Why a small business needs an accountant

Very often if you ask a small business owner whether they have an accountant their response will be no, and the reason will be that they see themselves as too small to need an accountant, that their books are not complicated enough to require a professional accountant or that they simply want to remain in control of their own accounts.

A good accountant is far more than someone who makes sense of your receipts and accounting documents and keeps the taxman at bay, they can save you a lot of valuable time which frees you up to concentrate on doing what you do best. One of the worst things you can do as a business owner is get buried under a mountain of accounting paperwork, whilst you are trying to sort that out you are not looking after your customers or increasing your company sales.

A good accountant should save you money, very often saving you more than it costs to hire them, by knowing where you and your company can save on taxes. They are also an invaluable source of business and financial advice which will be vital as you attempt to grow your business.

The question any small business owner should ask him or herself is, “can I afford not to have an accountant?”

If you decide to do all of your own accounting how sure can you be that have been done correctly? There is nothing worse than spending hour after hour toiling over tax returns only for them not to have been done correctly, resulting in a penalty from the taxman. If you are late with your returns then you will likely receive a fine from the HMRC and if you continually late or sending back incorrect documents you may end with the HMRC looking deeper into your accounts and going over every little thing. If you used a professional accountant then you do not have any of this stress or worry and you are free to spend your time running your business.

Everyone wants to minimise the amount of tax that they pay, within the boundaries of the law obviously, a good accountant will know exactly where they can save you money and what you can avoid paying tax on. Can you honestly say that, if you did your tax returns yourself, you will be able to take advantage of every opportunity that was available? What about when tax laws change? Do you have the time to keep on top of these changes and examine how they impact your accounts?

It doesn’t matter how small you perceive your business to be you likely have far more important things to spend your time on than accounts.

September 25, 2012

Picking the right accountant

When you launch yourself into your new business the last thing on your mind is keeping good tax records and filing end of year returns, you are focused on building sales and keeping clients happy, however these are necessary things and can bite you if you do not sort them on time. An accountant can do a whole lot more for a new business than just deal with tax returns, they can also be extremely valuable financial and business advisors who will have the experience of dealing with many different businesses, putting them in an ideal position to advise you on how to grow your company. Here’s our article on why you need an accountant.

By hiring an accountant at the very beginning of your company’s life you will be putting steps in place to make sure your financial records are well organised and ready for any inspection. Choosing the right accountant for your business is an extremely important step as ideally you will want to remain with the same accountant instead of changing regularly, you will want to build up a good working relationship with your accountant so that you can turn to them for advice whenever you need it.

The first step to finding the right accountant will be to check around and see if there are any in your local area, preferably those who have worked with similar businesses to yours in the past. Obviously if an account has many clients in the construction sector then it may not be a good fit for somebody running their own cafe/restaurant. Have a chat with a few of your customers or suppliers and see who they use for their accounts, they may be able to recommend somebody who is ideal for you.

Try to get a feel for how big the accountancy firm is, a large accountancy practice might appeal to you but they have more mouths to feed so will likely be more expensive than a smaller accountancy practice. There is also a much better chance of getting a personal service from a smaller accountant where your business really matters to them. Load up their website, this should give you a good idea as to their company size.

When you speak with a potential accountant ask them if you can speak with any of their previous clients, a good accountant should have no problem with you speaking with one of their other customers for a testimonial. Make sure you are able to strike up a good rapport with them as, chances are, you will be seeking advice from them in the future about the growth of your business.

Remember, when you are looking for an accountant, that you are not just looking for someone to do your yearly tax returns. Ideally you want an accountant who is going to be able to offer financial and business advice to help your business grow. If you are looking for a fixed-fee accountant in the West Midlands give us a shout.

September 17, 2012

3 Factors To Consider When Picking An Accountant

Picking the right accountant for your business is an extremely important decision and not one that you will want to get wrong. There are a large number of accountants in the UK so making sure you select the right accountant for your business can be a time consuming task.

In this blog post we will look at 3 important factors that you need to consider when selecting your accountant:

Accountancy Fees

When it comes to receiving bills from your accountant nobody likes surprises. One of the biggest problems a lot of people have with their accountant is the threat of the “surprise invoice”, a bill for something you did not expect. Having this looming over you can make it extremely difficult, for the small business owner, to budget for accountancy fees and also make them less likely to pick up the phone to ask their accountant a question, for fear of receiving a bill in the post.

Hashtag Accountants are a fixed fee business, we let you know from the outset what you will be charged and that is all you will ever be charged. As a small business owner it is very important that you are sure you know exactly what you are going to be charged and exactly what you will receive, this clarity is essential for the smooth running of your business and the relationship between yourself and your accountant. When choosing an accountant make sure you question them about “hidden fees” and ask about any potential charges for phone calls, sending letters or responding to emails. Always read the fine print of any document you receive and query anything you are unsure on. Picking an accountancy firm that is completely transparent about what they charge, like Hashtag Accountants, can you save you a lot of time, money and stress.

Your Relationship With Your Accountant

As a busy business owner it is clear that you will want to have good communication with your accountant so you are always aware of your financial situation. If you have chosen to go with an accountant who ends up billing you for time with every phone call or email then this is going to become very costly and sour the relationship fast.

You need to be sure that it is easy to get a hold of your accountant when you need them and that when you ask questions you are getting clear and easy to understand answers. An accountant who can communicate with you in a clear and effective manner is essential for the efficient running of your small business.

How In Control Do You Want To Remain?

Many small business hate the thought of giving up control of their finances to an accountant and, even though it would greatly benefit them and their business, continue to do all of the accounting in house. It is not the role of your accountant to take over control of your business’ finances, it is their role to make sure they are managed efficiently.

There are solutions which will enable you to keep a feeling of control over your accounts whilst still employing the services of a good accountant. There are various accounting software packages that will allow collaboration between yourself and your accountants so you can immediately see what is happening and keep track.

Whatever you decide, talk to Hashtag Accountants first.

September 15, 2012

Why Your Business Needs An Accountant

A good accountant can hold the key to a successful business, whether directly or indirectly. There is sometimes a feeling of needing to do everything yourself as a small business owner but by outsourcing your accounts to a company that specialises in small business accounting, like Hashtag Accountants, you will be freeing up more of your time to concentrate on running the business and generating more sales.