Reply to: Online accountant with good software portal

[northernladuk]

I am still not fully sold on software's that I don't physically own which is why I have not moved away from the PC based sage products to a subscription based model

Get with it grandad. Hope you aren't a SaaS consultant.

[ContrataxLtd]

Ok that sound better.

Does that cover accounts & payroll?

I am still not fully sold on software's that I don't physically own which is why I have not moved away from the PC based sage products to a subscription based model

Does what cover accounts & payroll? The £120+VAT? Unfortunately that doesn't, that's just the effective charge for the Freeagent subscription, we charge a total of £85+VAT per month to cover everything (accounts, payroll, VAT, Self Assessment, Freeagent Subscriptions etc.) which i'd say is about the going rate these days. You can definitely pay more than this and you will find it cheaper but that can be said about most things.

Some people are wary about relying on software you don't own, it is a risk but probably a very small one in my opinion. Depends on what works for you really.

Martin
Contratax Ltd

[css_jay99]

Hi css_jay99

If you look at the annual cost of the Freeagent subscription when paying for it yourself it may look quite expensive compared to the likes of Sage Instant etc., but you will probably have to update your sage at some point (Sage want you to do this every year obviously).

However, if you look at the cost of Freeagent when using an accountant who partners with them the cost normally comes down considerably. For example, we only charge an extra £10+VAT per month for the Freeagent subscription so in effect you are paying £120+VAT per year for this which is equivalent to your Sage Payroll costs.

We do have clients using Sage but they are becoming less and less with the majority of clients who stop Sage actually going on to Freeagent as they like the fact it can be accessed anywhere from any computer rather then just a stand alone version on one PC.

I would imagine any accountant can take a sage backup and generate a set of accounts from it!

Martin
Contratax Ltd

Ok that sound better.

Does that cover accounts & payroll?

I am still not fully sold on software's that I don't physically own which is why I have not moved away from the PC based sage products to a subscription based model

[ContrataxLtd]

Am I missing something here?.

I was thinking of giving freeAgent a try, but it seems to be a very expensive software!

£400+ yearly for a software!

I use sage instant account + instant payroll and I only have to pay about £120 yearly for Payroll software since the accounts software does not need updating.....


Do the mentioned accountants use sage?

Hi css_jay99

If you look at the annual cost of the Freeagent subscription when paying for it yourself it may look quite expensive compared to the likes of Sage Instant etc., but you will probably have to update your sage at some point (Sage want you to do this every year obviously).

However, if you look at the cost of Freeagent when using an accountant who partners with them the cost normally comes down considerably. For example, we only charge an extra £10+VAT per month for the Freeagent subscription so in effect you are paying £120+VAT per year for this which is equivalent to your Sage Payroll costs.

We do have clients using Sage but they are becoming less and less with the majority of clients who stop Sage actually going on to Freeagent as they like the fact it can be accessed anywhere from any computer rather then just a stand alone version on one PC.

I would imagine any accountant can take a sage backup and generate a set of accounts from it!

Martin
Contratax Ltd

[css_jay99]

FreeAgent software

Am I missing something here?.

I was thinking of giving freeAgent a try, but it seems to be a very expensive software!

£400+ yearly for a software!

I use sage instant account + instant payroll and I only have to pay about £120 yearly for Payroll software since the accounts software does not need updating.....


Do the mentioned accountants use sage?

[davewilliams]

perhaps you work there?

Only on Mondays.

ps were not all that sad!

Is there something wrong with giving my service provider a bit of recognition?

[Waldorf]

Highly recommend FreeAgent, everything you need in one place.

My current accountants, BI Accountants, and I have to say have been first class with their service and advice so far.

Well you'll be the first to say that, perhaps you work there?

[davewilliams]

Highly recommend FreeAgent, everything you need in one place.

My current accountants BI Accountancy offer subscription in with their packages, and I have to say have been first class with their service and advice so far.

[Andrew@Wisteria]

Accountant now selected. Thanks for all your suggestions. Went with provider that uses Free Agent in the end.

I'm a freeagent convert. You can't go too wrong with it as a contractor. If you are a small business, Xero is the one to go for.

[Andrew@Wisteria]

I pay less than that, as I do my own bookkeeping, VAT returns and RTI which is a piece of piss with FreeAgent and so I only need EOY accounts and self assessment doing for myself and wife.

HTH

Don't forget end of year payroll submissions £400 penalties!

[Fandango]

But that's 2 fees, right? One for Contratax which I think is £75+VAT, and one for Freeagent which is 29+VAT. Probably brings it in line with most accountants who offer the whole package...

I pay less than that, as I do my own bookkeeping, VAT returns and RTI which is a piece of piss with FreeAgent and so I only need EOY accounts and self assessment doing for myself and wife.

HTH

[ContrataxLtd]

But that's 2 fees, right? One for Contratax which I think is £75+VAT, and one for Freeagent which is 29+VAT. Probably brings it in line with most accountants who offer the whole package...

Hi MrContractor85

You are right, it is two fees, one to us and one to Freeagent but we actually alter our pricing structure if you use Freeagent. We drop the standard price down to £60+VAT to compensate for the fact that you are paying the Freeagent license on top of our fees which brings the total price down to £89+VAT which means we are still better value than most.

We are also looking to partner with Freeagent so that we can offer just one monthly fee to cover our service and the Freeagent license, negotiations are ongoing but we are hoping to offer the whole service to clients for £85+VAT per month.

Our web team are currently updating our website to give it a complete revamp which is why none of this is advertised as yet.

Hope this helps

Martin
Contratax Ltd

[MrContractor85]

I moved to FreeAgent at the beginning of the year and also moved accountants to Martin@Contratax who regularly posts help and advice on here.

Highly recommended and price wise was a lot more competitive than some of the others I spoke with

HTH

But that's 2 fees, right? One for Contratax which I think is £75+VAT, and one for Freeagent which is 29+VAT. Probably brings it in line with most accountants who offer the whole package...

[kevpuk]

I quite like the Intouch portal, it's now just a few minutes' work a month since the ability to upload bank statements is automated pretty well these days.

PM me if you've any questions you don't want to ask on the forum. I'd happily take your referral bonus if you choose to go with IT, but equally I'd recommend them even if you don't refer me

This ^^

[neil99]

I'm starting contracting soon with my own Ltd company and need to identify an accountant to use. Narrowed it down to SJD, intouch and Nixon Williams.

Contractor Accountants & SME Accountancy Services | accountsnet - used them for 6 years now. Good online system that's constantly evolving. Always answer emails/calls within the hour. Based up in Scotland but have Manchester office now. I was recommended by a friend of the guy who writes the software they use and have met the owner (Linda) . 65+VAT per month.

The only downside is that they don't give much advice beyond run of the mill accounting issues. But maybe there's other people out there offering more 'wealth planning' orientated info.

For the basics you won't go wrong with them.