10 Ways To Get The Best Value From Your Accountant

 

More than ever, business owners need the advice of a good accountant. An experienced accountant’s involvement can go beyond the technical competency of bookkeeping to developing strategic plan for the development, survival or recovery of your business. It is important to take the time to identify the accountant who works best for your sector, your organisation and your style of doing business. Be open to working with your accountant and know the information you need to keep driving your business forward. Our tops tips on identifying and working with the accountant who is the best fit for your business:

 

  1. Choose Carefully. Look for accountants with experience of your type of business. Anyone can set up as ‘an accountant’, so look for chartered or certified accountants, whose qualified status is backed by membership of professional bodies. A large firm suggests reliability, but a smaller one may respond better to your needs. Ask prospective accountants how they can help your business. Request references and proof, they have professional indemnity insurance, before you make your final decision.

 

  1. Shop Around. Armed with recommendations of good accountants, get a full breakdown of an accountant’s charges and services. Work out which one offers you best value for money (and that’s not necessarily the cheapest, of course). And, at least once a year, review the value for money you receive. If you believe you can get better advice and value elsewhere, go elsewhere.

 

  1. Explain your Expectations. Your accountant will summarise terms and conditions in a letter of engagement. Put your expectations in writing, too. Describe the level of service you require, for example, how quickly you need queries to be answered. Ask to deal with a specific contact, to help build a close professional relationship.

 

  1. Ask Questions. Check what other services your accountant can offer. These could include guidance on setting up your business, preparation of financial forecasts, help with loan applications, audits, investment advice and other suggestions for minimising your tax liability.

 

  1. Use your Accountant’s Contacts. Accountants specializing in your type of business can often suggest good trade contacts. Perhaps your accountant knows a supplier who can offer you a great deal or maybe they know of a potential investor.

 

  1. Keep Talking. Communicate regularly with your accountant to get the best possible value from the relationship. Schedule quarterly meetings to review your firm’s performance, so you can better plan for the future. Be sure to meet before producing your end-of-year accounts or tax return.

 

  1. Keep User-Friendly Records. If necessary, ask your accountant for advice about how best to maintain your financial records. If your books are easier to read, you will save them time, which should mean a lower bill.

 

  1. Do the Easy Jobs Yourself. To reduce your outgoings, take care of simple bookkeeping tasks yourself, possibly by using accounting software. You could then better focus your accountants’ efforts where they best serve your business.

 

  1. Delegate. If your time would be better spent concentrating on sales or product development, you could ask an accountant to take greater responsibility for your bookkeeping and payroll. Although a more expensive option, this could free you up to make more profitable use of your time.

 

  1. Ask their Advice. An experienced accountant can offer sound advice in a number of areas. For example, they could help with your business plan, help you estimate the cost of new projects or advise on the levels of investment needed to achieve your business development goals. If you decide to sell up, they could even help with valuing your business and advise on the sale to minimise your tax liability.

 

Contact Avid Partners today to see how we can help you drive your business forward. Call us on 0818 303087. Email Jamie O’Hanlon at info@avidpartners.ie or alternatively complete the enquiry form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Further Reading: Switching Accountants is Easy and Pain Free  – And Could Save You Time And Money!

 

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Yes Avid Partners have two divisions of the company. We have an accountancy division that handles your day to day financial necessities and we also have an advisory division to assist companies develop their businesses. This can include consultancy, marketing and guidance when required. We can act as a Chairperson for your organisation if required and can also take away some of the day to day pressures that can restrict growth and slow development. Avid Partners can help with both of the critical aspects of a company, keeping costs down as much as possible and growing revenues exponentially. Technology companies need patience in developing their visions and an involved day to day partner is the best way of keeping a good business balance.
It is a common problem for companies who are in a situation where their business is growing in real terms (users, visitors) but sales is not matching the other growth metrics as traditionally sales lags behind growth (Twitter, Linked In, etc). So what do you do? Every business needs access to finance to pay operating costs which gives the company time to develop future revenue streams. Thankfully the situation is getting better with many tech friendly finance options coming on stream such as micro financing, crowd funding and government agencies are also starting to show support interests.
Every company starts out small with very limited resources at the beginning of the project. The key is to make the most from the resources you have and to seek out alliances, support systems and working partners. Start ups face many challenges including access to capital, regulatory requirements, economies of scale. We can help you develop your concept and will assist in every way possible from accountancy and day to day support to advisory services and raising finance. We can assist in a number of ways and have a portfolio of growing small companies that we help on an on-going basis.



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