Need Help With Your Business Accounts? Don’t Leave It Until It Gets Worse

There is one word accountants hear surprisingly often from new clients:

Help.

The circumstances behind it can vary considerably.

A business owner may have fallen behind with their accounts.

Tax liabilities may not have been properly planned for.

Bookkeeping might be becoming increasingly difficult to manage.

Cash flow could be under pressure.

Or the owner may simply feel that they no longer understand what is happening financially within the business.

Whatever has caused the situation, the important thing is to address it.

Accounting problems rarely become easier simply because they are ignored.

Prefer to watch?

This article expands on one of our latest Merranti videos, where Jason answers one of the most common questions we hear when a new client approaches us.

For more straightforward accounting and business advice, watch more from the Merranti team on TikTok.

Why do businesses approach a new accountant for help?

Businesses switch accountants or seek additional support for many different reasons.

Sometimes something specific has gone wrong.

In other cases, the business has simply developed beyond the level of support it previously needed.

Common situations can include:

• Accounts or bookkeeping falling behind
• Uncertainty about upcoming tax liabilities
• Poor communication with the existing accountant
• Unexpected tax bills
• Rapid business growth
• Cash-flow problems
• Inaccurate or incomplete records
• Not receiving useful management information
• Difficulty understanding financial performance
• A business becoming too dependent on the owner
• Important decisions being made without reliable numbers

Not every business approaching a new accountant is in serious difficulty.

Sometimes the owner simply knows that something needs to improve.

Recognising that early can make the problem much easier to deal with.

Do not wait until everything is perfect before asking for help

One reason business owners delay contacting an accountant is embarrassment.

They know the bookkeeping is behind.

They have not organised all the paperwork.

There may be questions they feel they should already know the answer to.

So they decide to sort everything out first.

That can create a problem.

If you already knew exactly how to fix the situation, you probably would not need the help in the first place.

An accountant can normally provide more useful guidance when they understand the actual situation — not a version of it that has been cleaned up beforehand.

If something is behind, say so.

If you do not understand something, ask.

If you are worried about a particular number, explain why.

The objective should be to establish where the business currently stands and determine what needs to happen next.

Start by understanding the current position

Before trying to solve every problem, establish the facts.

That could mean reviewing:

• What accounting records are complete
• What information is missing
• Which deadlines are approaching
• Whether tax liabilities are known
• What cash is available
• What money is owed to the business
• What the business owes to suppliers or HMRC
• Whether previous accounts and returns are up to date
• How profitable the company actually is

The exact review will depend on the circumstances.

For one business, the priority may simply be bringing bookkeeping up to date.

For another, there may be a much wider financial-management issue.

The important thing is to create a clear starting point.

Merranti’s accountancy services are designed to support businesses with both their accounting obligations and the wider financial information they need to run the company effectively.

Sometimes the problem is not the accounts

A business owner may initially believe they have an accounting problem when the real issue sits somewhere else.

For example, the accounts might reveal that the business is making sales but struggling to generate enough profit.

Or that customers are taking too long to pay.

Or that overheads have increased without prices being reviewed.

Or that the company has grown but its processes have not developed with it.

In these situations, simply completing the accounts does not solve the underlying problem.

The numbers should help identify what is happening inside the business.

That creates a different conversation.

Instead of asking:

“Can you get my accounts finished?”

the more useful question may become:

“Why is the business struggling despite the level of sales we are generating?”

That is where accounting information becomes commercially useful.

Ask for help before the decision, not afterwards

Another common issue is timing.

Business owners sometimes speak to their accountant once a decision has already been made.

An employee has been recruited.

Equipment has been purchased.

A large amount of money has been withdrawn.

The company has entered a new agreement.

Only afterwards does the owner ask about the financial or tax implications.

At that stage, the options may be more limited.

Where possible, involve your accountant before significant financial decisions.

That gives you an opportunity to understand the likely impact on:

• Cash flow
• Profit
• Tax
• Funding requirements
• Working capital
• Business structure

You can then make the decision with better information.

What if your current accountant is not giving you the support you need?

Sometimes the issue is not that a business has no accountant.

It is that the current relationship is no longer working.

You might find that:

• Replies regularly take too long
• You only hear from the accountant around year end
• You do not understand the information you receive
• Problems are identified after they have already happened
• You are unsure what is included in the service
• You do not feel comfortable asking questions

Businesses change.

The level of support required from an accountant can change as well.

A small company may initially need relatively straightforward compliance support.

As it grows, the owner may need more help with management information, forecasting, cash flow and financial decision-making.

Merranti also works specifically with small and growing businesses that want more visibility and support around their numbers.

A good accountant should make the problem clearer

When somebody approaches an accountant and says “help”, the immediate response should not be to make the situation feel even more complicated.

The first job is to understand the problem.

What has happened?

What is urgent?

What can wait?

What information is missing?

What decisions need to be made?

From there, the issue can be broken into manageable steps.

For example:

Step one: establish the current position.

Step two: deal with anything urgent.

Step three: bring the accounting information up to date.

Step four: identify what caused the problem.

Step five: put better processes in place so it is less likely to happen again.

That final step matters.

The objective should not simply be to solve today’s problem.

It should also be to make the business financially stronger afterwards.

Do not ignore something because you are worried about the answer

Financial uncertainty can be uncomfortable.

That sometimes leads business owners to avoid looking too closely.

But uncertainty itself creates risk.

If you do not know how much tax may be due, finding out gives you something to plan for.

If cash flow is becoming tight, identifying it earlier gives you more time to respond.

If a part of the business is losing money, understanding why gives you an opportunity to change it.

Knowing the answer does not always make the answer pleasant.

But it usually gives you more control.

When should you speak to an accountant?

You do not need to wait until something has gone wrong.

Consider speaking to your accountant when:

• You are concerned about cash flow
• The business is growing quickly
• You are thinking about recruiting
• You are considering significant expenditure
• You are unsure about an upcoming tax liability
• You do not understand your profit or margins
• Your records have fallen behind
• You are considering changing business structure
• You are unhappy with your current accounting support
• You simply feel that something in the numbers does not look right

A short conversation at the right time can often prevent a much more complicated conversation later.

Need help?

Sometimes that really is the best place to start.

You do not need to know exactly what service you need before contacting an accountant.

Explain what is happening.

Explain what you are worried about.

Then establish what needs to happen next.

At Merranti, our approach is built around working closely with business owners, providing practical financial advice and helping businesses address problems rather than treating accounting as a year-end exercise.

If you need help getting clarity over your accounts or your wider financial position, speak to Merranti →

Watch more from Merranti

This article expands on one of our latest short videos.

For more practical accounting and business advice, watch more from the Merranti team on TikTok.

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Written by Jason Fudge

Managing Director, Merranti Accounting

Jason works closely with business owners on commercial strategy, financial challenges and business development, helping clients understand problems and identify practical ways forward.