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Self assessment preparations: tips and advice

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14th Oct 2013
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Like it or not, self assessment season is creeping up on us. To get you in the mood Keytime has put together a self assessment guide featuring tips and advice from fellow practitioners.

The firm asked its accountant customers for their views ahead of tax-return season which, with the arrival of a throng of child benefit claimants forced into self assessment, is shaping up to be even busier as we head towards January 2014.

The accountants consulted were Steve Lambert of Lambert Clerical, John Robinson of Robinson Stewart & Co and Adrian Lawrence of Account Solutions York.

How do you cope with the busy season?

Because January has always been the busiest month of the year,  Lambert pre-books holidays for February so that he has no choice but to take a break when self assessment season ends.

“Not only does this recharge the batteries, but it gives me something to look forward to when I am at my desk on the extra evenings and weekends,” he said.

Robinson says he is “very organised” and maintains a master list to see quickly who needs to chased and what for. With the exception of the first fortnight of the month, his Januarys are no busier than any other time of year. Robinson starts nagging his clients for information from early April, and for those with P11Ds, from early July.

The early start, coupled with tackling simple tax returns when he’s got a few spare moments, reduces his workload come January.

How can you ensure clients are timely with information?

Some of Lambert’s clients are “great” at sending information by late summer, but some are slightly less disciplined.

“I’ve even had a client knock on my door at lunchtime on the 31st, carrier bag in hand,” he said.

To prevent a recurrence this year, Lambert has taken a three-step, carrot and stick approach, which includes:

  • Sending a brief reminder by email earlier in the year
  • Telling clients who have not yet come through by 30 September that his final date for records will be 30 November
  • Information received after that will be classed as urgent and charged a premium rate, with no guarantee of meeting the deadline
  • In December, he sends a final warning, reminding clients of the premium rate and no guarantee of completion.

Ways to deal with January stress

Feeling stressed is a typical reaction to self assessment season for accountants, but there are many ways to deal with the increased pressure.

Lambert has a network of family and friends behind him who he says “are used to [him] now” and leave him to his own devices to work with no distractions.

Having a solid, reliable accounting software package in place that you are comfortable with and can trust is also mandatory to reducing stress levels, he added. His formula for reducing January stress is,  “Ask for the information early, do not panic, work methodically. Do the work as soon as you have the information.”

Robinson agrees: “If they haven’t managed to get me their details in over nine-and-a-half months from April, it’s their problem.”

As long as accountants have done the groundwork and obtained the essential information, as well as set aside extra time, tax season should be relatively stress-free, he said.

What are your top tips for preparing for self assessment season, and avoiding the stress that comes with it? Download the Keytime self assessment guide  for more suggestions - or add your comments below.

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By Whitnalls44
22nd Oct 2013 12:03

January would be quite slow for us without the final self assessments to be honest but I find getting staff to ring clients shames a lot of them to bring their accounts in - also offering to pick it up can push them into sorting it out

 

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By Marlinman
22nd Oct 2013 14:32

January Holiday

I always take an overseas holiday in January as most of my SA returns have been filed by the end of September. I only have 3 clients who leave it until the last minute and can live with that.  I have a strict policy of not doing late returns and any client who is late for whatever reason, is dumped. I can afford to pick and choose who I take on and don't like those who leave things until the last minute.  These people often have not set aside sufficient funds for their January POA and if they turn into insolvency cases, there is a risk I will not be paid.  The vast majority of my clients get their figures to me as soon as possible after their year end as they want to know where they stand. My busiest months are May, June and July.

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By abelljms
08th Jan 2014 12:52

Stress Solution is.....

 

Get HMRCy to bring the deadline forward to 30th November. Think it through......

When do clients do anything? Only in Sept-Nov because they are BUSY BUSY people the rest of the year, and we have to FIT IN. Full details of my reasoning are below:-

 

Jan  getting over Christmas, check over skiing gear

Feb skiing

Mar Spring soon, leaf through some holiday brochures

Apr yo, can walk outside again, see if that Bistro has put some tables back outside

May dig out the barbie

Jun tennis

Jul Ibitha

Aug Zakanthos

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec yo partytime

 

etc.....

As you can see three is a solid three month window where we have their un-divided attention, and indeed ours also.

This simple change would also mean i could enjoy Christmas, and not have to keep rushing in to the office to shuffle papers and cheer the troops on.

What's not to like?

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