A leading Dorset based accounting company has announced that it is now using revolutionary online based accounting software package in order to help its clients more easily manage their book-keeping and accounts and keep a better track of their financial position.

Smart Accountancy Systems Ltd based in Dorset has today announced that they have future-proofed their accounting software packages for their clients by moving to an award winning online accounting software package.

The company will now be using online accounting software company KashFlow which enables accountants and their clients to easily access their own financial records at any time, whenever they have access to the internet.

Online accounting software is considered by many to be the way that the industry is heading because it enables businesses to keep a constant eye on their company’s financial position without having to install costly and bulky software direct onto their computers.

This recent move proves Smart Accountancy Systems Ltd is a forward thinking and dynamic organisation. The system is easy to use, with continuous functionality development and Smart Accountancy Systems Ltd’s team of accountants can now talk to clients and update records in real time without having to wait for clients so send in reams of paper-work.

All the records held on the system are stored behind a state of the art encryption system that prevents data from being accessed or passed on without the user’s permission.

Speaking about the new contract Jon Jenkins, Managing Director at Smart Accountancy Systems Ltd, said;

“We wanted to find a product that was easy to use for our clients that haven’t had any accountancy training, but still enabled us as their accountants to extract the information we need to provide a quality service. We’ve found exactly that in KashFlow. The fact that we can access data live over the internet means we can be more pro-active in advising our clients.”

Managing Director of KashFlow, Duane Jackson said,

“We’re all really pleased to be working with Smart Accountancy Systems Ltd and very happy that they will be recommending our online accounting software package to their clients.”

Jackson continues,

“Our software enables accountants to focus on their roles and not have to worry about the burden of maintaining accurate and up-to-date records.”

For a full demonstration or to sign up to a free no cards, restrictions or catches 14 day trial go to www.smartaccountancysystems.co.uk/kashflow or call us on 01202 233293.

We have spent lots of time researching apps for business so thought we would save you the hardship by detailing some of our favourite apps for business below.  Apps for business are continually being added so check back on a regular basis for new apps for business additions.

Apps For Business

Here is a list of the apps for business that we use regularly. If you know of any that would be useful please feel free to let us know.

Name	Description
CardMunch	Take a picture of a business card and watch the contact details appear in your phone. One click option to connect in LinkedIn. Save all that time re-keying, get connecting and working those contacts.
Dropbox	Have your documents with you wherever you go using this app. You need never miss an opportunity again or worry about forgetting to save that document to your computer. Save you marketing materials to Dropbox and then email the link to prospective clients as soon as you have used CardMunch to extract the contact details.
MobileAgent	Track mileage, upload receipts, track bank balances and outstanding invoices plus much more all from your phone. Never waste a spare moment again waiting for that next appointment get those expenses and mileage processed and get your life back. This app for business is to be used those FreeAgent online bookkeeping users.
NatWest	Check those important balances on the run. Combined with MobileAgent ensures I can keep track of receipts and chase those slow payers all from my phone.
Sprout Social	All my social feeds in one place. Assign Tasks to follow up on Tweets later and RSS feeds directly in one place making communicating easy. Use you will need an account with Sprout Social to use this app.
Genius Scan	Never need to get clients to photocopy those money laundering documents again. The ability to scan documents and generate a PDF to email or load directly into Dropbox making this app perfect for saving time and hassle.
Dragon Dictation	Stay connected even when your hands are busy. Use those spare moments and never forget a great idea again. You can text or email your friends, update your Facebook status, send notes and reminders to yourself, or tweet to the world… all using your voice.
Vonage Mobile App	Who would like free calls and texts? Thought so then check out Vonage Mobile App for details.

VAT Deregistration Considerations

Cost
Perception
Cashflow
Pricing/Margins
Administration
Validity

VAT Deregistration: The Costs

There are a couple of things to consider here, the first one being that if you employ the help of an accountant to help you through this process then ultimately it is going to cost you some money.  Whilst VAT deregistration is a process we feel most could complete themselves the timing is really important and so is getting it right.

VAT deregistration will mean you need to account for any VAT claimed on tangible assets of the business such as vans, stock or computers.  If the VAT due on these items is in excess of £1,000 then you will have to pay this over to HMRC.  This could be a major issue to your cashflow.  This is often overlooked buy those who register for VAT to claim back the VAT on capital expenditure items and then deregister from VAT.

VAT Deregistration: Perception

More often than not businesses that are VAT registered can have the appearance of being larger than they actually are.  With the VAT registration threshold currently at £77,000 (1st April 2012) if you are VAT registered then it can appear to the outside world that sales are much higher than in reality.

We have had businesses in the past that have lost out on potential work because they were not registered for VAT.  Like being a Limited company some businesses have strict criteria around who they will do business with and sometimes being VAT registered is one of them.

If you are dealing with business that know you are VAT registered then deregistering from VAT can have a negative impact.  As with the point above about appearing larger than you are, deregistering from VAT can have the opposite affect in that it could look as though the business is struggling and sales have dropped.

VAT Deregistration: Cashflow

Whilst cashflow should not be one of the major factors in your process of deciding whether to deregister from VAT you do need to take it into consideration.  If you business sells and buys goods that are standard rated and you are making a profit you would expect in most instances to have a positive cashfow from being VAT registered.  This is because you will be collecting VAT on sales and then paying it over on a quarterly basis.  This will not be relevant in every case so please bear in mind your debtor days when taking this into consideration of deregistering from VAT.

VAT Deregistration: Pricing/Margins

Deregistering from VAT can have a negative impact on your pricing or margins or in some instances both.  Work through the following examples to see how this could affect your decision about deregistering from VAT from the customers point of view.

You sell widgets that retail at £135+VAT including a 35% mark up and you are VAT registered.

Example A VAT Registered

You buy the widgets at £100+VAT and sell at £135+VAT to a customer who is VAT registered.  So the cost to the customer is £135 as they can reclaim the VAT.

Example B VAT Deregistered

You cannot reclaim the VAT so the cost of the widget to your business is now £120.  To maintain your 35% mark up you will now need to charge the customer £162.  The customer cannot reclaim any VAT as you are no longer VAT registered so the cost of the widget to your customer is now £162 instead of £135 costing him an extra £27 per widget.

VAT deregistration in this instance would mean you either need to reduce your mark up so the impact on your customers is less or accept the fact that you will no longer be as competitive.  As you will no longer being reclaiming VAT on overhead costs you may also feel the need to increase your mark up a but to cover this and this would make you even less competitive.

VAT Deregistration: Administration

VAT deregistration should mean the amount of administration you have to complete for your business is reduced.  This could end up being a false economy as many businesses only keep on top of their business records because they have VAT returns to file.  If there is no VAT return to file you could very quickly find yourself in a position of not knowing where you are.  Think about it.

You will still also need to maintain decent records to ensure you do not go over the compulsory VAT registration threshold or you are liable for any VAT on the sales in excess of the threshold (£77,000 1st April 2012).

VAT is another thing that you could get wrong so avoiding it could be a good thing for many particularly if you are not so hot on record keeping.

The timing of when you deregister from VAT is crucial as doing it at the end of a quarter will make your life easier.  You also need to give yourself time to work out what changes you may need to make to invoicing and ordering systems and changing your internal procedures.

VAT Deregistration: Validity

Are you eligible for VAT deregistration?  This is vitally important as there is no point thinking about the stuff above if you are not actually able to apply for VAT deregistration.  The forms and guidance you will need will depend on your reasons for VAT deregistration and why you registered for VAT in the first place.  The current VAT deregistration threshold for VAT is £75,000 from 1st April 2012.

There are many reasons why VAT deregistration may be compulsory:

If you are registered because you make taxable supplies in the UK, you must cancel your registration if any of the following occur:

• you stop making taxable supplies
• you sell your business
• your legal status changes,
• you disband your VAT group
• you join a VAT group , or
• you join the agricultural flat rate scheme

You must also cancel your registration where you registered because:

• you intended to make taxable supplies but you no longer intend to do so, or
• you made, or intended to make supplies outside the UK which would have been taxable if made in the UK, or are specified supplies, and you have stopped making or intending to make these supplies, or
• you made, or intended to make supplies of warehoused goods which were permitted to be disregarded for VAT and you have stopped making or intending to make these supplies.

For full details on VAT deregsitration please see the HMRC website.

Definitions (as per Oxford Dictionaries Online)

Client

• a person or organization using the services of a lawyer or other professional person or company
• a person being dealt with by social or medical services

When looking at the definitions above even customers does not seem like such a nice and fluffy term either.

What is the difference between a Customer and a Client?

The main difference between a customer and a client is a protective, ongoing business relationship is formed with a client, but not necessarily with a customer.

Where are our Client Service Departments?

If a client relationship is all about an ongoing business relationship then why do we not see professional service companies with Client Service departments?  If we truly want to create a good ongoing relationship with our clients should we not be nurturing that?

It seems that whilst clients are all about the long term, professional service companies have missed a trick by not spending more time working on the relationships.  If a short term customer gets a customer services department when making a purchase why do those enrolling for the long term not get the same kind of care and attention?

Perhaps it is time to wake up and smell the coffee for the professional service companies.  You are in a ‘customer’ facing market whether you like it or not and they expect a certain level of care and attention.  It is not all about dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.

Client or Customer you decide

What are my reasons for disliking the term ‘clients’:

1. it just seems so impersonal
2. it is so clinical
3. makes me feel that the relationship is void of any emotion (I am not saying that you should love your customers but that you should at least be able to relate to them on a certain level, understand what they are trying to achieve and believe you can help them with that goal)
4. arrogance of the professional services that they felt the need for another term

I find myself flitting between using the term ‘client’ and ‘customer’ and it is now really beginning to bug me.

Are you a ‘client’ or a ‘customer’?  Does it even matter?  Perhaps we need a new term and definition that better matches the way in which we engage and do business.  Any feedback greatly appreciated.

Far to often we are coming across businesses that are basing their sales price on what they see as the existing market rate set by competitors.  What are your competitors gross margin %, overhead costs and payroll costs?  Don’t know?  If that is the case how can you decide to charge the same price as them?

Below we will introduce how to calculate the gross profit margin to help you understand how important it is to your business.  To make this easier we are going to introduce a worked example.  Company A sells widgets at a price of £100 with cost of goods sold of £65.

What is gross profit?
How to calculate your gross profit margin?
What to do with my gross profit margin?
Does volume affect my gross profit margin?
Using gross profit to calculate your selling price?

What is a gross profit?

Sales price – cost of goods sold = gross profit

£100 – ££65 = £35 gross profit

Simple.  The amount of money you make on a product or service after paying for the cost of goods sold (variable and fixed costs linked directly to the sale).  The cost of goods sold could contain many different things and could vary business by business so if you are comparing yourself to competitors take this in to consideration.  It does not include items such as office expenses, rent and administrative costs.

How to calculate your gross profit margin?

Gross profit / sales price x 100

£35 / £100 x 100 = 35%

Your gross profit % can be used as a measure of how efficient you are i.e. the higher the gross profit (£35) the more profit you are making per £1 of input (cost of goods sold – £65) the more efficient your business is.  The larger your gross margin the more opportunity you have of paying those overhead and fixed administrative costs and of course making a profit.

What to do with my gross profit margin?

Now that you know your are making £35 per widget what are you going to do with this new found knowledge?  If I were you I would think about:

1. What are my competitors gross profit margins and how can I use this information to gain a competitive advantage (gross profit margin is only one metric to measure yourself against other businesses).
2. Make comparisons against other periods of time.  Are you doing better or worse than last month, last quarter or last year?
3. Compare the gross profit margin against other products or services that you sell, should you concentrate more resource into selling widgets.  Are all products profit making?
4. Use this statistical information to review, refine and improve the widget making process and be more efficient.
5. Investigate areas when the gross profit margin has dropped to see if your stock control process is correct, are your purchase order processes robust, are price variances on cost of goods sold being investigated.

Does volume affect my gross profit margin?

No.  If I sell one widget and I make £35 gross profit and my gross profit margin is 35% how much gross profit should I make if I sell 100 widgets?

100 widgets x £35 = £3,500 gross profit

£3,500 / £10,000 (100 widgets x £100) x 100 = 35%

If you sell more at the same price with the same cost of goods sold then your gross profit margin should not change.  If it is different then something has changed and it needs to be investigated.  These could be:

• poor stock control
• incorrect closing stock figures
• incorrect record keeping
• theft
• increased cost of goods sold
• suppliers overcharging
• timing differences
• discounted sales prices
• supplier bulk purchase discounts

The list could go on but hopefully this gives you a flavour.

Using gross profit to calculate your selling price

Now that you know your cost of goods sold is £65 per widget you can use this information to help you decide on a selling price for your widget for a given gross profit margin of say 55%.

Sales price = £65 / (1-55%) = £65 / 0.45 = £144.44

You now know that in order to achieve a gross profit margin of 55% you need to sell your product at £144.44.  Great.  Now you need to look at what else is in the marketplace and review whether your widget would sell at £144.44 per item.  If not then you need to look at you overheads and your cost of goods sold.  Can you make the same gross profit margin charging a smaller amount if you can reduce the amount of money you are spending on overheads and cost of goods sold.

The move has been made in order to ensure we are not trying to shoe horn customers into a particular online bookkeeping system but they make a conscious choice about which online bookkeeping system suits their needs best.  To this end we will also be looking at other systems such as Kashflow and any other system that meets the requirements of our customers.

If you are thinking about making the move into the cloud and want to know what all the fuss is about why not check out the Xero website and see what great features you can have access to.  You can even see what is on offer from Xero by attending one of the regular Xero webinars so you can see before you try or check out the rich list of  Xero features.

Heard enough and want to see what it can do now?  Just watch the short Xero video below to get a flavour.

Still not sure it is right for you then why not check out the Xero customer case studies to find out just how useful you could find it.

For more information on how Smart Accountancy Systems  and Xero can help you manage your business finances efficiently contact us for a Free no obligation consultation.

Our accountancy packages including Xero start from just £45+VAT per month for a sole trader.

Whenever asked what you do for a living you often want to say you are an astronaut to avoid the obligatory rolling of  the eyes followed by the story about why accountants are idiots.  Really enjoy that bit!

We cannot speak on behalf of all accountants but we have tried to outline what we believe accountants should do on top of the expected.

“Accountancy is what I do, it is not who I am.”

Preamble over here are the things we believe your accountant should do.

Communicate

One thing that accountants are not normally blessed with is great communications skills.  This is one thing we are not taught through our studies and building a rapport with people when you spend most of your time dealing with other accountants does not lead to a great atmosphere for breeding good communication channels.  This being said you need to know where you are, what needs to be done, how you can improve your business, pay less tax and have peace of mind.

If you and your accountant are not communicating then everything else is irrelevant.  Remember that communication is a two way street.  If you want help and advice seek it before making business decisions otherwise your accountant is limited in what they can do.  Believe it or not accountants do want to talk as it often makes life easier in the long run.  It is no good communicating about events that happened 18 months ago.

Speak English

So we have the communication thing sorted but the message can still get misunderstood.  Make sure that you accountant speaks English and not fluent Accountish.  As accountants spend a lot of time in the company of fellow accountants it can be assumed that you know what we are talking about.  PnL this and TB that, blah, blah, blah.  This is wrong.    If there is something you do not understand ask your accountant to put it in English otherwise you will not wish to speak to them and communication breaks down.  You are paying for a professional service and remember that no question is stupid.

Take Interest

In order to fulfil an accountants role correctly they need to know about you and your business in detail to ensure the correct accounting policies are used, they offer proactive advice that meets your requirements and they keep you out of trouble.

If your accountant never asks how business is going or makes reference to anything industry related then they probably do not know what you do, are not interested or far to busy to care in which case you should deal with another accountant.

Be Proactive

Every accountant in the land is proactive aren’t they?  It says so on the marketing materials.  If you are only contacted when there are fees or paperwork outstanding this does not classify as being proactive.  If your accountant knows you and your business they will contact you to help you run your business and save you money.

Surgeons specialise, solicitors specialise because no one person can know everything there is to know about all subjects.  But if you hear your accountant start a conversation by saying ‘yes we knew that but…’ then you have a decision to make.

Refer

Most accountants will normally have a good pool of businesses across many industry sectors which is why they are often targeted as partners by other businesses.  This means that your accountant should be in a position to refer you and help you gain new business.  Be very careful here as in order for this to happen you need to be realistic in terms of how many clients they may already have in a particular industry, the quality of the output and existing relationships, are there enough leads to go around?

As a minimum you would hope that your accountant would be willing to make introductions for you and if you have an offer running that they may pass on those details for you.  Remember that it is in your accountants best interests for you to be successful.

Keep you out of jail

Compliance, compliance and more compliance.  Your accountant should make sure that you ‘keep out of jail’ by ensuring your books and records are kept up to date and that you are compliant with the regulations that govern your particular business type.  Here is a list of typical services offered:

1. Accounts production
2. Personal tax returns
3. Corporation tax returns
4. Payroll
5. VAT
6. Company secretarial

The only way this can be ensured is to have regular contact and keep them informed if anything changes within the business if you are only speaking to them once a year when your accounts are being completed then you could be in trouble.

Save you money

Accountancy is about dotting i’s and crossing t’s.  It is not about saving clients money or is it?  If you had access to lots of different businesses within many different industries wouldn’t you expect your accountant to share the love by advising on best practice or alternative services or products that could be used.  Knowledge is power after all.

Obviously accountants are limited in the information that can be supplied if it relates to other clients but there is nothing stopping them from being able to point you in the right direction if things within your business can be done quicker, cheaper and better.  This of course will only ever happen if they can communicate, speak English, take interest, be proactive, refer and keep you out of jail only then can they save you money.

]]> http://www.smartaccountancysystems.co.uk/general/accountants-what-should-they-do/feed/ 0 http://www.smartaccountancysystems.co.uk/hmrc/can-you-claim-smp-when-you-are-self-employed/ http://www.smartaccountancysystems.co.uk/hmrc/can-you-claim-smp-when-you-are-self-employed/#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:36:31 +0000 Jon Jenkins http://www.smartaccountancysystems.co.uk/?p=2225 Congratulations you are having a baby, enjoy it, savour it but most importantly make sure you know how to get paid whilst you are unable to work if you are self-employed.  This raises a very simple question; can I claim SMP when self-employed?  Being financially secure when you are having a baby takes a huge strain out of what is a very stressful time.

Can you claim SMP when self-employed?

In short you are not entitled to claim SMP when self-employed but you may be entitled to claim a Maternity Allowance through Jobcentre Plus.  SMP is an amount of money claimed from your employer.  If you are not employed then you cannot claim SMP if you are self-employed.

Eligibility for Maternity Allowance if self-employed

For the self-employed you need to meet the following criteria to be eligible for Maternity Allowance:

1. you’re registered self-employed and paying Class 2 National Insurance contributions (NICs), or hold a Small Earnings Exception certificate
2. you’ve been employed and/or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in your ‘test period’ (66 weeks up to and including the week before the week your baby is due) – part weeks count as full weeks

Earnings from your employment and earnings you are treated as having if you are self-employed are used to work out your Maternity Allowance.  Check out A guide to Maternity Benefits NI17A for full details.

The current rate of Maternity Allowance is £128.73 per standard week or 90% of your average weekly gross earnings (before tax) and is paid for a maximum of 39 weeks.  You can make an election to have it paid every two or four weeks directly into your bank or building society account.

The amount of Maternity Allowance you get depends on your gross average weekly earnings or the amount you are treated as earning from your self-employment.

Making a claim for Maternity Allowance if you are self-employed

You can claim MA as soon as you’ve been pregnant for 26 weeks. To get a claim form (form MA1) call Jobcentre Plus on 0800 055 6688. Lines are open from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm, Monday to Friday.  Alternatively complete the online form.

You’ll also need to give medical evidence of the date when your baby is due. This form is normally on the maternity certificate, form MATB1. This is given to you by your doctor or midwife no earlier than 20 weeks before the week your baby is due.

HM Revenue & Customs will be asked to confirm your payments for Class 2 NICs are up to date.

If you continue to be self-employed into the 11 weeks before the week your baby is due, you can choose when to start getting Maternity Allowance. The date you choose will match the date that you start your maternity leave from work.

Tax return completion if claiming Maternity Allowance when self-employed

The good news here is that if you are claiming Maternity Allowance it is non-taxable and therefore does not need to be inlcuded on your tax return.  If you are claiming SMP from an employer then you would need to declare it on you tax return.  Want to double check?  Here is the link for taxable and non-taxable benefits.

Choosing a Business Name

Below is a list of the key points to work through when choosing your business name.  If you do not wish to read the entire choosing a business name blog then simply click on the link below to go to the relevant choosing a business name section.

Choose a business name that reflects what you do
Choose a business name that creates the right impression
Choose a business name that makes marketing easy
Choose a business name for the future
Choose a business name that is unique and how to check
Choose a business name and how to monitor it

Choose a business name that reflects what you do

If we had chosen a business name of Jenkins & Co you would probably have guessed that we were accountants or would you?  If you want to choose the right business name then forget what you think works because it is not relevant – you are not selling to yourself.  If relevant try to incorporate what your business does into the business name.  This will get across very quickly to potential customers what your business is all about and the name may be useful for Search Engine Optimization on your website.  Speak to others not involved in the business about the choice of business name and do not be offended by the answers it may just be the difference between success and failure.

Choose a business name that creates the right impression

How do you want people to remember you?  Choosing the right business name is just as important as creating a fantastic first impression when you meet someone.  Do not choose a business name to be controversial – yes it may get you remembered but not for the the right reasons.  Remember people buy from people and if your business name is controversial then you may be viewed in the same light.

Choose a business name that makes a statement but remember you cannot use certain words if you want to register a limited company so check with Companies House first.  Think about the impression you are trying to get across be it professionalism, fun or something completely different.  When you a choose a business name make sure that it works well across all marketing platforms such as website, printed materials and signage.

Choose a business name that makes marketing easy

When you choose a business name think about the marketing which with most new businesses believe it or not will be carried out by you.  Think about how the name can be incorporated into marketing campaigns and think of the images that can go with your name as these can speak a thousand words.  If you are not sure you are choosing the right business name speak to a marketing agency for an initial overview and see what they think.  A cup of coffee and a chat normally does not costs anything.  You can have the best product or service in the world but if no one remembers it you are in real trouble.

Choose a business name for the future

Try to avoid undertaking an expensive re-branding exercise by future proofing.  Whatever your product or service is think about the possibility that your business model and products and services may change.  Will your choice of name still be relevant?  You could trade using several different names but that means extra time and costs.  Try to avoid fashionable words as they will change with the times and you do not want to wait until you become fashionable again.

Choose a business name that is unique and how to check

This is the most important part as once you have chosen a business name be sure to follow this section through before you part with any money by forming a company or purchasing a domain name.  If you begin to trade without having checked that your chosen business name is available then more fool you.  The chances are you could end up with a solicitors letter on your door requesting that you stop trading using this name which can be a very costly and damaging affair.

Follow these rules when choosing a business name to limit your exposure:

1. Check Companies House – search for free to see the limited company names taken – beware that slight variations on a name already taken may not be allowed
2. Check National Business Register – a free service that with one search will identify business names, limited companies, domains and trademarks.  For a small fee you can register your business name if you choose.
3. Check domains are available – if they are gone then it is a fair indicator that the name probably has and if not you will have to think hard about a new domain name.  This is more important than you may think.
4. Use search engines – search the web to see if anything is out there for that name.  You are not just looking for companies but trademarks

Choose a business name and how to monitor it

Once you have chosen your business name you may feel that your work here is done but that is far from the truth.  What if somebody else has the same great idea as you?  How will you know?  With the increased use of Social Media it is imperative that you know what is being said about your business.  What if somebody starts trading with the same name but not the same quality damaging your reputation?  You will probably not have time to monitor all of these things but we have entered a list of free tools below to help you.

1. Google Alerts
2. Social Mention
3. TweetBeep
4. TweetDeck
5. DueDil

Now you have choosen a business name what next?  Why not check out one of the following blogs to see if we can help you with something else:

Company Formation & Company Registration
New employer national insurance holiday
Choosing a Business Type

[hs_action =id"1275]

Please think very carefully about the process you are about to embark on and why you are making the decision to change accountants.  Is your new accountant going to cover all of the areas that your old accountant obviously let you down in?  Have you asked your new accountant all of the questions you need to and been honest with them about your issues with your old accountant or business situation?  Most importantly of all if you are changing accountants be wary of the timing i.e. do not move accountants in January unless your personal tax return has been filed.

Accountants Leaving Letter

First of all you must notify your existing accountant of your intention to leave in writing.  Download our Accountants Leaving Letter template.

Professional Clearance Letter

Once you have notified your new accountant that the Accountants Leaving Letter has been sent your new accountant must send a letter to your existing accountant to request professional clearance and request handover of the paperwork and documents they will need in order to carry out the duties they have been engaged for.   Your existing accountant will handover to the new accountant provided there is no professional reason not to.  Most accountants will drag their heels here especially if you have outstanding fees.

Money Laundering Checks

You will be required to provide your new accountant with documentation which will allow them to complete their money laundering checks.  Your accountant should not work for you until the money laundering checks have been carried out.  In a normal situation this will consist of photographic ID and confirmation of address but each accountants internal procedures may vary.

Engagement Letters

Your new accountant should not complete work for you unless they have been engaged to do so and this will take the form of an engagement letter which sets out the basis of both parties responsibilities.  It is important you read these documents before signing as they set out the roles and responsibilities of accountants and customer.

Smart Accountancy Systems New Customer Set Up

All new customers are issued with a Welcome Pack which details the stages to be completed and who is responsible for them.  Using our Practice Management software we will keep you up to date and issue you reminders should we be missing stages.  Within the Welcome Pack you will receive a schedule of services so you can double check our understanding of the jobs you wish us to undertake.  We also provide details on all forms of communication we use so you can sign up to our newsletter and connect with us on the various social media platforms we use.

Should you wish to receive any further information about our services please contact us.

[hs_action =id"1275]