Holding client money comes with huge responsibilities and letting agents’ client money accounts must undergo thorough inspections annually. Traditionally this has to be done by a chartered or certified accountant who is a member of one of the Financial Reporting Council's Recognised Supervisory Bodies, who then provide an accountants’ report to verify that all client monies held have been accounted for and the accounts are intact.
Client money
Client funds include rents, tenant deposits, reservation payments, landlord floats, non-resident landlord tax and any agent that handles client money, or trusts the handling of its client money to a Client Accounting Service Provider must have their client account verified annually.
Traditional accountant reports
The accountants’ role and the purpose of their report is to identify and highlight any non-compliance in the account and to also provide a summary of what needs to be done to ensure that the agents’ clients account is compliant.
This sounds perfect, right? Correct. But there are common problems that agents have with using this traditional method of obtaining their required annual client account reports and as you read this, you will probably agree that these are issues for you and your business too.
Do you ever have enough time?
When you are so busy running your business, do you ever have enough time for the admin side? The majority of agents don’t. Do you have time for lengthy meetings with accountants to go through your figures, particularly when their working hours are likely to be the same as your working hours?
Accountants are expensive
In most cases not only are accountants costly in terms of money they are also a cost in terms of time. Time in the office which you and your staff could be using to do what you do best – growing your business.
What’s the alternative?
The Client Account HealthCheck. It’s straightforward, fast and cost effective. The online questionnaire is accessible 24/7 and takes most agents less than an hour to complete. Turnaround time from submitting the questionnaire to receiving the final report averages 10 days. Compliance and good practice are also taken into account in the report and any breaches are highlighted together with recommendations and practical advise on what needs to be done to rectify them.
At a cost of only £300 (including vat) instead of the £1000s of accountants’ fees, providing a HealthCheck instead of an accountants’ report makes good sense.
Client Account HealthChecks are carried out by The Letting Partnership who are market leaders in outsourced client accounting and client money protection. As an award-winning professional services provider and trusted Propertymark industry suppliers you can be sure that your client money verification is in extremely safe hands.
