The Dangers of Cheap Accounting

Here at Churchill Knight & Associates Ltd, we have always been proud of the service we offer to our clients. The main benefit of using an all-inclusive accountancy service like ours is that it removes the hassle and burden of managing your contractor accounts. And it really does mean all inclusive.

So when we see some accountants offering an all-inclusive service that doesn’t even include the essentials of what a contractor needs, we are very concerned.

You must beware of those promoting cheap accounting services that appear too good to be true. Often they aren’t all-inclusive at all and instead you end up paying out extortionate fees when the hidden costs quickly reveal themselves.

However, beware of those who claim to offer cheap accounting all-inclusive solutions. You need to ensure that anyone offering an all-inclusive service actually means what they say. Quite often, you could be hit with limited ‘jobs’ and ‘transactions’ meaning when you surpass your quota for time with them, you need to pay more. Do they charge you for simple requests like mortgage and lettings reference? Are they making you do your own bookkeeping? Do they provide you with free payslips or is this something that crops up as an additional cost yet again? If so, then they aren’t all-inclusive.

You may also learn that you have a lot of input in ensuring the service takes place. A large amount of responsibility could fall on you. Many of these fake all-inclusive services demand a lot of you such as completing monthly administration and entering your hours into long and complex time sheets.

All this is unnecessary and you don’t need to stand for it.

What’s the alternative?

Instead use an all-inclusive service which actually includes:

•          Unlimited, free advice
•          A dedicated account manager
•          Qualified accountants with vast expertise
•          Payroll
•          Bookkeeping
•          Invoicing
•          Back office
•          Administration
•          In-depth knowledge of the contractor market
•          Personal Tax – free advice
•          Quarterly VAT returns
•          Free set up
•          Free close down
•          Liaising with HMRC
•          An online web portal, easy to use for expenses and timesheets
•          Free payslips
•          Free mortgage and lettings reference

We have compliance at the heart of everything we do. When we say all-inclusive, we mean it.

Things to look out for when you see all-inclusive service:

•          Is it clear to you what’s included?
•          Do they appear to be disguising anything in long paragraphs of texts?
•          Are you concerned that they might spring hidden fees on you?
•          Do they appear to want to tie you into a contract with them?
•          Are there joining or close down fees – that really shouldn’t be there?
•          Are they long established and reputable?
•          Check the legitimacy and longevity of an accountancy firm you want to use. Some have dissolved companies to their name, and aren’t able to adapt their services for their clients.

If you see any of these things, or feel concerned about any services on such websites, call us and we’d be happy to provide you with objective advice. We want our clients to be fully informed when they make a decision and would be happy to talk you through our services too.

We don’t want anyone getting caught in a cheap accounting trap, so take our advice, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

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