Somebody registers a company on a Sunday evening because a client asked for an invoice. Eleven months later he discovers there are filings he has never heard of, a bank account he should have opened separately, and a year of transactions mixed in with his own groceries.
None of this was hidden. Nobody told him either, because he had not met an accountant yet.
The checklist
Publish these and new businesses come to you before the mess exists.
1. What happens immediately after incorporation
The registrations, the dates that start running and what needs deciding in the first weeks. New owners think registration was the whole task.
2. The separate bank account
The single most useful piece of practical advice a new business can receive, and the one thing that makes the first year manageable rather than archaeological.
3. What records to keep from day one
What to keep, how, and for how long. Starting properly costs nothing and reconstructing a year costs a great deal.
4. The key dates for the first year
Which dates apply, how they are set and what falls due when. Presented as a calendar rather than as a list of obligations.
5. What a director's responsibilities are
In plain terms. Most people running a small company have never been told, and they would rather know than find out.
6. How money comes out of the business
The mechanisms, that they have different treatments and that this is a conversation to have early rather than after a year of taking what was needed.
7. Whether registration for other taxes is needed
Thresholds, how they are monitored and what registration involves. Businesses cross thresholds without noticing and it causes real problems.
8. What happens when they take on somebody
Payroll setup, what is required and the timescales. Publishing it means the first hire is planned rather than discovered.
9. What expenses the business can meet
Not detailed advice, but the categories and the principle. New owners either claim nothing or claim everything, and both are expensive.
10. What software to use and why
A recommendation with the reason, and what it costs. Starting on the right system avoids a migration in year two.
11. What the accountant will need and when
A simple schedule so the client knows what is coming, which is the discipline in onboarding checklists that stop endless document chasing territory.
12. What a first year costs in fees
Publish it. New businesses budget carefully and an unpriced service is one they defer until something has gone wrong.
13. Offer a start up conversation
Free or fixed fee, in the first weeks, covering structure, records and the calendar. It is inexpensive to provide and it wins clients for years, which is the moment in startup founders looking for their first accountant.
14. Answer at the hour people start businesses
Evenings and weekends, because that is when people register companies, the same out of hours moment as account opening questions new customers ask.
Getting started
Publish a first year calendar, the practical setup steps and your fees, then capture new business enquiries at any hour, asking suppliers the questions in AI chatbot security questions to ask a vendor. SpideyChat for accountants answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.