It’s a misconception that bookkeepers and accountants are enemies. We are far from it! We work closely together to ensure accuracy of your business accounts. 

Whilst a bookkeeper will begin the accounting process, such as monthly bookkeeping the accountant will finish the process by finalising the data recorded by the bookkeeper ready for submission to HMRC.

This means that bookkeepers and accountants have to liaise with each other during the process.

You will find that most bookkeepers already have an accountant they work closely with that they can recommend to you. Or, if you already have an accountant then your bookkeeper will be more than happy to work alongside them. 

Main goal

Bookkeepers and accountants have one thing in common. They share the same goal for your business and that’s to support you with your financial growth. A bookkeeper will monitor the transactions coming into your business so they’ll have a more detailed insight into the workings of your business. Given this, they can liaise with your accountant so that they can help you with managing your business more efficiently.

Collaboration

As a bookkeeper there are certain things we specialise in. This means we don’t offer certain services such as tax for example. By building relationships with accountants, it means that we’re able to offer the best service possible by giving clients access to not 1 but 2 experts. Our clients get the best support available and it means a second set of eyes or opinions on the more complex services. It allows us to be more hands on, to answer the why’s and what happened scenarios for the accountants so that they have all the information they need to make the best suggestions. During the course of carrying out our bookkeeping services we’re likely to come across paperwork the accountant needs. Whether that’s interest statements or annual schedules for P11Ds, by working together our client doesn’t get asked twice for the same bit of info and the accountant doesn’t have to wait for the paperwork or chase it up.

Building your network

No one’s knowledge base is that extensive that they know everything. We can always learn more, self development is key for any business owner. For example the subject of insolvency and financial advice, we would turn to our accountant to seek the best advice possible for our client.  Having a close relationship with accountants means we have access to their network and vice versa. This means that between us, there’s no scenario we can’t find the answer to. We have a great relationship with the accountants we use and we often refer work to one another. By working together, even small firms can offer support to large clients with complex needs. 

Keeping track

If you often refer work to people in your network it’s a good idea to keep track of your referrals. You can use RQ Ratings to help you to do this, it’s perfect for maintaining relationships and sending referrals.