Every New Year hails the annual scramble to gather Self Assessment information. Millions of people, calculating their expenses, income, interest… for a tax year already fading into memory, as their bookkeepers and accountants send increasingly urgent requests.
Yes, the 31st of January is three months away. Yes, you and your clients have quite enough on your plates right now. No, this is not like seeing Christmas decorations in July.
This year, it’s even more important to get your Self Assessment ball rolling as early as possible. Then… forget about it and leave it to AccountancyManager.
What’s different this year?
More pressure on your – and your clients’ – time
This year, businesses have been turning to their accountants for more information, advice and support than ever before. With the impact of lockdown on businesses far from over, we’re facing a busy season like no other.
AccountancyManager users have been relying on tailored bulk emails to update clients on the ever-changing legislation throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Automating these messages alleviated more time to offer the personalised advice that clients value. As Self Assessment looms and your compliance tasks soar, automate as many parts of your process as possible and maintain your level of client support.
Deferred payments due on the same day as SA
Back in May, the Government announced that second payments on account for the 2019 to 2020 tax year due on July 31st 2020 could be delayed to January 31st 2021. This means reminding clients that have deferred to pay both the deferred payment from 2019/2020 as well as the first payment on account for 2020/2021.
You can customise your payment reminders within AccountancyManager to give these clients a friendly nudge to get their deferred payment out of the way. Encouraging them to pay earlier than the 31st January will also help ease their financial burden next year.
Let AccountancyManager take care of Self Assessment preparation
AccountancyManager was designed by an accountant to replace his practice’s most time-consuming tasks with automation. As you’d expect, a key area he focused on streamlining was the lead up to the Self Assessment deadline.
1. Online Self Assessment forms for every type of client
Gather exactly the information you need from each client by creating your own custom forms. We’ve gone ahead and saved a Self Assessment form as standard in AccountancyManager, but you can tweak it, duplicate it to make different versions, or start one from scratch.
This entirely takes away the manual process of creating forms or questionnaires in Word or Excel and allows your clients to complete their forms entirely online, with no need to print or download them. So there’s no dodgy handwriting for you to decipher and life is easier for your clients – which always makes you look good.
Instead of emailing forms over – and risk them getting buried in a busy inbox – simply publish them to the GDPR-compliant portal.
You’ll get a notification in AccountancyManager when your client has filled in a form – or partly completed one. Then you can move on to your next task in preparing the submission. Until your clients complete their form, AM will continue to chase them with automated emails and/or texts.
2. Automated record requests & reminders
At the heart of AccountancyManager lies automated record requests for every service you offer your clients. These emails and texts ask your clients to supply the records you need to file their: Accounts, Self Assessment, VAT, Management Accounts, Bookkeeping, Confirmation Statement, Payroll and SA800.
The integration between AccountancyManager and Companies House pulls through your clients’ accounting period end dates and deadlines to control when these requests are sent. Simply choose how often you’d like to remind your clients that you’re waiting on their records by adding the number of days after the period end you’d like the reminders to be sent.
Many accountants report a much faster response from their clients when they send texts alongside these emails too. This text will let your client know there’s an email waiting for them and can include a link directly to their portal.
3. Online approvals and updates for your team
It couldn’t be easier for your clients to approve their Self Assessment submission. They simply log into their portal to review and e-sign the docs. You can track approvals and completed forms in your client timeline.
You don’t need to keep track of which clients have responded, AccountancyManager will alert you. Confirm that you’ve received the required approval, then filter your task list to easily see what submissions you can now complete.
4. Tax payment reminders for your clients
Make sure your clients pay their tax on time by setting up automatic email and text reminders. They’ll appreciate the nudge and you don’t need to lift a finger.
Get started now with a 30-day free trial
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