where to go for accountancy assistance

Posted on: Fri, 03/10/2008 - 15:01
where to go for accountancy assistance

Hi everyone,

This is my first post so bear with me.

I am in the process of starting up my own business. Without boring you with too much detail its in the IT hardware and software supply industry - with a twist which I'll keep to myself for now.

I can't beleive how much there is involved in getting all this done but I reckon it's the same for everyone so my intention is just to plod through everything, planning and testing as I go. I'm doing this alongside my full time job and house renovation and a family so I don't seem to be getting much sleep recently!

Anyhow, one of the obsticles I have come up against is deciding what accountancy services to use. I have had an initial meeting with a local accountant and that seemed great until they told me what they would charge just for helping out with the end of year business accounts return (between £1000 and £1500 - yikes!).

I looked for alternatives to compare with (what I mean is alternative accountants who have a premesis I can drop into) and they all seem to be about the same.

Well, I thought if that's what it costs to do it right then thats what I'll have to pay. I then looked at some of the on-line sites to incorporate my new comapany and through that found that they can also provide accountancy services. These on-line guys seem to do the same job as those with a physical "shop" but for about £300 (the one I was looking at did anyway and I think it must be a half decent one as someone else on this site mentioned tham as being OK - it's formationshouse.com).

So, after all that waffle, my question to you all is what does anyone think about the on-line accountancy services versus the high street version? Is the £1000 saving worth the potential inconvenience of not being able to drop in for a chat? I asked formationshouse and was told that I can phone them at any time and that this was included in the annual cost (high street accountants charge for every 10 mins or so). Does anyone else use the on-line service and what is it like?

Thanks for any help and advice you can give.

(FANTASTIC site by the way and the podcasts are really informative)

Mulls.


Posted on: Thu, 09/10/2008 - 16:24 #1
It depends what you want

Hi Mulls. Here's a bit of advice from a qualified accountant.

Basically it depends what you want and what your business and its records are like.

Firstly, is your business a limited company? I guess from the bills it must be. That means your accounts have to be done a certain way, which they don't if you're a sole trader.

Secondly, how well do you (plan to) keep your records? If the accountant has to wade through a shoebox full of papers at year end then they're going to have to charge you more than if you present them with a neat, ACCURATE set of records kept on computer. And no, keeping your records on a computer doesn't mean they're automatically correct - as you'll know from your own business, garbage in, garbage out!

Thirdly, how proactive do you want your accountant to be? Do you want someone who'll give you regular reports on how your business is doing and offer you advice about reducing your bills, improving your profits, etc? Or do you just want someone to put the figures together and send them to the right government offices at the right time?

Fourthly, try not to go for someone who bills by the hour. The move in the accounting world at the moment is towards fixed fees.

Good luck finding a good accountant - and for your business.

M

Posted on: Mon, 13/10/2008 - 00:07 #2
accountancy services

Hi again,

Thanks so much for your comments and advice. Yes, my business will be a limited company and I understand that makes the choice of accountant even more important. I will be using businessware software to manage the transactions in my business and I fully intend (like all of us) to keep everything up to date. I hope this will be fairly easy for me as my transaction volume will be fairly low to start with. This means I should just be able to provide appropriate data at year end for a fairly standard set of reports....but at the same time, I'm interested in knowing whether anyone has any experience of the on-line services and specifically whether, in addition to just filing my return, they would be able to provide any of the advice on reducing costs etc that you mention.

Any feedback anyone can give on the use of on-line accountants would be great. What approach do most startups take?

Thanks again.

Mulls