Welcome to my world!
I rise at 6am, and start my yoga practice....
I'm kidding, obvs., that happens MUCH later in the day!
But what do accountants actually do all day?
Do we have numbers brought to us on a silver tray, organised neatly, ready to be manhandled into some kind of order?
Spend time on the phone with HMRC, busily making notes and looking all important?
Or maybe we simply peer over our spectacles at some ne'er do well client who's had the misfortune to post motor to postage in Xero?
Nope, none of the above!
We run our businesses just like you do.
We complete the work that needs to be done, plan for the next couple of months (you don't plan?), and THEN we peer over our spectacles!
What does a day in the life of an accountant actually look like?
I can't speak for others, but mine is a little like this:
I arrive at the office at approx 8 am and check my emails, responding where necessary.
I begin the pre-planned tasks for the day, which could be anything from finalising a set of accounts to submitting a request for VAT registration.
Tasks include, but are not limited to: (gosh, I've been waiting to use that phrase for ages!):
Year-end accounts
Payroll processing
VAT returns
Self-assessment tax returns
General client bookkeeping
Chasing clients for information
Telephone answering
Client queries
Emails are checked again at lunchtime, and finally at 4pm.
In between the above, we find time to eat. Mostly chocolate.
So what do we do all day?
It's simple. We do our best.
How can you help us?
It's easy.
Give us time to respond to your queries.
Send in your accounts early.
Send all the information, no drip feeding please.
Do your bookkeeping. And if you don't want to, tell us, and we can offer that service. But no half-measures where you say you've done it, and actually, you haven't. That makes us frown.
Respond to our emails. Don't tell us that you'll book a call, then don't, and then panic when your accounts are on the deadline.
Send all your bank statements. Even the ones in the middle of the year that you inexplicably think don't matter.
If you've purchased a large item during the year, and it's on finance, please send us this information. We can do nothing with a 'well it was part-exchanged, and the loan is for 24 months kind of conversation.
And we will:
Process your books in a timely manner
More importantly, they will be accurate, because we have all the information.
Smile. We will smile.
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