1st meeting with accountant

[Orchid]

Hi all,
I started up as sole-trader nearly 1 year ago. I've set up an apointment with an accountant next week. I've kept my accounts clearly, but are perhaps not format which accountant will want.
I'm a designer and have had 9 clients so far. I've kept the reciepts and invoices in a folder for each client.
I've written out credits and debits (including expenses) by month in 1 book and by client in a second book.
I would prefer to organise the books myself, rather then pay the accountant to do the organising.

Would anyone have advice as to how best to present my info to the accountant to keep bill to a minimum?
I would be most grateful for any advice

 

[dublinsense]

For your first meeting set it up as a consultation. That way your interviewing them to see if there suitable to your business. Dont be afraid to ask if they have other clients in your industry - that way you wont be paying their hourly wage when their on to revenue to find out if certain specifics are deductable - they'll already know. Remember they need you as much as you need them.

Its often handy to keep your accounts in digital format for ease of editing and auto adding up. You can use a simple program like excel or the accountant might recommend some package (like "The Big Red Book") both very user friendly and time efficient if your computer literate.

Ask in advance how much they estimate that they will charge and make sure they answer - some will get vague and say it depends - reiterate "estimate".

Last thing i'd advise is to consider your accountant to be an advisor as well as a figure pusher. If you dont ask for advice they might not give it.

 

[podowd]

best advice to keep your accountants fees down (and I'm an accountant so I know!) is to invest in some software, like Big Red Book or Quickbooks, and do the posting yourself. Otherwise you are giving him manual records which he will then post to an accounting package to produce your accounts, and will charge you for this. Quickbooks is not expensive (basic version is less than €200) and is very user friendly for non-accountants. Money saved on accountants fees should easily outweigh the initial cost of the software. I agree with dublinsense regarding the advice, your accountant should be an advisor also, and if they are giving good advice any fees you pay them will be money well spent. If you dont feel your accountant is giving you good advice, or good value for money on the more basic tasks, don't be afraid to speak to another accountant for a comparative quote.

 

[Orchid]

Shall definitely purchase accounting software. It does sound worth every cent. I certainly do want to use my accountant as an advisor and with all the things I want to dscuss, the bill would be huge if they had to go through my hand written books too.
Will try to purchase that software online.
Many thanks...
Learning how to keep books was going fine, until I took on my first tax return!

 

[ubiquitous]

that way you wont be paying their hourly wage when their on to revenue to find out if certain specifics are deductable.

If your accountant has to ring Revenue to find out such information, go elsewhere. Any half-decent experienced accountant will know a lot more about the theory and practice of what is & is not allowable than the young one who answers the phone in the Revenue. If they have to rely on the Revenue because they don't have this expertise themselves, then they're simply not fit to advise you.

Ask in advance how much they estimate that they will charge and make sure they answer - some will get vague and say it depends - reiterate "estimate".

As a practising accountant myself, I am always deeply reluctant to give any binding estimates without first having sight of the records or at the very least a detailed description of the records and of the business itself. Fee levels DO depend largely on the quality or otherwise of the records. Any irregularities in the business records, for example in accounting for VAT or payroll, can add substantially to accounts preparation costs. It is usually impossible to find out in advance whether such irregularities exist in a given case without having at least a good look at the books beforehand. Hence any estimate of cost at the outset must be vague to a certain extent. (You would not put a price on a house for example without first seeing the condition and dimensions of the room, and of the neighbourhood).

I would also caution against using accounting software unless you have a good knowledge of how to use it AND you are happy that the software is flexible enough to allow for easy correction of mistakes. In general, a well-kept spreadsheet is more than adequate for most one-person businesses. The worst examples I have seen of bad accounting records have stemmed from inappropriate use of accounting software packages by people who didn't fully understand what they were doing.

 

[Lorraine B]

Hi Orchid,
have you spoken to your local County Enterprise Board. They can be very helpful to small new business. I was a book-keeper for a sole trader and they helped to fund the purchase of an accounting package and also the training for it. It might be worth a try??

 

[Orchid]

Yes, I have spoken to the enterprise board. I did the 'start your own business' course, but they only touched on the basics of accounts.
I'm happy to hear a mention of using a spreadsheet. If I transfer it onto that and show it to accountant in that format, she can give me an estimate of what it might cost. And I wouldn't have to spend on software yet (unless she advises it when she sees my books).
I really need to save on the books preparation cost because I've so many questions to ask aswell, and I'm sure that will add up in hours.

I have to register for VAT, but I've gone over the limit. I should have registered a while ago. I'm unsure how to deal with that and am hoping I won't have to pay penalties... I mean, it's nothing huge, I'm only a designer, not earning mega bucks. But still, with all the materials I buy for clients, the figures have shot way up.

 

[ubiquitous]

I've so many questions to ask aswell, and I'm sure that will add up in hours.

Not really, actually. If you are meeting the accountant anyway, it is a very good idea to draw up in advance a list of questions to ask them. If you bring up these items in the course of the meeting, the additional time cost should be negligble assuming of course that the questions are not extraordinarly complicated.