Are freelancers happy with their accountant?

97.7% of freelancers who use an online accountant said charges had not increased this year, whilst 84.5% of those using a local accountancy firm reported that prices have remained the same.

More and more freelancers are moving away from using the traditional Excel spreadsheet as a way of recording their transactions and graduating towards online software. The survey discovered that 62% of respondents feel online accounting is better and 21% are considering switching from the local accountant to an online system.

However, the survey did reveal some accountant horror stories. One contractor complained of receiving a £700 bill for a 20-minute phone conversation and two email responses.

Another person complained that her accountant was incapable of explaining anything in straightforward language and she had to take her husband with her as translator.

Other complaints included being given incorrect advice regarding VAT and charging for work that hadn't been done.

So what's the answer? Should limited company contractors go for an online solution or stick to their local accountancy practice?

The advent of the cloud has led to various companies launching online accounting packages where freelancers can keep their books up-to-date for a reasonable monthly fee. Most of them are easy to set-up and use. And that's fine for general day-to-day bookkeeping.

But then what happens at self-assessment time? Online accounting software doesn't tell you what expenses are allowable and what aren't. Accountants may lose some business due to cloud accounting, but there will always be some freelancers who would prefer to deal with a human rather than a machine.

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