About the company
Clear Start Accountants is a firm of Chartered Accountants based in Manchester. Established in 2019, the company was founded by Fiaz Ashraf, who serves as Founder and CEO. The firm provides accountancy services for sole traders and smaller firms, delivered by a dedicated team of qualified accountants. In addition, it offers tech-enabled personal budgeting services for private individuals via a bespoke app.
Over the past five years, the company has supported individuals across the country with budgeting and financial planning. Its services include Corporation Tax, VAT, Payroll Services, New Business Start-ups, CIS, Personal Tax Return, Tax Rebates, Personal Budgeting Service, Bookkeeping Service, Household Re-budgeting, and HMRC Investigations.
What customers say
Based on genuine customer reviews
Clear Start Accountants holds a 4.5 rating from 713 reviews. Most reviewers describe supportive, patient calls covering budgeting and financial reviews, with individual advisers named repeatedly, including Osman, Akangsha Sarkar, Shamim Uddin and Farhan, praised for explaining matters clearly and reassuring clients who felt anxious about their finances.
Several reviews relate specifically to debt repayment support, with clients saying staff helped them understand and manage repayment plans. At least one reviewer reported a seriously negative experience, alleging that creditors were not contacted as promised over several months and that monthly payments were absorbed by admin costs, so it is worth confirming exactly how funds are allocated and how creditor contact is handled before signing up.
Reviews
Reviews are taken from publicly available sources.
Osman was my assigned accountant. He was incredibly friendly, nice and had a caring attitude. You can tell he actually loves his job and that he is happy to help in anyway he can. He’s always reassured me throughout the entire process and has even gone above and beyond to help connect me to another charity suitable to me based on my income. He went through the entire application process with me, customer experience was a 10/10 one of the best I’ve ever had!
Chris handley was very helpful with my budgeting and he was clear, easy to listen too and solved everything he needed to on the call with me. I had a problem during the call and switched off due to my mental health but we got everything sorted as i needed him to repeat himself and he kindly did and his support with that was great as i was very anxious and worrying about all of what we were going through due to a previous message but going through everything with chris handley really helped me. His support was great.
I had a really helpful call with Akangsha Sarkar today. She took her time to explain everything clearly and made the budgeting side of things feel much less stressful. She was patient, friendly, and made sure I understood each step. I really appreciate the support she gave me.
Clear Start have helped me for a long time time. However, recently Shamim Uddin has gone ‘above and beyond’ in helping and advising me. He has been excellent both in terms of time and effort AND in respect of his knowledge and expertise on the relevant matters. I really appreciate his help and give him 10/10.
DO NOT USE. After 3 months my creditors had absolutely no idea who these people were as they didn’t do anything, clearstart kept saying don’t worry we’ve told them, yet 3 months later not a single one of them confirmed this. Also, after 3 months of paying £103 per month, I found out that not a penny of this was sent to my creditors and this is purely ‘admin costs ‘’. DO NOT use these people you will be in a much worse position if you do. My credit score has gone down hundreds of points because of these scammers.
Had a great experience with Clear Start Accountants. Ferhan handled our call in a very professional manner and made everything easy to understand. From the conversation, there was real confidence that everything discussed will be handled in the best possible way with the right outcome. Clear, straightforward, and reassuring from start to finish — highly recommended.
Just had a financial review and I felt very supported. The call was clear and made very easy for me to understand what Clear Star needed from me. Aimee Collier was kind and professional. I definitely feel like I’m in safe hands! Thank you!
Accountants in Manchester compared
Ordered by rating, weighted by the number of reviews — businesses with only a handful of reviews do not jump to the top automatically. 12 businesses in this category in Manchester are compared.
| Rank | Provider | Rating | Reviews | Open Sat. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SK Accountants | ★ 5,0 | 464 | No |
| 2 | Sam & Co Accountants ltd | ★ 5,0 | 203 | No |
| 3 | Accounting Solutions Manchester | ★ 5,0 | 149 | Yes |
| 4 | S&H Chartered Accountants and Tax Advisers | ★ 5,0 | 149 | No |
| 5 | A&C Chartered Accountants | ★ 5,0 | 123 | No |
| 12 | Clear Start Accountants (this page) | ★ 4,5 | 713 | No |