– Accountants’ words of wisdom
A big thank you to those of you who completed our survey last month. Our aim was uncover your tips and anecdotes on how best to get information out of clients, well in advance of tax deadlines.
We know this is a common challenge for most accountants and creates a real headache for some.
So what words of wisdom did you share?
Start early
Well it would seem that our survey respondents were an impressively organised bunch. 100% first contact their clients up to 3 months before the deadline to alert them to the information they need. In doing so 66% did this via email and 33% found a posted letter to be the best mode of communication.
Carrot or stick?
When it came to what tactics accountants used to get information from clients ahead of tax deadlines, here were some of the popular approaches employed:
- Warning of an additional/ premium charge for late paperwork submissions, plus a reminder of HMRC’s penalties
- Issuing regular reminders
- Following up written reminders with a call
- Sending out tax questionnaires in good time
- Reminding clients of the new HMRC penalty regime in place
Interestingly, we didn’t hear of any cases of accountants rewarding their clients for early submissions of information.
Other tax deadline planning and preparation essentials
Further valuable tips we received included:
- For Self-Assessment, as well as requesting current year data, it’s helpful to ask for an estimate of next year’s income. This enables you to assess whether or not an application for a reduction in payments on account is appropriate
- As soon as the client sends in any data for their tax return we review it for completeness and immediately chase any missing items. We don’t want to get to 30th January and realise they’ve not sent in their P60 or something similar.
- As early as possible, make sure you have form 64-8 in place so you are officially recognised as their agent and can discuss their affairs with HMRC.
Why not join in the discussion?
So what do you think and how does this reflect your own experiences? If you have other approaches which have worked for you in the past, why not share them with our LinkedIn group or let us know?
