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This probably sounds like a daft question, but what do you actually have to give him. What I’ve done in the past is complete as much as possible before hand, i.e. log all outgoing receipts, bank details etc. Mates of mine in different lines of business just give them a bag full of receipts. My understanding now is that he has to check it from scratch anyway. So do I just give him a box full of years outs and ins??? 😕 😕
Tony C
Re: What do you give your accountant?
We give him computer print outs of all outgoings and incomings. With nearly everything worked out. He just has to tweak it.
I know of other people who give him “a bag of receipts” but the difference is my accountants bill is £750 whereas there`s is £1250 so I suppose the less time he has to spend on your accounts the cheaper it is.Re: What do you give your accountant?
I give him a CD with all the finalised accounts and the payroll year end. I compliment that with copies of receipts for company assets over £50, plus any pension payments and interest sums received. I supply bank statements, copies of VAT returns, quarterly profit & loss sheets and anything else I feel is relevant.
To give him piles of outs over ins would be unworkable. He pays an annual visit and looks at random transactions and confirms all is findable. Tells me how we are trading financially then issues his account. Provided all looks in order, and you use a recognised system like sage, that should be sufficient with most accountants.
One suggestion though, should you ever considering changing your accountant, expect a full tax investigation. I changed for various reasons a few years ago, and had a visit. All was in order though.
Alex
Re: What do you give your accountant?
I used to work for an accountant and when they receive a carrier bag full of receipts they just see $$$$$’s as they have to have a junior sift through all receipts and then try to match them up to payments. Then have someone more senior actually generate the accounts. The easy answer is to do as much of the book work as you can, cross referenceing invoices with cheque numbers or paying in slip references so the accountant can tie up payments and work out debtor/creditor figures.
The more you can do for them the less time they need to spend on your accounts, the less your bill will be! You’ll also get your completed accounts back quicker. Also I would advise if your year end is in line with the end of the tax year take your books into your accountant June July as these will be quieter times. May is busy with PAYE, October through to January they are busy with Tax returns, so dont leave it til the last minute!!Re: What do you give your accountant?
Think about computerised accounts Tony, they save a heck of a lot of work both for you and your accountant. A few of us here use quickbooks and although its not perfect (and i defo wouldnt recommend the payroll service for less than 5 employees) it does the job easily and all you need to give your accountant is the file on cd or whatever along with bank statements etc. We have piles of copy written reciepts which I keep for tax inspectors only should they need to see them. Whatever programme you may use though, ensure your accountant is familiar with it or you may end up paying for his/her learning curve.
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