SLASHING YOUR ACCOUNTANCY FEES MADE EASY



Fed up with high accountancy fees and not getting much in return? Slashing your accountancy fees is as easy as pie!

Firstly and most importantly, make sure you get a fixed quote and don't put up with hourly billing where you take all the risk and the accountant is actually rewarded for taking longer to complete the job! If your accountant says he or she can't give you a fixed quote find one who can!

In addition, the following will all help to reduce your accountancy fees:

• Be organised. If all the information your accountant needs to prepare your financials and tax return is easy-to-read, clear and well-arranged you won't need to pay your accountant to sort it all out for you.
  
• Supply all information required promptly and in full - accountants are not clairvoyants - and the biggest problem in accountancy is getting all the information we need to do the job.
• Use accounting software - it's now as cheap as with loads of additional benefits - customer database, invoicing to customers, aged accounts receivable etc all at the touch of a button.
• Take an interest in your own affairs and show some enthusiasm - accountants are only human and will tend to reflect the interest you show.
• Ask to pay in monthly instalments. Most accountants will give you a better deal in return for certainty and regularity of income.
• Systems, systems, systems - are your bank accounts reconciled regularly, do you know who owes you money, who you owe money to, what you have in stock, what cash you will need next month or the month after?
• Be nice to your accountant. It's natural for them to try harder for someone they feel positive about.
• Use an appropriate firm. Size is not necessarily a guide to costs but you don't need an international firm if you have a small business in provincial NZ.

To conclude, make it easy for them not hard, as otherwise you will be the loser.

If you have any tax or business queries of any kind telephone 0800 ASK NICK, e-mail nick@abac.co.nz or use "Contact Us" on www.abac.co.nz. The information in this article is of a general nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific advice.