Looking for an accountant can seem like a daunting task, especially if you google Accountants Cheltenham and see he number of options available to you, like www.randall-payne.co.uk However, choosing an accountant is much like choosing a car. You need to pick one you are comfortable with and who will get you from A to B safely and you need to look at an accountant as a long-term investment. The route that you are looking to take in business could be everything from start up to the end of your first year of trading, or perhaps moving into the next growth phase of your business including moving into national or even international trading.
There are a number of questions you can as yourself to narrow down your search.
Location and sector expertise
Geographical location
Are you looking for an accountant who you can pop in to see or are you happy with one that you communicate with via other means such as telephone and skype? You answer to this will determine whether you need to be looking for an accountancy practice that is local to your location.
Expertise in your sector
Is your business sector a specialist one? If so, you may want to look for a firm that has knowledge and experience in this area and who will be able to understand the terminology and idiosyncrasies of your business sector.
Scope of work and software needs
What work are you looking to pass on?
The type and amount of financial work that you are looking to pass over to an accountant or accountancy firm will help to determine who is best for you to work with. For example, if you are looking to pass over all of your bookkeeping, VAT reporting and year end accountants as well as looking for support with the growth of your business you may not want to look at an independent accountant who does not offer bookkeeping or perhaps outsources this to another agency when you could have all of these functions completed under one roof with a larger accountancy firm.
Is software important?
Are you looking for an accountant that use the latest technologies and software for recording transactions and financial data. Software companies such as Xero and Quickbooks market themselves to business owners who want to retain an element of control over their data and who perhaps are happy issuing their own invoices but want an accountant to go in and do all the reconciliation and other more complex work.
Summary
This article sets out questions to ask when choosing a business accountant, comparing it to picking a car you can rely on. It covers whether you need someone local or are happy working remotely, whether they know your business sector, how much financial work you want to hand over, such as bookkeeping and VAT, and whether they use modern software like Xero or Quickbooks.
Questions this article raises
- How much more would a specialist-sector accountant typically charge over a generalist?
- Is it better to use a sole practitioner or a larger accountancy firm as your business grows?
- Which accounting software integrates best with a small business’s existing systems?
