Am I paying too much or paying the going rate?

[MrHelpful]

I am on the FRS and currently I pay my accountant £40/month. However I seeing very little activity from my account and somewhat becoming disillusioned. I only recently chased and reminded my accountant on whether I should be completing my SA. As a summary of what I do?

- I currently work out all my VAT returns and complete them online.
- I also pay my PAYE and NI via my business bank account.

For the £40/month. I can only see that I am getting - my annual accounts, Corp tax, summary how much PAYE/NI I should pay each month. Is this normal?

Do other contractors have to chase their accountants? Do they give you advice? What is your comms like... I am lucky to talk to my accountant 2-3 times a year! Is he taking me for a easy ride.

Note: Accountancy is run by undergrads! therefore I do question... am I missing a trick. How do I know if they are making mistakes or not?! Can I get someone to cast over my business - has anyone done this?

[Fred Bloggs]

Yes, I have to chase them every quarter and I pay £90 a month +VAT.

[Maslins]

£40/month is pretty low IMO.

Note: Accountancy is run by undergrads!

Do you actually believe this? To qualify as a chartered accountant you have to do studies way beyond a degree. Perhaps if you're with a big firm the junior will be doing most of the donkey work, but any half decent practice will have people with decent qualifications checking stuff before it goes out.

Sure, the odd mistake may on rare occasions slip through...but if you can find me a person who's never made a mistake, I don't want to meet them.

[MrHelpful]

I do believe it when they are going on a study course at the same time... the head of the practice isnt fully qualified but has many local village companies on his books

[inniAccounts]

Agreed, £40 per month is a bargain.

You might find our new (free) online app helpful for keeping on top of your paperwork - it'll handle PAYE and VAT return calcs for you. Take a look at <link removed>

We also offer an accounting service, but it's nowhere near £40/m!

<admin note>No links please. Warned you before! Any more and you will be banned.</admin note>

[xoggoth]

Only £40! Wow! About what most of them are worth though.

[gingerjedi]

I am on the FRS and currently I pay my accountant £40/month. However I seeing very little activity from my account and somewhat becoming disillusioned. I only recently chased and reminded my accountant on whether I should be completing my SA. As a summary of what I do?

- I currently work out all my VAT returns and complete them online.
- I also pay my PAYE and NI via my business bank account.

For the £40/month. I can only see that I am getting - my annual accounts, Corp tax, summary how much PAYE/NI I should pay each month. Is this normal?

Do other contractors have to chase their accountants? Do they give you advice? What is your comms like... I am lucky to talk to my accountant 2-3 times a year! Is he taking me for a easy ride.

Note: Accountancy is run by undergrads! therefore I do question... am I missing a trick. How do I know if they are making mistakes or not?! Can I get someone to cast over my business - has anyone done this?

So why bother? You'd be better using an accountant just for year end stuff.

I'm starting to run my accounts in parallel with the accountant until I'm confident in doing it all myself, VAT is easy.

[Sally BFCA]

It's a fair price for the work that they do. Our fee is £45 per month for this type of service.