Accountant vs bookkeeper: what is the difference?

A bookkeeper records and organises your day to day transactions: sales, purchases, bank reconciliation and receipts. An accountant takes those records and interprets them, preparing statutory accounts, filing tax returns, advising on tax and helping you make decisions. In short, bookkeeping is the foundation of accurate data, and accounting uses that data to keep you compliant and save you money.

It depends on your stage. Many small businesses use both: a bookkeeper (or bookkeeping software) to keep records current through the year, and an accountant for year-end accounts, tax returns and advice. A good accountant can do, or oversee, both, which is why a lot of owners prefer a single point of contact rather than juggling two providers.

Yes. An accountant can do bookkeeping, but a bookkeeper cannot usually do an accountant’s work, because preparing statutory accounts, filing tax returns and giving tax advice need different qualifications and experience. With us, your bookkeeping and your accounts are handled together, so nothing falls between the two.

Per hour, accountants usually charge more because the work is more specialised. But that does not always mean a higher total cost: tidy bookkeeping makes the year-end work quicker, and good tax advice can save more than the fee. We bundle bookkeeping and accounting into one fixed monthly fee so you are not paying two separate providers.

Generally no. Bookkeepers keep your records accurate, but filing Self Assessment, Corporation Tax or statutory accounts is accountant work. If you only have a bookkeeper, you still need someone qualified to prepare and submit your returns at year-end.

Yes. We handle the day to day bookkeeping and the year-end accounts and tax together, on cloud software, for one fixed monthly fee. That means your records stay current and your filings are ready on time, with a single accountant who knows your business.