With the 2021 budget focusing on growth and recovery, it is more important than ever for SMEs to have a professional accountant advising them on compliance, financial stability, and growth.
Here is a list of 5 things your accountant should be doing (but probably doesn’t):
1/ Advising you to utilise your lower rate tax bands.
What is the most tax-efficient method for company directors to take income from their Company? As a director, it is a good idea to take a small salary from the company and put yourself on your company payroll.
You do not pay income tax on your earnings until pass the personal allowance (currently £12,750 in the 2021/22 tax year). However, you will have to pay NICs if your income passes the NIC Primary Threshold (currently £9,568).
After which, most directors choose to take most of their income in the most tax-efficient way – being dividends.
2/ Offer fixed and fair prices for services.
Frequently we are approached by SMEs frustrated at surprise bills from their accountants. It is a bit unfair to tell you the price after the work has been completed.
3/ Tax efficiency for your business.
Being proactive with tax planning is imperative and doing this in advance of filing deadlines or year end.
Advising clients of the new super deduction for capital allowances, essentially an uncapped deduction of 130% as a first-year allowance. This is a huge saving on corporation tax and capital expenditure.
4/ Being tech-savvy.
‘Making tax digital’ (MTD) rules are now fully coming into force for VAT, it’s more important than ever that your accountant is using a form of cloud-based software.
There are so many bolt-on apps to cloud-based software, which can not only improve the accuracy of your financial information, but also save you time when needing to provide information. It also gives you a clear idea of where the business stands at any given time.
5/ Reaching out on an on-going basis.
It is only through regular reviews and catch ups with your accountant that you’d know about new legislation or new tax efficiencies available to you. Being able to discuss your future plans or talk through current plans with your accountant is a must.
Choosing an accountant who makes a difference.
At Fusion Accountancy we have found that our clients truly value the fact that we see ourselves as part of their team. We also:
1/ Follow the ethos of transparency and sharing information with our clients without needing to be prompted.
2/ Offer fixed prices, split monthly. Our clients know their yearly accountancy bill in advance = full transparency.
3/ Do not charge for meetings or telephone calls, and our monthly fees include on-going tax planning.
Do you feel that you are deriving maximum value, and transparency from your accountants?
If not, we would be more than happy to help you.
