Ltd: can I delay hiring an accountant for first year?

[MorePasta]

Is it reasonable to run a limited company without professional advice for the first year? I would use a formations service, I would keep books in xero or similar, file VAT myself and then pay someome for annual accounts / CT when that time comes. My accounts should be very straightforward.

I would love to hear from others that have done this - pitfalls, etc.

 

[ldepablo]

I just entered this forum and your question is one of the first questions I had. Thanks!

 

[CSBob]

Many accountants will give you a free initial consultation (and often some good basic advice to begin with), so my advice would be to take advantage of it. Indeed, use that meeting to decide if that person / firm is right for you.

 

[Tom McClelland]

Is it reasonable to run a limited company without professional advice for the first year? I would use a formations service, I would keep books in xero or similar, file VAT myself and then pay someome for annual accounts / CT when that time comes. My accounts should be very straightforward.

I would love to hear from others that have done this - pitfalls, etc.

If you're confident that you can keep accurate accounts and do your VAT properly there is no reason why you shouldn't delay appointing an accountant till year-end.

But most accountants can be engaged for a nominal fee and it might be a good idea to find a good one that you have confidence in from the start. They may even be able to give you advice that would save you money on the VAT front for example.

 

[kulture]

It is better to consult an accountant first as stated above, not only for those reasons but also to find out how best to keep the books etc to minimise the end of year bill.

 

[Lancelot]

There is no requirement to hire a professional up until when your accounts must be statutory-audited.

 

[David Griffiths]

There is no requirement to hire a professional up until when your accounts must be statutory-audited.

When your turnover hits £6,500,000

 

[Anna Chandley]

A lot of accountants will offer advice and guidance throughout the year as part of their fee. This means that you could engage an accountant now and have advice during the year without paying more than you would simply to engage them at the year end. Although you probably would need to pay them during the year rather than after the year end.

 

[MorePasta]

FWIW I have had initial meetings with accountants and tax specialists.

 

[Lancelot]

When your turnover hits £6,500,000

Indeed. My link has been removed... Considered advertising probably. Funny enough I am not running a practice or get any income from my new blog. Its only purpose is to inform and help. But some people... Anyway I am on their house and I've got to play by their rules.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Is it reasonable to run a limited company without professional advice for the first year? I would use a formations service, I would keep books in xero or similar, file VAT myself and then pay someome for annual accounts / CT when that time comes. My accounts should be very straightforward.

I would love to hear from others that have done this - pitfalls, etc.

If you plan to use an accountant I'd suggest doing so from day one - in that way you really get the benefit of support and assistance from day one.

You wont save anything by delaying signing up with an accountant unless you really only want to use an accountant for your year end accounts and tax return, which of course some do.

A first year of trading is often when you'll have many questions and really need professional support to ensure everything is done correctly.

 

[Lancelot]

Totally agree with the post above.

For some reasons accountants and their fees are not liked by wannabe entrepreneurs. They are scared and to be fair they are quite entitled to be so because there were times when you called or sent an email to an accountant and after few days you received a huge bill in the post.

But not anymore. There are many accountants these days that have a fixed fee regardless the amount of work that they do. Then, would you take this advantage? I haven't heard of any accountants charging for a quote!

What happens however with the wannabe entrepreneurs is that soon after they start the accounts are is such as mess that they do need an accountant and the fee is now a lot higher.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

...because there were times when you called or sent an email to an accountant and after few days you received a huge bill in the post.

I remember working as a partners assistant many years ago and one of my tasks was to approve and send out the monthly bills - I even had to add in the cost of my time for doing that it was called 'file review' on the bill.

I imagine that practice still goes on but no where near as much now - thankfully.