SJD fee rise. Is £1512 p/annum a reasonable fee?

[Old Greg]

The point is, nobody's right or wrong. You're not a wimp for using an external accountant, but equally you're not a hero by doing it yourself, assuming you can keep up with the regualr law changes and don't make mistakes. You run your business the way that suits you.

But the cost of the accountant is actually utterly irrelevant to the decision.

I'm afraid cost is relevant. I'm sure that you would have a cut off point. I'm just cheaper than you (although I haven't made up my mind yet).

[malvolio]

Why?

Because any accountant worth their charter will almost certainly save you more money a year than they charge.

[sbakoola]

I've been with SJD a couple of years, the accountant with them was with was good but his recent replacement was even better. He spotted that I had been paying the SJD fees out of my personal account and not business hence I could claim those fees as a business expense (2 years worth ! nice straight into my personal account!).

I would say its worth it, I don't want to know the ins and outs of tax in great detail, I can more or less roughly calculate what I owe with the various taxes so I do double check their work and sanity test it - but overall good its worth the fee.

[Mr.Whippy]

He spotted that I had been paying the SJD fees out of my personal account and not business

I'm curious as to how you didn't spot that yourself after 2 years?

[MarillionFan]

Because any accountant worth their charter will almost certainly save you more money a year than they charge.

When I first started I used a firm which advertised on CUK.

For the most basic stuff they did the job fine. But when my finances got complicated they completely stuffed up my accounts. In fact they did my returns wrong for two years running and cost be an extra 4k. I also had to threaten them with legal action to move firms and had to restate accounts. They had the nerve to ask me to pay for last piece of work they did!

My new accountant so far in two years has helped me to get two tax rebates at 9k and 5k, plus helped us to claim maternity pay to around 6k. I pay £400 per year.

Your point is wrong.

[Sausage Surprise]

I've been with SJD a couple of years, the accountant with them was with was good but his recent replacement was even better. He spotted that I had been paying the SJD fees out of my personal account and not business hence I could claim those fees as a business expense (2 years worth ! nice straight into my personal account!).

I would say its worth it, I don't want to know the ins and outs of tax in great detail, I can more or less roughly calculate what I owe with the various taxes so I do double check their work and sanity test it - but overall good its worth the fee.

WTF ... It took them 2 years to notice this

[malvolio]

When I first started I used a firm which advertised on CUK.

For the most basic stuff they did the job fine. But when my finances got complicated they completely stuffed up my accounts. In fact they did my returns wrong for two years running and cost be an extra 4k. I also had to threaten them with legal action to move firms and had to restate accounts. They had the nerve to ask me to pay for last piece of work they did!

My new accountant so far in two years has helped me to get two tax rebates at 9k and 5k, plus helped us to claim maternity pay to around 6k. I pay £400 per year.

Your point is wrong.

I totally fail to see your logic here. A bad accountant cost you money that a good one recovered. How does that invalidate my argument that a good one saves you money?

[MarillionFan]

I totally fail to see your logic here. A bad accountant cost you money that a good one recovered. How does that invalidate my argument that a good one saves you money?

Your argument(unless I have misunderstood) was that cost was an indication of quality. Which it isn't.

[malvolio]

Your argument(unless I have misunderstood) was that cost was an indication of quality. Which it isn't.

No it wasn't. Go and read my post(s) properly. You require quality, cost is not a consideration in determining it. However cost is IMHO not a significant determinator when choosing unless the quality is the same, in which case you as a Director are legally bound to go for the cheaper one. The problem with accountants, of course, is that while you can directly compare the services they offer, you have to use them to find out what the quality is like

Is this the £5 argument or the £10?

[Fred Bloggs]

Because any accountant worth their charter will almost certainly save you more money a year than they charge.

Sorry, but for a straightforward one person Ltd Co, I find that hard to beleive. The taxation just isn't that complex for that circumstance. Certainl0y, I can't say my accountant has ever saved me a penny, probably becuase my circumstances are so straightforward (like most peoples).