SJD price increases

[FK1]

Without claiming any tax relief I assume?

Correct. Without any tax relief. The purpose was to start from a blank sheet.

Do you mean you moved to FreeAgent and a compatible accountant? Or are you flying solo with FreeAgent?

I am thinking flying solo but might use review and filing services for FreeAgent in the end of the company year that might cost just £100 around.

Of course, it is not for everyone as it subjects to some experience about potential hassles that might impact how much time would spend on solo accounting.
For example, I will try to avoid to have any assets on a company and will prefer to be paid from UK clients only.

[FK1]

Around £100 (including VAT) per month is just about reasonable given that Free Agent does most of the work.

£50 (including VAT and Free Agent) per month is much more correspond to the reality and looks like "more fair". IMHO.

[FK1]

1st time poster and I joined just to post here as I am a customer of SJD Accountancy.

I can gladly mirror what others have already said. I paid the asking £132 because of their good recommendation.
Having been with them for over 2 years now i'll be making the switch due to the price hike.

Every month I fill out a spreadsheet and do 90% of the work myself. I basically pay for a reminder service. Every few months I'll get an email asking me to pay x amount in VAT or to fill out a questionnaire in regards to a tax return and update this on the spreadsheet.

I have never had any need to meet an accountant face to face. Email responses are quick and within 24 hours but you would expect this anyway.

With the increase i'll now be paying £144 per month all in. nothing will have changed in terms of my service or the way I complete the spreadsheet. It's unjustifiable in my eyes.

Pair this with the recent Government announcement on dividend changes and ultimately it just results in less money being put in my pocket. The switch to someone else offering a newer more up-to-date service for less money is inevitable. If you work in IT and have a basic monthly income from your agency then you don't need the extras that SJD are supposedly offering....

Also worth noting, I received a letter through the post a few days ago. I won't say which company it was but they knew I was with SJD, mentioned the price hike and offered to poach me with a nice transition and at £80 + VAT and I'm looking into it as we speak.

Very true. Just still believe the accounting costs should not exceed £500-£600 pa in total for a small business.

[Mincepie]

+1, I had exactly this issue with Churchill Knight, leaving them was the best thing I ever did for my Ltd.

Same here, best thing i ever did leaving them after getting in a right old mess. It was my fault i guess for not knowing what i was doing and just assuming they had it all under control

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

£50 (including VAT and Free Agent) per month is much more correspond to the reality and looks like "more fair". IMHO.

More fair for who? The £500 per day contractor or the accountant who would be hard pushed to turn a profit at that rate? Software, rent, salaries etc all need to be paid and you get better service from an accountant, just like any other service provider, if they aren't forced to spread themselves too thin to make money. Dependent on size and economies of scale, I reckon it costs anywhere between £400 and £600 per annum to service a client.

[northernladuk]

I reckon it costs anywhere between £400 and £600 per annum to service a client.

NLadyUK disagrees...

[FK1]

More fair for who? The £500 per day contractor or the accountant who would be hard pushed to turn a profit at that rate? Software, rent, salaries etc all need to be paid and you get better service from an accountant, just like any other service provider, if they aren't forced to spread themselves too thin to make money. Dependent on size and economies of scale, I reckon it costs anywhere between £400 and £600 per annum to service a client.

OK. So it is expected £500 per day contractors should pay for their accounting £1500 pa.
Then those with £1000 per day rate - £3000 and others with £250 per day - £750 for the same accounting.

It is irrelevant how affordable it is. It is simply stupid to pay for a cup of tea (made from a tea bag and boiled water with no soul in it) triple price just because you earn more than other customers.

Typical IT contractor has much more straightforward tax situation than some other small business as family small shops, sole traders/self-employed in the retail sector etc

My clients do not care how expensive it is for me to service them. They pay market price looking on competitors.

Nowadays online accounting products are very competitive and it makes £500-£600 fair for me as I could spend that amount of money on my LTD accounting having more comfort and spending less time.

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

SJD price increases

I wasn't suggesting that. The £500 per day was just to illustrate that contractors make profits and so should accountants.

£600 is not sustainable if you want a decent level of service. We work on a 100 clients per accountant ratio (which I think is fairly typical) so the labour cost is c£300 per client per year. Even discounted Freeagent subs are c£200 per year. That leaves £100 for overhead, vat and profit. Therefore a £600 pa fee is not sustainable and is not in my view market rate either. That's why most accountants in this space are in the £75 to £100 PCM range.

For a business relationship to flourish both parties have to benefit. At £500 pa the accountant has little benefit and is therefore not motivated to provide the top notch service you deserve.

[SlipTheJab]

I wasn't suggesting that. The £500 per day was just to illustrate that contractors make profits and so should accountants.

£600 is not sustainable if you want a decent level of service. We work on a 100 clients per accountant ratio (which I think is fairly typical) so the labour cost is c£300 per client per year. Even discounted Freeagent subs are c£200 per year. That leaves £100 for overhead, vat and profit. Therefore a £600 pa fee is not sustainable and is not in my view market rate either. That's why most accountants in this space are in the £75 to £100 PCM range.

For a business relationship to flourish both parties have to benefit. At £500 pa the accountant has little benefit and is therefore not motivated to provide the top notch service you deserve.

+1, am currently paying £102 a month including VAT and am more than happy to do so for the first class service I get.

[SlipTheJab]

Same here, best thing i ever did leaving them after getting in a right old mess. It was my fault i guess for not knowing what i was doing and just assuming they had it all under control

Out of interest did you end up with them by way of a 'recommendation' from a pimp, I did as it was my first contract and I didn't have anything set up. Hope the pimp choked on the Champers the referral fee bought him!