If a client offers to give me work, can I take on the work if they are a ltd company. I have a level 2 certificate in manual and computerised bookkeeping and have applied for my practising license with the ICB and I am studying for my manual level 3 at the moment. As I understand it, I cannot produce a balance sheet, a profit and loss account or the year end work, but if this was passed onto an accountant, could I do the day to day record keeping tasks. I just want to make sure that I'm not doing anything that I shouldn't. I am working on a mailer this weekend but am unsure whether to post my flyer to small ltd companies such as hairdressers and shops and I can't speak to anyone at the ICB until Monday. Does anyone know or have any advice?
I am a member of the ICB and cannot find thing in any of the rules of conduct that say you cannnot work for limited companies.
The only restrictions are, you need a practice license, indemnity insurance, you do not do work beyond your qualification (You will probably find your insurance wont cover you either). You are not allowed to give tax advise ,estate planning advise, or investment advise.
You may need to be careful with your flyer too, as the ICB require that all publications are approved by them first if it carries the ICB coat of arms. Any time I sent something in (including web pages) they have usually been thorough and proof read my material, pointing out errors and making constructive suggestions.
In short, I'd say cast your net as wide as possible. Good luck with the mail shot.
Bill
-- Edited by Wella on Saturday 17th of October 2009 01:28:26 PM
I do have professional indemnity insurance and I have applied for my practising license, I was just checking as you said that I wasn't working beyond my qualification.
With regards to the flyer, I mention that I that I am a qualified bookkeeper and I put the letters after my name given to me by the ICB but I don't put their coat of arms on there or even mention ICB.
With ICB I know someone on another forum wanted to do payroll services and the outcome was that she was told she could only do this if she took ICB payroll level 3. On this discussion someone said that it was the same with Limited Company bookkeeping that you need to have gained level 3 manual.
If you want to do Limited Company bookkeeping I think that their is not much they can do if you don't mention on your flyers anything about the ICB because plenty of bookkeepers do Limited Company bookkeeping but have not done any study.
That would make sense with payroll as the ICB only do a level III Payroll qualification. (The same goes for their self assessment qualification).
With level II bookkeeping you are only required to take a sole traders accounts to balance sheet and TPL account, which is where Terri is at the moment, which shouldn't stop her doing the day to day bookkeeping entries for a limited company.
The same would also be true for partnerships as the year end final accounts are not dealt with until level III. The level III exam also deals with the specifics of the final accounts for a ltd co.
The ICB only emphasise not doing work beyond your qualification level, which in this case would be doing final accounts for partnerships and Ltd Co's.
I don't think their is any problem doing basic bookkeeping for partnerships and Ltds. The danger of doing more than that is, if an error is made the PLI company may void the insurance cover.
Bill
-- Edited by Wella on Saturday 17th of October 2009 03:27:46 PM
There is no problem with doing the book-keeping for limited companies provided that the accounts are audited by an accountant. The director of a small limited company could if s/he wished do his/her own book-keeping.
Anyone can do accounts for a ltd company up to £6,4 million. After 6.4 mill the accounts have to be audited and only a qualified auditor/accountant can do that.
However, unless you have sufficient tax knowledge and can safely do the yearly returns I would in your case take the accounts up to trial balance, P&L or Balance Sheet level and then the customer takes it to their accountants.
Your selling point. You can save your customer accounting fees, by doing all the hard work.
