Tips on choosing an accountant

Choosing the right accountant for you can mean all the difference. After all, it's not what you earn, it's what you keep.

Not all accountants are created equal. The purpose of this site is to help you get a head start in choosing an accountant correctly first time round. It is important to choose an accountant carefully!

Broadly there are a few things that you can look at ensure you make the right choice. With this site we'll put most of the key pieces of information together for you, so you'll have everything to make an informed choice.

Once you have the quotes, choose your favourites and give them a call. It doesn't harm to speak to a few.

  1. Look at the size of the firm. Generally speaking choose an accountant that is similar in size to your own will make the best choice. You won't be too small for them, and yet they will be able to offer the all the services a firm of your size requires.
  2. Check the feedback from other customers. We are totally independent so we won't remove any negative feedback that appears on the accounts who use our site. So the feedback hasn't been polished up in any way. But bare in mind that no feedback does not mean its bad, its just means that firm is new. Obviously we'd advise you to choose the accountant with better feedback — but be clear that no feedback may mean the are new to the site as it there may be a long delay between quoting on this site, and the accounts being done and feedback being placed.
  3. See what sort of clients they have. Some firms are highly specialist, focusing on one area such as construction. Check the firm's description and its website to get a sense of any specialisms before choosing your accountant.
  4. Check they are qualified. Anyone can call himself an accountant or bookkeeper even if they have no professional qualifications. But if any laws are broken, it will be you, not your accountant, who pays the penalty.
    Look for membership of The Institute of Chartered Accountants by looking for the letters 'ACA' or 'FCA'. The letters ACCA or FCCA are fine too, they signify members of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. And AAT is the Association of Accounting Technicians, a less technical qualification, but still well respected.
  5. Ask them for advice on your business when you speak with them. For instance talk them through the accounting records you keep. Ask them for improvements. They should be reasonably tech savvy and familiar with popular accounting packages, most notably MYOB and QuickBooks
  6. Personal financial advice. Check whether they can provide this.
  7. Find out who will be dealing with your work. It may not be the person you are have your first meeting with.
  8. Establish the fees. And when they are payable, and if they are fixed. With this site you'll receive guideline cost estimates from each accountant who tenders. We don't advise you always choose the accountant who is cheapest. It may be a false economy. So use this information in conjunction with the quality of the service they can provide to get the best one for you.

Remember we'll provide all the information you need to choose accountants simply and painlessly by placing an ad. It's 100% free and we reckon it takes no more than 2-3 minutes to fill out the form. With ebay style feedback scores with the quotes we provide it is the best way to start to choose your accountant.