TaxAssist Accountants Reviews 

Once again, Max has gone the extra mile in assisting me on my tax return. Always unfailingly polite, Max reviewed and completed my tax return in a timely manner, answered all questions, and gave sound advice.

Many thanks Max, you make it so easy for me.

The initial meeting was very helpful and informative and I felt as if I was understood and that the company would help me with what I needed to do.
The process since my acceptance has slowed down - hopefully I will hear more soon.

Like millions of others I received a letter from HMRC regarding online sales as a result of reporting changes that recently came into effect. As a result I required the assistance of an Accountant to ensure that my affairs were in order.

As a complete novice my knowledge was fairly limited and that meant I needed a company who could meet my specific needs and understood e-commerce. As a small seller falling in the under £20,000 bracket my requirements were not complex - I simply needed someone to assist me with filing the relevant paperwork and paying any tax. Meat and drink to any professional so I set about researching potential suitors.

I had an introductory meeting with an agent at the TaxAssist Chancery Lane Office, but her lack of e-commerce and online marketplace knowledge meant I declined their services explaining my reasons via email. I was then contacted by TaxAssist again and they assured me that they had the right person for me, so I took a second meeting with who would eventually be my Accountant. I explained my situation and he seemed able to assist me, so a proposal was drafted (Fixed Fee) and my business relationship with the company began. I again stress that my requirements were very basic so for the price I was paying I expected a flawless service.

I must once again also make clear (as I did to my agent) that I had zero knowledge of tax returns or anything related so this needed to be factored in to everything. Perhaps naively I expected more guidance here as I was essentially starting from complete scratch. I would not be alone in this position which is why I am writing such a detailed review for those similarly placed looking for their first accountant.

What followed in short was me pretty much having to guess at trying to complete a tax return. Remember, I was a complete novice so would it not have been easy to provide say a dummy return/example explaining the separate sections I needed to complete? Companies are missing a trick by not having an ' idiots guide ' to help people like myself. As an example, when I asked about expenses I was told it was '' common sense '' which of course left me none the wiser. I didn't even know in what format to deliver my information to the accountant, but in the end I just did my best and produced something workable.

In essence for what I paid I was employing someone to work out any penalties owed for late filing, as it was only this and calculating 20% of net sales along with any N.I. that I needed to pay that I didn't do myself. Hardly complex stuff, but this was not a problem as I was happy to just get the filing done, pay what was owed and move on. There were plenty of ' teething problems ' which certainly could've been handled better, but I took the agents advice, bowed to their expertise and proceeded accordingly, awaiting confirmation from HMRC that everything was in order.

Fast forward a few months and each filing was rejected, one after the other, leaving me more than a little confused. It certainly wasn't anything to do with the information that I had provided but my accountant could not offer any explanation. Around the same time I was informed that my representative would be leaving with immediate effect.

I was given a replacement who picked up where his predecessor left off. Eventually we learnt that I had in fact overpaid more than £6000 to HMRC. Bearing in mind I was just a small seller with a limited tax liability this is a significant amount by anyone's standards. Needless to say I was not particularly happy so I suggested to my new Accountant that I would like to register a complaint, albeit an informal one. The Managing Partner Jamie Hall was duly contacted.

My position was that this needed to be brought to the attention of a Manager. Along with this I highlighted a number of other issues (the failure to met a deadline, my asking about what are considered expenses being '' common sense '' and a few other minor gripes) all of which were valid. Considering the amount I had been charged (and paid) I expected better and I was sure TaxAssist would too.

Remember, as the person responsible no longer worked for the company, I was not throwing anyone under the bus. Equally, I stressed that I was more than happy with my replacement. The response from Managing Partner Jamie Hall truly shocked me. No responsibility was taken for any of the many failings and I was essentially dismissed and quite curtly too. His response was to try and reopen my now closed files with HMRC (who benefits from that?) and to top things off attempted to charge me an extra £600 for work already carried out. This was totally out of hand and therefore eventually withdrawn, but there was no apology for anything else. Beware anyone like me looking for their first accountant as this is ultimately who you are dealing with. Very dissapointing.

I came in as a small business owner with just starting my first year of trading. The consultation put my mind at rest immediately, explained the process and what they could offer. Very straight forward. Staff are incredibly friendly and have followed up with any questions I had within 1 working day (often same day)

Farooq went above and beyond to help me when he could see that I was stressed. He is very knowlegdable, proactive and organised. He helped me organise files and informed me that I was entitled to a tax refund and has already got the ball rolling on that. He didn't rush our meeting and has given me confidence that I'm with the right Accountant

Highly recommend Tax Assist Worcester office. Friendly, knowledgeable and efficient staff. Got an appointment really quickly. Really helpful too.

Very professional, polite, helpful, friendly. Pleasure to deal with. I will definitely recommend them to anyone who wants an accountant and/or advise.

I would like to thank Tax assistant accounts for their professional advice, support, and guidance with my tax return. Their service has been extremely valuable in helping me progress my business, and I truly appreciate their expertise. I will definitely be using them again for all my future tax needs.
Gary Bateman ( Frisco lvp)

Great service, good communication. They send automated reminders to keep you on track. Only issue is the the invoicing, I wasn't aware what day they would withdraw payment from my account after the job was done so I couldn't prepare, but other than that I'm very happy with the level of service.

Well a great experience with all the people that dealt with my return. I was guided all the way because I didn’t really know what to do. No panic or bother and considering I was ringing them all the time they were great. Thanks Kieran Sophie from the Queensferry dept and if U forgotten someone thank you

Everyone very helpful

Potters Bar branch are very helpful. I find all the staff friendly and they are always quick and efficient. Highly recommended.

Great people who do my taxes for me and I don’t have to worry about it.

The team were very helpful,friendly and professional.

jugdev was very helpful ,andknowledgeable and friendly

Very friendly made you feel at ease and explained all i needed to know.

Clear concise advice and a friendly welcoming attitude. Good all round service.

Very quick turnaround for my very last minute self! Super helpful and efficient!

From the meeting I knew that taxes were in good hands

Everything went very smoothly. Very happy with the service. Staff perfect.