Accountant how much and what should they do?

I've booked an appointment with a new accountant. I want to know what I should be expecting from an accountant and how much the going rate is.

To give some background and context, we have been through 2 accountants so far. Prior to window cleaning me and the wife started an eBay business. That grew to the point that she ran it full time and left her job. The first meeting with the first accountant was great, gave us a few pointers and sent us on our way. We completed the books ourselves and handed them over to be ''checked'' and submitted. The cost was £150+VAT and we had no other comms with them, they didn't check in on her throughout the year etc. Eventually they started to get her name wrong on documents etc. Despite being a sizeable firm you would wait days for a response. When I went self employed we decided to find someone else.

Accountant number 2 promised more than a business transaction, much more in depth first meeting. Matched the price of the old accountant so £150+VAT each. Never answers the phone. In January we were stressing that the returns might not be done in time and communication was poor. When the returns were complete he continued to mention it was half his usual fee. I asked a month or so ago if the price was ongoing but didn't get a response so gave notice to leave and started looking for another accountant. 

I've had a good hunt around. I narrowed it to 2 firms. One I clean for, then they were late with their bill. It's only £20 but on principal it seems silly to go with an accountant that doesn't pay their own bills on time haha ?. The other is probably the highest rated firm in the south west. They have a minimum fee of £85 per month but promise to help the business grow, look over P&L reports and provide in depth advice not just ''buy a new van to keep the tax down'' type stuff.

I pay €200 per year for mine but my accountant is excellent and she's a lovely woman, can have a good laugh with her aswell & ask her advice. As regards contacting her, their usually very busy so I email her any concerns and she gets back to me quick enough.

Like any tradesman or supplier unfortunately it's can be a tedious process to find a good one.

I paid £378 this year as a sole trader, I am with a Chartered Accountant been with the same office for over 5 years now, it was an old guy with a very good reputation at first then he was bought out by a bigger firm as he neared retirement and my assigned accountant is spot on.

@P4dstar I am guessing you were with a book-keeper and not a chartered accountant it's been a long long time since I paid anywhere near £150

I pay £950 + VAT a year for this they do a Partnership Return, my Ltd Company Accounts and 3 individual Tax Returns. I don't get any advice though as I know it all  :1f603:

Chartered Accountant is like a Lawyer's fee which is around £200 an hour. I have a classmate who I go to for advice but if I continue to be busy I will need him full-time.

Iron Giant said:

I am guessing you were with a book-keeper and not a chartered accountant

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No, both times with chartered accountants. That was literally just submit the tax return only. The first was a firm with a bunch of employees, the accountants at the top dealt with limited companies and the other people dealt with sole traders.

Part Timer said:

I pay £950 + VAT a year for this they do a Partnership Return, my Ltd Company Accounts and 3 individual Tax Returns. I don't get any advice though as I know it all  :1f603:

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This guys minimum fee of £85 works out just over that. I've assumed that's plus vat of course. I asked him how that will change when I go limited and he said he would suggest we go limited immediately based on what I've told him, discussed everything that is included including personal tax returns. He was keen to take over the book keeping too and tells me its not much more for that... Considering I scan my own receipts into Quickbooks I should hope not haha.

As @Daniel Perkins suggests, a good accountant is probably available for £200 a year. They might provide you some advice as you go and fill in your returns. When they go on holiday you're on your own, they won't look over your books and make suggestions just answer questions. I'm looking to employ early next year and reach the VAT threshold potentially next year also so having someone to guide me through that, available to call immediately etc etc.

I think its the right thing to do, it's just daunting.

I think most accountants charge based on a percentage of your turnover (i imagine this is in the region of 1.5%) as our turnover last year was 40k and the accountants bill was £600.

i consider this a fair deal as all our accounts are on paper, i hand them the incomings & outgoings and leave them to deal with it. There are thousands of individual invoices/receipts and it would be anyones worst nightmare, i reckon it takes one of his staff AT LEAST 3 days to go through it all. So by the time hes paid that person say £400 in wages its just the VAT and his own wage/profit left over. 

The bill has gone up year on year but has been consistently relevant to the turnover, been with them since the start, very responsive always answer the phone etc if ive got any questions, i think theyre great and it takes a lot of stress off my head and they will accept paperwork rather than forcing me in to some digital books thing that no doubt id have to pay for monthly & i dont want that so i’m well happy.

I'll be following this topic closely as I'm on the lookout for an accountant. I had a meeting with one not so long ago and was emailed this over-

Summary of services 

Preparation and filing of:

• Company accounts
  
• Corporation tax return
  
• Director Self-Assessment Tax Return
  
• Confirmation Statement
  
• Company Payroll
  

Monthly Accountancy Fee:

Option 1: £95 

Option 2: £105 inclusive of accountancy software, bookkeeping & quarterly reports

*Exclusive of VAT

Both options include quickbooks subscriptions, the second option I get an app that I scan receipts/invoices and it sends them straight to quickbooks and apparently that's all I'd have to do.

I also had a chat on the phone to one that quoted me £650 for company returns and £150 for self assessment returns, however I didn't get a great feeling speaking to them on the phone.

My best mates dads an accountant and he's been looking over my books for me, I asked him what he'd charge me to do it through his business "my rates start at £440ph" was his reply ?

Doddy111 said:

Confirmation Statement

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Costs £13 and takes 5 minutes to do on Companies House website

Part Timer said:

Costs £13 and takes 5 minutes to do on Companies House website

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Yeah I pulled him on that as I've done it before "Well its one less thing for me to worry about" was his answer 

Ill be doing my own as i did when i was taxi driving.

I also do my own partnership & individual returns.  It's quite a lot to get your head round at first but now I find it fairly straightforward.

Bart90 said:

I also do my own partnership & individual returns.  It's quite a lot to get your head round at first but now I find it fairly straightforward.

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As you say it is relatively easy and if stuck just ring them up and they'll talk you through the process. You can't however do your own if you've set up a Limited Company. 

Part Timer said:

As you say it is relatively easy and if stuck just ring them up and they'll talk you through the process. You can't however do your own if you've set up a Limited Company. 

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I hadn't realised you have to use an accountant if you're Ltd.  I've no idea if that will affect me in the future as I don't really understand the benefits of Ltd and have not looked into it properly but I know partnership has saved us a lot of £'s in tax.  

I honestly don't see the point of, doing your own accounts, you have to be up to date with all the rules otherwise you could be liable to be fined if accounts are done correctly. 

I am more than happy to pay an accountant to ensure my accounts are all in order and he knows exactly what I can or can't offset against my tax liability.

Iron Giant said:

I honestly don't see the point of, doing your own accounts, you have to be up to date with all the rules otherwise you could be liable to be fined if accounts are done correctly. 

I am more than happy to pay an accountant to ensure my accounts are all in order and he knows exactly what I can or can't offset against my tax liability.

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You can check with hmrc but a lot of information of what you can offset legitimately is widely available online from official sources.  I can see why some people use an accountant but once you've done it a few times it's fairly easy and there's nothing to be worried about so long as you declare honestly.  I'm fortunate to know an accountant socially so I have the added benefit of running anything I'm unsure of past him.  But even if over the years you do miss a few things you could have claimed for (which I have), it won't be anything like the cost of paying an accountant every year.  Each to their own though.

After quite a bit of discussion and research I've cancelled the meeting. Prices starting at circa £1200 a year are a bit much right now. We've decided to get a book keeper to look over our current records and help us put 2018-19 together. After that a cheaper accountant will be able to handle things until we go limited.

I pay £360 per year and happy to do so. Just one less hassle and always there on the end of the phone if any grief arises ?

P4dstar said:

After quite a bit of discussion and research I've cancelled the meeting. Prices starting at circa £1200 a year are a bit much right now. We've decided to get a book keeper to look over our current records and help us put 2018-19 together. After that a cheaper accountant will be able to handle things until we go limited.

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To be honest mate, you should be trying to find an accountant by referral from a friend/family etc etc. And not by price ideally!

Leeds said:

To be honest mate, you should be trying to find an accountant by referral from a friend/family etc etc. And not by price ideally!

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The guys I found were the highest rated in the south west. The previous ones we used for both businesses were both recommendations from friends and family and neither worked out. It's not a price thing but there needs to be a balance and starting at £1200 for a sole trader is just extreme and that was a ''from'' price.

Hi all,

Does anyone use online companies like Taxscouts (£119 all in) or GoSimpleTax (starting at £32 I think it was)?

I’m in Sheffield and don’t know which accountant to use.