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Previously on "Accountant recommendation please (London)"
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What he said - which is what I said only in rather more detail and from a professional
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Originally posted by softwaredever View PostThanks to the people who replied to my post. I accidentally deleted it so I'll reproduce it below in case anyone has any more comments. As some of you have said, it may be cheaper to get a monthly one anyway even if I'm not using all their services.
"Hi everyone,
I'm a ltd company IT contractor, and so far I've been doing my accounts myself as they're very simple (I know, I know...).
I'm now in need of some accountancy advice, but as things stand I don't want to formally 'get an accountant' (i.e. monthly) as I've already got everything set up the way I want it and most of the services they offer (bar the advice) I already have. What I'd like is a service where I can pay for the advice only on an ad-hoc basis. I understand why accountancy firms prefer to have you as a long-term client, but does anyone know of any who would offer this? I'm based in London but would look elsewhere if necessary."
- What retained profit do you have?
- Is your bookkeeping data good enough that the answer to the above is reliable? Possibly we need to check your data.
- What salary are you taking (and you are submitting it correctly via RTI, right)?
- Do you have any income from other sources?
- Do you expect income to be higher or lower next tax year?
- What are your views on needing money now, vs stashing away for later...maybe a big pension contribution is a better idea?
- Does your company/you personally have a big war chest/rainy day fund, and what's your attitude to risk/confidence in securing work continually?
- What are your plans for 2-3 years down the line, eg looking to get a mortgage for a house/emigrate? These could impact your choices.
- Do you have a long term partner, and if so, what do they earn?
Typically you then get annoyed because you thought the accountant might charge you for 5 minutes to give their answer, but they end up charging you for an hour or two (maybe much more if they need to do work on your books first). If you want someone half decent, you're going to be looking at very high tens to several hundred pounds per hour (depending upon location and seniority). You then proclaim your accountant is a rip off, charging you hundreds of pounds just to answer a simple question.
If they skimp on some of the data collection before giving you a figure, then you/they may well find out a year down the line it was really bad advice. You then proclaim your accountant is rubbish, can't even give a good answer to a basic question.
Or maybe they figure you won't want to pay much, so point you to a fairly generic guide to help you answer the question yourself...at which point you grumble as you could've easily got that from a Google search.
Or maybe they answer that question perfectly, but it turns out your bookkeeping data was rubbish, or you weren't actually doing RTI submissions just nominally deciding £X/month leaving your bank account was salary...so then further down the line you have other problems arising. You think "surely my accountant should have spotted that", and again proclaim they're rubbish.
This is why that kind of model is basically dying out. Our view is we either want to oversee everything, or not get involved at all. IMHO the half way house is a recipe for disaster.
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Originally posted by Nixon Williams View PostFrom our experience of taking over accounts from other accountants I can understand your comments, but it unfair to assume that they are all the same.
We are aware of "specialists" and local accountants who appear to have no idea what they are doing but we manage to get the client back on track.
Examples of errors we have seen (from both types of "accountant") are treating dividends as an expense, reporting company gross turnover as salary income on the tax return, not claiming the VAT Flat Rate saving. None of the clients were are aware of this until be pointed it out.
In what way were your past accountants "crap" it would be interesting to hear your views.
AlanLast edited by rocketjet; 10 April 2018, 06:15.
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Originally posted by softwaredever View PostThanks to the people who replied to my post. I accidentally deleted it so I'll reproduce it below in case anyone has any more comments. As some of you have said, it may be cheaper to get a monthly one anyway even if I'm not using all their services.
You accidentally deleted your post? It's not like it's one mouse click.
Perhaps an accountant isn't all you need.
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Thanks for the advice everyone
Thanks to the people who replied to my post. I accidentally deleted it so I'll reproduce it below in case anyone has any more comments. As some of you have said, it may be cheaper to get a monthly one anyway even if I'm not using all their services.
"Hi everyone,
I'm a ltd company IT contractor, and so far I've been doing my accounts myself as they're very simple (I know, I know...).
I'm now in need of some accountancy advice, but as things stand I don't want to formally 'get an accountant' (i.e. monthly) as I've already got everything set up the way I want it and most of the services they offer (bar the advice) I already have. What I'd like is a service where I can pay for the advice only on an ad-hoc basis. I understand why accountancy firms prefer to have you as a long-term client, but does anyone know of any who would offer this? I'm based in London but would look elsewhere if necessary."
Leave a comment:
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Originally posted by softwaredeverHi everyone,
I'm a ltd company IT contractor, and so far I've been doing my accounts myself as they're very simple (I know, I know...).
I'm now in need of some accountancy advice, but as things stand I don't want to formally 'get an accountant' (i.e. monthly) as I've already got everything set up the way I want it and most of the services they offer (bar the advice) I already have. What I'd like is a service where I can pay for the advice only on an ad-hoc basis. I understand why accountancy firms prefer to have you as a long-term client, but does anyone know of any who would offer this? I'm based in London but would look elsewhere if necessary.
Leave a comment:
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Originally posted by softwaredeverHi everyone,
I'm a ltd company IT contractor, and so far I've been doing my accounts myself as they're very simple (I know, I know...).
I'm now in need of some accountancy advice, but as things stand I don't want to formally 'get an accountant' (i.e. monthly) as I've already got everything set up the way I want it and most of the services they offer (bar the advice) I already have. What I'd like is a service where I can pay for the advice only on an ad-hoc basis. I understand why accountancy firms prefer to have you as a long-term client, but does anyone know of any who would offer this? I'm based in London but would look elsewhere if necessary.
That aside, the accountants' fees are based on a year's work, since that is what you will be generating. If you only want ad hoc advice, you will likely have to pay for it by the hour, or do your own research with the backup of groups such as IPSE and their various Guides. Or post your question here and similar fora and hope you get an accurate, qualified and supportable (if not legally valid) answer...
But since any good accountant will save you their fees anyway, why not do it properly?
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Originally posted by softwaredeverHi everyone,
I'm a ltd company IT contractor, and so far I've been doing my accounts myself as they're very simple (I know, I know...).
I'm now in need of some accountancy advice, but as things stand I don't want to formally 'get an accountant' (i.e. monthly) as I've already got everything set up the way I want it and most of the services they offer (bar the advice) I already have. What I'd like is a service where I can pay for the advice only on an ad-hoc basis. I understand why accountancy firms prefer to have you as a long-term client, but does anyone know of any who would offer this? I'm based in London but would look elsewhere if necessary.
Tax advice?
Or more general?
Best bet is to pick up the Yellow Pages (remember that) and look under 'A' for accountancy. I reckon they'll charge you ~£1000 so you're not gonna save any money.
If you look at the multitude of accountancy threads on these boards what you'll find is that pretty much all use a monthly fee practise, or nobody.
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Originally posted by SueEllen View PostYou are suppose to be neutral about your competitors.
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Originally posted by Alan @ BroomeAffinity View PostMaslins and Gorilla are good. Meades too probably but they appear to be Xero rather than Freeagent which may make things more expensive if that's important to you.
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Originally posted by Alan @ BroomeAffinity View PostMaslins and Gorilla are good. Meades too probably but they appear to be Xero rather than Freeagent which may make things more expensive if that's important to you.Last edited by northernladuk; 15 February 2016, 18:38.
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Accountant recommendation please (London)
Maslins and Gorilla are good. Meades too probably but they appear to be Xero rather than Freeagent which may make things more expensive if that's important to you.
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Originally posted by SueEllen View PostIt's all on their contactus page.
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Originally posted by northernladuk View PostInteresting. Never heard of Meades but you are doing the right thing by listening to them and making sure you are happy with their understanding and approach. So many people on here get caught out by going for a local bod or friend of a friend rather than going out and doing some research in to the company that is going to be accounting for 100's of K of company money.
Might be worth giving them a call as well. They may give good presentations but be difficult to talk to on the phone or something. See how you interact with them personally.
EDIT : Hmm. Just had a look at their website and they don't seem to mention much about contractors.. They certainly like their team building though
EDIT 2 : Ask them where their company number, address and VAT reg are... doesn't appear to be on the front page.
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