BENJAMIN DYER is the CEO of Powered Now. Powered Now aims to take the pain out of admin and paperwork for trade businesses like gas engineers, electricians, builders, and many more.
www.powerednow.com
Business Clinic
IT
Should you do your own accounts?
WITH around 90% of trade businesses having 10 or fewer employees, most businesses are not sufficiently big to employ a full-time accountant. If that is your business, then this article is designed to help. The question is whether to continue with your current approach in respect of the accounts.
First of all, there is personal preference and sometimes this makes for a non-question. If you like being in total control of your business, doing your own accounts may come naturally with no questions asked. In contrast, you may prefer to leave it all to the experts. This article is trying to help people that don’t quite fall into these black and white positions.
Taking control At the moment, “taking control” seems to be a popular phrase with 52% of the population. The upside of doing this with your accounts can be seen as: • You are the master of your business and no one will have as much of a handle on it as you do. Cash flow is the critical
factor in business survival. When you do the accounts, you will be as on top of things as it’s possible to be.
• You don’t depend on anyone. You can make sure that things happen on time and are always done right.
• You can save money. Accountants don’t come cheap and you rarely meet a poor one.
• No-one cares about your business more than you do. Your accountant won’t care as much and, if you’re unlucky, they might prove to be incompetent. But you will get the hassle if there are mistakes. That normally means a dispute with HMRC.
The problem of doing your own accounts We have looked at the reasons for doing it yourself, but there are also upsides of getting the accounts done by a professional: • Being honest, doing the accounts doesn’t come naturally to most electricians and it can be hard. If you enjoyed paperwork, you would have got an office job in the first place. In the accounts area, you are the
•
amateur. You know what amateurs are like when you have to fix bodges. That often takes longer than if you had done the job in the first place. When it comes to the accounts the boot is on the other foot. Think through in your head what you would say to a well-meaning amateur homeowner.
• Accountants are the experts at legally minimising tax and it’s hard to keep up with all the changes to tax rules. They should do a better job than you and this should cover their fees.
• Lots of people rely on their accountants for general business advice.
•
If you work the hours you would have spent on the accounts, you will arguably be better off even after paying fees.
At the end of the day, you have to make your own decision on whether you should run your accounts. While most trade businesses owners choose not to, it is my experience that a decent minority do. There are pros and cons.
Good luck in making that decision. 31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35
