Will I really need an accountant on mat leave?

[JessMatt]

Hi all,

I'm due to go on mat leave from July-Feb 2021 this year. I usually pay £120 a month for a package (just to make life easy, I know I can probably get it cheaper, but let's not dwell on that...)

When I'm not working, I've asked what my options are and they've said that this is what they can do:

"we can move you onto the dormant package at £60 a month from when you stop working, this will cover the mandatory filing needed including self assessment tax return, annual company accounts and the monthly salary filing of the SMP."

Now, I'm fine paying this so that they process my SMP but I'll only be doing this until November, so do I really need to be paying £60 a month for them to file accounts and annual company accounts? If I freeze/leave then get another accountant when I start working again, surely they can sort this out in Feb 2021..?

On the other hand, they'll be doing my self-assessment for this year and I assume I'll be paying this in Jan 2021 so maybe I'll want them around then... I've not done it before.

Just want to get your opinion and see if I'm paying for not much or if it's worth it for not having to think about it.

Thanks!

[northernladuk]

Accountants fees aren't really monthly. They are an aggregated yearly fee. If you freeze it they will charge you more for the work when you need it. How much of an accountants time do you think you get for £60? If it were this simple we'd all freeze our work for 11 months and just pay them one months fees to do our returns.

The new accountant is likely to charge £250 plus to pick your accountants up and submit them.

The reduced fee is a nice touch and I think you need to carry on.

[wattaj]

What would you rather do: a) play with your new baby, or b) mess about with company paperwork?

Follow-up question: how much is that worth to you?

Simples.

[Lance]

half price seems reasonable....

Or.... whilst your off, take the opportunity to move accountants to a firm that charges less....
£60 a month reduce fee for x months. Or £30-40 a month off in perpetuity?

[SuperLooper]

£60 a month for zero hassle at a time when you have much more important things to worry about? Bargain.

[pr1]

What would you rather do: a) play with your new baby, or b) mess about with company paperwork?

Follow-up question: how much is that worth to you?

Simples.

ask again when the baby's 3 months old and she's had less than a weeks worth of sleep

[escapeUK]

If you've been running your business a few years, you will know these accounts are incredibly easy. And even when you pay someone else you still have to go through them all and understand them, because you are legally responsible for mistakes not them. So personally I'd save the money (spend it on the baby) and do it yourself. Especially with the destruction of the economy, when there are no contracts in Feb 21 you'll be glad you did!

[JessMatt]

Thanks for the replies!!

I forgot to subscribe so I only just saw them.

I feel like while I could probably get my head around it, as it’s my first year and I’m sure come August everything is going to be much harder I’m happy to keep paying for the peace of mind.

Everyone I speak to always seems astounded at the accountancy fees, but none of those people work for themselves, so glad to hear it’s not outrageous.

Cheers all

[northernladuk]

Are they also surprised at how much you charge a day and the yearly income of your company?

[Hobosapien]

Their 'dormant' package isn't really dormant in terms of official Ltd company dormancy as during that there is no salary to process as all activity is suspended down to no transactions throught the company beyond the fees (to companies house and accountant) to keep it ticking over.

Unless you are sure of returning to normal behaviour in a matter of months, both in terms of maternity time off and work beyond that then I'd take the opportunity to at least price up alternative accountancy services.

Personally I moved from the fixed monthly fee with a national contractor 'specialist' to PAYG with a small local accountant and IIRC the quarterly PAYG fee was around £50, and hte annual accounts filing around £500-600 depending on activity on the spreadsheet I submitted to my accountant, then a few quid here for other services as I needed them. I did my own VAT and self-assessment, both piss easy if not got some way more complicated than usual contractor scenario.

So price up the competition and use the pause in activity to cut costs. You never know what the future holds, so unless committed to paying the accountant due to contract terms and how they may be spreading their fees over monthlies, assess if they are really worth their money. With the apparent downturn in contracting via Ltd through firstly IR35 and now the virus, there may be accountants willing to reduce their fees to keep their own books afloat if there isn't the normal volume of business out there.