Top 10 Accountancy Firms in Manchester

The beating heart of the Northern Powerhouse initiative, Manchester is the effective administrative capital of the Midlands and North. It’s home to a wide range of companies of all kinds of shapes, sizes and industries. It is, however, probably best known as a base for entrepreneurs, particularly in the area of digital transformation.

It’s therefore only to be expected that Manchester has an excellent range of business support services, including accountancy firms. To make your choice easier, here is a list of the top 10 accountancy firms in Manchester.

A&C Chartered Accountants (Sale)

Established for over 20 years, A&C Chartered Accountants has offices in both Manchester and London. They are, however, able to deliver many of their services online. In particular, they support cloud-based accountancy systems namely Xero and Sage Business cloud along with remote, secure document signing. They can even provide consultations by videoconference.

Their main work is in the construction and property, manufacturing, hospitality and leisure and creative and digital sectors. They are, however, available to companies in other sectors from startups to established businesses.

ABC Accounting Services (Hyde)

ABC Accounting Services is based in Hyde and also serve the surrounding towns including Ashton-Under-Lyne, Glossop, Mottram, Stalybridge, and Tameside. They specialize in sole traders, partnerships and SMEs. As such, their range of services goes beyond pure accounting. For example, they can also handle bookkeeping and payroll at very reasonable prices.

This firm specializes in working very closely with their clients and helping them to grow their business over the long term. They can, however, provide shorter-term help if need be. This can mean anything from holiday cover to longer leaves of absence such as maternity leave.

Alexander & Co. (Deansgate and MediaCity UK)

Alexander & Co offers a wide and diverse range of services. It can cover everything from the implications of IR35 to forensic accounting via tax planning for those moving to the UK. As you might expect, they also work with a wide and diverse range of clients from the very small to the very large and throughout many industry sectors.

They are also able to offer standard bookkeeping, outsourced financial management services and online accountants. Their main online platform is Xero for which they are Xero Certified Advisors and Silver Partners.

BookCheck Ltd. (Salford)

BookCheck only provides cloud bookkeeping, payroll with auto-enrolment and management accounts services. Similarly, they only work on two accountancy platforms, Sage and Xero. In fact, they are Xero gold partners. If you currently work on any other platforms they will migrate you to either Xero or Sage.

While this may seem limited, this limitation can actually be a benefit. BookCheck essentially provides the core services required by most sole traders, partners and SMEs. By keeping a narrow focus, they ensure that they can always provide a high-quality service at a very attractive price. 

Hurst Accountants (Deansgate, Stockport and London)

Hurst Accountants provide all the services you’d expect from an accountancy firm. Their real speciality, however, is working in strategic partnership with the businesses they serve. Their main client base is SMEs but they are available to help businesses of all natures and sizes, including ones that work internationally.

This firm works very hard to build connections with the general business community in the North West. As part of this, they regularly host in-person events on various business topics, including, but not just, accountancy. These can be a great way to broaden your knowledge, network and get to know Hurst Accountants.

MPS Payroll (Cheetham Hill)

There are a lot of similarly-named companies, especially in the Manchester area. This firm, however, stands out for two main reasons. Firstly, it’s been in business for over 40 years. Secondly, it’s still family-owned. MPS payroll tends to develop long-term relationships with its clients. It is, however, always open for new business.

As its name suggests, MPS Payroll is a specialist in payroll services. It also offers a selection of other services largely tailored to sole traders, partners, SMEs and private individuals. While its range may be relatively narrow, it’s more than adequate for its main client base.

PVG Accounting Services (Moston, Rochester and London)

PVG Accounting Services can support individuals, sole traders, partnerships, limited companies. The firm has specialist expertise in assisting landlords and health professionals.  

As such, it offers a wide range of services from core staples such as self-assessment and payroll to business plans and management accounting. Their VAT-related services go beyond just the requirements for the UK mainland. They can also support businesses working with NI/the EU.

PVG Accounting Services also deals extensively with the non-profit sector. It can assist with all finance-related issues including Gift Aid and filing with the Charity Commission.

Royce Peeling Green incorporating Crawfords (Salford)

Technically, RPG incorporating Crawfords is one of the newest accountancy firms in Manchester. It has only been in existence since March 31st 2021. As the name suggests, however, it was formed out of the merger of two established firms, namely Royce Peeling Green and Crawfords.

As such it has an established and experienced team in place along with all the infrastructure necessary to deliver a wide range of services. Its range of business services covers everything from start-up to insolvency and restructuring via core business stables like tax advice. It can also provide its services virtually.

Sedulo (Deansgate)

Sedulo has an extensive service catalogue that covers both individuals and businesses. In addition to standard accountancy services, they also offer broader financial management services. These include corporate financing and wealth management. Sedulo has particular expertise in research and development tax relief.

One interesting point about Sedulo is that it runs the Sedulo Academy. This is basically an in-house training centre that the Sedulo team can use to extend and enhance their qualifications.

UHY Hacker Young Group (Oxford Street)

UHY Hacker Young Group is one of the top accountancy firms in Manchester. In fact, it’s one of the top accountancy firms in 23 locations from Abergavenny to York. As you might expect from a company this size, it has a wide range of expertise covering just about any and every area any business could possibly want.

Despite its size UHY Hacker Young Group remains very accessible to private individuals, sole traders, partners and SMEs. It keeps the human touch and is a strong believer in both transparency and corporate responsibility.