Client Manager - Accountancy Practice
Salary: £42,000-£47,500 per year, depending on experience
Job type: Full-time, permanent
Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday
Location: Hamble-le-Rice, predominantly office based with some hybrid working available after probation
About the role
Accountably is looking for an experienced Client Manager to join our friendly, established accountancy practice in Hamble.
You will take ownership of an established portfolio of clients, acting as their principal point of contact and managing their accounts, tax, VAT and other compliance requirements throughout the year.
This role goes beyond preparing individual pieces of work. You will be responsible for keeping your portfolio progressing, identifying information required from clients, monitoring deadlines and looking at the wider relationship between each client’s business and personal tax affairs.
The portfolio is currently managed on a part-time basis, giving the successful candidate time to become familiar with the existing clients before further clients are added.
Qualifications and essential experience
You must hold one of the following:
- ACA
- ACCA
- AAT Level 4 / MAAT
Practical experience matters as much as the qualification. Applicants must have substantial recent experience working within an accountancy practice, working with UK statutory accounts, corporation tax, personal tax and VAT. You will also need the confidence to manage a varied client portfolio with a good degree of independence.
Strong knowledge and experience of partial exemption VAT is essential for this role.
Your main responsibilities
You will:
- Act as the principal point of contact for your allocated clients
- Manage work from receipt of records through to completion
- Plan and monitor your own workload and deadlines
- Obtain information from clients and keep work progressing
- Prepare statutory accounts and relevant tax returns
- Identify tax-planning points and matters requiring further investigation
- Communicate directly with clients by telephone, email and in meetings
- Explain accounts and tax matters to clients without unnecessary technical language
- Allocate appropriate work to our bookkeeping and payroll team
- Occasionally review work prepared by junior team members
- Recognise when a matter should be referred to the director or requires specialist input
- Take responsibility for the accuracy, quality and timeliness of your work
- Send completed accounts to clients with the accompanying correspondence and invoice once they have been reviewed
You will report directly to Jonathan, Accountably’s director. You will have day-to-day responsibility for your portfolio, with Jonathan remaining available for more technical or complex matters.
Accounts and corporation tax
You should have strong general-practice experience, including:
- Preparing limited company statutory accounts from client records through to completion
- Preparing corporation tax computations and CT600 returns
- Reviewing accounting records and identifying issues requiring further investigation
- Carrying out pre-year-end reviews and identifying relevant tax-planning points
- Understanding the relationship between company accounts and directors’ personal tax affairs
Personal tax
You should be confident preparing personal tax returns for:
- Company directors
- Landlords
- Sole traders
- Individuals with other sources of income
Experience of Seafarers’ Earnings Deduction and the associated tax rules would be advantageous, but is not essential.
You should also be able to identify when further information or specialist advice is required and explain tax liabilities and payment deadlines clearly to clients.
VAT
VAT knowledge is an important part of this position. Your experience should include:
- Preparing VAT returns
- Standard VAT accounting
- The Flat Rate Scheme
- Partial exemption
- Direct attribution between taxable and exempt activities
- Residual input tax calculations
- De minimis calculations
- Annual adjustments where applicable
- Identifying potential VAT issues within clients’ accounting records
Accountably has a significant and growing portfolio of clients within the medical aesthetics sector, which makes partial exemption experience particularly important.
CIS
You should have a good working knowledge of the Construction Industry Scheme, including:
- Preparing and submitting CIS returns
- Preparing CIS offsets and repayments
- Managing associated administration and correspondence
Bookkeeping and accounting systems
Although the role will not involve a large amount of day-to-day bookkeeping, you will need a strong understanding of bookkeeping and accounting records.
In particular, you should have:
- Strong working knowledge of Xero
- Good working knowledge of QuickBooks Online
- The ability to review bookkeeping records and identify errors or inconsistencies
- A good understanding of bank reconciliations, control accounts and VAT coding
We use TaxCalc for statutory accounts and tax returns. Previous TaxCalc experience would be helpful, but is not essential.
Company secretarial knowledge
Routine company secretarial work is handled by another member of the Accountably team, so you will not normally be responsible for preparing or submitting it yourself. However, you should have a good working knowledge of routine Companies House and company secretarial requirements, including:
- Confirmation statements
- Appointment and resignation of directors
- Changes to company and director details
- Registered office changes
- Basic share allotments and share-capital changes
- PSC updates
- Routine Companies House forms
This knowledge will help you recognise when action may be required, liaise with the appropriate member of the team and identify more complex matters that need further review.
About you
We are looking for someone who:
- Communicates clearly, confidently and professionally with clients by telephone, email and in meetings
- Can explain technical accounting and tax matters in accessible language, both verbally and in writing
- Is organised and able to prioritise competing deadlines
- Takes the initiative and keeps work moving
- Has strong attention to detail
- Understands the importance of time spent on work and agreed client fees
- Can work independently while contributing to the wider team
- Is willing to share knowledge and support colleagues
- Takes responsibility for their work and client portfolio
- Enjoys working collaboratively within a friendly office environment
Working at Accountably
Accountably is a small, settled team with different areas of experience across accounts, tax, bookkeeping and payroll. You will have direct access to Jonathan without layers of management, as well as the autonomy to build genuine, long-term relationships with your clients.
Our clients include limited companies, sole traders and individuals across a broad range of sectors. We also have specialist experience in marine businesses and medical aesthetics, giving you the opportunity to broaden your knowledge within the role.
You will be able to understand the whole client picture, from company accounts and tax planning through to the directors’ personal tax affairs, rather than working on isolated parts of a job.
We hold regular team meetings and encourage open communication across the practice. You will have room to contribute ideas while remaining part of an experienced and approachable team.
Salary, hours and benefits
We offer:
- Salary of £42,000-£47,500, depending on experience
- Permanent full-time position
- 37.5 hours per week
- Normal office hours of 9.00 am-5.00 pm, Monday to Friday, with a 30-minute lunch break
- Optional paid overtime at your normal hourly rate during the busy December and January period
- 20 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays
- Auto-enrolment workplace pension
- Professional body fees paid by Accountably
- CPD and relevant professional training provided
- Annual salary review
- Annual discretionary bonus of up to one month’s salary
- Free office parking
The position will initially be office-based while you settle into the role and get to know the clients and team. After successful completion of your probationary period, you will have the option to work from home on up to two agreed, fixed days each week, subject to client and team requirements. You may remain office-based throughout the week if you prefer.
Handover and support
Where timing allows, there will be a handover from the current Client Manager and introductions to key clients.
Whether or not there is an overlap, Jonathan will support you as you become familiar with the portfolio, Accountably’s systems and the way the team works. You will not be expected to take responsibility for the full portfolio without an appropriate introduction.
Start date and application process
Our preferred start date is between the beginning and middle of October 2026, although we are willing to accommodate the notice period of the right candidate.
To apply, please send:
- Your current CV
- A covering note explaining why the role interests you, how your recent accountancy-practice experience meets the requirements and why you feel Accountably would be a good fit for you
Suitable applicants will be invited to an initial telephone conversation, followed by an in-person interview at our Hamble office. A second, more informal conversation and opportunity to meet members of the team may then be arranged.
Pay: £42,000.00-£47,500.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Free flu jabs
- Free parking
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site parking
- Private medical insurance
Application question(s):
- Do you currently hold at least one of the following qualifications: ACA/FCA, ACCA/FCCA or AAT Level 4/MAAT?
- Do you have substantial recent experience working within an accountancy practice, covering UK statutory accounts, corporation tax, personal tax and VAT?
- Do you have hands-on experience of partial-exemption VAT?
- Are you able to work from our Hamble office throughout your probationary period and at least three days per week thereafter?
Work Location: In person
