Can you remember

Can you remember that series of adverts that the Institute of chartered Accountants made some while back? How you can always trust Chartered Accountants to get it right and that you should never trust any other accountant when it comes to your business? (not those exact words, but that was pretty much the gist of it).

Well I didn't agree with it then and I do even less now. looking through the records of a new client I've discovered that the high priced Chartered Accountants she used previously had completed the partnership accounts, completed the partnership tax return and then made no mention of a partnership on the clients personal tax return! submitting an incorrect return on the clients behalf.

I've always been at odds with the institute, ever since qualifying over 25 years ago, and this is just one of a very long list of mistakes that I've come across - most made by qualified accountants who should know better.

When it comes to choosing an accountant just remember these points:-

1  A big office only guarantees you a big bill.

2  You need to check out who you'll be working with - You should never have to pay for meeting with a prospective accountant.

3  There is no excuse these days for any 'surprise' bills - any decent accountant will be able to give you a fixed fee within certain parameters.

4  Every business needs help/advice from time to time - So its reasonable to expect an amount of support from your accountant without being charged. The more free support you can get, the better that accountant is going to be for your business.

5  Ask the accountant for the name/phone/email of someone who also uses them and will recommend them. If you're a big company then it wants to be another big company, if you're self employed then it wants to be another small business (the accountancy requirements of big and small businesses are very different).

6  Ask the prospective accountant what size of businesses they will deal with - if they mention medium/large businesses then their services will probably not suit you if you have a small business (you end up as the 'poor cousin') - on the other hand, if you have a larger business then an accountant that deals mainly with small businesses will probably not have the services/support that you need.

I could go on and on, but you have probably got the gist by now - in short, an accountant should be willing to fit into what YOU want and need, they shouldn't expect you to work to suit them.

As an example, if you're a plumber, don't use a computer very much and they try to get you to use Sage Line 50… then they're not even considering your needs - if on the other hand they suggest a very simple spreadsheet or similar, then they are likely to be attuned to your needs.

Les Robinson

Tax avaidance

Lets be clear from the start here, tax evasion is the illegal one. That means not telling the taxman about money earned (legally or illegally).

Tax Avoidance simply means making sure that the taxman does not take more that he should. There was a famous law case (1922) where the ruling was that "the taxman is entitled to take his shovel full of your income, but you are entitled to make sure he uses the smallest shovel he is legally entitled to". In short, tax avoidance is no different to making sure you're not being overcharged when you go shopping.

There is a (well worn) saying that a good accountant is one who saves you tax - next time you see or talk to your accountant, ask them if they can suggest any simple way(s) to reduce tax; they should be able to come up with a few ideas without any need to charge you - If their eyes light up and they start talking meetings, just ask them how much because simple tax advice should be free and all part of customer service, not an excuse to give you a big bill.

Control your costs

Ever heard the saying "take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves"? Well its just as valid for business.

Overheads are a fact of life for almost every business, but how often do you check your suppliers to make sure you're getting the best price? One business I was involved in in the 1980's (yes, I've been around that long) saved £70,000+ PER YEAR just by changing the print company they used (this was a £6 million turnover business, so not a massive company).

Zoom forward to today and we recently paid just £59 for 2500 full colour, two sided A5 size leaflets (200gsm glossy paper). The first quote we had was over £200.

The moral?……………… shop around!

networking

Last night was the first visit to the networking group "Brackley Means Business" and what a friendly bunch of people they were. If you have a business in the Brackley area then you should make the effort to go along. You can get information on them from the Brackley Information Bureau - tel 01280 73-567 or email: su@brackleyinformationbureau.co.uk