Despite the current economic conditions, the UK is still recognized worldwide as one of the major centres of the financial services sector. Many companies, small and large, have their headquarters or operations here, and given that every company has to submit annual returns to Companies House and complete returns for the tax office, there is a huge demand for accountancy services. If you’ve a head for figures and like dealing with lots of different people, then this type of franchise could be the perfect business opportunity for you.

Size of the Market

Even through the current dip, financial services is one of the biggest employment sectors in the UK, and around 10% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from moving money around and making profit on it. It’s twice as important as manufacturing and because of the size of the market; it is an attractive one for any new company. The amount of money which can be made will be very much dependent on the sort of services which are being offered and the size of the operation.

Services

Most people dipping their toe into the finance sector for the first time start off small and try to grow their operation by gradually building up a client portfolio and recruiting extra staff when the case load becomes too large for one person to handle. Basic bookkeeping is an essential for every business, whatever the size, and many sole trader operations just do not have the time to pay their own bills, chase up unpaid invoices, reconcile their bank accounts and prepare balance sheets at the end of the year. Outsourcing their day to day bookkeeping tasks makes huge financial sense for them, and also provides a great opportunity for an enterprising person to take the work off their hands. This sort of franchise is easy to run from home, and is ideal for anyone who is organized, methodical and happy to work alone for long periods of time.

Tax, Wages and VAT

The other main type of service which is offered by independent firms is help with the day to day administration of tax affairs. An increasing number of people are required to complete a tax return on an annual basis, including people who run their own companies, are self-employed, earn over £100k or people who work overseas. Completing a tax return is time-consuming and complicated, even if it is filed online. Lots of busy people who just don’t have the time or energy to manage their own tax prefer to get someone else to do it for them. Tax returns can be done at any time of year, but as the deadline is the end of January, the busiest time of year is in the autumn and winter.

Getting Started

If all of this sounds appealing, there are a number of franchise companies out there to buy into. Take time to research what the different offers are, as there may be a certain type of market or work which interests you far more than others.

Naz Daud
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Naz Daud
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Author Bio: Naz Daud
This article is free for reproduction but must have live internet links to the following webpages:
UK Business Directory
Franchises
Latest Businesses
& this copyright statement must also be included.

Category: Business
Keywords: accountancy, franchise, business, opportunity, finance,