Criteria for Choosing an Accountant

Here are some of the important criteria you need to consider before choosing an accountant:

• Certified chartered accountants: A person does not necessarily have to be certified as a chartered accountant in order to provide accountancy services. While a certified accountant is your only option if your business is being audited or if you wish to avail of a loan, a non-certified accountant can be a huge help for day-to-day accounting matters such as bookkeeping and maintaining company accounts. Since a certified accountant can be much more expensive than a non-certified one, you need to understand your accountancy requirements and then make the appropriate choice.
• Expertise related to your business: It is important to choose an accountant who is familiar with the accountancy needs of your particular type of business and the industry that you are in. After all, if you are running a hospitality business, there is not much point in hiring an accountant who may be great with manufacturing businesses. In addition to number crunching, your accountant should also be able to offer you sound business advice. This will only be possible if he knows the ins and outs of your industry.
• Existing or previous clients: You need to know which other clients the accountant has worked for previously and is currently working with, before you make your final decision. The reason for this is two-fold. Firstly, you will know whether the accountant has worked with clients who are in the same type of business as yours. If so then that is a good sign and if not, you may want to look at other accountants. Secondly, knowing how many current clients the accountant has will give you an idea about how busy he is and whether he will have enough time for your business.
• Accountancy charges: This is one of the most important considerations when choosing an accountant. Most accountants either charge by the hour, or a fixed sum for specific accountancy tasks. Some accountants will charge you for a complete hour even if you have simply taken some advice over a phone call, which lasted less than 5 minutes! Therefore, it is essential to know how your prospective accountants calculate their charges before hiring them.

This is a guest post by Alex, a Illinois based financial blogger and journalist. He covers everything from loans to investments, consumer finance advice to legal matter such as where to find a good Illinois malpractice firm.

That’s why it pays to be aware of the most common mistakes, outlined here:

(1) Mistakes Made on the Filing Status – A large percentage of mistakes that are made come down to people selecting the wrong status of filing on the return. If you believe you might be using the wrong status, or are not 100 per cent sure then you should use the Exemptions and Standard Deductions and Filings Information, also called Publication 501. This will help you to find the right status for your situation.

(2) Giving the Wrong Social Security No – Incredibly, a lot of people get their own social security number wrong. This is such a basic error that you should make sure you avoid it – as even doing this can delay your return being filed on time.

(3) Mistakes with your Bank Details – Again, this is such a basic error that you wouldn’t believe people make it but they do – when they are tired or stressed. And again, making a mistake with such a basic thing can still delay your return and cost you money.

(4) Not Remembering to Date or Sign the Tax Return – Because a tax return is a legal document anyone who fills one out and submits it is legally required to date and sign it. If you don’t then you will have it sent back and you will delay your return.

(5) Incorrect Calculations – Lastly, of course there are those mistakes with math. No matter how smart you might be, inevitably at one point or another you’ll make some mistakes. The way to make sure they are not too serious is to leave the return until the day after filling it out and then go back and check through all your figures. That will mean you check it with a clear head.

This is a guest post by Esther, a personal finance blogger and journalist. She writes about all kinds of financial issues, from mortgages and loans to how to set up an umbrella company.

1. Handle your finances smartly: Make sure you are handling your money in the right manner so as not to pay huge amounts of money in arrears. Here are some ways to do that.

• Make sure all your bills are paid before their due date so that your bills do not incur late payment charges. If you find it hard to remember, set up a direct debit from your bank account towards all your monthly bills.
• Start using a debit card instead of your credit card wherever possible. Not only will you not overspend because a debit card does not allow you to use credit, but you will not have to worry about the extremely high interest rates that are charged by credit card companies.

2. Go on a cost cutting spree: Try and lower your spends by doing the following:

• Instead of spending a couple of dollars in Starbucks every morning, why not brew your own coffee at home?
• Check your newspaper and magazine subscriptions and cancel all those subscriptions that you do not read regularly. You will be amazed to find that there are more than a few!
• Similarly, check your cable TV subscription and cancel all those channels that you do not watch every day. Nowadays, most episodes, news and serials can be watched online for free, so cutting back on channels can save you a lot of money.

3. Try and find newer avenues of income: You could either take up a part time job or you could try making money online. There are several things such as data entry and survey submissions that most people can do to add to their monthly income. Also, eBay auctions of items found around your home can be a good way to get additional income.

4. Reduce your debt: You can lower your financial debt by:

• Paying more than the minimum amount on your loans each month.
• Getting a debt consolidation loan that will help you to manage all your debt conveniently and make regular payments towards all your loans instead of just a few.

Going on a financial detox will not be accomplished in a day. However, by using the tips mentioned above, you can ensure that you are in good financial health in time.

Alex is a business blogger and journalist, who covers everything from investing in stocks to contractor tax and from mortgages to insurance to PO funding rates.

The advantage of P2P is that it lets consumers get hold of loans at an equivalent or sometimes better rate than they could get at their bank. Additionally it provides another place to turn when banks may have said no to a loan or if you do not want to use financial institutions for an ethical reason. So if you are in the market for a loan for a new business (with little credit rating) or debt consolidation or any other project then peer to peer lending is another place to look.

There are of course some risks for the lender. They will never meet or get to know the borrower and they will not be able to conduct as thorough a review of the lender’s finances as a bank might do. However, should they wish to bring down the risk lenders cam make smaller micro loans to various users of p2p sites and still get a good return on their investment from these borrowers. The sites have a number of options for lenders, including lending solely to one borrower or contributing to their loan as one of a number of lenders.

There are hundreds of P2P sites now out there, with the most famous including Prosper.com and LendingClub.com – all of them will broker the deal and will provide the proper legal contracts for the loan for both the lender and the borrower. These loans will nearly always be unsecured although some of the sites do have an option for securing the loans with borrower’s assets.

The site works with you applying for a loan and stating the interest rate you are able and willing to pay each month. You also fill in details about yourself and your reasons for the loan that the lender can read. Once they have approved your loan the p2p website finalizes terms and then payments are made through the website from borrower to lender.

Alex is a financial writer and blogger. He writes about everything from credit cards to mortgages to tax reduction.

The days of removing your household goods such as the furniture, bed, kitchenware and lots others one by one which consumes time and money really needs to come to an end as all of that is just kids’ play. If you had to be quite aware of how pricey, inconvenient and risky can that move you do is, you should’ve known better to do things the proper way by just appointing the reliable and most proficient  company to spearhead all of that task diligently and effortlessly just the way you would love all of that to be. you see when you apply that method of seeking the household removal goods you act responsibly for most of your hard earned possessions not to be on the receiving end because with the removal company they give you the opportunity to insure your goods they are relocating to that place you will love all of that to go in case when the incidents such as loss, damage and other unforeseen circumstances that might accrue to be covered by the other party rather than delegating some of your friend or yourself to do so as it can be taxing a lot, risky and at the same avoid thousand of trouble to manifest which will leave you with mountains of resentments in your thoughts.

As a gesture of assisting you to do nothing but the viable choices I would like you to think about furniture moving companies, and those that I would insist you to compare quotes on are ones like Master Movers which their quotes are reasonably worth paying for, also Johannesburg Movers offer professional furniture removals to safe and secure storage units where we will look after your valuables. 

So there you have it then, take time by the forelock (not too long) to best choose the one that best suits your pocket and your household goods that you will need them to relocated to that place through the informative sites like this one here, and waste no further time to begin doing so.

• Ensure that your insurance broker is registered with and licensed by the FSB – Financial Services Board.
• Always remember to ask to see your broker’s license; this will indicate what kind of product can be sold by the broker.
• If you withhold any information even if it is not intentional, this is usually one of the primary reasons a claim will be rejected by the insurance company.
• Your financial advisor will do a risk analysis prior to a package or insurance product being sold to you.
• Tax implications should and must be explained in detail at point of sale.
• Financial advisers are licensed according to their qualifications and experience for the kind of planning they are permitted to sell.
• The experts recommend that financial advisers belong to a professional group, for example the Financial Intermediaries Association of South Africa.
• The reason for belonging to a group such as this is that the financial adviser will be kept up to speed at all times regarding any changes in the law and industry developments.
• The dealings of the financial adviser will be scrutinized at all times for ethical reasons.
• If you prefer not to go this route, you can easily compare quotes from various insurance companies so that you will find the best product at the best prices.

For more pointers on long term cover, contact us today; to move forward regarding long term cover, simply drop us a line or email for further information.

• Money transfers, with the assistance of modern technology, enable us to send money oversea with the advent of money transfers being so accessible.
• Transferring money this way is easy and is also safe and secure.
• Having a flexible money solution if you travel frequently for business or pleasure is also necessary.
• All funds can be transferred online, from anywhere in the world.
• Perhaps you think this is going to cost a fortune, but charges are minimal especially if you utilize the services of an efficient Forex company that will step in and assist.
• Transferring monies through banks is costly and cumbersome, leaving you wondering why you did not think of doing your money exchange this way a long time ago.
• To be on top of your game and to know where you stand by knowing the daily rate of exchange is particularly pertinent if you import and export goods.
• Transfer fees are not charged through your Forex agent, where you would find professionalism and the kind of service you need and deserve.
• You will now be in a position to be in full control of your money at all times.

For more on money transfers and Forex, contact us today for more pointers so that you will be able to send money to and from any destination at a fraction of the cost; you will be surprised at how easy, cost-effective and user-friendly sending money to and from overseas can be.

• There are rewards for using your card sensibly, such as cash back, bonus points and also flying miles, which could prove to be handy.
• If you are careful with your credit card and use it wisely you will be able to improve your scores on your credit report.
• Paying off your balance every month to avoid high interest rates when you pay back your card is advisable.
• Limit the amount of credit cards you have – more than two credit cards will cost you a lot every month.
• When you take out a credit card remember to read the fine print, and know what you are signing for at all times.
• Taking out credit card insurance in order to protect yourself against anything that might go wrong such as losing your job or if you die then your family won’t have to be responsible for paying this back.
• When you apply for a credit card, try and negotiate the interest rate; if you have a healthy credit score then you will be in a strong negotiating position.
• Get a credit report online from the three main credit bureaus before you apply for a credit card in order to be in a strong and informed position when applying for credit.
• Perks and rewards that are offered often sound to be too good to be true, which they often are; sometimes these are the cards with the highest interest rates. It would be a good idea to be aware of this when applying for a credit card.
• Always shop around and find comparisons from more than one institution when applying for a credit card.

If you are interested in applying for a credit card, then you are most certainly in the right place for the kind of information you need; want to find out more? Simply contact us today for more on credit cards.