In the practice of our accounting office, we encounter three situations in which clients entrust us with keeping their accounts. The first, kind of natural, they are start a business and need accounting services. They have no experience in choosing accounting services, so they go to the PRWT accounting office either on recommendation or by accident. The second, in which they employ an accountant under an employment contract or a mandate contract, or even have a separate accounting department in their company, but in order to reduce the costs of accounting and HR services, they outsource accounting to an external accounting company, such as PRWT Księgowość i Obsługa Biznesu sp. o. o. Such clients usually have defined needs, but driven by the desire to reduce costs, they focus mainly on the financial aspect of the accounting services they buy, losing sight of other, important aspects that they become convinced of over time. There is also a third group of clients who come to our accounting office in Krakow, dissatisfied with the accounting service provided by another external office. Below, we present comments resulting from discussions with our clients and an internal analysis of accounting, HR and payroll services provided on the Krakow market.

There are many offices in Krakow that provide accounting, HR and payroll services. Some are smaller, some are bigger, some are cheaper, some are more expensive, which one to choose?

Depending on the type of business activity and its size, the scope of the needed accounting services should be identified first of all. Are these services supposed to consist solely in simple entering of documents into the accounting program and filing tax declarations, or whether your company also needs accounting consulting. Do you want a purely mechanical contact with the accounting office or a more personalized one. Because in practice it is very often difficult to separate accounting problems from legal problems, or you also need professional legal assistance, which you would like, if necessary, your accounting office also provided you. The point is that you do not have to wonder whose competences are needed in a given case, an accountant or a lawyer, and if a lawyer, you do not have to seek separate legal assistance from an attorney or legal advisor. Recently, a lot of virtual accounting offices providing services on the Krakow market have been created. They perform their functions, however, if you expect consultative assistance from your accounting office, you need personalized accounting advice, legal advice, contact with “your” accountant and “your” lawyer, you should carefully consider whether it will always be the best choice.

Clients coming to the PRWT accounting office from other accounting offices in Krakow are often embittered by the lack of “contact” with the previous office. As they say, they do not have the accounting knowledge to verify the quality of their work, but they do not want this verification to take place only during a tax audit. They lost trust through what they call “out of touch.” They would like to know more about their company’s accounting and taxes paid than simple, monthly information they receive in the field of tax payments and ZUS payments. They expect cooperation, easy and unforced contact. They expect from accountants that they will be “part” of their company, regardless of whether the accountant works for them in their company or in an external accounting office. The first conversation on establishing cooperation or the contract that the accounting office presents for signing can tell you a lot about how it approaches cooperation with clients. If it treats you as a petitioner, presents a contract for accounting services that is very one-sided, in favor of the accounting office, it bodes badly. You will probably always be treated in this office as a petitioner, a person who is primarily to pay for the accounting services provided and not require partnership relations. In the Krakow market, in addition to large accounting offices, there are also medium-sized and small ones based on one or several accountants. Small ones provide more personal contact, larger ones should be able to provide accounting services for large entities. Small accounting offices are often focus on service financing accounts only for individual business activities basis on the ledger of income and expenses without providing full accounting services. However, it is often the case that large accounting offices for large orders only look for accountants with the appropriate competences dedicated to these specific orders. In that case, the role of such an accounting office is essentially an intermediarion between the client and the employed accountant, which undoubtedly affects the price of accounting services. The price of such accounting services often does not result from the quality of such services, but from the intermediary function and the use of the office’s price mark-up on accounting services, which is often not even employed by such an office under an employment contract only as part of its own individual business. This practice is quite common on the Krakow market.

So what should you pay attention to when choosing an accounting office in the Krakow market? Which accounting office should you entrust your company’s accounting to?

1. If your business requires only a book of revenues and expenses, you can use the services of an office specializing in keeping such a book, it does not have to provide bookkeeping services, it may be a small office and the price will be lower. It will not mean that such an office is of poor quality, it is simple for an accountant to keep a tax book of revenues and expenses.

2. In case If your business is based on accounting books, you must use the services of an office that provides accounting services in this area. Then the higher the qualifications of the accountant, the better. The certificate of the Minister of Finance is a document confirming high qualifications in this field, which is not required by law at present.

3. Pay attention to the contract you sign with the accounting office. If a complicated one, made in “favor of” an accounting office, it unfortunately bodes badly for further cooperation.

4. Pay attention to whether you will have a dedicated accountant for your business or you will not even know who will physically handle your company. After all, the accounting will not be dealt with by the “accounting office” as such, only a specific accountant (accountants).

5. Pay attention to whether you will be provided with accounting consultations and, if necessary, legal services not provided by “lawyers”, i.e. people with unknown competences, but lawyers or legal advisers specializing in economic matters. Such professional certificates guarantee the quality of legal services in this area.