How to get most out of a discovery call with us or another accountant?
The reason accountants encourage a discovery call or free consultation is so we can learn about your business, what challenges you face and what you are struggling with. We want to use our know how to reduce the amount of time you spending stressing about your accounting and bookkeeping. To find out more read our frequently asked questions below.
What accountants will ask you?
What, where, and how are you selling, and who are you selling to?
What are you selling? What are you selling? This may be digital items, goods via an online store or providing services.
Where are you selling? Are you selling in a bricks and mortar store, selling professional services, selling on Amazon, Shopify, Etsy, eBay, Magento, WooCommerce etc…? Using Stripe, Paypal, GoCardless, iZettle etc… ? We will typically ask you how many transactions/sales you are making per month so we can determine the areas to make efficient.
How are you selling? Are you selling physical goods manufactured by yourself, buying in goods, delivering the services yourself, drop shipping, private label, retail arbitrage? This will give us an idea of what services you need and how we can best serve.
That is the business structure?
Type of business? Are you a Limited Company, LLP, Sole Trader, Partnership, etc.? The compliance requirement is different depending on what business structure you have. We can discuss why you are using that business structure and if it is still relevant. We will then tell you what you will require in terms of reporting to the companies’ house and HMRC. For example, limited companies require submitted accounts whereas sole traders just require a self-assessment.
Location of the business? Are you based in the UK? Are you based in abroad with a UK company? Are you a foreign entity looking for UK VAT help?
Article: Retail Arbitrage vs Wholesale vs Private Label Read more…
What are your business goals?
We see 100s of businesses over our lifetime as accountants. We want to find out where you want to take your business and want to help you take it there. We can focus on saving you time and money by making things more efficient but also give you insights into your key metrics. We can measure your cash flow and even marketing effectiveness so you know which marketing activity is working best for you.
Frequently asked questions by accountants
What Service do I receive?
We make sure the service you require we meet with high standards. We don’t just do your accounts and tax return, we help you become more efficient and give you value add information you can action in your business. See our packages.
Can you help me with simplifying my sales data
Yes. We use software to record your transactions using Autoentry and cloud accounting software. If you are online, we can link your Amazon, Shopify, Ebay or WooCommerce to our accounting platform and extract them straight into your accounts. Unlike other accountants, we know technology inside out, if there is a more efficient way of recording your transactions, we will find it.
What is a HMRC Agent?
We act as your agent on HMRC, meaning you don’t have to worry about your tax compliance. By being connected to your account we can not only submit tax returns on your behalf but also make sure there are no potential icebergs.
Who will be my accountant?
Only I will be your accountant, if I am ill or on holiday, one of my team will handle communications.
Can you save me time?
We use the latest technology to reduce the time it takes to record transactions. We recommend all our client to use Quickbooks or Xero so that they can link their bank accounts to their accounting software. We then implement software which automatically recognizes purchase invoices and records them in your accounting system. Nearly every aspect of your current bookkeeping process will change. Not only will these methods make it quicker, the quality will improve, every transaction will be recorded with a PDF invoice in half the time. As we are online, you can speak to us from anywhere, using email, phone, WhatsApp or text. We focus on making your life easier in every way.
How much will it cost?
You can take a look at our pricing page to see our latest prices.
I’ve just set up my business, do I need an accountant
Not necessarily. What you need to do is keep a record of all purchases, sales invoices and cash. We can give you some great tips on how to do this and when to look for an accountant here.
How can I set up a company and can you help?
Yes, we can. If it’s a simple company, we recommend doing it yourself using this guide. If you want to set up a complex company with a nonstandard share structure, give us a call and we can help.
We are happy for you to give us a call and discuss what is better for you at no cost.
How do you invoice?
We believe a monthly invoice is best. Why? We believe that engaging an accountant at year end is not the most effective way of using an accountant. By splitting the fee into a monthly fee, you can ask your accountant about tax or business before it’s too late. There is nothing worse than talking to your accountant at year end, only to find you missed the train.
What software do you use?
We primarily use Quickbooks, Autoentry and other third-party software to save you time and money. For those who are already on a system, we happily use Xero, Sage and Freeagent.
How quickly do you respond to queries?
Same day to 1-day response time. Far too many times we hear of accountants going silent for weeks at a time only to reappear when there is a fee to be billed. We don’t want to be like that, we want to be a trusted partner. There when you need us.
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