Reply to: Warning about 1st Online accountants

[Chart Accountancy]

< 4 weeks until my first year accounts are due, no response to my last comms...

This doesn't sound great, preparing and approving accounts in a rush when close to the deadline is always a risk for mistakes so should ideally be avoided, what is the reason for the delay considering you have 9 months deadline after year end?

[SeanT]

< 4 weeks until my first year accounts are due, no response to my last comms...

[eek]

SeanT,

I'm a first timer and I'm looking to use 1st Online.

Would you recommend them above some others on here and if so, why?

Many thanks

They are very cheap and if you are really just starting off others may be a better bet...

[radish2008]

SeanT,

I'm a first timer and I'm looking to use 1st Online.

Would you recommend them above some others on here and if so, why?

Many thanks

I can recommend Dynamo in Leeds.

[Rackers]

Which they have agreed to. Yay! Thanks for your input

SeanT,

I'm a first timer and I'm looking to use 1st Online.

Would you recommend them above some others on here and if so, why?

Many thanks

[pr1]

Which they have agreed to. Yay! Thanks for your input

If they accept your first counter offer you stayed too high, HTH for the future

[SeanT]

I've responded in line with the opinions above, and suggested £29.98 for four months would be an appropriate top up charge.

Which they have agreed to. Yay! Thanks for your input

[Patrick@Intouch]

Devil's advocate for In Touch/Contratax/Dynamo:
- contractor wants to sign up with you month before year end.
- year end passes, they chase you to do year end accounts promptly, which you do.
- they leave, having maybe paid 2 months worth of fees.
Whilst I appreciate you may not love the situation, you're saying you'd accept that with good grace as just the way things go?

FWIW we'd typically have a halfway house, defo wouldn't charge full fees (as SeanT suggests we wouldn't have been paying for the FreeAgent account, or giving any advice during that time), but would want some additional one off charge where a client joins near the end of the year. No set rule on this, but circa 50% for the "missing months".

Our current offer is for no switcher fees so that is what that is.

We would always seek to assess the viability of a client in terms of how long they are likely to continue operating through a PSC for but, of course you cannot project for all possible outcomes.

If an individual took advantage of the no switcher fee offer and then left after, say two months then the question really would be whether we should have spotted that during the initial conversation.

If any such accounts were intended to be more of a "one off" piece of work then fees would absolutely be discussed as the no switcher fee offer is open to clients signing up to our core (monthly) package.

[SeanT]

I've responded in line with the opinions above, and suggested £29.98 for four months would be an appropriate top up charge.

[ContrataxLtd]

Fair enough. We'd also discuss beforehand, and make any extra fee crystal clear before they signed up...so no nasty surprises, but we almost certainly would charge an extra fee.

Key bit there for me, if anything is going to be charged extra it has to be made crystal clear before signing up.

[Maslins]

In your example it would involve a discussion with the client before they joined up but it would be likely that no catch up fees would apply (i'd like to review Freeagent first ideally) and if they left then i'd take it with a pinch of salt and forget about it. Doesn't happen often though and i'd normally advise that the previous accountant did the accounts and just give an extra month free on our fees to compensate, assuming there wasn't a reason that they had to move so quickly.

Fair enough. We'd also discuss beforehand, and make any extra fee crystal clear before they signed up...so no nasty surprises, but we almost certainly would charge an extra fee.

[SeanT]

Which is what I believe is happening here...

No, it's 100%. Well, it's four quid less than four full months fees to cover a period of just over four months. Woop.

Started business 6th October, actually started trading 27th Feb, year end end of October, started paying £59.98+VAT a month on 4th March, request is for 4 x 58.98 =235.92+VAT.

[eek]

Devil's advocate for In Touch/Contratax/Dynamo:
- contractor wants to sign up with you month before year end.
- year end passes, they chase you to do year end accounts promptly, which you do.
- they leave, having maybe paid 2 months worth of fees.
Whilst I appreciate you may not love the situation, you're saying you'd accept that with good grace as just the way things go?

FWIW we'd typically have a halfway house, defo wouldn't charge full fees (as SeanT suggests we wouldn't have been paying for the FreeAgent account, or giving any advice during that time), but would want some additional one off charge where a client joins near the end of the year. No set rule on this, but circa 50% for the "missing months".

Which is what I believe is happening here...

[ContrataxLtd]

It's alluded to in the Ts and Cs. They aren't really very explicit about it. It's certainly not highlighted at any time when you sign up or in initial communication / sales bumpf. But then I guess it wouldn't be would it. And I'm a business, not a consumer now...

Have to disagree with you here SeanT, I think it should be made explicitly clear if catch up fees are going to be applied even if they are alluded to in the T&C's. I wouldn't like to be told additional fees apply 6 months down the line for work I was having done so don't see why that should be a default position for catch up fees either.

Devil's advocate for In Touch/Contratax/Dynamo:
- contractor wants to sign up with you month before year end.
- year end passes, they chase you to do year end accounts promptly, which you do.
- they leave, having maybe paid 2 months worth of fees.
Whilst I appreciate you may not love the situation, you're saying you'd accept that with good grace as just the way things go?

FWIW we'd typically have a halfway house, defo wouldn't charge full fees (as SeanT suggests we wouldn't have been paying for the FreeAgent account, or giving any advice during that time), but would want some additional one off charge where a client joins near the end of the year. No set rule on this, but circa 50% for the "missing months".

In your example it would involve a discussion with the client before they joined up but it would be likely that no catch up fees would apply (i'd like to review Freeagent first ideally) and if they left then i'd take it with a pinch of salt and forget about it. Doesn't happen often though and i'd normally advise that the previous accountant did the accounts and just give an extra month free on our fees to compensate, assuming there wasn't a reason that they had to move so quickly.

Martin
Contratax Ltd

[Maslins]

Devil's advocate for In Touch/Contratax/Dynamo:
- contractor wants to sign up with you month before year end.
- year end passes, they chase you to do year end accounts promptly, which you do.
- they leave, having maybe paid 2 months worth of fees.
Whilst I appreciate you may not love the situation, you're saying you'd accept that with good grace as just the way things go?

FWIW we'd typically have a halfway house, defo wouldn't charge full fees (as SeanT suggests we wouldn't have been paying for the FreeAgent account, or giving any advice during that time), but would want some additional one off charge where a client joins near the end of the year. No set rule on this, but circa 50% for the "missing months".