fees for accounting

[Jai D]

Hi ,

I have formed a company last year. I am looking for an accountant to file my company returns to companies house and CT600. Could anyone suggest how much your accountant charges for this.

Thanks

[Archangel]

Last time I paid for one I paid £700 + VAT.

I now do my own.

HTH

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

If its purely year end only its not unreasonable to expect a bill of about £400 to £500 plus VAT.

[Nixon Williams]

£400 to £500 sounds about right, but check what service you will be getting.

If the "accountant" simply compiles your figures and does not check them (as some do) you are not really going to get the service you think you are paying for.

We've just handled a takeover of a new client, and have found over £2000 for them in taxes they have paid in error and HMRC were sitting on their money. The last accountant had not reflected this in the accounts, so if we had not checked our client would not have seen the money again!

Alan

[Little'Old Me]

You need to be very clear on what you want.

I charge between £250 and £2,200. I do charge £250 a couple of times a year if I don't have much to do e.g. one client that does everything himself and then passes it to me to check, tweak - because so far I have always spotted something he has omitted, or not adjusted.... and I submit it all for him - providing pdf file copies for his records. The £2,200 includes company secretarial, payroll, VAT, full accounting etc etc........


Having said all that, I have remembered the client who I charge £100 per year..... but that's just for Dormant accounts and the annual return etc.

[Watermill Accounting]

£300 would be reasonable be a reasonable price. We divide into equal monthly instalments.

[WetBehindTheEars]

Fairly new to contracting. Just done my first ever final year accounts.

I do all my own payroll and VAT returns.

I do my own basic book keeping (Excel spreadsheet). My accounts are really simple - 1 sales invoice per month and a running total of some basic expenses per month.

At the year end I gave the spreadsheet to the accountant and he produced my accounts and submitted them for me.

Bill = £980 + VAT.

Does that sound expensive? Anyone recommend a cheaper but good accountant.

I reckon it can't have taken him more than 1 hour (top side). That's not a bad rate - guess most of us on here would be happy with that sort of gig. I'm thinking about re-training

[JOE]

Hi,

I am assuming your accountant have filled company accounts,annual return and CT600 for you.
I appreciate you have taken efforts to do your bookkeeping. But your accountant reviewed your books(even if they are in good shape accountants dont rely on your knowledge as this is not your field of expertise) and produced 2 set of statutory accounts for you one abbreviated form to be submitted at companies house and another full accounts. Filled your Corporation tax using his own knowledge regarding reasonableness of deductions and how best you can save tax.

Normally accountants do account for the hours they have spent on your job. Which is multiplied with their respective hourly rates( rates depend upon the employee who spends his time on the task being partners having a higher rate).
Its like if you buy branded product from the companies who are in business for long or those who have just entered the market.
However new players may be good at times and give you a good value for money.You just need to keep your eyes open.

[Gonzo]

<snip>I reckon it can't have taken him more than 1 hour (top side). That's not a bad rate - guess most of us on here would be happy with that sort of gig. I'm thinking about re-training

Ah, the old "what does an accountant do for their money?" chestnut.

Have you factored in the amount of time that they spend learning all the regulations and then keeping informed about any changes that affect those regulations, so that you don't have to?

[WetBehindTheEars]

Have you factored in the amount of time that they spend learning all the regulations and then keeping informed about any changes that affect those regulations, so that you don't have to?

I spend a lot of time learning new technologies and keeping my skills current, but I wouldn't get away with charging a grand for an hours work. Don't accountants just key stuff in to Sage and press a button?