SJD just stuffed fees up by over 10%

[d000hg]

Simon

I know you read this forum so I'd like to know how you are justifying putting up your fees by over 10% when most of us are suffering from either reduced rates or longer than normal periods between invoicable work?

Under normal circumstances I wouldn't think twice about retaining SJD as our company accountants but this attempt to just squeeze a bit more out of us is making me think again. It's not the amount so much as the principle. Sob stories about "we haven't put our fees up in three years' - well boo bloody hoo, most of us are earning less than we did three years ago.

Over to you.

Seem to me you're the one with the boo hoo attitude, bitter your rates are down. If they put their prices up by a rather reasonable 10% after 3 years, that's basically in line with inflation. Do you write to Tesco complaining that their prices are up despite your income being down?

[Waldorf]

Seem to me you're the one with the boo hoo attitude, bitter your rates are down. If they put their prices up by a rather reasonable 10% after 3 years, that's basically in line with inflation. Do you write to Tesco complaining that their prices are up despite your income being down?

A 10% increase on its own may not be the issue, however based on the current profit of £600 per client, after this increase, this presumably will be £720 per client.

So out of the £1260 annual fees paid, £720 is pure profit, that seems excessive, a profit margin of 57% - Tesco has a profit margin of about 5%

[Waldorf]

http://forums.contractoruk.com/accou...nable-fee.html

It wasn't true then either.

What wasn't true? SJD's website confirms that the fee is now £105 plus vat per month which is £1512 a year.

It sounds like they are gradually increasing the fee with their current clients?

[escapeUK]

Do you write to Tesco complaining that their prices are up despite your income being down?

He probably just stops shopping there, which is what will happen here.

It sounds like a lot to me, and id expect an accountant charging that much to be pro-actively coming up with ideas that would save me a lot more than they charge.

[VectraMan]

What wasn't true? SJD's website confirms that the fee is now £105 plus vat per month which is £1512 a year.

£1260 per year, for new customers.

It sounds like they are gradually increasing the fee with their current clients?

And your source is?

[Alf W]

They are increasing fees for existing clients to those quoted for new clients. My source is the email I had from them explaining just that.

What I am after here is an explanation or justification for a 10% fee increase. Any supplier to any business, especially in this market, who wants to increase their charges by 10% should expect a fairly robust challenge back from their customers.

Now, I could go to my Account Manager who would probably try and fob me off or give me some line about it being a policy decision from up on high. Alternatively, I think a better approach is to ask someone with some influence at the company to explain it to the many (probably hundreds) of their customers who frequent this forum. It's also a good opportunity to share alternatives to save us all a lot of time and effort should we decide not to accept the increase.

It is also a great opportunity for some of SJD's competitors to pitch their alternative offerings.

I'm quite happy to engage in chucking pies at anyone on this forum site but only in 'General'. This is a serious query regarding my accountancy service.

[Waldorf]

£1260 per year, for new customers.

And your source is?

£1260 plus vat is £1512.

I am not with SJD but judging my the comments on here, existing clients have already started receiving notice of the fee increase.

I assume you are with SJD perhaps your increase is on its way?

[VectraMan]

£1260 plus vat is £1512.

If you don't understand about VAT, you should really get a better accountant.

I'll await the email. Alf wasn't clear if he was reacting to an actual rise, or just mistakenly taking what was said on the website as applying to him (as seemed to be the case on the last thread). Still, not many things haven't increased by at least 10% in 3 years, and angrily demanding justification seems rather childish. A business makes as much money as it can. Get over it.

[Waldorf]

If you don't understand about VAT, you should really get a better accountant.

I'll await the email. Alf wasn't clear if he was reacting to an actual rise, or just mistakenly taking what was said on the website as applying to him (as seemed to be the case on the last thread). Still, not many things haven't increased by at least 10% in 3 years, and angrily demanding justification seems rather childish. A business makes as much money as it can. Get over it.

I do understand vat, but I and most people I know are on the flat rate system so cannot reclaim the vat, so the fee is effectively £1512!

[VectraMan]

I do understand vat, but I and most people I know are on the flat rate system so cannot reclaim the vat, so the fee is effectively £1512!

Ah, but just because you're on the FRS doesn't mean you're not reclaiming the VAT. The FRS exists to save on paperwork; you judge that the benefit you get from paying less of the VAT you collect outweighs the refund on small items, and some of that saving is in effect the VAT refund. And if you don't get a benefit out of the FRS, leave and reclaim as normal.

So the fee is effectively £1260, the VAT disappears as it does for most business to business transactions. And it's not like SJD have a choice about charging you VAT, and you can't expect them to have a different pricing structure for people on the FRS.