As a company director, your accountant is likely to be your most important and trusted source of professional expertise while running your business. But what happens if things go wrong?

There is no legal obligation to hire an accountant if you’re setting up a limited company. However, there are some very good reasons to do so.

With hundreds of  contractor accountants to choose from, this table lists the monthly fees charged by some of the UK’s best limited company accountancy firms.

Doing your accounts will probably never become your favourite task. But accounting software may make you less prone to wanting to pull your hair out. Even if you’re not a numbers whiz.

With hundreds of firms to choose from, we look at the factors you should bear in mind when comparing specialist contractor accountants.

You may have heard your accountant or bank manager talk about your “balance sheet” and “profit and loss account”. What do these terms mean, and what information can these documents provide you about your company?

However you decide to work as a contractor – via your own company, or an umbrella – or if you’re a self-employed freelancer, you must keep your financial records safe for a number of years. How long depends on the type of tax.

If you strip away all the marketing and price differences between competing firms, there are a number of core tasks all specialist contractor accountants undertake for their clients.

Although you should expect all contractor-focused professional accountancy firms to be highly IR35-literate, some still like to advertise themselves as ‘IR35 accountants’, which is a misleading term.

Keeping accurate accounting records is an essential task for every successful contractor. Not only can you ensure that you stay on the right side of the taxman, but you should also be able to see exactly what your financial situation is at any moment in time.