Advice: Invoice dispute with accountant

[shookshiver]

Hi

Fellow professionals i have an issue with an accountant where theres a dispute on work that has been done that i believed was not chargeable.
The story is that i stopped trading almost 2 years ago so i asked to shutdown the company down. I then stopped payment to the accountant but due to a late self-assessment 21/22 that was submitted not to long ago (yes i was hit with penalties) i was asked whether i wanted company tax for 22/23 to be done. I said yes not thinking about the fact that this work will be charged. The company tax has not been submitted however just prepared. I was charged full monthly from the time i suspended payment till this month.
Can i refuse payment here?

[WTFH]

Hi

Fellow professionals i have an issue with an accountant where theres a dispute on work that has been done that i believed was not chargeable.
The story is that i stopped trading almost 2 years ago so i asked to shutdown the company down. I then stopped payment to the accountant but due to a late self-assessment 21/22 that was submitted not to long ago (yes i was hit with penalties) i was asked whether i wanted company tax for 22/23 to be done. I said yes not thinking about the fact that this work will be charged. The company tax has not been submitted however just prepared. I was charged full monthly from the time i suspended payment till this month.
Can i refuse payment here?

Yes, you can refuse payment, but then they will take you to court for not paying bills that you owe.
Did you stop paying the accountant at the end of the year, or were you thinking that you only paid for them on a rolling month by month? Few accountants offer monthly contracts, instead you engage them for a year, but they break down the charge into 12 payments.

There are a few gaps in your story:
1. What date did you shut your company down?
2. Why did you submit your self assessment late (remembering that Self Assessment is completely separate from your company)?
3. Why do you think the accountant who you haven't paid for 2 years should submit company tax for last year?

[northernladuk]

Few accountants offer monthly contracts, instead you engage them for a year, but they break down the charge into 12 payments.

This is usually the point most people get wrong when dealing with accountants so I'll bet this is your problem. You can't disengage and then expect them to do the heavy lifting for one months pay later. That's not how they work. Most will have something in their engagement packs about having to have paid a full year before they'll do certain work. It catches some people out that they have to pay extra for year end submissions (or whatever) if they've only been with the accountant for 6 months of that tax year.