Looking for an alternative accountant. Recommendations?

[ckms]

I recently moved to Gorilla and so far I have found them to be very good compared to my previous experience with Boox. You get your own dedicated accountant which i understand is not the case with the majority of specialist contractor firms

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[The Spartan]

Which accountant are you currently with if I may ask. I'm currently looking at Maslins.

To be honest I haven't found Gorilla to be that proactive. They left me to be sat on the wrong VAT scheme and I was only aware of this when I couldn't claim back the VAT on a large amount purchase amount. I won't name names but there's probably some accountants that are better than others working at Gorilla.

Intouch Accounting I even tried to speak to the head of client services to discuss the issue and have not had a call back as yet, I called my accountant yesterday and left a message and still nothing. I have to lodge the appeal through PAYE for employers but I have no info on have the underpayment occurred I've checked their portal and the payment I made and they match

[Craig@Clarity]

Whether to charge for additional work due to COVID is a difficult to say. From our point of view, COVID has definitely increased our workload with furlough claims, advice on SEISS, grants, loans etc and keeping abreast of every update and guidance the government decides to release when during that time, it was worrying, wanting to spend time with family but you're tied up reading and making sure you have all the advice covered in your head. Certainly when the first lockdown came, we made a decision not to charge for the extra work in helping clients with furlough claims as it seemed harsh in light of their current situation. I'm not just talking about contractors but clients in retail, hospitality and so on.

Re: Furlough claims, the work first time round was a lot considering no-one (not even HMRC) knew what information was required, how to calculate the right amount of furlough or how to claim. A lot of preparation had to be done with calculations, making sure we had the figures documented in case of any come back or queries and not forgetting about RTI ensuring the correct figures were submitted which then had to correspond with the furlough claim which all had to be done within a restricted time frame. As time went one, furlough claims became easier but then flexible furlough came in so then the curve ball was corresponding with clients on who went back to work, for how long or not at all. The admin was still high but on average you could be looking at anywhere between 15-30 minutes on average per month per client/business so you can see how this extra work can build up, if you say, had 100 or more clients.

I think everyone agrees no-one should do professional work for free but what do you do in this unusual circumstance? Our point of view as mentioned was it would be harsh to charge extra first time round for this additional service which isn't normally covered. But as time goes on, 9 months down the line, do we continue to provide this extra service effectively "free of charge" or not? Do clients view us any less for not charging them? Would they mind if we started charging them extra from now on in light of everything we have done so far? Every firm has views on pros and cons whether to bill for this extra work or not. Those that do charge for this service shouldn't be regarded any less than those that don't. As a I say, it's a difficult topic to position yourself in.

We've had positive feedback to say what we've done so far has been greatly appreciated which hopefully continues to build loyalty. Sometimes I think "Let's go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for this all to blow over.". But for now, we continue to provide our existing clients this extra work at no extra cost to them.

Note to self: Don't start a topic on Brexit and how much extra work this could create!! Who knows?!

[ApeShape]

I'm actually thinking of switching to Gorilla, the well known contractor accountant I'm with at the moment has been horrendous. Emails missed or not responded to, PAYE filing penalty which I'm trying to appeal but no one will get back to me as to why HMRC have said I underpaid. Multiple unreturned phone calls and having to deal with HMRC directly is not what I want to be doing when juggling mulitple clients near Christmas. If generally you're happy with them I wouldn't go elsewhere, what I wouldn't give for some level of service.

Which accountant are you currently with if I may ask. I'm currently looking at Maslins.

To be honest I haven't found Gorilla to be that proactive. They left me to be sat on the wrong VAT scheme and I was only aware of this when I couldn't claim back the VAT on a large amount purchase amount. I won't name names but there's probably some accountants that are better than others working at Gorilla.

[The Spartan]

I'm currently with Gorilla accounting, and I'm curious to see if there's any recommendations on alternatives that offer a similar level of service. Perhaps even for a bit less than I pay now. Arbitrarily deciding on a U-turn to charge a full account fee of £106 for submission of my glorious £500ish JRS seems like a lovely way to stamp on a wounded but loyal customer.....

I'm actually thinking of switching to Gorilla, the well known contractor accountant I'm with at the moment has been horrendous. Emails missed or not responded to, PAYE filing penalty which I'm trying to appeal but no one will get back to me as to why HMRC have said I underpaid. Multiple unreturned phone calls and having to deal with HMRC directly is not what I want to be doing when juggling mulitple clients near Christmas. If generally you're happy with them I wouldn't go elsewhere, what I wouldn't give for some level of service.

[northernladuk]

How many hours, or minutes work do you think it took the accountant?

You don't pay your an accountant an hourly rate anyway. You don't expect them to be looking to bill for every little thing, they're not a solicitor billing per email

No but you also don't expect these sausage factory accountants to be very flexible when it comes to new requirements that weren't in the original service offering. Their margins must be pretty thin at best without adding another X hours per contractor they have on the books due to something out of everyone's control. Granted someone will offer it but I wouldn't expect this to be the norm or would jump ship because of it.

[d000hg]

How much would you do for your client for a hundred quid?

How many hours, or minutes work do you think it took the accountant?

You don't pay your an accountant an hourly rate anyway. You don't expect them to be looking to bill for every little thing, they're not a solicitor billing per email

[Lance]

I’ve found gorilla to be just fine.

Admittedly I’m wishing Claire would come back full from mat leave, but hey-ho.
They are the best priced offering who provide FreeAgent. But since you can get FreeAgent from various banks now that’s less of a driver.
But I still have no reason to leave, despite the P11d **** up this year.

[northernladuk]

How much would you do for your client for a hundred quid?

[ladymuck]

Was submission of JRS part of your agreed services or an extra one?

[northernladuk]

You kinda checked the Accountant recommendation thread at the top of this area or not??

[ApeShape]

I'm currently with Gorilla accounting, and I'm curious to see if there's any recommendations on alternatives that offer a similar level of service. Perhaps even for a bit less than I pay now. Arbitrarily deciding on a U-turn to charge a full account fee of £106 for submission of my glorious £500ish JRS seems like a lovely way to stamp on a wounded but loyal customer.....