Q: Why did the accountant fall off his bed?
A: They didn’t have a balance sheet.

If they tell jokes as bad as that one perhaps you don’t want to pick up the phone very often at all. However, if they can chuckle at jokes like the one above maybe you enjoy your conversations.

Often it will depend on what services you have from your accountant or if you want them embedded into your business, so they operate as a partner with you.

For compliance services, annual tax returns or company filings, then maybe your conversations are limited to the once a year you do this activity. Does that help you get the best out of your accountant?

Maybe you have quarterly services, like VAT returns, so you have a chat four times a year to see what’s needed for submission (or if you need a Time To Pay agreement organising!).

For monthly bookkeeping and payroll for example you might be talking regularly to ensure the books balance and people are paid.

What’s ideal?

There is no ideal timescale for how often you talk to you accountant UNLESS you’ve got an unlimited business support agreement in place.

If that’s the case then the phone should be answered when you call, your emails should be responded to pronto and you should sit (virtually or face to face) as often as is needed for your business.

When you start having conversations that cover business situation, the goals you are trying to achieve (personally and professionally) and the strategy you are pursuing then you could notice a difference.

With this level of accountancy support, where they contribute to your business performance and strategic direction, you might see an increase in turnover, profit, new custom, profit margins and erm tax!

If business stability is what you need right now then an accountant looking at your cash flow, your expected income, your committed outgoings and any costs savings could be the support that will make the difference to you being here next year (for that corporate tax submission!!).

Choose your Ascentant package…

There is no one size fits all package from Ascentant (sorry about the misleading headline). What we’ll do is sit down and help you pick and mix what you need for your business. You can choose from:

• Business advice
• Management accounts
• Payroll
• VAT
• Tax
• Bookkeeping
• Annual accounts
• Corporation tax 
• R&D tax reclaims
• Director Self-Assessment Tax Returns
• Company Secretarial Services for Limited Companies
• Virtual Finance Director to cover:
  • Financial forecasting
  • Preparing budgets
  • Tax planning
  • Governance and controls
  • Contract reviews
  • Raising finance

And all the way through selecting there will be open dialogue, access to the best suited team member to support your questions or requirements, chatting through what your last accountant did that is essential for your business operations. Because we’re a bit like BT and think ‘it’s good to talk’.

If you want to pick up the phone and speak to us, Derby based Ascentant Accountancy are happy to talk. We provide Accountant, Payroll, VAT, Tax and Bookkeeping services. Call us on 01332 981920.