Every business should expect accurate work, deadlines met without chasing, no tax surprises, clear answers to reasonable questions and someone who knows the business. That is the baseline, whatever you pay.
Beyond that, what you should expect depends on what your business needs and what you have agreed to pay for. A company that needs annual accounts and a tax return is not getting a poor service because it does not receive monthly reports. An established business with staff, VAT and several moving parts may need much more. The question is whether the service fits the business, not whether it matches someone else's.
What should every business expect, whatever it pays?
- Accuracy. Accounts and returns that are right, and an honest explanation if something turns out not to be.
- Deadlines met. You should not need to chase your accountant to find out whether something has been filed.
- No tax surprises. You should know roughly what tax is coming and when, well before it is due. Payments on account and corporation tax deadlines should not arrive out of the blue.
- Clear scope and fees. An engagement letter that says what is included, what is not, and what extra work costs.
- Reasonable response times. Not instant, but predictable. If a question will take time to answer, you should be told that.
- Plain English. Explanations you can follow and act on, without jargon.
- Continuity. A person or small team who knows your business, so you are not explaining it again every year.
If any of these are regularly missing, that is worth raising, whatever the size of the business.
Why do service levels differ between businesses?
Because businesses need different things, and accountants price for the work involved.
A simple company with a few transactions a month needs reliable year-end work and sensible tax advice. Paying for monthly management accounts it will not use would be a waste. A business turning over a few million pounds, with payroll, stock, finance agreements or more than one company, often needs regular, reliable information to run the business. For that business, annual accounts nine months after the year end are not enough.
Problems usually arise when the service has not kept up with the business. The accountant is doing what was agreed years ago, and the business has moved on. Why Growing Businesses Outgrow Their Accountant Before They Realise It looks at how that gap develops.
What should an established business expect on top of the basics?
If the business has grown and the owner relies on the numbers to make decisions, a good accountant should usually provide, or be able to provide:
- Bookkeeping kept up to date, with bank and key balance sheet accounts reconciled regularly, whether they do it or review someone else's work. See Bookkeeping & Finance.
- Management accounts you can rely on, if you need them, delivered soon enough after each period end to be useful. 10 Things Good Management Accounts Should Tell You sets out what they should cover.
- A conversation before the year end, not after it, about profit, tax and anything you are planning.
- Tax payments forecast so they can be built into your cash planning.
- VAT handled properly, with someone checking that the returns agree to the accounts.
- A view of the whole picture if you have more than one company, including intercompany balances and how the companies fit together.
- Someone who notices things. A margin that has moved, a cost that has jumped, a balance that does not look right.
Financial Clarity explains how we approach the reporting side of this.
What should you not have to do?
- Chase for your accounts or find out about a filing deadline from a penalty notice.
- Discover your tax bill a few weeks before it is due.
- Work out from the accounts yourself whether the business did well.
- Explain your business to a new person every year.
- Wait weeks for an answer to a straightforward question.
What does a good accountant expect from you?
It works both ways. No accountant can produce reliable numbers from late or incomplete records. A good relationship depends on you:
- providing records and answering queries on time;
- telling your accountant about significant changes early, such as a new company, a large purchase, a new shareholder or a plan to sell;
- being clear about what you want from the relationship.
If the accountant is waiting on you, some of the frustrations above may have a shared cause. That is worth an honest conversation.
How can you tell whether you are getting what you need?
A few questions help:
- Do you know roughly what profit the business has made this year, and how confident you are in that figure? (What Does Good Financial Control Look Like? is a useful companion to this question.)
- Do you know what tax is due over the next 12 months?
- When did your accountant last raise something you had not asked about?
- Would you ask them before making a significant decision, and would you get a useful answer in time?
If the answers are mostly no, and the business needs them to be yes, the service no longer fits.
What should you do if there is a gap?
Talk to your accountant first. Many firms can offer more if they know you need it, and it may simply be a question of changing the scope and the fee. If they cannot, or the conversation has been had before without change, it may be time to move. How to Change Accountants explains the process, and Switching Accountants explains how we handle it. Our Accounting page sets out what we provide for established businesses.