What Contractors Should Look For in an Accountant

All businesses need to make sure that they have someone looking after their financial affairs, small businesses especially tend to depend on the help and advice of their accountant quite heavily, often using him as a sort of unofficial Finance Director, but when it comes to the sole contractor, often trading as a Limited Company without the support of a team of colleagues to turn to, the role of their accountant becomes even more vital. It is not simply as an extra person to shoulder some of the responsibilities of business that an accountant is important for the average contractor, there are very specific issues that come with a contractor's territory, and advice pertinent to their style of working that only an accountant is qualified to give.

Tax questions such as how to approach IR35, can be very complicated and worrying for the average contractor, and as every contractor's situation is different, these sorts of questions cannot simply be answered by a discussion with a colleague. Although it is not necessary to choose an accountant that deals solely with contractors, it would certainly be helpful if the accountant you pick has a good deal of experience in this field; ask any accountants you are considering, if they have other contractors on their client list; they should be able to show an understanding of contract work by the language they use.

Ask how any potential accountant you have in your sights will deal with the IR35 question for you; they should give you an indication that they have something specific in place, a list of questions perhaps, and ask them to tell you a little about the legislation, they should leave you comfortable that it is a subject they have dealt with a lot and that they have a firm grasp of how it works. If you meet an accountant who suggests that IR35 is not something they get involved with or worse still that they can in someway make it so that it does not affect you, run in the opposite direction; IR35 cannot be manipulated, you are either affected by it or you are not.

Many contractors will have been asked to trade as a limited company by those they are contracting to; an accountant who is able to handle the set-up of your Limited company if you need them to, quickly and with a minimum of fuss is a safe bet, as they will probably deal with most things in a similar way.

The life of a contractor tends to be a very busy one, with little time to spare for extraneous accountancy meetings that do little other than add to your bill; if your prospective accountant is using state-of-the-art technology to look after clients, it is going to save you a lot of time and effort; ask how paperless their offices are, they may not have moved completely away from paper files, but if they seem to tend towards electronic communications and remote systems this is an indication that they probably prefer to streamline, a useful attitude for the busy contractor.

Visit Accountants in Sheffield, a firm of accountants and business advisors specialising in small business. Find out how we can help your business grow. http://accountantsinsheffield1.co.uk/category/small-business-advice/