The thought of changing accountant fills most of us with dread. How will the new provider get to know my business? How will all of my records transfer over? How long will it take them to get up-to-speed with everything and start making a difference?
These questions often simply stop business owners in their tracks, choosing to stay put with an accountancy provider they are unhappy with simply because of the perceived cost and time of change.
At TTR Barnes we get that changing accountants can seem like a mammoth task. But we have a proven system for making things quick, painless and ready for action in time for your business needs.
FIRST MEETING
We will usually come to your premises for the first meeting. This gives us the opportunity to immerse ourselves in your company and operations and meet the people with whom we may be working. Of course, if you would prefer or require internal confidentiality at this stage, we can host this meeting at our offices.
We will use this meeting to ask questions, fully hear and understand about your business and prepare our service recommendations for you. We will also explain more about ourselves, our teams and the services that we offer.
You will need to bring:
- your latest set of accounts and tax return
- photographic ID and proof of address e.g. utility bill no more than 3 months’ old
FIRST MEETING OUTPUTS
Prior to our first meeting we will already have viewed information on your company using your website and other sources of information. We will combine this with the information we have gleaned during the first meeting to deliver the following to you, either shortly after the meeting or even in the meeting itself.
- a welcome pack with details of your recommended service provision package and associated quote
- real-life examples of businesses similar to you that we have assisted, industry and/or business life-cycle specific
- details of your dedicated established business team
ENGAGEMENT OF SERVICES
If we are lucky enough to be appointed your accountancy provider, we will then need to complete the necessary stages of authorisation to be your accountant.
We will need:
– Signed company authorisation to deliver documents to Companies House
– Signed company authorisation to liaise with HMRC on your behalf
– Signed agreement of our Engagement Letter and our terms of business
– Authority to contact your current accountant
Once the engagement letter has been returned, we will send a professional clearance letter to your current accountant asking them to forward on to us your latest set of accounts and tax return together with any other useful information.
We expect that within 6 weeks we should be registered as your agent with HMRC and have received all of the necessary info from your previous accountant.
BUSINESS IMMERSION STAGE
You will then be given a formal introduction to your dedicated team, including all contact details.
Your team members will now begin the process of immersing themselves in your business, using the information that you have provided through meetings and records. Depending on the size of your business, TTR representatives may come to visit your company to collate more information. There may be a number of questions at this stage but the more we are able to understand at this stage, the simpler the process of managing your accounts further down the line.
SERVICE PROVISION TIMELINE
The below timeline represents the stages of service provision for a typical established business.
- One month before your next accounting period end date (this could be a yearly accounting period or quarterly if we are preparing management accounts for you) we will ask you to start to compile your accounting records for delivery to us.
- If you have not provided your accounting records 2 months after your accounting period you will receive a reminder from us.
- Once we have received your accounting records, we aim to have sent draft accounts out to you within 6 weeks. You will then be invited into the office to discuss the accounts with your nominated contact.
- The accounts will then be finalised and submitted to Companies House and HMRC if relevant.
- If you are a company and have tax to pay, you will receive a corporation tax reminder from us one month before your payment is due.
- In May you will receive our spring/summer newsletter to keep you up to date with all of the latest info.
- In April you should receive from us a personal tax return questionnaire, which asks for the information we need in order to complete your tax return.
- In July, if you make payments on account of your personal tax liability, you will receive a payment reminder from us.
- In the September, if you have not yet returned your personal tax return questionnaire you will receive a reminder from us.
- Once we have received your personal tax return records, we aim to have sent your tax return to you for review within 4 weeks.
- In December you will receive our autumn/winter newsletter.
- In January – if you have a personal tax liability due by 31 January you will receive a payment reminder from us in early January.
- On 31st January your personal tax return needs to be submitted to HMRC and any tax due needs to be paid.
“As a growth business, we needed a provider who could act more as a business adviser rather than just an accountant. TTR Barnes have worked with us through our business development phase, showing us how we could grow our business both efficiently and strategically.”
John Sanderson, Greyburn Limited.
CONTACT US NOW TO BOOK YOUR FIRST MEETING
We have staff specialised in guiding the change of accountancy provision. If you want to know more or would like to speak to one of the team for an informal chat, please just drop them a line.
YOUR NEW BUSINESS TEAM
David.Cook@ttrbarnes.com New Business, 0191 567 0304, Bio
Karen.Crozier@ttrbarnes.com New Business, 0191 567 0304, Bio
