Doing your accounts is a pain in the ass, lets be honest. And choosing an accountant is the obvious choice when it comes to doing your accounts.
So how do you choose an accountant?
Aren't they expensive shysters who don't do anything to earn their extortionate fees?
Actually, if you find a good one, they can be invaluable.
They don't just help do your end of year tax returns, or provide answers to your silly financial questions.
A good accountant can also help to reconcile your messy bank accounts and invoices, process payroll, complete end of year reports and all that malarkey, offer advice about investments and even help you to claim the correct expenses and get your best value from the tax man.
In short, a really good accountant is invaluable.
So how do you choose a good accountant?
1. Choose a small firm
Stick with either a local company or a one man band/smaller operation. In general, if an accountant has more than one office and a load of employees, you're not going to get a very personal service.
Smaller accountant firms are more likely to be able to respond quickly to your questions and will care more about the ins and outs of your business.