Nixon W or SJD or other accountant??

[diesel]

Agree. If you are a bog standard contractor where they can get some low paid, unqualified, school leaver to do some data entry then the usual suspects are fine.
If you want to ask about foreign tax or any other aspect of accountancy that a limited company may face, expect to be greeted by a gormless look.

standard service should be good enough for me...nothing complex about my affairs.

Cant believe how dumb i have been paying Brookson £1700 pa (in Vat) for 2nd class service (esp past few months)

Been looking around other providers and prices and offerings seem to vary from around £900 - £1500 inc Vat.
Spoke to a local accountant a family friend used for years and he seems very good and knowledgeable but he wants £1500!

[crack_ho]

i have been paying Brookson £1700 pa (in Vat) for 2nd class service (esp past few months)

Someone has to pay for all the spam mail they produce.

[jetrimby]

Hi am a local accountant not in the area asked so no personal axe to grind!
Lowest I would go for a contractor (who does own payroll and vat) is about £600 but add a bit more mess and payroll can hit £1000 easily (charge on an hourly basis) very dependant on how much work client is prepared to do and how well (I'm always happy to train as dont like doing the basics anyway!)

For some who do not want any hassle the monthly fee "does it all" packs are pretty good but would agree that they are geared up to huge quantities of work done in a standard way by an unqualified work force. Also makes it harder to know whether you are getting the best advice and saving the most tax. A good standard model should get a good tax saving but who is standard? And, over the years I have dealt with many a plan B, parents tax/issues, spouses tax etc which cannot be dealt with that way.

Find a good recommended local accountant is my advice

[Jaimesjdaccountancy]

Thanks for the tip on SJD! I thought the £95 pm fee was a "all in one" fee!

Drewster - are you indicating a local accountant is better service?

cheers for the replies and advice.

Hi, I’m Jaime and have worked for SJD Accountancy for 8 years.
SJD has many happy customers and a lot of these come from referrals, so we must be doing something right! If you want to discuss our package then feel free to email or call me to discuss this further - Tel: 0500152500 / jaime(at)sjdaccountancy.com. I get your point about mortgage letters but when people have a portfolio of properties alongside their contracting, we can find we are doing more than just a few for some clients. Therefore, we have a small charge to these references.

[crack_ho]

I get your point about mortgage letters but when people have a portfolio of properties alongside their contracting, we can find we are doing more than just a few for some clients. Therefore, we have a small charge to these references.

Yeah photocopying the same reference must be a killer cost for any business.

[jetrimby]

Think it is important to remember that accountants are in business like yourselves, hopefully to make money! THe deals done are all diffferent, you sometimes "get what you pay for" and you sometimes dont ! Its the real world and it is not perfect.
The important thing is remember who is finally responsible (for accounts/tax etc) which is YOU. Keep and eye on things and if it looks wrong question it! I "hated" acting for some contractors as the phone would go regularily with "a friend says they do this" etc... Sometimes the answer would be "we are already doing this" others "this is fraud!" and very occasionally "Interesting I will look into that". Be happy with the communication between you.
Finally read the contracts If a set fee without extras fine I never do that but some do (good for some bad for others so I dont like it on principle) If there are exceptions that are not covered make sure you know the costs. Picking up a file and digging out the figures for a mortgage letter (which is vital to get right), writing the letter (all mortgage co's seem to ask different questions so standard formats are out) can easily take an hour, so the charges mentioned dont sound unreasonable as long as not a surprise!

[ninjakettle]

Another vote for NW. I used a local accountant for 4 years and in the end there was utterly no advantage to being able to meet him in person, and the service was in no way personalised. I've saved money with NW and found them to be very prompt and helpful in all regards to date.

I considered SJD at the start too, and as there was an office nearby, i thought their higher price would be justified by the fact that i could pop in for a face-to-face once or twice a year - but i was told i would be charged for this and for all references, special letters etc.

I do appreciate that they are a popular and respected accountancy firm though and the above is just my 2 cents.

[diesel]

Well i have narrowed down my choices

I was a bit suprised a friend at work suggested his local accountant. But got a quote more than what he pays! and that was for same like for like service!

Other is Uptons. So far communication has been very good, but welcome any reviews/feedback with them.

Other choice is Nixon Williams - who again seem very good at communication, but not local to me.

[bulletprooffool]

If there is any value in it - I am looking to start up a LTD company - basically need to sign on the dotted line . . and after opinions on CUK have phoned them twice today.

First time, they tried to put me through to 'new business' and returned after about 3 minutes of ringing to say nobody was answering . . it may be that they're all on lunch (which would be the typical time for me to ring them??)

The second time, the tried putting me through again . . after listening to a ringing phone for about 5 minutes I hung up.

It was my first choice - but I came unstuck at the very first hurdle - If new business can't get a knowledgeable person to speak to . . what will happen when they're pocketing my £100 odd a month and I need some advice?

[diesel]

[QUOTE=bulletprooffool;1056062]If there is any value in it - I am looking to start up a LTD company - basically need to sign on the dotted line . . and after opinions on CUK have phoned them twice today.

[QUOTE]

Phoned who?