When choosing an accountant, you should think about:

• Which services do you need?

• Does an accountant understand your industry & business model? 

• How much do they charge to help you? 

If you want support with the core services of bookkeeping, payroll, Annual Accounts, VAT registration filings, Corporation Tax, Company Secretarial services and more, then a larger traditional firm is not necessarily what you need, and is likely more expensive. Novabook can support with all of these services, and their Big 4 trained accountants work to make your life easier by minimising your admin burden.

For audit and tax structuring, using more traditional larger firms such as Cooper Parry, HW Fisher or Hays Mac is usually the right choice. If your priorities are minimising the accountancy work you need to do for the core day to day running of your business, then Novabook or another technology first accountant is a good choice.

Your accountant should understand your industry. Having an accountant used to working with your tech stack, using tools like Shopify, Amazon for Business, Stripe, PayPal and other payment processors is likely to be more sophisticated at a new, technology-first accounting firm. 

Price varies depending on the accountant that you choose to go with. Audits usually cost £10,000 to £30,000. Novabook can do book-keeping for £22/month, and other services vary depending on who you choose to go with. 

FAQs

Is subscription based or billed time structure better for accountants?

• Some accountants offer a pricing structure based on the amount of work they did for you, billed hourly or daily. This does have benefits, as it ensures you are only paying for the services that you use, but it means that the bill will likely be different each month, and the accountant that you work with is incentivised to work more slowly, and to round up your bill to the nearest increment, meaning that you will usually pay more with these arrangements than you will with other providers on a fixed fee basis. Novabook operates on a transparent fixed subscription based pricing model, making it easier to know exactly what you will be charged for depending on the services you need. You can call your accountant anytime and there will be no additional cost added to your subscription. 

What accounting services does a small limited company actually need?

• The accounting services that you need as a limited company vary depending on complexity, but there are still legal requirements to file annual accounts, confirmation statements, Corporation Tax returns and more depending on whether you are VAT registered, have employees and other variables. Novabook can take all of this off your hands and make sure that all of your deadlines are met accurately and in good time, rather than sending you an email two days before a deadline needing lots of information.