Should you hire an accountant if you’re self-employed?

According to recent report from the Office of National Statistics, self-employment in the UK is at its highest since records began. While being self-employed can grant you additional freedoms that a regular nine-to-five job may restrict, there are also several additional responsibilities that can cause people problems. 

Dealing with the financial side of the business is a common example of this, especially if you little prior experience in this field. If you don’t feel comfortable potentially managing large amounts of money, working with a third-party specialist could be invaluable in taking your business to the next level.

Access to Additional Services

For most people, the first thing that comes to mind when you think of an accountant is tax issues. As well as helping you with your self-assessment and ensuring that you’re taking advantage of any tax saving schemes that you're eligible for, though, working with an accountant will also give you access to a number of other services that you may find useful. For example, one of the first things any startup needs to do is create a business plan. 

Not only should this include a statement of purpose and an overall vision about where the company is moving, but it also needs to be comprised of hard financial statistics such as your projected sales numbers and monthly expenses. By working with an expert who has experience dealing with other companies in similar positions, you’ll be able to take advantage of much more accurate predictions compared to if you were simply working on your own.

The Value of Peace of Mind

One of the earliest lessons that any new business owner needs to learn is how to effectively delegate responsibility to others. For someone with an entrepreneurial mindset, this can be difficult. After all, one of the biggest attractions to running your own business is being involved with every step of the process. Pretty soon, though, you’ll realise that allowing third-parties to handle non-core operations is the best way to allow you to focus on what makes your company unique. 

Ask yourself if tasks like bookkeeping, handling HMRC issues, and keeping up-to-date with the latest tax regulations sound appealing to you. If this isn’t the case, then consider outsourcing these problems to a company who specialises in these areas. Not only will you get better results, but you’ll also be free to work on the aspects of the business that inspired you to set out on your own in the first place.