Working for yourself comes with a different set of financial responsibilities.

Your income may vary. Your contracts or clients can change. You might start out as a sole trader or through an Umbrella Company before deciding that a Personal Limited Company makes more sense. As your income grows, your tax position and responsibilities can change too.

That means you don’t just need an accountant who can prepare accounts and file tax returns.

You need someone who understands the realities of contracting and self-employment, how the different structures work, what changes as your career or business develops, and what you need to know along the way.

So, what should you look for when choosing an accountant?

First, understand how you’re working

Not everyone who works for themselves operates in the same way.

Your structure affects how you get paid, how your tax is managed and what accounting and administrative responsibilities you have.

Three common structures are:

Sole Trader: You operate as an individual rather than through a limited company. You are responsible for managing your own business income, expenses and tax obligations.

Umbrella Company: Common among contractors, an Umbrella Company can handle much of the invoicing, payroll and tax administration associated with your contract.

Personal Limited Company: You establish your own company and become a company director. This gives you greater control over how you operate, but also brings additional accounting, tax, filing and company responsibilities.

The right structure depends on your individual circumstances and it may change over time.

A short contract can become a contracting career. A small self-employed business can grow. Income can increase significantly and decisions that seemed relatively minor when you started can have much bigger consequences later.

That’s one of the reasons specialist experience matters.

1. Check their qualifications, then check their experience

A useful place to start is with the word “accountant” itself.

In Ireland, “accountant” is not a legally protected title in the same way as certain professional designations. In practical terms, the title alone doesn’t tell you whether someone has the qualifications, professional oversight or protections you might assume come with it.

That’s why it’s important to check someone’s professional qualifications and verify their membership or firm registration with an appropriate professional accounting body.

Chartered Accountants Ireland, for example, recommends checking professional qualifications and membership or firm registration. Its members working in public practice are subject to professional requirements including practising certificates, professional indemnity insurance, continuing professional development and quality assurance. Other recognised professional accounting bodies have their own requirements.

Qualifications establish professional credibility.

But they don’t necessarily establish specialist experience.

Someone can be an excellent accountant and still have limited experience working with contractors or self-employed professionals.

Working for yourself can involve PAYE, VAT, Corporation Tax, business expenses, irregular income, company filings and decisions around how your business is structured.

So, ask a simple question:

“How much of your work involves contractors and self-employed professionals like me?”

You shouldn’t have to explain the world you work in to the person you’re paying to help you navigate it.

At Fenero, we’ve specialised in tax and accounting for contractors and self-employed professionals in Ireland for more than 17 years.

2. Make sure they understand your structure

Saying “I’m self-employed” or “I’m a contractor” doesn’t tell an accountant everything they need to know.

A sole trader has different accounting and tax responsibilities from someone operating through a Personal Limited Company.

Someone working through an Umbrella Company may have much of their payroll, tax administration and invoicing handled through their umbrella provider instead.

Your accountant should understand the structure you’re using today, but they should also understand what may happen if your circumstances change.

Useful questions include:

• Do you regularly work with people using my structure?

• Which taxes, filings and administrative requirements will you manage?

• What information will you need from me and how often?

• What happens if my income increases significantly?

• What happens if I move from an Umbrella Company or sole trader structure to my own Personal Limited Company?

• What responsibilities remain mine?

The answers shouldn’t require an accounting qualification to understand. If you leave the first conversation knowing less than when you arrived, that’s useful information too.

3. Look for someone who works before the deadline

Accounting isn’t only about recording what has already happened.

A good accountant should also help you understand what’s coming.

For self-employed taxpayers using the Pay and File system, for example, Revenue requires the previous year’s return and balance of tax alongside preliminary tax for the current year. The standard deadline is 31 October, with an extended deadline for qualifying online ROS filing.

Finding out that you have a significant tax bill a week before it’s due is technically information.

It just isn’t particularly useful information.

Ask how your accountant keeps clients ahead of deadlines.

Do they tell you what needs to be prepared in advance?
Do they flag likely tax liabilities early enough for you to plan?
If your circumstances change, will they raise the issue or wait until the annual accounts?

You don’t need an accountant constantly searching for ingenious ways to reduce tax. You need someone who understands the rules, identifies legitimate planning opportunities where appropriate and gives you enough warning to make informed decisions.

4. Demand plain-English communication

Tax and accounting contain enough technical language already. Your accountant doesn’t need to add more. You don’t need to become an accountant yourself, but you should understand your own finances.

You should know:

• what you owe

• when it’s due

• what records you need to provide

• which decisions require your attention

• why a particular approach or structure has been recommended

You should also know who you’re actually dealing with.

• Will you have a named contact?
• How quickly do they normally respond?
• Can you speak to someone when you have an important decision to make?
• Can they explain complicated issues in everyday language?

The best professional relationships make complicated things easier to understand.

If every conversation with your accountant requires twenty minutes on Google afterwards, something isn’t working.

5. Know exactly what the fee covers

The cheapest monthly fee isn’t necessarily the best value.

A low headline price can look attractive until services you assumed were included start appearing as additional charges.

So, compare like with like.

Depending on your structure and circumstances, ask whether the fee includes things such as annual accounts, Corporation Tax returns, VAT returns, payroll, personal tax returns, CRO filings, company secretarial work and advice during the year.

Then ask:

Which services cost extra?

And:

What happens to my fee if my circumstances become more complicated?

The objective isn’t to find the cheapest or most expensive accountant. It’s to understand exactly what you’re paying for and what support you’re actually getting.

6. Make sure their systems make your life easier

Your relationship with your accountant shouldn’t depend on an annual exchange of shoeboxes full of receipts. Contractors and self-employed professionals generate invoices, receipts, expenses, payroll information, bank transactions and tax records throughout the year.

A good system makes it easier to record and manage that information as you go rather than reconstructing twelve months of financial history later.

Revenue requires businesses to maintain appropriate records and generally retain original records for six years. Importantly, having an accountant maintain records on your behalf doesn’t transfer the ultimate responsibility away from you.

So, ask about the process.

• Can you upload documents digitally?

• Can you easily see what’s outstanding?

• Can you access your records when you need them?

• What happens when you need a document quickly?

Technology alone doesn’t make someone a better accountant. But a good system can make working with one considerably easier.

7. Look beyond accounting alone

When you work for yourself, your business finances and your personal financial life can become closely connected.

Your accountant can help you understand your tax obligations, business finances, structure and compliance.

But those decisions can also affect longer-term questions around pensions, investments, protection, retirement and wider financial planning, areas that may require a regulated financial adviser.

The two disciplines are different, but they can work together.

Your accountant can help establish what money is available and explain the accounting or tax implications of particular decisions.

A financial adviser can help you consider what that money needs to achieve over the longer term.

This is where having access to both disciplines can be useful.

Through Fenero’s accounting services and Fenero Financial Advisors (FFA), contractors and self-employed professionals can access accounting expertise and financial planning within the wider Fenero offering.

It means your immediate accounting responsibilities and longer-term financial goals, from pensions and protection to wider financial planning, can be considered as part of a more joined-up approach.

Choose an accountant who understands how you work

A good accountant should do more than help you meet your obligations to Revenue.

They should understand your structure, explain your responsibilities clearly, keep you ahead of important deadlines and make the financial administration of working for yourself easier to manage.

Qualifications matter.

So do fees, systems and responsiveness.

But specialist experience is what connects them.

At Fenero, we’ve specialised in tax and accounting for contractors and self-employed professionals in Ireland for more than 17 years. Whether you’re taking on your first contract, operating as a sole trader, moving from an Umbrella Company to a Personal Limited Company, changing accountant or simply wondering whether your current setup still suits the way you work, we’re here to help.

Ready to talk about your finances?

Get in touch with the Fenero team at hello@fenero.ie
or call +353 1 687 7400.

Financial expertise, with heart.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute tax, accounting or financial advice. Tax treatment and reporting requirements depend on individual circumstances and can change. You should seek professional advice appropriate to your own circumstances before making tax, accounting or financial decisions.