Does your accountant charge you for general advice?

[r0bly0ns]

It's one thing being charged by the hour for advice, it's another being charged by the hour for bad or incomplete advice.

If you hired a plumber to change a pipe, and he installed the wrong one causing a leak would you pay him?


Personally I would write a letter detailing every instance you feel agreved with, and why you feel agreved.
Send the letter to the accountant's who charged you (all of them, so that every person you have dealt with knows that all their collegues are giving shoddy service) and send a copy to your mate as well.
Make sure you put a CC list at the top of the letter so everyone knows who has got it.

[fridge]

Get rid of them as they are just riping you off. Find out if they are a member of the institute of chartered accountants or institute of management accountants etc. Tell them that you are going to complain to there professional body about there treatment of you + ask them for a breakdown of their bill. Just HOW did they arrive at the figure they quoted you. I mean BREAKDOWN on the bill (bit by bit etc.....)

[Hiram King Of Tyre]

I asked them for an estimate to produce my first year accounts (although the co has only been trading 6 months). £800-£1000 + VAT. Is that expensive?

[Old Greg]

I asked them for an estimate to produce my first year accounts (although the co has only been trading 6 months). £800-£1000 + VAT. Is that expensive?

Yes - pm Simon, Alan or Darren to see if you can get a better deal.

[Bluebird]

I asked them for an estimate to produce my first year accounts (although the co has only been trading 6 months). £800-£1000 + VAT. Is that expensive?

SJD charge £100 pcm inc vat, so that works out about the same, plus you get advice all year - Nixon Williams are even cheaper, so I would guess that £800-£1000 IS too much.

[Hiram King Of Tyre]

Who are they?

[Old Greg]

Who are they?

SJD, Nixon Williams, Upton Accounting. They post regularly in the Accounting/Legal section, and I seem to realise Simon (SJD) offering recently to do someone's end of year accounts for about half of the figure you quote but I may have the details wrong there or the circumstances may be different.

[Hiram King Of Tyre]

OK thanks. I'm beginning to realise that these guys that I'm using aren't cheap. I'm not sure they're interested in saving me money either.....

[David Parker ACMA]

I am with purplecontractor.com, they provide an online service additionally to being available up to 11pm and at weekends. They don't charge for additional advice, as it is all included in the monthly 'fixed' fee of £95. Details on how much you can draw down etc is all part and parcel of an accountants providing a true service to contractors.
Give them a try.