By Ashley Preen
January 7, 2021
An enormous number of accountants and accounting firms operate in London. Sadly, too many people make one of two mistakes when choosing an accountant in London:
But why choose one in London in the first place? In this connected world, it wouldn’t much matter if you went with one in Manchester or Oxford or anywhere else in the UK, right?
Let’s take a look at that:
The simple truth is that your accountant needs to be more than just a “number cruncher”. Of course, it’s possible to never meet your accountant in person. Video-conferencing tools obviate the need for in-person meetings.
But, according to a study by Forbes, 85 per cent of people believe that meeting face-to-face in-person builds stronger and more meaningful business relationships.
We are so accustomed to watching movies and faces on screens, that looking at someone on a computer screen could, on some level, lead us to view that person as somewhat less “real” than someone standing in front of us.
The second-most popular reason for people preferring face-to-face meetings, according to that same Forbes study, was the ability to observe body language.
No matter the size of your business, an accountant is invaluable.
Smaller businesses operate on extremely tight margins, and so the slightest error in accounts could lead to catastrophic consequences. Larger companies might have more cash flow, but little errors could result in vast amounts of money lost.
The case for “judging body language” is a strong one when choosing an accountancy firm to handle your books.
There is only so much insight one can get into an area from the internet as compared to actually living and working there.
Even though it is possible to find any accountant anywhere using the internet, if your business is based in London, then ideally you need a London-based accountant.
This is particularly true of choosing an accountant for landlords.
Landlord accounting can be tricky business, and for an accountant to be of use, then that accountant needs to have their finger constantly on the pulse of the rental market, changes in laws and, more importantly, potential changes of regulations which might affect a landlord’s finances.
In many ways, your accountant will make or break your business. Too often, people expect accountants to be miracle workers (we’re not, by the way, but we try our best) who can make taxes disappear with the snap of a finger.
Alas, taxes will never go away no matter how hard you try. Even the best accountants struggle to find ways to legally reduce a company’s taxable footprint.
The difference between an accountant who cares and one who doesn’t is that the one who cares, at least tries to save you a few pounds on your returns.
For an accountant who deals with dozens or maybe even hundreds of clients a month, sometimes the difference between trying a little harder or not is simply the fact that you stopped by once a month to say hi.
The current fad might be work-from-home and heavy marketing to make people do all their meetings online. The truth is that people want to interact, to be close to each other, to socialise. And that face-to-face interaction makes an enormous difference in a business relationship.
Oh, goodness, no!
Well, maybe...
Let us explain:
Every business has to pay its overheads, and London is indeed the most expensive city in Europe when it comes to renting.
But that should only affect an accountant’s fees if they are doing poorly.
An accountancy firm with fee income from fifty people will have to stretch its costs over those fifty people. A firm with five thousand people pumping money into it every month can charge far less fees per person.
“Ah, but it costs more to deliver to so many people,” I heard you say.
Again, the answer is not entirely black and white. A few years ago, Pearl Accountants was a runner up for the Firm of the Future Award presented by Intuit (the makers of Quickbooks).
Because accounting is such a tight-margin industry, we have long-since invested in state-of-the-art technology and workflows in order to improve our efficiency while at the same time reducing our workload.
An inefficient firm would never be able to handle the load of five thousand clients.
So, that firm which is overcharging its few fifty clients is also unable to serve any more clients without taking on more staff and further increasing its overheads.
If an accountancy firm has invested in efficient tools, it doesn’t need to be more expensive even if it is located in London!
Yes, London is an expensive city to live and work in, but the most successful accounting firms in London are still there because they have figured out a way to offer top-quality service at highly competitive prices.
We're glad our customers are happy with our products and services. Here's what some of them said about us...
Pearl Accountants are unique as you can get. They have a great one to one service and they always answer your queries in a fast and professional manner.
I find Pearl when I opened up my limited company. I was clueless, but Pearl Accountants kindly assisted me in the best way so I felt at ease and understood how the operation works.
Everything was explained clearly in detail and I could ask as many questions as I wanted. They were never rude or impatient, just happy to be there to help.
The client had previously missed a few deadlines with HMRC and Companies House and needed a hands on approach
Wanted to ensure they have a proactive team so that no deadlines were missed and full end to end bookkeeping carried out
Client was introduced to a dedicated accountant who filed all outstanding accounts and appealed for any penalties by HMRC
After being in business for years, I must admit that Pearl Accountants are far the best accountants I have worked with. They are helpful, friendly and trust worthy and most of all provide excellent tax advice.
They provide high-level client care. I would certainly recommend Pearl Accountants to all.
Invoice factoring complications led client to inaccurate bookkeeping and unclear of clear reporting requirements
Processing the invoicing system accurately with clear and transparent management reporting was key
Processing the invoicing system accurately with clear and transparent management reporting was key
Pearl Accountants have been my accountants for many years and have been a great asset to my businesses. They have a strong team and knowledge is second to none. Very happy with the service and professionalism from them. Will continue to recommend them to my network.
Paying huge taxes without any tax efficiency and lack of understanding on various VAT aspects.
Minimise tax bills and ensure the business was compliant with HMRC and Companies House
As a startup graphic design company, we ensured the client used tax allowances and efficient payroll structures to withdraw money
Holborn based laser hair removal company joined us with a view to expanding their business on a large scale. They undertook accounting and advisory services which helped them grow above their rivals.
Holborn based laser hair removal company joined us with a view to expanding their business on a large scale. They undertook accounting and advisory services which helped them grow above their rivals.
Achieve a national presence and grow organically through current business model
We came on board and advised client on tailor made business strategies to achieve their online and brick and mortar presence.
We have been using Pearl Accountants for over 10 years and developed a very good business relationship. Very clear instructions with easy to follow accountancy system in place. Great expertise in tax efficiency, as well as business, grow and development services. One of the best-chartered accountants in town.
We have already recommended your services and will share our good experience with others in future.
It is always someone available on the phone but if not available at the time your accountant will always call you back.
Complete peace of mind with prompt and clear communication so no deadline missed.
Very satisfied.
Client was growing very fast with inability to keep track of growth with no cloud accounting setup and no integrations
Time saving on bookkeeping and clear vision of profitability management reports. Setup with cloud integrations.
Recommended a online cloud solution with time saving applications and clear breakdown of monthly profitability.
We recently migrated to Pearl Accountants from large national accounting firm. Transfer was easy and faultless. Friendly staff at Pearl lead us through the process with ease. Initially we were drawn to their service because of their attractive pricing structure. However it quickly became apparent to us that we were getting a lot more for our money than we initially thought as they are happy to stretch the engagement to all sorts of additional advice. Thumbs up to Pearl Accountants.
No clear strategy for business growth or tax planning reduction techniques
To achieve business advisory, tax planning and accurate reporting requirements
Recommended a online cloud solution with time saving applications and clear breakdown of monthly profitability.
Our client, a well established practising solicitor in the UK required a headache free service to ensure their accounting requirements were met and cloud accounting solution setup
Too much time was being consumed in bookkeeping and previous accountants missed various deadlines
More time was needed to focus on the business and ensure a firm came on board to take full ownership.
Advised client to forward us everything in ‘shoe box’ style and provided full breakdown regularly to keep informed.
They make me feel that I am a valued customer and to me what makes Pearl accountants unique is their helpful team of dedicated staff members. Their response is always prompt and it makes the daunting task of accounting really easy for me. Pearl Accountants is really a five-star accountant company.
As a franchisee tuition business, the client did not have the right advise to reduce taxes or a proactive accountant to advise where needed
Reduction in taxes through governmental tax subsidiaries and requiring more time to focus on the business.
A dedicated accountant was assigned to ensure deadlines were not missed and review of tax strategies.
Our client was in need of a specialist contractor accountant to remain compliant and ensure they did not fall in IR35.
Client required advisory on payroll and VAT solutions and filing of accounts at year end.
No clear direction on IR35 nor guidance on allowable expenses that could be claimed.
Ensure the contractor company was compliant with HMRC and Companies House and advisory on saving taxes.
Provided a full explanation and review on IR35 and guidance provided on which expenses could be claimed to reduce taxes
Our client having a property portfolio in Switzerland required a specialist accountant that understood the UK tax legislation whilst having a thorough understanding of overseas tax implications.
Overseas and UK income not declared, needed tax returns filed for previous years and appeal to HMRC for outstanding penalty
Paying taxes in the UK and overseas, wanted help understanding the tax system so avoid paying taxes twice.
Appealed successfully for prior years penalties and filed all outstanding returns. Thorough review of all tax allowances available.
Our client joined us after losing track of their finances and needed someone they could turn to for help. We came on board and reviewed their internal bookkeeping arrangements and recommended efficiency to lower their input on areas which could be outsourced to us.
No real track of profitability or clear vision of expenditure along with weak internal processes.
To achieve a clear breakdown of expenditure and ensure the current setup for bookkeeping was run more efficiently.
Recommendation on reporting packs, internal processes and online applications to integrate for payment reconciliation.