I am looking for a person to complete and file a Self assessment for my partner, he is self employed but also has a works pension which will need to be included in the return (we have all the documentation for this)
We are based in Sudbury, Suffolk - how much would we expect to pay for a qualified person to check, complete and sign off the return for us
We have done the majority of the calculations for his self employment and put all the income/expenses etc into a spreadsheet so really it would be a case of checking and completing the forms for us
Also what checks would we ask for to know that the person is qualified to do this
I'm afraid I don't know that much about Self Assessment but most of the professional bookkeeping/accountancy bodies have a search option on their website for members in practice. Generally to be a practising member they would require you to have a certain level of experience/qualification, be supervised for money laundering purposes & have some insurance (e.g. professional indemnity insurance). However you can be a bookkeeper without being part of a professional body.
Here are the links to the main bookkeeping associations pages to find a bookkeeper/member in practice, obviously if you find a bookkeeper you'll still need to ask if they can help with Self Assessment:
you're outside my area so I can't help you myself. However, in order to contact site members in your area directly the site has a find a bookkeeper facility :
(Link is also at the top of the page on the pea green line above the awards banner).
On the cost front it's really a question of how long is a peice of string. You wouldn't thank me for saying that it will be around £300 if the time taken by the professional who takes this on is closer to a (say) £1800 price tag. They need to see the books and records in order to make a quote rather than being able to give good guidance on price here.
The cost varies from return to return. You say that you have done the majority of calculations for the self employment but an accountant could not take your calculations at face value and would need to see all underlying documentation in order to produce accounts to current UK GAAP and feed that into the self assessment so the cost really will depend upon the quantity and availability of supporting evidence.
On the what checks to perform front it's more difficult than it seems as bookkeepers and accountants come in several diffferent levels of knowledge base (and cost) but you do not need the most expensive for the smallest business so there will be a cost trade off to be had.
There are many excellent people trained by experience in practice but not associated with any professional body. Conversely as you hint at there are trained professionals that I would not trust not to hurt themselves with anything sharper than a crayon.
Many business professionals network and exchange names of their representatives who have done a good job for them. Certainly that seems to me to be the main way of picking up new work.
As an alternative, where people reply to your request here look back through their old messages posted on the site as to advice that they have given to others.
The key is that no matter which body someone is with the bit of paper that they hold is not in itself a guarantee that they will be the right person for your business. You are looking for experience above qualification and whilst that will cost more you will find that it's money well spent.
Note that no professional will ever show you work that they have done for others or even tell you the name of others that they represent. But, you can ask about number and types of other businesses (limited companies, LLP's, Partnerships, sole traders, number of self assesments, etc.).
If they are limited (most accountants and a growing number of bookkeepers are) you can also take their company name and look on the Companies House webcheck service (free) when they incorporated which will give some indication as to whether they have been around for a long time (thats normally a good sign).
When you find a professional that fits they will need to perform money laundering checks on yourselves and your business. You will also need to sign an engagement letter and something called a 64-8 which gives them permission to talk with HMRC on your behalf.
Good luck with finding the right financial professional for your business,
kindest regards,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
If someone who is with the ICB is qualified to carry out self assessment they will be able to show you their certificate proving that.
As Shaun states though, that could be someone who has just passed the exam and never actually carried out a self assessment before. Experience and knowledge are as valuable as the certificate.
I would go for someone local as far as you can as it makes query resolution easier and also the checks for money laundering regulations that should be carried out before starting work for you (basically verifying you are who you say you are and are not involved in anything dodgy) will be more easily done.
If your records are in good shape and you are happy to sign something to the effect that the figures are accurate and complete then my ballpark charge would be roughly £150. Obviously that's only a guide from someone who is qualified, HMRC regulated and has been in business 5 years but it gives you an idea.
We work to fixed prices but as a firm regulated by ICAS (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland) we couldnt compete with the other quotes being offered.
Our price for a sole trader set of accounts for turnover up to £40k together with preparation and submission of personal tax return is £420+VAT. There is more work involved in addition to just the preparation of the accounts and tax return including matters such as; money laundering checks and preparation of engagement letters.
We currently have about 170 clients made up mostly of sole traders and limited companies ranging from small lifestyle businesses right through to our largest client which is a group of restaurants turning over about £3m per year.
You dont need any qualifications to call yourself an "accountant" as the term isnt a protected name.
Would always recommend you go with a chartered accountant. They will be regulated by their professional body and have passed the appropriate exams to show their competence, have PII in place should anything go wrong, are monitored by their body and have to abide by their institutes ethics.
In England the appropriate body would be ICAEW and the person would have the letters ACA after then name. On a comparable level is ACCA members.
Note that no professional will ever show you work that they have done for others or even tell you the name of others that they represent. But, you can ask about number and types of other businesses (limited companies, LLP's, Partnerships, sole traders, number of self assesments, etc.).
I find this part interesting. I was talking to a client this week about how they use social media as they are very good at it. They suggested that I could do things like tagging them in a post to show potential clients what sort of businesses we are working with.
Also, some accountants have testimonials on their website showing the names of businesses they are working with.
Obviously that's only a guide from someone who is qualified, HMRC regulated and has been in business 5 years but it gives you an idea.
HMRC regulated?
I wasn't going to start going into the intricacies of MLR regulations with someone who just wants a tax return done Matt. If Angela wishes me to, then I'm more than happy to explain what I mean
I've seen bookkeepers putting things like "Regulated by HMRC under the Money Laundering Regulations... etc etc" so it was the best I could think of at the time - now it's bugging me how else to phrase it
regulated under UK legislation including anti money laundering regulations (2007).
That avoids the word HMRC as didn't HMRC get stroppy about implied association as though bookkeepers were representing HMRC rather than merely coming under their supervision? Remember there was that big thing a couple of years back about HMRC chasing bookkeepers and accountants who they caught using the HMRC logo on their websites?
Just a suggestion for an alternative
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
