Of course, your accountant is responsible for providing you with a first-rate service, ensuring your books are in order, your tax return is filed on time, and you are taking advantage of all legitimate tax breaks that are available to you. However, accountants aren’t magicians, and they will need a bit of help from you in order to provide you with the exceptional service you are seeking. With that being said, below we take a look at the four things you can do in order to work smarter with your accountant.

 

Provide all necessary documents

Nothing wastes time more than waiting around for documents. It is important that you provide your accountant with everything they need to do their job properly. This includes the likes of all your income, expenses receipts and purchase invoices, payroll records, details of any finance agreements, business credit card statements, loan statements, bank statement, and such like. These documents are vital for tax returns as well as forecasting and budgeting.

Involve your accountant in budgeting and business strategy

The second step is to make sure that you involve your accountant in planning and developing financial templates, and business strategy. This will ensure that they have a better understanding regarding what you require in order to be successful. Your accountant can offer invaluable third party perspective, solid business advice, and years of expertise. You can use this to work towards objectives, assess KPIs and goals, and present your accomplishments and performance at board meetings.

Be honest

Your relationship with your accountant will go a lot smoother if you are honest. Some business owners attempt to disclose information in a hope that it will mean they have to pay less tax, for example. However, if you get caught, you will end up in serious trouble, as HMRC enforce huge penalties for this. Not only this, but you only make your accountant’s job more difficult when things do not add up.

Foster timely and open communication

Last but not least, communication and time management is important to all aspects of a business, and monetary matters are no different. It is important to make sure that you allocate time in your schedule to communicate with your accountant. Not only will you actually save time by doing this, but you will also save money and you will notice better results too. If any problems arise, they can be dealt with in a swift and effective manner.

 

If you follow the four points that have been discussed above, you can be sure you will have a better and more efficient relationship with your accountant. This can only mean good things for your business. You will be able to get on top of your finances, make sure you do not miss any important deadlines, and you will, of course, be able to run your company more cost efficiently.