If you’re looking for the perfect accountant for your business, you probably have a lot of questions tumbling around in your head, right? Outsourcing elements of your business can seem complicated but it doesn’t have to be difficult and it will save you time in the long run.
Having an accountant can be a great support for your business and selecting the right accountant is an important part of growing your business. By choosing the right accountant for you, you’re setting yourself up for future success and we all want that!
Not only does it take the pressure off you to keep all your accounting in order, but a good accountant will also offer valuable advice on how to improve the profitability of your business.
Here are our tips for choosing the right accountant for you:
Check their qualifications
Did you know, anyone could be walking around calling themselves an accountant? We think that’s pretty scary but we know it to be true. Someone who hasn’t been professionally trained in accounting can miss tax deductions, penalties and other important details that could cause you and your business problems down the line.
For that reason, you want to check the credentials of any accountant you choose to use. In the UK, the main qualifications accountants can get are AAT, ACA, ACCA, CIMA and CIPFA. Within these there are a variety of educational, competency and location-based differences but you should look out for one of these acronyms when talking to accountants.
All of our accountants are fully qualified or training towards their qualifications. You can find out more about our team on our about page.
Ask them what experience they have
Experience is another important factor to consider when finding an accountant to suit your business. You can check an accountant’s experience by asking a few questions, like:
- How long they’ve been practicing
- What industry they used to work in (if any)
- What associations they belong to
- How many clients they have & how long they’ve worked with them
- What types of businesses they have worked with in the past
By understanding the answers to the questions above, it’ll help you to make a decision about whether they’re the right accountant for your business.
Do you get on with them and their team (if they have one)?
You want to choose someone who has the right personality for you, someone you feel you can get on well with. You could end up spending quite a bit of time together with your new accountant. This will be much more enjoyable if you actually like them and their team.
The other thing to think about when it comes to getting along with them is whether you feel like they understand your financial situation. All businesses are different and so are all accountants. You want to find someone who’s on the same page as you when it comes to your business, your goals and the future.
What’s their reputation like?
If an accountant comes highly recommended by others, they are more likely to do a good job for you too.
If you haven’t been provided with any recommendations by your connections, be sure to check out reviews on Google, Facebook and other websites. Don’t just trust reviews you see on a website, although 90% of the time they are genuine, it’s much easier for someone to write a made up review for their business. By looking at independent platforms like Facebook and Google, you will see real reviews, written by real people and it’s much less likely they’ve been faked.
Do you like the way they work and can they help with everything you want support with?
Working with a new extended member of your team can be challenging. To make the process as seamless as possible ask questions about how they like to work. Do you need to submit information to them yourself, how do you need to do that and how often? Is that doable for you or will you struggle?
Accountants are there to help business owners with more than just their taxes. They should be able to support you with a range of services relating to the money side of your business…some can even help with general business running experience too.
If you don’t already know, ask them what services they offer and how they will charge you. Do you need to pay up front, in monthly instalments, at the end of the year?
You also want to find out how efficient they are by asking questions such as:
- How soon after the end of the financial year you can expect to receive your accounts?
- Will they submit your self-assessment on time?
Summary
A good accountant will do more than just keep track of your finances. They can also help you plan for the future and give you expert advice on how to improve your business – so it’s important that you make the right choice.
The right accountant can really make a difference by helping you to reduce stress and increasing the likelihood of meeting your financial goals.
We’d love to support you and your business to take the next step to financial success, so please get in touch if you’d like to discuss how we can help.
