Do you receive…?
- all the essential information from your accountant?
- when you need it?
- what you need?
- in the way you want to?
You still might have questions. It is important to have possibility to ask these questions you have in mind. More important is to receive answers with an understandable explanation. You can get this from your accountant for sure. The question is: for how much?
Some might charge you unexpected fees for simple questions, some might charge you for the service in foreign language. Of course there is a certain benefit of these surcharges when you receive answers, especially when the answer does not raise further questions.
And you should have questions…
…like what sort of expenses do qualify as the cost of your revenue? Or what is the tax implication of my next move in business? How does it affect the figures in the books? Having a dedicated accountant you know personally, you can call him/her to ask these questions exactly when they arise. Of corse if your contract provides this certain elasticity for you.
Document interchange
Do you need to take the documents personally to your accountant's? Do you have to mail them? Send them via Poczta-Polska or Paczkomaty? Compare the obligations with the most comfortable way for you and ask for it! Some might charge for a personal document pick-up the same fee as for consultancy, but is it really necessary? (Be honest!) Electronic document-flow is a basic necessity in the 21st century.
When your reports are prepared are they delivered to you by mail? Or can you download them from some portal? What would be the most comfortable way for you? Think it through, ask your service provider, whether it is possible! You might receive either a straightforward offer or a solution that meets the requirements. Not always exactly yours.
When you receive an official letter...
... from ZUS or Urząd Skarbowy, how is it handled? Do you need arrange additional services to take care of your representation? Do you have it in your contract? In case it is written in your contract, do you know how much you pay for it? Upon receipt of some sort of request from the tax authorities of from social security, you should have clarity what it is about, how will it be handled and by whom. It might be an asset to know the exact price beforehand. Make sure to get the adequate representation for yourself, for your need.
Contract termination
In case you started looking for a different new offers for accounting service, make sure you check the contract termination notice period. Some accounting offices do include even 3 or 6 month period after the requested contract termination. Maintaining a service for "resigned" Clients for further months makes the actual accountant less motivated to handle the important numbers. Usually the quality of the service you receive is lower. This might even cause issues with the handover. of the documents.
Either you can terminate a contract in a short notice or in a longer one, the best advice I can give is to plan ahead! If you prefer to change accounting service from the "New Year", make sure to agree on closing the previous year with your previous accountant. This way you can usually avoid costs regarding handover. (Cost of handover and year-end closing depends highly on the characteristics of your business.
Are you considering to change?
Send me a couple words about what you are doing, leave your contact details and I will contact you shortly. After answering a couple of questions your personalized offer can be prepared.