PCN Accountants
A referral network for accountants, with one firm in each postcode area
The Professional Connections Network (PCN) connects one accountant in each UK postcode area with one estate agent, financial adviser, mortgage broker and solicitor. You refer clients when a question falls outside your work. They refer clients to you when the answer is tax or accounts.
Run by Independent Check Ltd, in business since 2012. Who we are
OpenTaken121 of 121 areas open for accountants
Tap an area to check it. The boxes enlarge London and Manchester.
121 of 121 postcode areas are open for accountants.
Which clients do accountants send and receive?
These are the referrals that most often pass between an accountant and the other four professions. Which ones you see depends on your clients and on who holds your area.
You refer
- Estate agents
Landlords who decide to sell a rental property, and clients selling a home as part of retirement or a business sale.
- Financial advisers
Clients asking about pensions, investments or what to do with the money from a sale. Directors who want to pay into a pension through the company.
- Mortgage brokers
Self-employed clients and company directors applying for a mortgage, who need a broker used to reading accounts and tax calculations.
- Solicitors
Wills and lasting powers of attorney, shareholders' agreements, and the legal side of buying or selling a business.
You receive
- Estate agents
Landlords selling a residential property, who have capital gains tax to report and pay within 60 days of completion.
- Financial advisers
Clients drawing a pension for the first time, whose tax position changes as a result.
- Mortgage brokers
Self-employed applicants who need up-to-date accounts or tax year overviews before a lender will decide.
- Solicitors
Estates that need a final tax return and estate accounts, and clients setting up a new company.
Why would an accountant join PCN?
Most accountancy clients arrive by recommendation, and most of your clients will need a solicitor, an adviser or a broker at some point. PCN gives you one firm from each of those professions in your postcode area, plus an estate agent.
When a client needs one of them, you send a short summary and the firm accepts or declines. When they have a client with a tax or accounts question, the referral comes to you, because no other accountant in PCN holds your area.
The client gets a named local firm instead of a search engine, and you stay their accountant.
Who you’d work with
- Estate agents→
Refer buyers, sellers and landlords. Receive probate sales and downsizers.
- Financial advisers→
Refer wills, tax returns and house moves. Receive inheritances, sale proceeds and business sales.
- Mortgage brokers→
Refer conveyancing and planning. Receive buyers and self-employed applicants.
- Solicitors→
Refer estate property, accounts and beneficiaries. Receive conveyancing, wills and company work.
What a referral from an accountant looks like
A referral starts as a short summary with no names or contact details. The other firm accepts or declines on that alone, so say what the client needs and by when.
To a mortgage broker
Sole trader with three years of accounts and profit up each year. Wants to buy a first home in the next six months with a 10% deposit.
To a solicitor
Two directors starting a limited company together. They need articles and a shareholders’ agreement before they take on their first staff.
To a financial adviser
Company director, 52, with no workplace pension. Asking whether to pay into a pension through the company before the tax year ends.
Before you send, check the summary
- It says what the client needs and when they need it.
- It includes anything that saves the other firm a question, such as the type of income or the property involved.
- It leaves out names, emails, phone numbers, full postcodes and dates of birth. PCN holds the referral back until they’re removed.
- You’ve ticked to confirm the client agreed to be referred.
Examples only, written to show the format. They are not real clients.
Where do accountants fit in a client’s referrals?
Four everyday client situations. Your profession is marked, and each arc is one referral between two firms in the same postcode area.
- 1Estate agent → mortgage broker
The buyer needs a mortgage agreed before the sale can go ahead.
- 2Estate agent → solicitor
Buyer and seller each need a solicitor for the conveyancing.
- 3Estate agent → accountant
The seller is a landlord. Capital gains tax on a residential sale has to be reported to HMRC within 60 days.
Examples only. Which referrals happen depends on the client, and on which firms hold your postcode area.
- 1Financial adviser → solicitor
Planning for retirement often starts with an up-to-date will and lasting powers of attorney.
- 2Financial adviser → accountant
Taking pension income changes the client’s tax position.
- 3Financial adviser → estate agent
The client decides to downsize and sell the family home.
- 4Estate agent → mortgage broker
The next home needs a later-life mortgage.
Examples only. Which referrals happen depends on the client, and on which firms hold your postcode area.
- 1Accountant → solicitor
A new company needs articles, a shareholders’ agreement and contracts.
- 2Accountant → financial adviser
Directors ask about pensions paid through the company, and cover if one of them falls ill.
- 3Accountant → mortgage broker
Self-employed income needs a broker who knows how lenders read company accounts.
Examples only. Which referrals happen depends on the client, and on which firms hold your postcode area.
- 1Solicitor → accountant
The estate needs a final tax return for the person who died.
- 2Solicitor → estate agent
The family home is valued and put up for sale.
- 3Solicitor → financial adviser
Beneficiaries want advice on what to do with what they inherit.
- 4Financial adviser → mortgage broker
One beneficiary uses an inheritance as a deposit and needs a mortgage.
Examples only. Which referrals happen depends on the client, and on which firms hold your postcode area.
Referral fees and client confidentiality
PCN doesn't pay or charge anything per referral. If you agree a fee with another firm, the ICAEW, ICAS and ACCA codes of ethics expect you to tell the client about it. They also expect the client's permission before you pass on their information, which is why every PCN referral asks you to confirm the client agreed.
This is a summary, not legal advice. Check your regulator’s current rules before you agree any fee with another firm.
Questions accountants ask
Anything else, call the Independent Check team on 0800 246 1094.
All questions→Will clients still see me as their accountant?+
Yes. A referral passes one need to one firm. The client stays your client, and the other firm only sees who they are once it accepts the referral.
Do I have to send every pension question to the PCN adviser?+
No. There are no targets. You decide who to refer each client to, and PCN only routes the referrals you send through it.
What if my client lives in another postcode area?+
You choose the postcode area when you send a referral, usually where the client lives. It goes to the firm that holds that area, wherever you're based.
Hold your postcode area for accountants
Membership is free. PCN charges nothing to join and takes nothing from referrals.
- 1Check your area
See whether it’s open for accountants.
- 2Create your profile
Your firm’s details. It takes about five minutes, and the area is held for 48 hours while you do it.
- 3Send and receive referrals
Start as soon as other professions in your area join. Until then, no other accountant can take your area.