Recommended London accountants for small business?

[mark7144]

My small online business will soon be approaching the VAT threshold and I'd like to consider incorporating soon. So I want to finally get myself an affordable but decent accountant.

I've seen Alpha Business Services mentioned a lot here but those are old threads. I also emailed them and received no reply so I don't know if they are still considered as highly as before.

One other question, do you think having an accountant who is local adds a lot of value? Being in London, going local presumably comes at a cost sacrifice.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

...do you think having an accountant who is local adds a lot of value? Being in London, going local presumably comes at a cost sacrifice.

It depends entirely on what you want and need.

Some people like to visit an accountant and have face to face meetings others just don't find it necessary.

I used to have a high street office many years ago and now operate an accountancy practice solely online. I still look after new and small businesses but I now find the majority of them are online traders of some form quite simply as they are used to doing so much online.

 

[mark7144]

I'm looking for an accountant that tries to understand the business so that they genuinely think about the most optimal structure unique to that business. I worry some of these online accounting services just do the paperwork without giving time for personalised thought.

In regards to in person meetings, I assumed that setting up a relationship with an accountant would involve lots of discussion so figured meeting in person initially would make sense. But maybe I'm overthinking that.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

I'm looking for an accountant that tries to understand the business so that they genuinely think about the most optimal structure unique to that business. I worry some of these online accounting services just do the paperwork without giving time for personalised thought.

In regards to in person meetings, I assumed that setting up a relationship with an accountant would involve lots of discussion so figured meeting in person initially would make sense. But maybe I'm overthinking that.

No I dont think you are overthinking it at all. Its a very relevant factor.

Any good accountant regardless of how they work, online or in a traditional office, should understand your business and help with matters such as the optimal structure.

If you want to have one contact who deals with you ask when you contact the firm who is actually going to be working on your accounts and tax return, and who will deal with questions you have etc.

 

[mark7144]

Thanks for your advice. I had a look at your website and notice the mention of "up to £100k" a few times. Do you feel businesses with greater revenue are not best suited in using your services?

 

[MJ Holohan]

Things have changed a bit with accountancy services in recent years Mark particularly with the use of online accounting packages. We typically try to meet a client before we take them on however this is not essential. It depends on what you would prefer yourself.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Thanks for your advice. I had a look at your website and notice the mention of "up to £100k" a few times. Do you feel businesses with greater revenue are not best suited in using your services?

Hi Mark no not at all.

What I found with 25 years + experience of looking after the accounts for new and small businesses is that generally the businesses we deal with will have the same requirements when they turnover up to about £100,000 per annum, after that it can be quite variable. Therefore we charge a standard fixed fee for all clients up to that level and after that we agree fees based on each clients requirements; some clients pay no more, some require much more support and hence pay considerably more.

 

[mark7144]

Thank you. Will probably give you a ring at some point.

 

[qul]

Hi Mark,

We're based in central London and mainly work with online and tech businesses, usually with fixed fees. Would be happy to have an initial meeting/call.

Thanks,
Mohammed

 

[FD Capital]

Some good advice here.

Just because someone has a local office doesn't mean they are the best match for you. Skype and other online meeting tools makes it easy to have virtual meetings and discussions.

With a start up often the best advice is to keep the costs down as much as possible initially, so that suggests working with a firm outside of town.

As long as they are registered and qualified with one of the main Accountancy bodies ICAEW for example everything should be fine.

 

[apricot]

Speak to TaxAsists Soutwark office

 

[KAC]

Nicola at @MyAccountantOnline comes highly recommended on this forum and membership of ACCA is just the same as membership of ICAEW. I speak as someone who belongs to both bodies