Look for an accountant that appreciates the needs of contractors and freelancers; a specialist contractor accountant

Contractors have very different accounting requirements and ways of working to more traditional businesses. There is specific legislation such as IR35 that applies to how contractors must work but it is also generally better to establish a relationship with their accountant that is more ongoing than the once a year nature of traditional high street accountants.

Check each accountant’s affiliations carefully

Find out whether the accountant is registered with a professional accountancy body, such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), or the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), or even the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT). Once credentials have been established then it’s a good idea to understand what other experience and expertise they have. What sort of software experience do they have? For example, at One Abacus we are certified advisors for Xero and certified FreeAgent experts, which is very important for clients using these services as you can be properly supported.

Confirm what’s included in the price

As a contractor, you should expect to pay anywhere between £55 to £130 + VAT per month for your accountancy services. This will largely depend on your individual set up, requirements and how much you are will to do on your own. As a limited company at One Abacus accountants for contractors, you would receive:

Premium online accountancy software.

Cloud-based access – anytime, anyplace.

Annual accounts management.

Annual company tax return.

HMRC company registration advice
.
HMRC tax registrations.
Complete HMRC & Companies House management.

Unlimited day-to-day accounting support.

Advice on VAT, invoices, expenses and cash flow.
Support with tax planning.

IR35 support.

Personal salary and dividends planning.

Dedicated specialist account manager.

It’s important to get this down on team of engagement wherever possible as this details exactly what you can expect and allows you to hold the firm accountable should they fall short of the agreement.

Check what the does the price not include

Often the devil is in the detail here what might sometimes happen is you get a big list of what will be included but expensive (and often necessary) services can often be missed out. Never feel that you can’t ask what extras you might have to pay for and if you want further piece of mind, ask them to detail this in the terms of engagement.

Know that you are in charge

Whilst you might think that employing a contractor accountant removes much of the compliance responsibility from you as the contractor. Unfortunately, this is not that case is the contractor or business is always ultimately responsible for filing on time and filing correctly.

This is why it is important that you choose the correct contractor accountant and a good firm will ensure (and insure) that all of your statutory requirements are taken care of and that you are contacted in good time to allow them to meet all the annual deadlines.

There are some firms that take a hands-off approach to deadlines and look to just complete the work as instructed. Whilst this might be ok for some people, do take your time to think about whether that will work for you as you would be surprised how quickly these filing dates creep up.

Think about the size of accountancy firm you choose

This is obviously down to personal preference to a large degree but it also links very heavily to the type of service you feel you might want. Typically, larger accountancy firms and umbrella company types will complete the required work compliantly but won’t want vast amounts of contact with you and will charge addition fees for general telephone or face to face support and questioning. The better-known names however can offer greater piece of mind to some clients.

Smaller firms are more likely to be a regular presence in your life as they can devote the time to your training and support and are more invested in building long term relationships. This is particularly important of a contractor accountant.

In addition to this, smaller firms are typically able to be more flexible with their time. At One Abacus for example, we offer evening and weekend calls / meetings by pre-arrangement to fit around contractor’s busy schedules. Its little things like this that can make a big difference.

Understand when you need a new accountant

In an ideal world, you would have just one contractor accountant for the whole length that it was needed. However, this may not always be a wise decision. To start with, accountancy is a very broad profession and as such different accountants often sub specialise and so everyone is likely to have different expertise.

Whilst a good accountant should always be straight up from the start about their abilities with regards to your requirements this is not always the case. It’s important that if you become unsure of an accountant’s abilities that you challenge this early on. Always aim to get terms of engagement at the start as this will offer you some protection and never be afraid to get a second opinion. A good accountant would have nothing to fear here.

Ask others contractors about accountant their experiences

Ask friends and family. Chances are they know someone and there’s no better endorsement than first-hand experience.