Accountant how much and what should they do?

[KGEC]

Hi 

For my current business T/O is £250-300k I pay £280 + vat. My accountants are at the end of the phone any time in business hours, twice a year meetings. I also find that they keep in touch themselves if they don’t here from me. They do everything for me expect reconciliation of payments. I have 5 employees plus myself. I have always worked on the theory as long as they save me more than I am paying them it’s basically a free service! 

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Hi 

For my current business T/O is £250-300k I pay £280 + vat. My accountants are at the end of the phone any time in business hours, twice a year meetings. I also find that they keep in touch themselves if they don’t here from me. They do everything for me expect reconciliation of payments. I have 5 employees plus myself. I have always worked on the theory as long as they save me more than I am paying them it’s basically a free service! 

£336, is that a month or a year?

 

[D-avid]

That a very good price considering the relative size of your business. I’ve been quoted more than that and I’m a Sole trader.

I’ve also been quoted £150 inc VAT but am not sure of their reputation.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I spend nearly every penny i make on new equipment so I don't need to pay tax. Last year I made £8500 and spent £8350 and I had a National Insurance bill of £208. This year I'm well over £20k but spent just as much on the hotwater tank, wf poles and everything else. This is why I need to invest in an accountant because I don't know if I should be paying NI contributions.

That a very good price considering the relative size of your business. I’ve been quoted more than that and I’m a Sole trader.

I’ve also been quoted £150 inc VAT but am not sure of their reputation.

I wouldn't expect to pay more than £500 a year as a sole trader. I'm lucky that a school mate is an accountant and will be approaching him again to see if he wants my business. 

 

[Pjj]

Hi 

For my current business T/O is £250-300k I pay £280 + vat. My accountants are at the end of the phone any time in business hours, twice a year meetings. I also find that they keep in touch themselves if they don’t here from me. They do everything for me expect reconciliation of payments. I have 5 employees plus myself. I have always worked on the theory as long as they save me more than I am paying them it’s basically a free service! 

Dear me that’s cheap 

 

[Part Timer]

Dear me that’s cheap 

That has to be a monthly fee

 

[Pjj]

That has to be a monthly fee

Ah yes you are probably right , if that’s an annual fee I will be asking for the guys number ???

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Ah yes you are probably right , if that’s an annual fee I will be asking for the guys number ???

My mate who worked on the rigs all got in toe with a good cheap accountant or so they thought. I think it was after 5yrs that the taxman caught up with them. The good accountant was in fact bad and hadn't paid anyones tax. The taxman got them all to pay again and chase their bent accountant for a refund. I'm not sure what happened but there was a process they had to follow to try and retrieve their money back. I now realise that their is no such thing as a Cheap accountant. 

 

[Pjj]

My mate who worked on the rigs all got in toe with a good cheap accountant or so they thought. I think it was after 5yrs that the taxman caught up with them. The good accountant was in fact bad and hadn't paid anyones tax. The taxman got them all to pay again and chase their bent accountant for a refund. I'm not sure what happened but there was a process they had to follow to try and retrieve their money back. I now realise that their is no such thing as a Cheap accountant. 

Your accountant will sort out what you owe but you are responsible for paying hmrc I always pay the bill based on his advice and figures , not had any problems in over 20 years 

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Your accountant will sort out what you owe but you are responsible for paying hmrc I always pay the bill based on his advice and figures , not had any problems in over 20 years 

In hindsight, my mate should have contacted HMRC to see if his tax was being paid but no one expects a professional to act this way. With more and more folk having addictions its hard to trust anyone with money, especially politicians. Only today, Corbyn and Mcdonnell have realised that its all their fault they got thrashed. Everyone saw it on Friday bar these two and still they don't want to resign, madness.

 

[Part Timer]

My mate who worked on the rigs all got in toe with a good cheap accountant or so they thought. I think it was after 5yrs that the taxman caught up with them. The good accountant was in fact bad and hadn't paid anyones tax. The taxman got them all to pay again and chase their bent accountant for a refund. I'm not sure what happened but there was a process they had to follow to try and retrieve their money back. I now realise that their is no such thing as a Cheap accountant. 

Anyone that thinks they can pay less than what they think they owe either live in cloud cuckoo land or deserve everything they get.

 

[KGEC]

Ah yes you are probably right , if that’s an annual fee I will be asking for the guys number ???

Yes sorry to be clear it’s a monthly cost. any decent accountant who will offer you a service level based upon size will ask the following questions ‘what is your current T/O and what is your predicted T/O for the following year’ you will then charged 1% of that. i will add that it isn’t For my window cleaning business as I have only just got the kit ordered for that and launch next year. 
 

it’s a hard one to judge I have used a small firm (2 accountants) up to my current one (50 plus) so far I have found my current one a lot better as they cover more areas of specialism, and can cover holidays better.