It’s no secret that one of the biggest stressors in running a business is meeting deadlines.
Unfortunately, deadlines are EVERYWHERE! Whether it’s having to complete work by a certain date, paying bills on time, or the dreaded HMRC setting all kinds of deadlines for all kinds of taxes that make your head spin!
Here at Pink Pig, we pride ourselves on having many processes in place to give us all (yes, us and our clients!) the best chance of meeting all of those deadlines and, of course, avoiding those nasty little fines.
So, it’s a bit of a weird question today – whose fault is a missed deadline?
Now we know that finding fault and passing the blame is just not mature, reasonable, or positive behaviour. That’s why we’re here to tell you that your accounts, VAT returns, payroll, and everything else is a collaborative effort between you and your accountant (hopefully us!).
Who should be doing what?
Accountant: Getting in touch within a day or two of a period ending. Whether it’s your VAT quarter, your financial year, the blooming 5th of April(!), or getting close to a payroll date, you are within your rights to expect that your accountant should reach out and let you know!
Client: Acknowledge this! You may not have all of the info to hand immediately, but just be aware that there is now a deadline looming and that, probably, you do need to get some info ready.
Accountant: Reminders. Accounting is our business, but it isn’t the clients’, so we do know that a few gentle reminders, working their way up to big kicks up the bum, to please pop the info over to us will be necessary, and that’s fine.
Client: Take some time out to just get that info over. In the long run, it needs doing anyway, but this will save you from having to read multiple chasing emails too!
Accountant: Set a deadline. When we’re starting to approach the filing deadline, we do need to ramp up our efforts to get info, and we do need to put an end to it somewhere. We need enough time to be able to prepare things properly and correctly, so we cannot start on a job the day before it’s due.
Client: Appreciate that our side of the job takes time too! And that you don’t want an accountant who can prepare a set of accounts in an hour because it implies they won’t be thorough.
Accountant: Prepare the return and have it out for signing in enough time before the deadline.
Client: Be on the lookout for a signing request and get it done!
Accountant: File on time and send out payment deadline reminders—and more than once!
Client: Have the payment deadline in mind. If possible, have the money already set aside throughout the quarter or year. And make the payment early enough for it to arrive in HMRC’s pockets by your deadline date.
So, with all that in place, we would think it would be impossible to miss a deadline, right? It should be, and that’s the goal we’re working towards. If we’re all pulling our weight, then deadlines shouldn’t be missed.
As we said earlier, we at Pink Pig pride ourselves on being really annoying 😉 and sending as many emails and reminders as we need to ensure that our clients meet the deadline every time. If that sounds good to you, head to the Get Started page to fill out the questionnaire and book a chat!
