Appointing An Accountant

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How To Choose An Accountant

You need to establish a good relationship with your Accountant – it is important to get the right accountancy services and tax advice, from the right accounting firm, at the right price, for you.

You should get to meet the person/people with whom you are likely to be having contact if you go ahead. You need to be able to talk to your accountant either face to face or on the telephone, so someone you can get along with is vital.

You need to find someone with offices you can access quickly and easily, if necessary, and feel comfortable visiting.

You want to know that calls and emails will be answered as quickly as possible without having to use pre-numbered options and being left waiting for hours.

We respond to all communications, in person, as quickly as we can. We are as interested in building a lasting relationship with you as you are about getting helpful advice from us.

Any reputable firm should have support staff, good technical back-up and, the right IT systems and software (for prompt service and, for example, on-line filing of Tax Returns, VAT Returns and payroll documents) appropriate insurance, and so on.

Why Choose Us?

We respond to all communications, in person, as quickly as we can. We are as interested in building a lasting relationship with you as you are about getting helpful advice from us.

We do hear all sorts of “horror stories” about people who came to us because their Accountant:

  • Was never there
  • Never returns my calls or emails
  • Doesn’t listen and doesn’t use language I understand
  • Is only interested in bigger businesses
  • Doesn’t understand what’s important to me

So, at Astons Accountants, we try to avoid all these things and our aim is simple – to be as helpful as we can and build lasting relationships – our testimonials demonstrate what we mean.

Our first commitment to you is a free initial consultation – so you can put all this to the test before making any commitment or having to pay a penny.

Appointing an Accountant – First choose the right one and then just let them deal with all the paperwork!

Accountancy Fees

You may think the amount of any fees is important, but what really matters is that you get good value for money.

You need to be able to get the help and advice you want, without being made to have more help than you want, and you should only have to pay a fair rate for the right services – so you need to be as wary of those charging too little as those you think might charge too much!

Fees Have To Be Right

  • It is no good getting a low fee if you get inadequate accounting services as a result.
  • You don’t want to pay more than you need.
  • It is no goodYou have to be realistic about paying to get good (the right) advice.
  • Overall it should represent good value for money.

Accountancy Fees

When you have your first meeting with us, spell out what you need – bookkeeping, business accounting, VAT returns, company accounts and/or tax returns, for self-employed, partnership or company and give an idea of the size of the business.

Make sure you are getting what you want and we know how much you are happy to do yourself. This may all change over time – for example, you may worry about bookkeeping but later learn to do some yourself or you may be happy to keep the books at first but later get too busy and need help with it. We understand these things change which is why we tailor our service to your needs but are happy to review and adapt as your situation changes.

Especially in a business start-up, you may not know how much support you will want or need so we will discuss all this during the first, free meeting.

Before deciding, always get a quote – any reputable firm will be happy to give you an idea of fees, up front, and let them stand up to comparison.

This way you will find someone you are happy to deal with, who has the right set-up and resources and has fees you feel are right for you.

Often getting the right advice can lead to saving tax so that can make the fees more than worthwhile. Our aim is to save you more than we will cost you.