Are you fed up of your old school accountant?
Gravitate Accounting is a digital accountancy company based in Sheffield’s trendy Kelham Island, with a people-first approach and a big focus on using the best technology to help clients save time, money and stress.
With a casual dress code, friendly demeanour and true passion for helping businesses to achieve growth and results, Gravitate Accounting is a firm like no other.
Here, co-founder Sam Newton tells us some of the most common complaints businesses have when dealing with their accountants and why Gravitate Accounting doesn’t take the same approach.
“I only see my accountant once a year”
Sam says: “We insist on having at least six touch points a year with our clients, as we believe this is a key way we can add value to the business. The best thing about this approach is that it means we can help clients save on their tax bill in the current year, rather than being retrospective. We often hear clients say their old accountant would hold a meeting weeks or even days before the year end and tell them a tax liability due that hasn’t been planned for.”
“My accountant charges me per hour for menial tasks”
“There are two elements to this,” Sam says. “One is that charging per hour of work completed is old school and doesn’t benefit the client. If the work is inefficient, then clients will pay more as it takes longer to finish. To avoid this, we charge transactionally, which encourages us to work faster and be more effective.
Another is that traditional accountants tend to put clients off from calling them as they get charged just for picking up the phone. Here, we encourage our clients to reach out to us. We want to know more about the business and how we can help them, so we actively promote that interaction.”
“The pricing my accountant gives me can be ad-hoc and is not agreed upfront”
Sam says: “At Gravitate Accounting, we use piecemeal pricing software so clients know exactly what they’re being charged and what services we will deliver in return for that work. If we have to do anything outside of that scope, we quote upfront, so there are no surprises or unexpected fees.”
“My accountant keeps me in the dark about what they are doing and I don’t understand”
“Most of the time accountants like to think the work they do is magic and aren’t willing to share this knowledge with their clients,” Sam adds. “Instead, we want to work with you and we train you to use the best digital accounting software so you can get the most out of it. We want to make life as easy as possible for our clients.”
“My accountant insists on paper documents”
“All our accounts are signed off digitally using our secure portal, even our year-end meetings can be held on Zoom or Teams is the client prefers. We know they are busy so we can be flexible to suit their needs. ”
If you are having any of these issues, reach out to Gravitate Accounting on 0114 321 7459 or visit: www.gravitate.digital to see how they can help you.
