What does an accountant actually do?
An accountant handles the filing a business is legally required to do, accounts, tax returns, VAT, payroll, and, if they are any good, uses the same information to reduce your tax and improve your decisions. Most small businesses buy only the first part and then wonder why their accounts are not useful.
The compliance half
This is the work that has to happen because the law says so, to a deadline, in a prescribed format. Annual accounts, Corporation Tax or Self Assessment returns, VAT returns, payroll and RTI filing, Companies House submissions, and from 2026 onwards quarterly MTD updates.
It is largely invisible when done well. You notice it only when it goes wrong, which is why it is also the part people most resent paying for.
The half that actually pays for itself
Choosing the right structure, and revisiting it. Getting the salary and dividend split right each year as thresholds move. Timing capital purchases to land in the better tax year. Claiming reliefs nobody mentioned to you. Modelling the VAT scheme options rather than guessing.
Telling you in September what your January bill will be, so you can do something about it, rather than in January when you cannot.
Most of the value in an accountant is in things that have to happen before a year end. Almost none of it is in the accounts themselves.
If the only time you hear from your accountant is when they want your records, you are buying half a service and paying for all of it.
When you probably do not need one
We would rather say this than take a fee for work you could do yourself.
If you are employed with a single small source of side income, a straightforward tax return is genuinely manageable alone.
If you are a sole trader below the VAT threshold with simple affairs and good records, you may only need someone once a year, or only when something changes.
What changes the answer is incorporating, employing someone, registering for VAT, buying property, being pulled into MTD, or getting a letter from HMRC.
What to ask before engaging anyone
Are you chartered or certified, and with which body? The term "accountant" is not protected in the UK, anyone can use it.
Is the fee fixed, and what exactly does it cover?
Who will actually do my work, and who will I speak to?
How will you tell me about things before they happen, rather than after?
What happens if you make a mistake, do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
This guide is general information, current at 10 November 2026. Tax rules change and depend on your circumstances. Please take advice before acting on it.