You aren’t alone in wondering how you could minimise your accounting fees. At Palfreyman Chartered Accountant, we appreciate that our clients need to reduce costs where possible and we work with them to develop cost saving strategies. Some of our most common tips include:
1. Be organised: Make sure you have your information ready. This might mean having a look at what was requested the previous year if you are unsure or emailing/phoning your accountant to check what is required. The ATO’s free app, MyDeductions can be a useful application for individuals when organising information, as can ReceiptBank for businesses. Contact us today to find out more about these systems.
2. Summarise your information: Providing all relevant documentation is great but a summary accompanying this documentation is even better. This allows your accountant to cross check your information back to your summary and ensure nothing is missed while saving time preparing your information. If you use an application such as MyDeductions or ReceiptBank, you don’t need to provide your accountant with a summary.
3. Try to avoid using staples: This might sound like an odd request, but when you send your information in we need to scan or copy your documents to keep on file. Our systems in particular work much better feeding through multiple sheets at a time but unfortunately staples slow this process down and mean we have to remove all staples before scanning or copying. We recommend using paperclips to compile multi-page documents, and bull dog clips to group this information into categories.
4. Use Excel: Wherever possible, use Excel to summarise your information as discussed above. This file can simply be forwarded to your accountant, who can view, edit and update your information as required. Often, this document can also be exported into our accounting systems.
5. Try to avoid sending your information in dribs and drabs: Collate your information and send it to your accountant together wherever possible. Sending 5+ emails through with various pieces of information at varying times means we have to save down each email, as well as the documents attached to this. If you are using a paper system, dropping off some information piece by piece disrupts the workflow and means extra time is spent stopping and starting your work. Compiling all your information and checking it off yourself also limits the risk of missing documents. It is much more time-expensive for us to amend your information with an additional piece of information at the end of your work rather than at the start.
6. If in doubt, ask your accountant: Don’t be afraid to ask your accountant for the best method of organising your information. We are happy to work with our clients and formulate a plan that suits your lifestyle as well as the size and scale of your operations from individual tax to large businesses. Organising your information correctly at the start can save hours of our time, your time, and ultimately your money.
The above suggestions are just a few ways to save your accountant time when processing your information. In an industry where time is charged by the hour, even a small change like removing staples from your documents can save you. If you would like help on the best way to organise your information, please get in contact with us so that one of our staff can provide you with a plan, or simply a starting point.
