times do change, people move on, and companies which contractors here might have recommended previously may have dropped their standards, or some amazing new accountant may have come along and been discovered by someone here who wants to recommend them. Unless someone sets up a sticky thread for these kind of topics then they will always be raised, and not unreasonably (I think).

[MPwannadecentincome]

dang65

You might want to take a look at www.freeagentcentral.com its an online accounting system designed for freelancers.

Its good if your accountant understands and is supportive of FreeAgent too, if thats what you end up using.

It makes it much easier to run your own business.

Phil

Phil, does BFCA support the use of FreeAgent for freelancers on its books?

Anyone else - as I can't find any posts relating to this - does anyone have any feedback as to whether BFCA are any good or not?

[Epiphone]

Jesus wept this gets asked every other week. Use the fecking search function or at least have the decency to post "I can't be arsed doing any of my own research, can someone do it for me".

[dang65]

So, which is the big, popular accountancy company I should switch to then. Or are they all crap?

PMs ok if people don't want to post on this thread. I just want to take this opportunity to make a big change for the better.

[dang65]

Nice one. I'll take a look at that.

[PhilAtBFCA]

dang65

You might want to take a look at www.freeagentcentral.com its an online accounting system designed for freelancers.

Its good if your accountant understands and is supportive of FreeAgent too, if thats what you end up using.

It makes it much easier to run your own business.

Phil