Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a normal high street accountant and the services that you provide?
  • A normal high street accountant will typically provide clients with compliance services like calculating and submitting their annual tax returns and producing and submitting annual accounts. They may also manage VAT and payroll. Their engagement with their clients will normally be centred on these services.
  • At Your Finance Team we want to take care of all your financial needs. This includes all of the compliance work but we also want to get involved in helping shape and drive the performance of your business. This may mean working out a business plan and establishing a financial strategy, it may mean carrying out business health checks to see where we can improve cash management and profitability but our aim is to provide real people that can make a positive difference to your business, not just produce a set of final accounts.
I have an existing finance team already – is this a problem?

Definitely not. We can work alongside your existing finance team. If required, we can also pass on our knowledge and expertise which may help improve experience across the whole team.

I really would like to have a Finance Director on board to drive my business forward but they are too expensive?

Employing a full time FD can be costly. In theory a good FD will generate far more value for the business than they cost. However hiring a full time FD is still a big commitment and can be prohibitively costly for smaller companies.

To reduce the cost (and risk of hiring someone that is not right) we give you access to a team of highly skilled part time FDs: you will only pay for the time that you need therefore you get the benefit without the costs of employing somebody full time.

My accounting system is old and is not very user friendly

The reality is that many small business are ‘making do’ with accounting software or spreadsheets which are not really fit for purpose anymore. They are not user friendly and often highly manual which is time consuming and can allow errors to creep in. We strongly recommend using Xero cloud based accounting system which is super quick and user friendly. We can migrate you over to Xero and train your staff on how to use the package.

Can you just do my tax and compliance work?

Quite simply – Yes

My current accountant charges for the time he takes on my account – how do you charge?

All of our charges are agreed with you upfront so there are no nasty surprises.

My business accounts and finances are in a mess, I just don’t have time to sort them out?

We cannot stress enough the importance of maintaining proper records and accounts in your company. Without these you risk fines and you will be flying blind in terms of managing the financial performance of your business. Please do call us and ask us to sort it out…

Do you actually send someone to my offices to work on my accounts?

This depends. Generally we like our people to be as closely aligned to your business as possible and we want them to be integral to your team. By working alongside you that relationship becomes more natural so if travel limitations can be managed we put people on site. However, we are big fans of using the latest cloud based accounting software which means that we can provide support remotely and supplement this with regular contact calls to keep you up to speed.

If I use your services do I need to switch off services with my current accountant?

Not necessarily: we have worked with clients who have built up great relationships with their existing accountants over the years and want to maintain that relationship. We are always respectful of this and will work with you in a way that means you will get the service that you need from us but your existing accountants will continue to provide their existing services.