Accountants tell us about the client behaviour they most value – and find hardest to deal with

Relationship management can be hard. Here’s what some accountants are dealing with, from last-minute filings to withholding fees.

The relationship between an accountant and a client is ideally one of cooperation, trust and mutual respect. But sometimes, clients can make things more difficult and this can have an impact on how an accountant can help them manage their finances.

We asked accountants about the ways clients can contribute to a bumpy relationship, or keep things running smoothly.

Read requests properly and don’t always believe ChatGPT

Claire Owen-Jones, Accountant and Bookkeeper, Loud & Clear Accounting

Sometimes clients self-select the information I need to do their tax returns or accounts, and then get annoyed when figures are not correct. It doesn’t matter how many times I ask or what checklists I send, if they don’t believe that I need it, they won’t provide it.

They also commonly omit information about small part-time jobs that they have taken alongside their business income, as it’s already been taxed, so they don’t understand why I need it.

I’ve had clients tell me I have all the information, only to suddenly remember additional expenses paid from person accounts – often multiple times – when they discover their tax bill. This means we have to keep reviewing and re-doing figures that should have only taken one or two rounds. And clients shouldn’t do their bookkeeping in excel, but then save it as a PDF and email that to me.

I don’t recommend clients ask ChatGPT for advice. I’m not anti-AI, but clients often believe what ChatGPT says above anything else and sometimes I’m not in the mood to waste my time arguing as to why I am right.

Making big decisions mid-year in secret and then announcing it later on – like buying sports cars through the company – can lead to clients being surprised at any tax or accounting consequences.

Clients should contact their accountant if they know there is going to be a change in their business. This could be something like a sudden increase or decrease in turnover, so we can talk about it and make a plan, rather than waiting until the year end, or right before a deadline, when something reasonably minimal at the time has grown into a big problem.

And please read requests for information properly. If I ask for bank statements for a set date, I don’t need statements for different accounts, random dates, or statements that start from the beginning of time. If I ask for them as a CSV file, I don’t want PDFs and I certainly don’t want jpegs.

Leaving your tax returns and accounts until the very last minute – and then emailing me every day to remind me of the deadline and how you are worried that we might miss it – is not helpful when you’ve had nine months to get this information to me.

Finally, don’t use email like an instant message service. 14 emails in 30 minutes isn’t helpful. Can we just have a quick phone call?

The best form of appreciation is paying the fee promptly

Andrew Cowe, Tax Advisory, Brearley & Co:

It should never be underestimated how much an accountant appreciates a simple “thank you”. That said, kind words alone don’t contribute to office costs, employee salaries or overall business profit. The best form of appreciation for good advice received is simply paying the associated fee note promptly. And word-of-mouth recommendations are greatly appreciated, of course.

If the best thing a client can do is pay our fee note promptly, then by definition the worst thing they can do is withhold payment without due cause or explanation. Naturally, there may be queries over the amount or, on occasion, an exceptional cash flow issue. In such cases, matters can usually be resolved, as long as clients communicate with us. Simply being ignored implies that what we do is not valued.

We won’t file anything until the work has been paid for

Sylvia Bourhill, Managing Director, Another Answer Bookkeeping & Accounts

Clients can really help by keeping everything, preferably in electronic format so it can be easily reconciled; linking all bank accounts and credit cards to their software; and sending everything we ask for on time. And finally we really appreciate it when our clients answer their emails!

Some clients do their own bookkeeping, thinking that will make it cheaper. But it makes more work for us as we have to check everything. 

A client complained that her accounts showed too much spent on utilities and not enough on rent, because she had misposted it.

Unrealistic expectations can be challenging, such as responding to key questions slowly and then expecting accounts to be produced, reviewed internally and by the client and filed in three weeks.

There are several other client actions that make things more difficult, such as not answering the question that you actually ask them, or only answering the first question and not reading the others; and providing PDFs instead of spreadsheet information when requested, so calculations have to be done manually, rather than a simple formula.

Payroll-specific challenges include not notifying us of salient information till 4pm on the submission day; remembering that there was a new starter or overtime or holiday pay or maternity leave or pay increases after payroll has been prepared; and not signing off until the last minute.

Not paying on time causes issues, although we now get all clients to pay via direct debit and we won’t file anything until the work has been paid for.

Georgia Lewis is a journalist who has worked in Australia, the Middle East and the UK. Over 30 years, Georgia has covered a diverse range of subjects and industries, including business, insurance, technology and logistics..