The right accounting firm should make your numbers easier to trust and your monthly workload easier to manage. Compare the actual engagement, not just the starting price or a promise to handle everything.
Before requesting proposals, list your monthly transaction volume, bank accounts, employees, currencies, sales channels and existing software. Mention any overdue records. Two firms cannot give comparable quotes if one assumes clean books and the other includes a year of catch-up work.
Define the Work You Need
Separate routine bookkeeping from management reporting, payroll, tax review and year-end financial statements. Ask who will perform each task and whether it is included in the fee. A monthly report is useful only when its delivery date and contents are agreed.
- Bookkeeping: recording supported sales, purchases and adjustments.
- Reconciliation: matching bank, card and payment-platform activity to the ledger.
- Reporting: profit and loss, balance sheet, outstanding balances and explanations.
- Additional work: historical clean-up, specialist tax advice, payroll and audit coordination.
Our accounting service page describes the starting package separately from additional services. Ask every shortlisted provider to give you the same level of detail.
Compare Proposals Like for Like
| Area | Ask the Firm |
|---|---|
| Volume | What counts as a transaction, and what happens above the limit? |
| Reporting | Which reports arrive, on which date, and who explains them? |
| Software | Who owns the subscription and can we export all records? |
| Support | Who is our contact and what is the usual response window? |
| Extra charges | Are clean-up work, software and specialist reviews separate? |
| Exit | What files, working papers and access will be handed over? |
Illustrative comparison: a lower quote excluding bank reconciliation is not equivalent to a higher quote including it. Add the missing work to your comparison before deciding which offer represents better value.
Test the Working Relationship
Ask for an anonymised sample report and an explanation of how an unusual payment would be investigated. Do not request another client's confidential records. A useful conversation should show how the firm resolves missing documents, corrects errors and reports unresolved issues.
Agree a document cut-off and a named approver inside your company. Ask about role-based access, backups and secure document exchange. Keep control of your own accounts and authorise access through the platform's permissions rather than sharing passwords casually.
Check Claims and Handover Terms
Request the firm's legal name, licensed activities and engagement terms. Do not assume that an accountant, auditor and registered tax agent are interchangeable. If a provider claims FTA tax-agent status, use the tax-adviser verification guide and the official FTA directory.
Before signing, agree how the previous accountant's closing balances will be checked. The handover should include ledgers, reconciliations, invoices, filing records and unresolved items, not merely a summary spreadsheet. Use the monthly accounting checklist to define ongoing deliverables.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I Choose the Cheapest Monthly Package?
Compare scope and total expected cost first. A modest package may suit a small business, but excluded work and volume limits should be clear.
Can I Keep My Existing Software?
Ask the provider before engaging them. Agree access, supported workflows and data ownership in writing.
What If My Books Are Behind?
Request a separate catch-up assessment. Read the backlog accounting guide before agreeing a recurring monthly fee.
Reviewed October 2, 2026. General educational information, not personalised accounting, tax or legal advice. Check current official guidance for your circumstances. Profitrack is an independent private consultancy, not a government authority.