{"id":26239,"date":"2016-03-10T11:05:53","date_gmt":"2016-03-10T11:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clearbooks.co.uk\/?p=26239"},"modified":"2018-08-24T14:36:01","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T13:36:01","slug":"5-things-not-to-do-when-working-with-your-accountant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clearbooks.co.uk\/blog\/5-things-not-to-do-when-working-with-your-accountant\/","title":{"rendered":"5 things not to do when working with your accountant"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of our very favourite things about accounting is the clients. We love making it as easy as possible for you to keep on top of your business\u2019s finances, and our accounting and bookkeeping partners<\/a> often tell us that working with clients is their favourite part of the job too.<\/p>\n

Of course, this doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s always easy \u2014 while most people are great to work with, occasionally you\u2019ll get a client who does something that makes it hard on the accountant. Want to avoid being that client? Then make sure that you don\u2019t:<\/p>\n

1. Demand something your accountant doesn\u2019t do<\/h2>\n

Accountants can do a lot of things that most people don\u2019t know about, from business planning to explaining financial policies to your staff, but they\u2019ll still occasionally get a client asking them to do something that\u2019s just not in their job description. The most common culprit is reviewing legal contracts \u2014 while your accountant can give you business advice, the legal stuff really needs to go to your solicitor.<\/p>\n

2. Ignore advice that you asked for<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s always frustrating when a client doesn\u2019t follow good advice. While the way you run your business and finances is totally up to you, if you ask for advice, you can bet that it\u2019s probably going to be in your best interests to follow it. Don\u2019t just discount it if you don\u2019t totally understand it. If you\u2019re confused about why your accountant recommends that you do something, just ask them to explain their reasoning.<\/p>\n

3. Dump big bags of paperwork on them<\/h2>\n

You hired the accountant to sort out your finances \u2026 but if they\u2019re spending most of their time literally sorting through your paperwork, you won\u2019t be getting the best from them. The more organised you can be when you bring in your financial paperwork, the better. Of course, it\u2019s even better if you just use accounting software like Clear Books that keeps everything organised for you.<\/p>\n

4. Do everything at the last minute<\/h2>\n

We get it, tax time can creep up on you. But leaving everything to the last minute just stresses everybody out, you included, so make it a point to start doing your tax prep before it gets down to the deadline. If you\u2019re not sure what you need to do, just ask your accountant beforehand! They should be able to give you a checklist of exactly what they\u2019ll need from you.<\/p>\n

5. Play fast and loose with the truth<\/h2>\n

The truth is going to come out eventually, so there\u2019s no point in not being honest with your accountant from the very beginning. Besides, your accountant can only work off of what you give them, so their work and advice can only be as good as the information that you provide.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Accountants, what things do you wish clients knew not to do when working with you? Tell us in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of our very favourite things about accounting is the clients. We love making it as easy as possible for you to keep on top of your business\u2019s finances, and our accounting and bookkeeping partners often tell us that working with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":24184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n5 things not to do when working with your accountant | Clear Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Having a good relationship with your accountant is vital for a small businesses. 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