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[tunnie]

saving is easy.. soon as i get paid i put over 50% of it straight into savings, and make do with whats left!

[Kevin Wood]

saving is easy.. soon as i get paid i put over 50% of it straight into savings, and make do with whats left!

I don't think we're talking about "under the matress" style saving though. Tax efficiency does require a good knowledge of the increasingly complex mess of allowances, etc. that the IR weave. Quite often a decent accountant will find things you never knew you were entitled to.  

Kevin

[tunnie]

good point, but being a young single, white male, with decent savings, and no criminal record, i bet i am entitled to nothing!

[SheWhoMustNotBeOUTBID]

Yes u are quite right I am looking at paying as little tax as I legally can.., rather than directly saving in a bank account.., altho I hope to do both obviously.  I just don't have the knowledge and need a good accountant that does lol.  Obviously we are still setting up the business so might as well do it right first time.  Do have a bookeeping and business management background but not in a sole trader environment (and its been a while) lol, so good accountant is essential right now otherwise we will be collapsing when we should be stabilising and/or expanding lol.

Many thanks for the suggestions.

[Ken T]

Make a list of queries and go and see several. Ask the Banks ?, eh no not considering their investment track record.  
Its about finding one who will help you, someone you like and can easily ask questions to, someone you have confidence in, not to leave you if things get heavy.
I was once busy working down south, no time to do my books, and was liable for a fine of £100 from Companies House for a late return. I chose an accountant, he looked OK, tapped a few things into a computer and said that he would sort everyhing out, in that nice expensive way. So I gave him the figures and left him to it. I didn't hear anything for some time, until I found out he hadn't bothered doing the accounts, and the companies house fine was now £1000 which I had to pay.   .

There are lots of good accountants out there, trouble is to find them.

Ken

[SheWhoMustNotBeOUTBID]

I have heard similiar stories.., altho not often (have my own experiences of a conveyancing solicitor where I ended up doing her job for her - for which pleasure I had to pay £400).  So hoping to improve on that lol.

[Marks DTM Calib]

saving is easy.. soon as i get paid i put over 50% of it straight into savings, and make do with whats left!

Yes Tunnie, but your still a boy......until you leave home and become a man with responsabilities  

[Vmax]

Contact your local business link, they should be able to help.  

[gwa]

Yes u are quite right I am looking at paying as little tax as I legally can.., rather than directly saving in a bank account.., altho I hope to do both obviously.  I just don't have the knowledge and need a good accountant that does lol.  Obviously we are still setting up the business so might as well do it right first time.  Do have a bookeeping and business management background but not in a sole trader environment (and its been a while) lol, so good accountant is essential right now otherwise we will be collapsing when we should be stabilising and/or expanding lol.

Many thanks for the suggestions.

Whats your profession if I may be so bold as to ask?  

[willyboy]

The bank will be biased I feel they will have friends etc who they will be so great full of new business, would think one of best ways is to ask several friendly shopkeepers/small businesses etc who they use there must be some near you who will let you have a name  

[pete.h]

This may sound crazy , but it might be worth asking your local Inland Revenue office for a list of accountants . Contrary to popular belief they are actually quite helpful sometimes. They also don't usually mind helping you get your justified allowances , it's the dodgy under the counter bit they're not to keen on !

I've been in business for 30yrs and the accountants the IR have told me about have been good .

Only problem is the good ones sometimes get taken over by the big boys and then the costs can spiral to £2-300 an hour and more.

[Ken T]

Not just the good ones.   I spoke to a local, 1 man band accountant last year. For 20mins verbal advise he charged £140   . Eh, stuff that for a game of soldiers.

Ken

[jereboam]

DO get an accountant - they will probably save you money, but best of all, they will remind you of what you have to do if they are any good, and send you nagging letters/emails telling you when you have to do it.

DON'T go for one of these fixed-price, pay monthly deals that you may see on Contractors sites - you won't get good service and you'll end up nagging them.  

Get someone local, try for a small firm with a couple of (middle-aged) partners rather than some nationwide group who will assign trainees to your stuff because you aren't a multinational corporation.  Best of all, they will probably be on first-name terms with the local tax inspector, and that can save you a waggon-load of grief!

[woodsy_mv6]

As has been mentioned, a good accountant is worth his weight in gold

We often save our clients more than the fees we charge them (take the piss when some of them moan about our measly bills )

Don't go to the bank, as most individuals there are hooked up with commissions from local firms and are indeed to be avoided.

We get most of our clients from word-of-mouth, but try your local yellow pages. Find a small firm somewere intown.

Things i'd advise you to look out for are:
a small firm....no more than a dozen or so employees,
background....find out how long the partners have been in the business, previous experience with a big firm has up and down sides,
Number of partners.....ideally find somewere with over 2
Another basic sign that should reflect well....find somewere with the average employee age of over 40.

Average age at my office is 53

and best of all he HATES the tax man.

Its part of the job description

[HolyCount]

As has been mentioned, a good accountant is worth his weight in gold

We often save our clients more than the fees we charge them (take the piss when some of them moan about our measly bills )

Don't go to the bank, as most individuals there are hooked up with commissions from local firms and are indeed to be avoided.

We get most of our clients from word-of-mouth, but try your local yellow pages. Find a small firm somewere intown.

Things i'd advise you to look out for are:
a small firm....no more than a dozen or so employees,
background....find out how long the partners have been in the business, previous experience with a big firm has up and down sides,
Number of partners.....ideally find somewere with over 2
Another basic sign that should reflect well....find somewere with the average employee age of over 40.

Average age at my office is 53

and best of all he HATES the tax man.

Its part of the job description

As West Sussex residents that would make them mere youngsters in God's Waiting Room !!!!