Simon Dolan launches new contractor accountancy firm

A luminary of the contracting industry is returning to the fold with the launch of his second eponymous contractor accounting firm.

Simon Dolan will today cut the ribbon on Dolan Accountancy, some 25 years after he founded SJD Accountancy, a business he subsequently sold for more than £80million.

Since the sale in 2014, Dolan has invested in start-ups, mentored entrepreneurs and set up his own airline. He also won France’s 24 hour Le Mans sports car race.

But throughout his time away, the ‘Twitter Dragon’ (so-called due to his £5m investment pot via the messaging platform), says he has been watching the contractor accounting market “very closely.”

He believes that as technology has improved, it primes him to “do things a little differently”, customer service has “slipped” and the reform of IR35 has changed the market completely.  

“There was a time when a contractor made the decision to move to the world of contracting, opened a limited company and that was that,” Dolan said in a statement to ContractorUK.

“[But] with a large proportion of public sector contracts now automatically deemed to be inside IR35, the need to swap in and out of PSC and umbrella services is greater than ever.”

So he thinks that offering a “seamless” transfer service between both PSC and umbrella usage, without an extra fee, is long overdue.

“[It’s designed] to suit the contractor’s circumstances,” Dolan said. “At some periods, they’re fine to work through their own ‘Ltd,’ however at other times they need to work via an umbrella company.

“[Yet] why should a contractor have the added hassle of searching for a new accountant when they need to change to an umbrella…? No paperwork…[and] no hassle [is what contractors want]”.

The accountant added that “unlimited” IR35 reviews would also come as standard for his clients, as will access to a banking interface and FreeAgent software, which will be used instead of spreadsheets.