Choosing a Contractor Accountant

There are several key factors to consider to ensure you make the right choice of contractor accountant:

1.       They are specialists in the contractor market.

When searching for the right accountant, it can often seem like there are more accountancy firms in the UK than there are contractors! However, if they don’t specialise in the contractor and freelancer market, you are likely to pay over the odds for a sub-standard service. A general practice or high street accountant has to deal with many different types of client – spreading their expertise means less experience with personal Limited Companies. A dedicated contractor accountant will have specialised, in-depth knowledge in dealing with clients like yourself and will be able to provide the best advice.

2.       They offer an all-inclusive, fixed fee.

A high street accountant will quote you a fee to do your end of year accounts. It is easy to look at this headline number and compare it favourably to twelve months of fees through a contractor accountant. However, this usually doesn’t include all the other tasks involved in administrating a Limited Company – you will incur additional costs for VAT returns, payroll, bookkeeping and personal tax over the year. In addition, are you happy to be billed each time you need to speak to your accountant with questions or for some bespoke advice?

A fixed fee service means that all aspects of running your Limited company are covered. You can budget the full cost up front, with no extra fees or charges. If you need to speak to your accountant for any reason, you can rest easy that you won’t bill you for their time.

3.       You will have a single dedicated point of contact.

Nobody enjoys repeating the same information each time they call, or waiting on the line with a query while a faceless representative digs through a file, to find out the basics about your company. It is vital to sign up with a contractor accountant who lets you deal with the same person throughout the life of your Limited Company – a dedicated accountant will get to know you and your company and will actively provide personalised advice to make sure you are always in safe hands.

4.       They have a reputation you can trust.

As many freelancers and contractors can tell you, not all contractor accountants are created equal! Some small operators are happy to provide cookie-cutter services and take your money. Even some of the largest contractor accountants have sacrificed quality of service to focus on volume of clients, or merged with others (with all the attendant issues that come with a company merger!). It never hurts to speak to other professional freelancers and check company reputations on contractor forums. Look at who is behind a contractor accountancy firm and make sure you are putting yourself in safe hands.

Dolan Accountancy was founded by Simon Dolan, one of the most respected names in the contractor industry, with a desire to provide the best contractor accountancy service on the market – bar none! We hope you will choose to join the Dolan Accountancy revolution – and if not, we hope you found this guide useful.

To find out more, please call us on 01442 795 100 or email sophie.lewis@dolanaccountancy.com.