Bloomfield Business Services (aka Bloomfield Accountants) are a firm of Chartered Accountants based in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk that state on their website that they consider their speciality to be the family business.
Amongst their client base they cover agriculture, nursing homes, charities, clubs and the usual list of professions, service sector, construction, manufacturing and retailers.
Their business support services include management information payroll, bookkeeping and business planning & forecasting. In fact if you are running a business in Great Yarmouth or even anywhere else in the area the list of services seems to cover everything that a business would need from an accountant.
There are many advisers you are likely to encounter when running a small business, from business consultants, IT consultants, Solicitors to Accountants.
Of all of these a good accountant is perhaps the most valuable one to have for a small business and is certainly the one that you are likely to use most often. If your accounts are correct and you are up-to-date with taxes and statuatory returns, you are far likely to be more able to concentrate on the important part, growing the business.
The author has run a small business for many years now and the tips below are some of his thoughts on choosing an accountant for your business.
- Investigate and, if possible, choose an accountant before you start your business, although remember that it is possible to change accountants at any time and in fact the author has done so when he moved from one area of the country to another.
- Make sure your accountant is fully qualified, for example as a certified or chartered accountant. These qualifications will be probably be displayed on any promotional material or their website, but make sure you ask, and check with the relevent organisation if you are at all unsure.
- Make sure that your accountant works with small business clients. If your business generates a large number of transactions (for example, an online shopping service or you are in the retail trade make sure that they understand the implications of this – the extra bits of paper will probably push their fees up – of course if you are in an industry where you invoice clients monthly then this is not so much of a problem).
- If possible make sure the accountant has experience with dealing with companies in your sector, some types of business have specific VAT rules such as the CTN areas – does the accountant understand these rules?
- How much does the accountant charge? Is there a fixed annual or monthly fee to complete all business tax requirements, or do they charge by the hour? Compare the fees of several firms but remember that the cheapest is not always the best, but neither is the most expensive.
- When you first meet your prospective accountant, spend some time chatting to them, you will know soon enough if you see eye-to-eye, – do you trust them and do you feel that you can work with them? Try to talk to several accountants and see which you feel most comfortable with.
- Does the accountant provide any other services - can they complete your self assessment tax returns, do they provide business or IT advice or other information to help you grow your business? Ask for a rough figure as to how much these extra services would cost you.
- Many small businesses find that the best accountants for them are also likely to be smaller in size. A smaller firm of accountants will understand what it’s like running a small operation. The author once had an accountant that was one of the larger accountants in the UK with offices throughout the country and felt that he was just a number to them and not really a valued client, this came as a “shock” as his previous accountant was a small 3 partner firm where he felt that his business was valued.
- Ask if you can speak to existing clients that are small businesses (preferably in your industry) before signing up. Any decent accountancy firm should be happy to arrange this. When talking to existing clients ask them about the service that they get from the accountant – how quickly are questions answered, documents returned, have there been any problems etc.
- Make sure your accountant keeps in touch with your business – not just at the end of the year. How often do they contact you with newsletters and how quickly do they get back to you if you have a question – many will state that they will reply to questions within one working day.
Finally, remember, if you feel your current accountant no longer meets your needs for any reason, get a new one – there is nothing to stop you doing this as long as you have paid all their invoices.
Leigh, Christou & Co, a firm of Accountants based in Coventry seem to offer a slightly different service to many other accountants in that they provide a forensic accounting service.
They are Registered Member of Academy of Experts and are on the Law Society Registered Expert Witness list. This means that their work in fraud investigations and professional negligance reviews will be accepted by the courts as being accurate and valid.
As you may also expect from a firm of accountants in Coventry (one of the homes of the UK motor “industry”) they have expertise in providing accountancy services to contractors in the automotive industry, although the list of industry sectors on their websites makes it clear that their expertise covers much more that this single industry sector.
DJH Accountants Ltd is a firm of Accountants based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire offering accounts, tax, business advisory and support services to a wide range of businesses and individuals.
As Accountants in Staffordshire, DJH (who were established in 1984) have many clients in the local community and service businesses, both small and large, across many sectors including:
- the professions
- the service sector
- the construction industry
- manufacturers
- retailers
- agriculture
- health care
- charities
- clubs & associations
- sports professionals
Whittles are Accountants in Lytham St Annes, FY8 who were formed in 1991 and have a wide range of clients in Lytham St Annes, Blackpool and the surround areas as well as clients further afield.
Their client base includes :-
the professions;
the service sector, including hotels;
telecommunications;
musicians;
franchisors & franchisees;
charities;
clubs;
solicitors;
the construction industry;
manufacturers; and
retailers.
Whittles provide a cost-effective, high value solution to meet all of of their clients’ financial needs no matter whether they are businesses or individuals.
If you are looking for an Accountant in Lytham St Annes, talk to Whittles Accountants to see how they can help you.
Precis is a firm of Accountants in Cornwall that offers accounts, taxation and business advisory and support services to a wide range of businesses and individuals in both Cornwall and Devon.
Established in 1998 they have many clients in the local community and service businesses, both small and large, across many sectors including:
- agriculture and fisheries
- professional practices
- healthcare
- the construction industry
- distribution
- leisure & tourism
- property
- manufacturers
- retailers
One of the main points that they make on their website is that the geographical location of clients in not an issue to them and that they commit to getting back to you on the same day if you ever have to leave a message while all correspondence is dealt with within 7 days.
If you are looking for an Accountant in Bodmin, or one of the nearby towns (or even further afield in Devon or Cornwall) it would be worth contacting them on 01208 850729.
HSKS Limited is a firm of Registered Auditors and Chartered Accountants in Derby that was formed in 1997 from the merger of Harrison & Sedgwick and Kultaran Singh & Co and have offices in Pride Park not far from Derby County football ground.
Their comprehensive range of financial and business support services and ongoing strategic advice has helped many of their clients to grow and develop their businesses over the years.
HSKSs’ aim is to provide a professional, personal, effective solution to all of your day-to-day accounting, auditing and taxation needs. They have a two pronged approach to work :-
- to use their expertise to complete this work both quickly and accurately
- to use their experience to explore opportunities and identify potential problems before they arise.
By getting to know you and your business they aim to become a valuable member of your team no matter whether you are using them for tax advice in Derby or even as a payroll bureau in Derby.
Accountants in Altrincham
Phillip Carroll Associates is an experienced and highly proactive firm of Chartered Certified Accountants in Altricham, that have clients through-out Cheshire and across the UK.
Their clients are mostly owner managed businesses that benefit from always being able to talk to somebody who can help with the day to day problems faced in running a business in the UK today.
They also have a specialist team who work in the Property Service Charge sector for a number of property agents (covering over 500 porperties) that aims to assist property management agencies and property owners to meet their service charge obligations and obtain certification of expenditure, which will provide transparency and accountability required by the regulations.
Hardy & Company is a firm of Accountants in Hyde, Manchester offering cost-effective accounts, taxation and business advisory & support services to a wide range of businesses and individuals across Cheshire and the rest of the country.
Hardy and Co work much more closely with their clients than the traditional accountant would. They also have a much smaller number of clients than normal and are selective in the clients that we act for. They want to get to know their clients’ businesses inside out, enabling them to easily identify problems and spot opportunities. At Hardy and Co they want to help improve profits and encourage growth.
Their website states “Whatever we do for you, we will always carry out our work with the aim of adding value to your business. We run a very cost effective business by making the most of modern technology and homeworking, but we will never be the cheapest solution. John Ruskin defined value as follows:
“It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s also unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do.
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it’s well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough money to pay for something better.”"
Fletcher Greenwood and Co, Chartered Accountants in Bradford, have a history going back over 100 years. The intervening years have seen many changes in both taxation and accountancy. Throughout this period they have provided both the business and private communities of Bradford and beyond with a high level of professional service.
On formation in 1907 the firm was located in Northgate. They subsequently moved to Town Hall Square, which interestingly had not been renamed on the change of city status, before the decision was made in 1928 to locate in Broad Street, just off Manor Row, in the heart of Bradford City centre.
From their town centre location they are conveniently situated for access from all areas of Bradford with car parking on Middle Street while both Bradford Foster Square Station and the Bradford tax office are on their doorstep making them particularly accessible.
Nowdays they continue to build on their enviable reputation for providing excellent advice and first class , audit, taxation and business advisory and support services to their business and personal clients alike. Fletcher Greenwood & Co have many clients in the local community and service businesses, small and large, across many sectors including:-
- the professions (legal, medical etc);
- the service sector;
- charities;
- churches, and other places of worship;
- the construction industry;
- manufacturers;
- retailers;
- agriculture; and
- trusts and estates.
