Hello. was wondering could someone share experience about beeing Self Assesment agent. What sofware is the best to use, gereneral pros and cons. Thanks
I use TaxCalc for my own and my family's returns, but I believe there is also a bureau version for bookkeepers. Going by the personal version, I think it's excellent. I don't offer tax returns to my clients, but I'm thinking of it.
make sure that you cover yourself with your engagement letter.
Clients tell you what they think that you need to know. (but that other employment is PAYE, you don't need to know about that... Oh did I need to tell you about my pension / trust income as well).
They think that they know what needs to go in the assessment before you put it together making self assessments for the self employed and property owners particularly problematic... And of course, if they don't fall into one of those categories then it is unlikely that their self assessment would be comlicated enough to need your services anyway.
Go through the bank statements with a fine toothcomb and don't forget to ask about other bank statements and Building society statements and things like ISA's... The ISA is tax free but where did the money come from that went into it!
I've not done too many self assessments of people beyond the immediate family but what I have done has been like pulling teeth for getting the complete information from the client who seems to think that by bringing in a professional they have divested themselves of responsibility for the content of the statement.
Maybe I'm doing it incorrectly by treating it almost as an audit of the taxpayer. I'm sure that others will just put into the form the information that they are given by the client but my issue is that if a client comes to us to do their self assessment then the likelihood is that they do not know the information that they needed to give us in the first place.
The above said, all of the above is part and parcel of the business that we are in and as such it's not a service that I have any intention of not offering. Just a warning that it's likely to turn out more complex than you think, not for the forms that you need to complete but the information that you need to extract from clients who don't realise the importance of the information that they are not telling you.
The easiest self assessments are the ones where you do all of the other work for the client and I would advise for you to start off with those one's by just extending other services rather than taking on self assessment only clients for starters.
kind regards,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Thanks Andrew and Shaun. Re software i was looking at this one too as it looks very reasonable price. Re covering myself i am planning to include something like " that the information provided is correct and accurate" along the lines just in case. It will be learning curve this year. I am thinking to one our family friends tax return as his mrs got pregnant and really cant be bothered. So will tackle this and hope she will give some support if needed.
Yes, that's a good thread as it mentions several preferences.
I'd be interested what the toolset is that make spending £6K a prerequisite. Perhaps several CT returns pay for it and/or the individuals are seen as a necessary ancillary service. I suppose it provides a thorough trail of every tax treatment from prime entry, including any P11D ramifications.
Pricing is quite difficult to compare as it really depends on the requirements of the user. For instance, QMS might suit you down to the ground, being Excel based or I'd save a few bob if I got to grips with a .pdf program.
One thing worth mentioning is that some providers, at least, won't let you use previous year's software when you don't renew your licence. That's a way of 'locking-in' the customer as restricting that way doesn't appear to serve any other purpose. I changed software just at the wrong time a couple of years ago, just when people started knocking at the door for appeals against previous year P800 assessments.
Also, some people manage quite well with HMRC's own free offering and might only need, say, a product to do partnership returns.
Kind regards, Tim
Edit: in italics
-- Edited by Don Tax on Saturday 5th of January 2013 12:13:10 PM
It's worth searching on this forum as there are quite a few discussions on SA Software. The concensus is for TaxCalc; for cheap and cheerful - Andica and top of the range opinion sites IRIS as the best but is usually out of the price range for one-man-bands.
HMRC have a list of suppliers with websites, so you can do a pretty thorough research from that start point. I understand that HMRC no longer 'approve' software as such.
FTax had a brief day in the sun for popularity but, personally, I found it unusable. I would think it is much more friendly if you're a whizz with Adobe Acrobat and pay for their extra .pdf features.
Whichever you choose, I would think a standard reminder letter is an important feature for making certain client's have been asked the right questions each year. I like that on TaxCalc although generally I find that one a bit long-winded.
Try the search terms 'Self Assessment Software' and 'Tax Return Software' and also the brand names that interest you. This is just one discussion that might not come up on those particular search terms:-
As you say Tim, I think that the concensus is definitely for Taxcalc and for SA100's alone it's not too expensive in the greater scheme of things. It does however crank up a bit when your looking to do CT600's.
On the IRIS front I know that last year a freind of mine handed over £6k to IRIS for her little practice (just her and a couple of assistants). She complains about it but won't move away from the Sage / IRIS setup as her argument is that's the expected toolset for a professional practice.
I'm way too much of an Ebeneezer character to part with that sort of money so lightly but at least it puts the £500 for Taxcalc into a little better perspective.
Talk later,
Shaun.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
As for a prerequisit my impression is that the software setup is the same as the chartered practice that she came from (She's went solo when she became chartered herself).
I can see Sage for someone who has always used Sage but IRIS does seem to me a little OTT. Then again, she's doing well and can comfortably afford the software charges so who am I to judge.
For CT600's I still currently use VT's inbuilt tax facility plus manual entry. The intention is to move to taxcalc but I haven't taken the plunge yet not due to the cost but rather I seem to spend all my time learning new software at the moment and until Quckbooks is firmly under my belt I'm determined not to buy any more toys to play with.
And talking of VT I'm sitting here looking at the options at the moment wondering under which category to classify a fraud (cheque drawn against an account that has no cheque book!).
Think that I may well have to create another category specifically for this as non of the presets seem to quite do what I want.
Makes you wonder how people manage when they just buy software on the assumption that it does everything for them without knowing themselves where things are supposed to end up in the accounts doesn't it!
talk in a bit,
Shaun.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
And talking of VT I'm sitting here looking at the options at the moment wondering under which category to classify a fraud (cheque drawn against an account that has no cheque book!).
Think that I may well have to create another category specifically for this as non of the presets seem to quite do what I want.
..............................
Ooooh, fraud! How the devil did that get through the clearing house? Not a bankers draft or anything the client forgot to tell you about. I created a new one (not VT) with a similar thing. The amounts were quickly credited as the guilty party was the bank clerk, so just a series of contras with no overall effect.
Basically i am looking to do some tax returns for builders and some contractors for starters, nothing special to be fair. Hoping to expand with the time. Was looking at Forbes and Taxcalc . Taxcalc is cheaper and i think would do the job in the beginning, as i dont want splash the cash beforehand which not work out totally. Thanks
