When you first set your business up generally you end up doing everything yourself. This generally involves all of the tasks from answering the telephone, bookkeeping, to tidying the office not to mention actually doing the work that your clients pay you for.
If your business is successful and begins to expand, you can find yourself with less and less time to carry out all of these extra tasks and at some stage you get to the situation where you can’t do everything yourself and you stat looking around for people to help out. The first person that you should consider 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.
Make sure that you hire a qualified accountant for your business. There are always people that have done some accounting work in the past and possibly can do it very well but until the Inland Revenue ask to have a look at your books you will never be 100% certain that they are doing the job correctly. If this occurs then you really want the security of knowing that your accounts have been professionally prepared by a qualified person who is up-to-date with current tax legislation and allowances.
Find an accountant that you are sure that you can have a genuine professional relationship with. Once you start searching around for an accounting firm there is usually a dividing line between the big accounting firms and the smaller local accounting firms. The more personal attention that you receive from a smaller accounting firm often suits a small to medium sized business better. This is because it is often easier to build up a strong working relationship between businesses of similar sizes.
Make sure that whoever you select, they are someone who understands how your business works. Small accounting firms operating in their local often have a more diverse portfolio of clients from different types of business. 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.
Choose an accountant that offers a broad range of 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. Some accountants offer additional services such as keeping track of your business performance and helping with your business planning, they can also work along side 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 a few 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. It is also very important that you get along well and feel that you would be able to develop a good business relationship.
About the Author
Neil Houghton Accountancy Bristol offer a extensive range of accounting services and have over 25 years of experience looking after the accounting needs of a diverse range of businesses. Accountancy Bristol