11 Things to Consider When Looking for a Contractor Accountant

Contractors face unique financial challenges that differ significantly from those of traditional employees. Managing taxes, understanding complex regulations like IR35, and ensuring compliance with HMRC requirements is really complex and time consuming.

Given the number of accountants for contractors in the UK, we've put together this guide to help you understand what to look for when assessing the best contractor accountant for your business.

tl;dr we'd advise staying away from really large contractor accounting firms (3,000+ clients) as they aren't that proactive, it's difficult to talk to a real accountant and they won't develop much of an interest in your business.

Assess their Experience with Contractors

Generally, most accounting firms in the UK will offer a contractor accounting service.

To be honest, the filing requirements for contractors are fairly straight forward, particularly if you operate as a single director with no other shareholders and typically work with one client.

You'll want to ensure that you're working with an accountant that understands how your business operates and if they have worked with clients that have a similar role to yourself.

GoForma was actually created by former contractors and consultants.

Assess which accounting software they use

It's surprising how many different types of accounting software options are available in the market. It goes without saying that you should stick away from accountants that want to do things manually with spreadsheets.

The key differentiation you'll need to assess is: did they build their own in-house software or did they partner with an accounting software provider?

There are typically four popular accounting software providers in the UK:

• Xero
• Quickbooks
• FreeAgent

We have trialled and tested all of these options and without a doubt, FreeAgent is the absolute best accounting software for contractors.

It is the most expensive option but you get what you pay for. FreeAgent has the best and most intuitive interface, easiest automatic bank feeds, it will automatically guess and reconcile transactions and there is a fantastic mobile app.

Some other accounting firms have built their own solution in-house.

We have yet to see a good quality piece of accounting software built by an accountancy firm that doesn't have errors with bank feeds/ transaction importing, has an easy user interface and has any integrations with other software.

Verify Qualifications and Certifications

We'll let you into a pretty unknown industry secret: there are very few 'qualified' accountants at these large contractor accounting firms.

Essentially, larger firms will have one main qualified accountant and then have a large number of accounts assistants who are partially qualified. They will work on the majority of the account and then the lead accountant will review and file the accounts.

This means that your "accountant" doesn't really develop an intimate or deep understanding of your business.

From the moment you book a consultation with GoForma, you'll be talking to a qualified accountant who is likely to become your 1-on-1 personal accountant. You can ask them about their qualifications on the call.

Typical qualifications to look out for at AAT, ACA, ACCA or CIMA.

Some accounting firms will employ someone without qualifications who will be your contact during the enquiry and onboarding process. You should be careful with the advice you take or you're probably going to find that they'll need to confirm your questions with an accountant as a follow up to the call.

Evaluate the Size of the Firm

There are some HUGE contractor accounting firms. They will have 3,000 or more clients.

From what we see, you'll get a responsive onboarding process but typically your account can get lost once you get started. You'll usually email a generic support@accountingfirm.com and most queries will need to be done by email.

If you don't have a very complex account and don't really need to speak to an accountant then this can work ok as you can sometimes get a cheaper price.

Pros and Cons of Large Firms

Pros of large firms:

• Will have a pretty smooth onboarding process
• Good newsletters
• Some additional partner options
• Cheap

Cons of large firms:

• No personal relationship with accountant
• If your account gets slightly complicated you may get delays
• Have frequent price rises

Pros and Cons of Small Firms

Pros of small firms:

• Will probably have a 1-on-1 relationship with your accountant
• Better understanding of your account
• More responsive
• Unlikely to raise prices

Cons of small firms:

• May have less support options available
• Less newsletters
• Fewer partner offers

Check for IR35 Expertise

You'll probably have heard a thing or two about IR35 by now.

A good contractor accountant will be able to advise and review your current working arrangement or work contract to assess your IR35 status.

Technology and Software Used

It's important to understand how you're going to communicate with your accountant and how you'll get support when you need it.

Is everything over email? Do I call? Will someone call me?

You should check if you can schedule a call with your accountant and what support channels they may offer e.g. phone, whatsapp, SMS and email.

At GoForma you can contact us via:

• WhatsApp (and we'll also send you reminders on WhatsApp if you want)
• Website live chat
• Booking in a phone call with your accountant
• SMS
• Phone (during normal business hours of 9am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday)
• Email
• Instagram

Look for Client Testimonials and References

The most common places to look for reviews are Trustpilot and Google Maps.

As mentioned, there are some massive contractor accounting firms in the UK and you'll see some pretty mixed reviews.

Common complaints tend to be:

• Price increases
• Lack of responsiveness
• Persistent filing delays
• Technical problems

What makes a good review:

• Accountant or team members named (they have a personal relationship)
• Responsiveness (they respond promptly)
• Length on engagement (if someone has just signed up they may not have really tested the service properly)
• Quality of information provided (able to help with a range of queries)
• No technical issues (no big problems or headaches for getting the information they need)

Here's an example of a review of GoForma contractor accounting:

Determine the Level of Personalised Service

We can't begin to state how important this is. The key things to look out for are:

• How do I contact my accountant?
• Will I have a named accountant?
• Can I book time with my named accountant?
• Who else will be managing my account?
• How often will I get updates?

Understand Their Availability and Response Time

Assess their typical SLA for client communications but also check their SLAs for key filing tasks.

Here are some questions to consider asking:

• How soon do you respond to queries?
• How long does the accounts filing process take?
• How quickly can I register a company?
• How quickly can I switch accountant?

Assess Their Knowledge of Industry-Specific Regulations

Your accountant needs to have a good understanding of recent tax changes, particularly those taking affect from 6th April 2025. This will have an impact on your take home.

You can see if they have many calculators, guides or announcements about recent industry changes but you should ask them about upcoming changes.

Confirm the Services Included in the Package

Most contractor accountants will offer a basic beginner package. The key things to assess here are the additional costs for:

• Limited company registration
• Confirmation statement filing
• Self assessment tax returns
• Additional payroll
• Accounting software

We've also seen some providers that will charge you to speak with an accountant so you should definitely confirm this before joining.