Accountant recommendation threads inc local requests

[archer100]

Any feedback for forbesdawson.co.uk ?

I cannot find any reviews for them online

[velcro]

Comparing Maslins to Gorilla - what do they offer differently?
Maslins is £119 +vat and Gorilla is £95 +vat
What do you get at Maslins for the extra £24 per month?

Any other accountants to consider at the minute?

[edison]

I am living a Nightmare with SJD. For details here

They never take responsibility. Never reply to emails or calls. Keep billing the 120 a month and I am still awaiting the company accounts 21/22.

I have raised a complaint and they closed it without solving the issue or telling me.

I have even sent an official complaint to [email protected] following the instructions they provide on their webpage (https://sjdaccountancy.com/terms/complaints-procedure/), but no answers so far.

The only thing SJD seem to respond to is the threat of legal action which I used with them to get them to pay for fines I got for late filings and I also got several months of free service, which TBH was worthless as the service was still utterly crap.

I left them and as has been mentioned countless times on here, any of their clients really ought to think about doing the same. You only have to consider they formally contacted their clients around a year after a major cyber attack with some actual practical steps to take to realise how they treat their clients with contempt.

[edison]

Want to know why you should avoid sausage factory accountants (especially those like SJD in the Optionis Group)? Just look at how much their staff get paid according to the Optionis website:

• Trainee Accountant with potential basic earnings of between £19,000 – £22,000
• Accountant with potential basic earnings of between £23,000 – £32,000
• Senior Accountant with potential basic earnings of between £28,000 – £33,000
• Team Manager with potential basic earnings of between £34,400 – £42,400

A 'Senior Accountant' starting on £28,000?!? This is the person who manages a team of Accountants and handles complaints etc.

I spoke to someone who used to work at SJD and they said each accountant had 250 contractor clients. Even with their centralised 'Admin Support' Team (who are almost as crap) doing the bog standard filings etc, that's just a white collar workhouse IMHO.

[northernladuk]

Comparing Maslins to Gorilla - what do they offer differently?
Maslins is £119 +vat and Gorilla is £95 +vat
What do you get at Maslins for the extra £24 per month?

Any other accountants to consider at the minute?

Probably nothing. Best thing is to ring both and ask some questions. See if you gel with them. Maybe something they say you like or dislike.

If you want a smaller set up I'd recommend Paper Rocket. Just the two of them there so you'll get stright to your accountant. BI Accounting and Clarity are still recommended. Craig and Clare still post on here, well Clare does while Craig makes the tea. Michael from BI used to post here but not seen him for a bit I don't think. Decent bloke though.

Give them a bell and just get a feel. You'll be speaking to them a lot over time so base your decision on that interaction, not just price.

[edison]

If you want a smaller set up I'd recommend Paper Rocket. Just the two of them there so you'll get stright to your accountant.

Paper Rocket is really expanding - there are now three staff!

[MrSensible]

Comparing Maslins to Gorilla - what do they offer differently?
Maslins is £119 +vat and Gorilla is £95 +vat
What do you get at Maslins for the extra £24 per month?

Any other accountants to consider at the minute?

I would not recommend Maslins. A few of us joined Maslins on a recommendation, and i would say we all now agreed whilst they are efficient and normally quick to respond to requests etc. They are only ever a book keeping service, absolutely nothing more, there is no pro active advice going on nor is there any value added service for the high premium you pay.

[Maslins]

I would not recommend Maslins. A few of us joined Maslins on a recommendation, and i would say we all now agreed whilst they are efficient and normally quick to respond to requests etc. They are only ever a book keeping service, absolutely nothing more, there is no pro active advice going on nor is there any value added service for the high premium you pay.

Thanks for the feedback, though of course sorry to hear it's not all positive. We do have an issue where some client expectations are very different to others. We consider ourselves a very good compliance based service.

Pleased you say we're efficient/quick to respond etc. I hope you'd agree we do all the core activities well, and it's just a question of what extras some people expect from their accountant where there's unfortunately been a mismatch.

Are you happy to elaborate on what extra assistance you were hoping to get but haven't received?

[jamesbrown]

I would not recommend Maslins. A few of us joined Maslins on a recommendation, and i would say we all now agreed whilst they are efficient and normally quick to respond to requests etc. They are only ever a book keeping service, absolutely nothing more, there is no pro active advice going on nor is there any value added service for the high premium you pay.

Which is precisely what an accountant should be. I am always super wary of accountants that offer bolt ons that are not squarely within their wheelhouse, like tax reviews or IR35 reviews. But it’s true that some contractors don’t really understand what’s best for them.

[jamesbrown]

( Oh, and that is especially true with HMRC now focused squarely on ITEPA Ch. 9/MSCs. The more "proactive hand holding" your accountant does for you, the more risk you're taking. )