Getting help from an accountant at the planning stage

[andyjames31]

Hi,

I'm in the process of putting my business plan together.

If I find an accountant will they go through the cash flow forecasts etc and advise on these before I meet with my bank to ask for a loan? If so would that just been done on an hourly fee? Also on if I should/shouldn't go Ltd from the start.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Geoff T]

They can advise on all this and more, just tell them what you need and they'll quote to provide a service for you...

There's a good stickie I remember in here about "how to choose an accountant"... give it a look

 

[Mitchells Bristol]

Hello there

Yes - an accountant will be able to go through your forecasts, and give you a few pointers, but ultimately all of the assumptions behind the projections will have to come from you.

An accountant will also be able to advise, based on the projections and other factors, whether you should be limited or sole trader.

I would try and get a fixed fee rather than agreeing to an hourly rate, otherwise you could find the charges racking up. If you show the prospective accountants your forecasts beforehand they should be able to give you a fixed fee.

My firm does everything on a fixed fee basis to provide certainty for clients, but I have worked for larger firms in the past who work "on the clock" and you get huge fees for a couple of years and then the clients get fed up and move on!!

Hope this helps

 

[accounting-help]

Yes an accountant can help you with this. As taxonomy mentioned charges can mount up on a hourly rate for various reasons so fixed fee is something you should look into and many accountants including us offer fix fees/packages.

We had a article on how to choose to an accountant:

http://www.accounting-help.co.uk/news/news/how-to-choose-the-right-accountant

I think you should speak to some accountants as most offer initial free consultation. Even if you don't use an accountant at this stage of your business, you will at least have some contacts to decide from when you start trading etc.

 

[bobgrantham]

Why not just do it yourself? Liveplan.com is an easy business planning solution.

 

[andyjames31]

They can advise on all this and more, just tell them what you need and they'll quote to provide a service for you...

There's a good stickie I remember in here about "how to choose an accountant"... give it a look

Thanks, I took a look at that post it got some good info from there.

Yes - an accountant will be able to go through your forecasts, and give you a few pointers, but ultimately all of the assumptions behind the projections will have to come from you.

An accountant will also be able to advise, based on the projections and other factors, whether you should be limited or sole trader.

I would try and get a fixed fee rather than agreeing to an hourly rate, otherwise you could find the charges racking up. If you show the prospective accountants your forecasts beforehand they should be able to give you a fixed fee.

My firm does everything on a fixed fee basis to provide certainty for clients, but I have worked for larger firms in the past who work "on the clock" and you get huge fees for a couple of years and then the clients get fed up and move on!!

Thanks for that help. If working on a fixed fee basis would you be able to give me a rough idea of what would be a fair fee to review forecasts and advise on company formation?

I'm happy for any accountants on the forum to PM me if they would like to offer their services, the business is an off licence so I imagine lots will have experience of this sector.

We had a article on how to choose to an accountant:

Thanks, really helpful article.

 

[Bob]

An alternative could be for you to obtain a Pinders Report. They do specialise in licensed premises amongst other things

 

[kandkaccountants]

Hello

I would take advice from an Accountant as they are expereinced in these kind of plans etc. Also as the banks are getting it more and more difficult to get loans from, I would get someone with experience to look into it before you make any mistakes and get rejected.

Most Accountants will do it for a fixed fee and would also be able to give advice on whether you should start as Limited Company, sole trader etc from the figures you provide.

Best of Luck.

 

[TODonnell]

I would look at existing softwares or templates, first. A business plan is not a work of unique art, it has a set format. Have a look for examples online. The internet is your friend!

 

[andyjames31]

I would look at existing softwares or templates, first. A business plan is not a work of unique art, it has a set format. Have a look for examples online. The internet is your friend!

That's interesting, thanks. Is there particular software you have used that is good? I must admit that I dismissed the option of using something like Business Plan Pro a while ago, maybe I should give it more consideration. I have a template anyway so that isn't an issue, I did try searching for examples online as you suggest, but all I could find was blank templates or ads for bplan pro.

 

[Scalloway]

Although this site is advertising Business Plan Pro it does have a number of sample business plans to read.

http://www.bplans.co.uk/sample_business_plans.cfm