The kontracta.com Blog

We are getting ready for our Christmas holidays now so are just letting you know our opening hours over the festive period.

We are closed from Thursday 22nd December 2011 to Monday 2nd January 2012 inclusively and we reopen for our busy January period on Tuesday January 3rd 2012.

May we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

kontracta.com

Just to let you know that we are back to normal and up and running with the same office hours (and great service!) as before.

Thank you for your patience.

kontracta.com

We’re making some more changes behind the scenes and there are also some holidays being taken over the period Friday 28th October 2011 to Tuesday 15th November 2011. Therefore the following arrangements have been made.

- We won’t be contactable by telephone from 12 noon on Friday 28th until 8:15am on Tuesday 15th November. Our answering machines will be on but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to pick up any voicemails so please also send us an e-mail at the same time.

- Live chat will be unavailable.

- We will be responding to e-mails but they will not be checked a often as normal so please allow up to 3 business days for a reply.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused and thanks for your understanding with this. We will be back to normal in mid-November.

kontracta.com

I’m with another accountant but want to switch to you. Is it easy?
Yes. We can guide you through the process and will also correspond with your current accountant. Unless they have good reason (such as being owed money) they can’t refuse to release your records to us.

Are there any other business services that you offer?  
Our sister division Colledge & Co, offer traditional accountancy services for sole traders, partnerships and limited companies. Please click here to take you to Colledge & Co. Another sister division offers the same fixed monthly fee services available through kontracta.com to UK based sole traders and unincorporated partnerships. Click here to go to sole trader accountants.com.

So who do I contact?
Please feel free to call us on 0845 676 9778, e-mail on info@kontracta.com or get us to call you by filling in the form in the Contact Us section. We look forward to hearing from you.

kontracta.com

About six million people are set to receive tax rebates averaging £400, while another million will learn they have underpaid their tax by about £600.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said letters would begin going out in the next few months, with those owing money able to pay in stages.

It is the second year tax and National Insurance discrepancies have been identified by a new computer system.

HMRC said the number of cases would reduce “as the new system beds in”.

Those who will be told they have underpaid tax are expected to owe between £500 and £600 on average.

The rebates, which relate to overpayments in 2007-08 or earlier and will include interest, are due to be settled by December 2012.

If you have any questions then please get in touch with us.

Full story at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15363168

kontracta.com

Are we locked into a contract?
Nope! Obviously we don’t want you to leave us but on occasions it will be necessary if you move abroad, you sell up or just simply cease trading – we understand that. Therefore you need only put it into writing that you wish to leave us and we will acknowledge it. You won’t have to then pay a severance fee, sit out a paid notice or anything else. We will get in touch to finalise details and of course get some feedback but there would be no hard sell. Where it is in your financial interests to let us complete your accounts or tax return because we are so far down the road to completion, we will let you know but there would be no obligation to listen to us of course!

When do we pay?
We charge a month in advance of our services with payments being made on the 1st of each month. If you join us part way through the month then the first month’s fee is pro-rated accordingly- so if you join us on say 15th April, you will pay for the 15th April-30th April and then monthly from 1st May.

What about fee rises?
We will re-assess costs once a year and apply any changes on 1st January each year. We will give you three month’s notice on this too. We can assure you that any fee rises are not in the same league as that of utility or train companies and are not linked to oil prices!

How can we pay you?
We’d encourage you to set up a standing order so you don’t have to worry about getting the chequebook out each month. However we also accept a range of other electronic and manual payments.

What do I need to do?
When you join us, we’ll give you more detail of course but for now……

You’ll fill out our application form so we can get more of an idea about you and your business (we are registered with the Information Commissioners Office so have a legal duty to look after and not misuse personal data). To satisfy laws and regulations we will also need to conduct an ID and money laundering check.

Once that’s all done, we’ll prepare a calendar for you and then start our work. In most cases your main obligation is to then just to send us your invoicing details, your bank statements and your expenses as you go – plus answer any questions we may have.

kontracta.com

Why are you such good value for money? Is there a catch?
No catch at all. We are part of a chartered accountancy firm (read more here on the use of the word ‘accountant’) so are bound by strict rules of our institute. All work is done by a chartered accountant too (and by that we mean completed by a chartered accountant, not just signed off or lightly supervised by one) so you can be assured that there is sufficient experience and quality behind what we do for you. Although we like to use technology, we ensure that the work is completed by a human rather than an automated process too.

We like to keep our costs down where possible so we can pass on the savings to you. That doesn’t mean that we outsource work abroad or take seats out of our office or anything. We are just efficient at what we do. None of us have super-yachts to maintain either or large expense accounts with chic designer handbag stores.

Are you a sausage factory?
No, we’re a chartered accountancy business (but probably not very funny)!

One of the criticisms that fellow chartered accountants tend to use against each other when prices are low is that they are ‘sausage factories’. Basically that implies that everything is automated and only the basic checks are made – meaning your accounts end up pretty much based on any inputs you make onto our software. Personal service is also sacrificed for providing a homogenous service as the business tries to squeeze as many clients through their business to maximise income. That’s where the sausage factory analogy comes in.

Anyway not only are we not doing a sideline in pig products but we don’t fall into that category. We offer unlimited telephone and internet advice as part of our service and we always prepare your accounts using human input. We also check your invoices against what is entered onto the system and make the correct journals to basically give you a consistent, accurate and complete set of accounts and tax calculations. Along the way we check to see if there are any potential expenses missing from your records and ensure that you have a robust set of books that will both accurately depict your business and stand up to scrutiny.

What don’t you do?
We don’t offer our business address as a registered office for you. That said, not many of our competitors do either. We have however teamed up with a provider and you can save 10% on registered office fees with them if you go through us. We don’t offer any Regulated financial advice either. Whilst we will help to dissolve your company, this is NOT part of your monthly fee.

kontracta.com

Where do you work?
We are based in London and Leicester. However we do not consider ourselves geographically tied to these areas and are able to provide assistance across the UK.

What type of businesses do you serve? 
kontracta.com is designed for contractors who have formed (or want to form) limited companies in the UK and freelance professionals.

So what experience do you have?
As mentioned above, we use only qualified Chartered Accountants and each team member has up to 50 years experience in their field.

What are your rates then? 
£75 per month.

For an extra fee we can help you with business plans and budgets. We will also help you to incorporate your company or dissolve/wind it up – again for a reasonable fee.

Is the fee tax deductible?
Absolutely! Our services are wholly and exclusively in the course of your business so you will save tax on each and every pound you pay to us. Most of you will pay 20% Corporation Tax so each £75 monthly payment for our Premium service will save you £15 in tax – so your ‘net fees’ are £60.

kontracta.com

So who is/are kontracta.com?
kontracta.com is a trading name of MPC Financial Consulting Ltd, who began life in 2004 offering accounts, book keeping and general business functions for businesses in the Leicester area. It has now expanded to London in addition to the East Midlands.

MPC Financial Consulting Ltd is a member firm of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and is a member of the ICAEW Practice Assurance Scheme.

kontracta.com, have offices in London and Leicester. However whilst maintaining a physical presence in both cities, we are not geographically bound thanks to the internet and the telephone. We therefore welcome enquiries from all over!

So why use kontracta.com?

We believe that we offer an alternative for the following reasons:-

• All of your work is undertaken by a qualified Chartered Accountant rather than a piece of software or someone who is yet to possess a qualification..
• Our rates are more than comparable with that of a traditional accounting firm and our contractor accountant competitors … yet we offer a service as you would expect from a chartered accountancy firm.
• We’ve been there! MPC Financial Consulting Ltd started life as one person trading his wares as a consultant. Quite a bit was learned during that initial phase which means that not only do we have empathy with your situation but we can also guide you through the good and bad times.
• For Premium customers we can travel to your premises to discuss accounts and collect books rather than require you to come to an office.
• We offer a flat monthly fee so you know exactly what you’re paying for. No time based calculations as with traditional accountancy firms.
• All of our advice is provided as part of the monthly fee so you don’t have to worry about the clock ticking when you talk to us.
• There are no contractual tie-in periods with us- we only enter into long term contracts at your request. You are free to come and go as you please.
• For professionals heading to the UK from overseas we offer advice and services from the time you enter the UK to the time you leave. The owner has done similar (but in the opposite direction!) so not only has he experience in relocations but he also has a sympathetic understanding too!

kontracta.com

We are proud to announce that our sister business, Colledge & Co, are participating in the ICAEW’s Business Advice Service scheme.

This has been introduced by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales to allow SMEs and those wishing to start a business to get one hour’s free business consultation with a member firm of the ICAEW. It is a no obligation service so businesses and prospective businesses will be able to get professional, expert help on a range of business issues right from the first business idea right through to discussing exit strategies. For free!

The scheme has also been introduced to promote the chartered status of the Institute and its member firms. Anyone can call themselves an accountant but this is not the case with a chartered accountant. With a chartered accountant you are guaranteed that you have someone who has had to put the hard yards in with study and on the job experince prior to gaining a qualification, is monitored throughout their career and is also adequately insured to carry out the work.

For more details view the Colledge & Co website or go straight to http://www.businessadviceservice.com/

kontracta.com