Best value accountant?

**malvolio** · 2 April 2011, 23:21

Originally posted by contractor79 View Post

Hi there

Who is the best value accountant at the moment? I'm currently with someone who charges £1k+ per year. It doesn't appear like good value for straightforward accounts.

My experience of accountants is that they start off doing a lot for you at a reasonable price when you're a new customer. Then they get you to do more and more things whilst they put their charges up again and again.

Does anyone here do their own accounts?

Lots. Lots don't. Search is your friend, if you don''t want to look a total wally.

HTH

**Kanye** · 3 April 2011, 08:02

I tried 3 and have found that Intouch are miles ahead of the other two. I deal via Clare.

Best value and cheapest definetly aren't the same thing. You can't really put a price on having good, proactive advice and a sense of security that someone has your affairs in order.

**Waldorf** · 3 April 2011, 08:19

My vote would be for Nixon Williams, my reasons being:

Very competitive fee of £75 per month
They do the work for me, I do not have a spreadsheet to complete
My invoices and expenses are checked over by someone who knows more about these things than I do
Full explanation of annual accounts, they ask me about any odd transactions etc.

I have worked with a few people who used "spreadsheet" accountants and when they have seen the service I receive from nixon williams, they have all moved over, saved time and money.

**d000hg** · 3 April 2011, 10:02

You don't seem to see many advertising lower than £75/month which is still almost £1k/year. NW sound OK but I would also recommend Intouch for the smaller more personal feel you get. Both cost the same unless you need additional things like using them as registered address, subcontractors, etc.

I did consider Primus (Primus Accountancy, North West Accountants and Tax Advisers) quite closely when switching, they are £60/month and TBH I probably would have gone with them if I was a typical contractor, but they didn't quite fit my needs. I never used them so obviously I can't testify to their quality, but they looked fine at the time.

Might I suggest if you switch based on a recommendation here, you check the company has a referral bonus scheme? I recommend InTouch, since someone beat me to it in this thread, give them the bonus!

**Wanderer** · 3 April 2011, 10:31

There are a few accountants who post useful information here, it might be worth checking them out.

Also, have a look at Free Agent or SJD's spreadsheet (free download, registration required) if you want to do most of it yourself and just get an accountant to do the year end stuff.

**Waldorf** · 3 April 2011, 19:46

Originally posted by d000hg View Post

You don't seem to see many advertising lower than £75/month which is still almost £1k/year. NW sound OK but I would also recommend Intouch for the smaller more personal feel you get. Both cost the same unless you need additional things like using them as registered address, subcontractors, etc.

I receive a great personal service from Nixon Williams, so whilst they may be bigger than InTouch, I honestly cannot fault their service, certainly what I receive.

The only possible issue with InTouch is that they are still new, so time will tell if they can cope and provide the service their client's want? NW have been around for years, so they have passed the test of time.

**d000hg** · 3 April 2011, 22:12

Great for me so far. I suppose the issue is if they grow quickly. I've got nothing against NW really though, they seem the most popular of the "chains".

**krytonsheep** · 4 April 2011, 22:52

Does anyone here do their own accounts?

The first accountant I met suggested that as I was computer literate I should just get a copy of Sage and do it myself and he'd charge by the hour if I needed help (and to check the corp tax calculation).

Took his advice and saved a lot of moving doing it this way (spent about £250 on software/fees over 3 years), but in the first year it did take a good few weeks at home to learn it all. After that it's probably a week a year in total to do invoices/vat/paye/year end etc... so not really worth it unless you're spending a few months each year on the bench and have got time to kill.

**tyut4669** · 5 April 2011, 09:16

I do my own accounts. I must tell you it is not worth spending 1K or more when you could do your accounts with little bit of effort from you. There may be mistakes but HMRC sure understands as long as you are not consciously trying to evade tax.

Best value accountant?