An accountant helps an organisation to stay in full control of its finances. Businesses that hire a good accountant can often benefit from a wide range of accountancy services, which can help to save money and reduce workload.

Whether your accountant is carrying out tax compliance work or producing your annual accounts, being prepared will ensure they can carry out the tasks smoothly and efficiently and with little disruption to your business and staff.

We share some tips on how to get the most out of your accountant:

Choose the right accountant

When deciding on an accountant, it’s important to choose one that is right for you and a good fit for your business. The right accountant will work alongside you and understand the needs of your business. They will tailor their services to meet your needs and ensure that you are getting the best service and value for your money.

Be clear about what you need

Make sure you give them clear guidance on what you’re looking for. If you don’t, you could end up getting a minimal service or paying for services that you don’t need. It’s important that you understand what services they can offer and what you need from them.

Understand what you’re paying for

It’s important to understand what is included in the fees that you are paying your accountant and what services you are getting. For example, how much tax planning is done? Are VAT returns included?

If you are keen to keep costs down, be sure to ask them for advice on how this could be done. The more you get an accountant to do, the higher your fees will be, but they should be able to save your money, so make sure you are clear about what you want and need.

Keep records up to date

Setting up and maintaining your books in an organised manner will help an accountant to extract quickly and easily any information needed to prepare or audit your accounts. This means recording all of your business transactions into a spreadsheet or accountancy system. It also enables them to see at a glance the state of your business. Your accountant will be able to offer advice on which system would work best to help manage your books.

Listen to their advice

Some accountants may work with a variety of industries and in certain sectors. If you are paying for their advice and expertise, be sure to listen and take it on board as they will have the knowledge and experience that will be useful to your business.

Stay in touch

Be sure to keep in touch with your accountant and keep them updated with any changes in your business that could affect their work. That could include changes to:

Products or market
Business strategy
Bookkeeping policy
Key personnel

Quarterly follow up calls can help to keep your plans on track and review how processes are working in between annual reviews. Communication is key to help minimise misunderstanding and to avoid unnecessary work.

Use them efficiently

To make the most of their expertise, delegate work that you cannot do yourself. Talk to your accountant about tax advice and how your business can legally save money.

Deadlines

Make sure you know the deadlines that apply to you and let your accountants have your records or paperwork well in advance of those deadlines. Don’t leave things to the last minute, as this could mean you end up paying more and it leaves no room for any unexpected delay or to deal with any issues that may arise.

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At Langricks our experienced accountancy team are here to make sure your business has all the accountancy services it needs to run smoothly and efficiently, from business forecasting and corporation tax returns through to bookkeeping services and setting up a company pension, we are here to make sure your business is supported.

Get in touch to see how we can benefit your business or organisation.

How to get the most out of your accountant