As a sole trader or small limited company, when you first start out you almost always end up doing everything yourself. This usually involves everything from answering the telephone, accounts, to tidying the office not to mention actually doing the work that your clients pay you for.
If your business starts to expand, you have less and less time available to carry out all of these extra tasks and at some point you get to the situation where you are no longer able to do everything yourself and you stat looking around for people to help. The first person that you should think about hiring is an accountant. But choosing the right accountant for your business isn’t as easy as you might think. Here are a couple of things to think about before you make your choice.
Ensure that you select a qualified accountant for your business. There are always people around that have done some accounting work before and may well do it very competently but until the Inland Revenue ask to have a look at your books you will never be 100% sure that they are doing the job correctly. When this happens you really want the assurance of knowing that the person preparing you accounts is a professional and that they are up to date with all of the current tax laws.
Choose an accountant that you feel that you can have a strong professional relationship with. You will more often than not find that there is a difference between the larger more expensive accounting firms that specialise in certain areas of accounting and the smaller more local accounting firms. For small to medium sized businesses, it is often easier to build up a strong working relationship with a small accounting firm also the service fees of a smaller accounting firm are also liable to be much more affordable.
Select someone that can understand your business. You normally find that with larger accounting firms, they tend to specialise in certain areas of business. Smaller accounting firms tend to have a wider experience in dealing with different business types. Ensuring that your accountant knows how your business operates is essential to them being able to carry out a good job for you so make sure that your accountant understands your industry and business set-up.
Ensure that the account you select is able to offer you a broad range of accounting services. Check to see what services your account can provide and what level of service you will be getting for your money. At the basic level most accountants will file your tax return to the Inland Revenue for you and should the need arise be able to present all of the relevant documents needed for a financial audit. Many accountants will also measure your business performance, help with business and growth planning and support your management team.
Always ask questions before selecting and accountant nd make sure that you interview several accounts. Always compare the services that you get for the money that you are paying and compare several accountants like for like. Check to see if they already have clients in your area of business and see how deep there understanding of your business is.
Neil Houghton Accountants Clevedon offer a broad range of accounting services and has over 25 years of experience looking after the accounting needs of a diverse range of businesses. Neil Houghton Accountants Nailsea.