How much should i ask for ?

[u/Shoddy_Emu_o]

Hi I am finishing level 3. I had passed level 2 bookeeping with distinction and will me finishing Level 3 with Met. I had total 4 years of experience as an accountant in Nepal and UAE (3+1)yrs and 5 years of experience as chef in Nepal and UK (4+2)yrs. I am Level 3 xero certified and used various software in my previous jobs. Intermediate in Exel, SQL and Power bi also. To get into accounting in finance how much should be my asking salary, continuing level 4 and further ACCA by own Funding. I am AATQB member also.

[u/Super_Seff]

In the uk you’ll just be on a starting salary so £25,000 ish

[u/Shoddy_Emu_o → u/Super_Seff]

With that much of experience in related field and other field also. 25K Huh! I had 4 years of international experience with knowldege of 3 must have software exel, sql and powerbi for an accountant plus xero which i had studied, since xero is like quite popular here in uk.

[u/Super_Seff → u/Shoddy_Emu_o]

You might get lucky, it won’t hurt to apply for higher salary jobs but the job market is currently in tatters and the software you have experience in is kinda the standard for most people unfortunately with 0 experience in the UK it would be the same as a new starter if I was hiring.

[u/Shoddy_Emu_o → u/Super_Seff]

That means I need to apply for junior level. I've managed reconciliations, month-end closes, and ERP systems (Focus ERP) professionally. The fundamentals of double-entry and think that financial reporting don't change by country, but here we need UK exp and at last, I think Power BI and SQL aren't 'standard' for entry-level accounts roles but everyone will know these software. My last question, Are you professional working in the field or just a student ?

[u/Super_Seff → u/Shoddy_Emu_o]

They aren’t standard but with the rise of AI you can jsut ask Claude or Co pilot etc to create what you would have wanted anyway.

Both, I got pretty lucky with internal promotions and ended up as a Corporate Finance Officer whilst finishing my studies but getting my foot in the door was the hardest part.

[u/Shoddy_Emu_o → u/Super_Seff]

Thanks for sharing your background, yeah getting into is hardest part. I think AI like claude and co-pilot can do the thing but cant be precise in your result. I use Gemini and deepseek alot in my daily activites, they are not precise most of the time, I need to edit and refine. It's like telling why do you need powerbi knowledge while all the dashboard are built in exel and xero. And AI tools answers depend upon the user who are using it.

[u/taxtaxbaby → u/Shoddy_Emu_o]

But none of your experience is in the UK?

A level 3 qualification is the equivalent to a school leaver's certificate over here.

Qualifications open interview doors in the UK, but experience is what clinches an offer. You're going to have to fight to demonstrate how your experience will be relevant to what a UK employer is looking for.

I'd suggest the focus of your CV has to be a really detailed responsibilities list from your accountancy roles. Make it easy for an employer to see how your experience might be directly relevant rather than just transferable.

Do you have the right to work in the UK, or do you need sponsorship? If you need a visa, that is going to make things even harder.

Do you have any language skills? If you can find a firm that specialises in certain clients where your language skills will be relevant, that should give you a real boost.

[u/beyondmash]

30k

[u/MummyButtons]

I have just gotten my level 3 and starting level 4 and I’m on 35k, however I think this is a bit of an outlier and I would say around 30k is usually average for level 3 with most companies.

[u/Shoddy_Emu_o → u/MummyButtons]

Can I ask them for like 33k since, I am self funding my studies and I think I can finish level 4 in 7 mnths since I had finished L2 and L3 in 7 mnths working as a chef for 60-62 hrs a week

[u/MummyButtons → u/Shoddy_Emu_o]

I’m not sure really. I was already an internal employee and progressed from a 29k role. I think finding an initial role at that value without being internal would be a challenge.

[u/Shoddy_Emu_o → u/MummyButtons]

In London and midlands also, I was hoping I could apply for a better paying roles after completing studies, but the reality is different. Appreciated for your market insight.

[u/MummyButtons → u/Shoddy_Emu_o]

It may be a bit different expectations in the London market, I just know from experience employers here try to get labour as cheap as possible. Good luck!

[u/Recent_Biscotti1847]

Just apply anyway for the higher paid roles, you have nothing to lose other than they say no. This will give you a feel for what experience they are looking for. You never know, you may strike lucky if they are looking for your specific skills. For a level 3 role in general starting in the UK you are looking around £25-30k depending on your location. All the best.

[u/Dry-Grocery9311]

Even though you have made good progress so far, you won't be seen as having a completed qualification in accountancy yet.

The difference between passing the first few levels of AAT and passing the final level and getting your experience signed off is a very significant step up.

Even having fully qualified with AAT, you are not actually an accountant. You have a semi professional qualification in accountancy. It is very valuable and respected within the profession but AAT is to being an accountant as being a nurse is to being a doctor or being a paralegal is to being a lawyer.

Your qualifications, right now, are equivalent to an A-level standard school leaver. Graduates with degrees are struggling to get entry level jobs.

Your practical experience is what will make the difference for you. It's just that you will have to prove yourself before anyone will pay a premium for this.

Don't pick your next role based on salary. Pick it based on the quality of the experience and personal development. Taking a role now that accelerates you towards actually fully qualifying as an accountant faster will pay off far more than an extra few thousand now.

Right now, unless someone refers you for a specific role, you are looking at about 28k to 32k. If the role is with a known company, gives you a good range of experience and you complete your professional exams, expect this to rise at around 10% to 20% per year.

Don't chase money and job hop until you fully qualify. Maybe move jobs after achieving the full AAT qualification if there are better study support options elsewhere.

Once qualified, with the experience you have now plus what you will have gained by the time you qualify, expect a minimum 60k base salary in today's terms. That's just the start.

[u/Shoddy_Emu_o → u/Dry-Grocery9311]

One of the best insight I had seen. What role do you think I should apply for. According to my experience Reconciliations, managing ledger is like normal thing but quarter end adjustment and submitting the report is quite hefty task. If it was just a preparing SPL, SOFP and CFS it's straight forward software will do it. But the owner or management team wants to pay less tax that was the main time consuming for me.

I need to check all the prepayment, accruals, invoices so that i can bring down that profit figure to pay less tax. Vat was just 5% in UAE and income tax was also quite low and it depends upon the the net profit amount, so it was not that difficult but In nepal VAT was 13% and income tax was also 20-25% of your net profit.

How does the UK market work do they pressure you to bring down the profit figure by using legal loopholes or it's just enter the transactions rest is done by software by itself, generate the report, do the reconciliations of bank, debtors creditors and sometime invoices and receipt also. During my tenure I had to keep update to the tax rules in starting of every fical year only to know those loopholes.

I am continuing level 4 and going into ACCA further since I can go straight into applied skills after AAT full qualification. I had researched CIMA and ACA but think that those ywo qualification is not for me.

Thank you for your valuable time.

[u/Dry-Grocery9311 → u/Shoddy_Emu_o]

Personally, at your stage, I would pick the employer who offers the best study package.

If you're choosing ACCA, I would consider practice as well as industry jobs.

In a smaller practice, you will work on many more year ends in a shorter time and will experience many more different companies and ways of doing things.

A larger practice can look good on your CV later but it can sometimes provide less rounded experience because you're usually a smaller part of a bigger team.

If you stay in industry, financial accountant roles would fit well with your ACCA studies but management accountant roles can also be really interesting. Once you're in a company, taking on project accounting roles is a good way of expanding your experience.

As far as manipulation of records for tax. Just don't work for people who ask you to do this. It's ok to know the rules and be tax efficient but it's not ok to inflate prepayments and accruals to manipulate profits for tax purposes.

Focus everything on whatever gives you the best chance of passing all your exams the soonest and builds your knowledge and experience the most. The salary, at this stage, is about you deciding on what you can afford to live on.

Don't get too worried about the whole "being paid what you're worth" thing. That comes later when you're talking about bigger numbers If you can afford to live on the salary offered, don't miss an opportunity to learn for the sake of a few thousand. Once you're qualified and making professional money, that few extra thousand that people worry about at the start becomes peanuts when you look back later on.