Choosing dental accountants is a big decision and not one to be taken lightly. It’s not always best to go for the cheapest or the one with the prettiest website. It should take serious consideration, for your own peace of mind and to ensure your choice will enhance your dental business.
Here are a few pointers that are key to choosing an accountant that is right for you and your business.
Credentials
You should look into how qualified the accountant is. Ideally you would engage with a firm that has an array of qualified professionals so your finances are in the best hands. Look out for a firm that have chartered accountants (ACA & ACCA) in their team for reassurance in their knowledge; after all it does take 5 years of intense training to become a chartered accountant.
If you choose a firm that are registered with ’The Institute of Chartered Accountants – ICEAW’ this is a sure fire way to know they have chartered accountants in their team, they’re not just alluding to the fact that they do, the Institute will not accept just any firm.
Experts
Research accountancy firms that have expert knowledge in your area of business. When trusting your business and finances with an accountancy firm you want to know that they understand your industry and can give you advice on legislations that may affect you. Here at Hive, we have experience in dental and healthcare businesses.
Relationship
As with any service you involve your finances and business in, you want to ensure you have total faith in the company or individual you’ve chosen to work with. Having the first two tips in place, will help you trust that your accountant is fully qualified and understands all the aspects of your industry. However, building a lasting relationship with your accountant starts from the very first conversation.
Upfront with fees
There’s an old-fashioned way of paying for your accountant: they do all the work and at the end, presented you with a whacking great bill for every minute spent dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. This approach should set alarm bells ringing. At it’s most basic level, the longer they take the more they get paid; very counter-productive and certainly doesn’t inspire trust.
Look for an accountant who will agree fees upfront, better yet, offer to spread the payment over the 12 months. It helps to budget and manage cash flow for both you and your accountant. Also, no nasty surprises at year end.
Some accountants will even offer a direct debit system, which is a great way to manage your accountancy fees and record your past/ future payments.
Simple and effective systems
You will want to consider the software and systems your accountant uses. Realistically every company should be moving with the times, that means; new tools, software and processes. Here are some of the systems we use can make your life a little easier and taking the hassle out of what can be time-consuming tasks. We understand how important your dental business is and that your priority is providing dental treatments not sifting through paperwork
‘Xero’ is a bookkeeping software which makes it easy to keep your bookkeeping organised, in one place and as paper-free as possible, leaving you more time to focus on dentistry.
Adobe Document Cloud simply allows you to review and sign documents from anywhere via email. This means that signing sets of accounts or other important documents can be done in seconds, with all parties being able to obtain copies instantly.
Contact
It’s important that you can you easily reach your accountant. Whether they’re contactable through email or phone, knowing that they will be available to help is reassuring. Not having adequate support or availability may be a signifier that your accountant needs replacing. We understand that while you’re in surgery it isn’t always convenient to take a call, so we make sure we are available via email and will always try to speak to you between patients or out of surgery hours.
Joining
You may not be happy with the service your current accountant is providing but feel a loyalty to them. You and your company need the best value and advice for your money and whilst changing accountancy firms may feel like a moral choice, in practice it is quite simple. Hive have a very efficient sign-up process we like to call our ‘New Client Journey’. We have a dedicated staff member who will take you through the process and take on as much of the stress, paperwork and formalities as possible.
We hope you have found these points helpful and you now know the service you should be receiving and looking for in your accountancy firm. If you feel you’re not getting the service you should be, Hive is always happy to help. Call us on 01872 300232 or email us at hello@hivebusiness.co.uk.
