Advantages of a Call Answering Service for Your Accounting Firm

Accountancy runs to deadlines, and so do your phones. In January the lines fill up with Self Assessment questions. Through the rest of the year, clients call about records, software and letters from HMRC, and new prospects ring to ask whether you can take them on.

A call answering service for your accounting firm means those calls are answered by a person in your practice's name, even when you are with a client or working through returns. This article covers the main advantages for accountancy practices: handling deadline peaks, preparing for the extra calls Making Tax Digital will bring, keeping client information confidential, booking appointments and screening out the calls that waste your time.

The deadlines that drive your call peaks

Every practice knows the January rush. The online Self Assessment return deadline is 31 January, which means 31 January 2027 for the 2025 to 2026 tax year (see GOV.UK Self Assessment deadlines). In the weeks before, clients call to chase paperwork, ask what they still need to send and check that their return has gone in.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax adds new pressure points through the year. Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 must use it from 6 April 2026. The threshold falls to £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and £20,000 from 6 April 2028, according to GOV.UK guidance on who needs to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

Quarterly updates are due on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, and the final end-of-year submission is still due by 31 January (HMRC quarterly updates guidance). HMRC said on 12 August 2026 that more than 436,000 sole traders and landlords had sent their first quarterly update. Each of those clients now has extra dates to think about, and many will phone their accountant about records, software and deadlines.

Keep the phones covered when the rush hits

Peaks are hard to staff. You cannot hire a receptionist for six weeks every January, and your team's time is better spent on returns than on the switchboard. A call handling service absorbs the extra calls so clients still reach a person, not a voicemail box.

Onwards Answering does not charge per call or limit how many calls it takes. Your package reflects the volume you expect, so a heavy January is not billed call by call. You can use the service as the sole point of contact for your practice, or as overflow that only picks up when your own team is busy.

Client confidentiality and UK GDPR

Your clients share sensitive financial information, and some of it comes up on the phone: a tax reference, an HMRC letter, a worry about a bill. Any service that answers your calls needs to treat that information as carefully as you do.

When a business uses a call answering service, the business is normally the data controller and the answering service is its processor. Onwards Answering works under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act, and acts as a data processor when handling data on behalf of clients, processing it only in line with your instructions. Call data and messages are kept in line with your client agreement, systems are secure with restricted access, and staff are trained on confidentiality and data protection.

Whichever provider you consider, ask where data is stored, who can access messages, how long call data is kept, whether calls are recorded and whether a data processing agreement is provided. Our FAQ on whether call answering services are GDPR compliant explains what the contract should cover.

Booking appointments and handling new enquiries

Prospective clients often call to ask whether you can help with their accounts, a new business or a first tax return. Receptionists can take their details and book a consultation straight into your own calendar, or into Onwards' secure booking platform, which you can use free of charge. Existing clients can book review meetings the same way. Our FAQ on whether a virtual receptionist can book appointments into your diary covers the options.

Imagine a client calls after hours

A landlord who has just heard about Making Tax Digital rings your practice late one evening. Outside business hours, the call goes to the after-hours voicemail, which is included at no extra cost. They leave a message, it reaches you, and you call them back the next morning already knowing what they need. Our FAQ on what happens to your calls outside office hours explains how this works.

Now imagine the same landlord rings during the working day while you are in a client meeting. A receptionist answers in your firm's name, takes their details, checks what they need and books a consultation into your diary. You come out of the meeting to a call summary and a confirmed appointment. Answered calls like this are one of the simplest ways a practice grows, as we explain in our post on how call answering can lead to better business growth.

Screening calls so you can focus on clients

Not every call needs a qualified accountant. Software sellers, recruiters and cold sales calls take time away from client work. You decide what happens to each type of call:

• Priority clients can be transferred straight to their usual contact.
• General client queries can be taken as a detailed message for the right person.
• New enquiries can be booked in for a consultation.
• Sales calls can be logged for you to review whenever suits you, or not at all.

Everything comes to you as a summary after the call, by email, SMS or the Onwards Answering Connect app and portal. When Onwards reviews your call volumes after 3 months, unwanted sales calls are part of that review.

Try a call answering service with your accounting firm

If deadline peaks, missed enquiries or constant interruptions are holding your practice back, a call answering service is worth testing. Onwards Answering offers a free 2 week trial, then plans from £72 per month with no per-call charges. See the details on our prices and plans page, or read more about our call handling for finance firms and accountants.

Frequently asked questions