Reply to: Anyone know what's going on at SJD?

[BolshieBastard]

We've gone that route with our family business but they don't charge particularly more for tiny Ltds than the online guys, in fact less than some. Do you go out of your way to find someone who charges more?

Not sure whether your last sentence is a valid question or implying something else.

I went off word of mouth recommendations then visited a couple of accountants to discuss their services. I treated it like I was interviewing them and what kind of 'feel' was I getting from them rather than them saying 'we do this, this and this for 'x' or you can do all this and we'll just rubber stamp the accounts for x minus this amount.'

From a cost perspective, local accountants were pretty much similar price. There again, I wasnt chasing the best cheapest option either. I could have saved more money going the DIY route but, I valued my time at evenings and weekends so was happy to pay for the accountant to do the work and use their expertise to minimise HMRC investigations.

When my son who is employed was having issues with HMRC over his car allowance, my accountant's tax department spent a whole hour with him going over his payslips and answering his questions. Cost to him or me? Nothing, not a penny. Why? Because Id built a relationship with the accountant. How many of the internet accountants would have done that?

I could have gone the 'internet' way and probably saved a good few hundred quid each year. Then again, Ive never had the situation of having a new 'accountant' every 12 months, having to set out my requirements to the new accountant every 12 months nor having to start threads like this every 12 months.

If people want to chase the cheapest option every 12 months, good for them. Yes, Im prepared to pay extra for a better quality service that delivers than scrimp a couple of hundred quid and be pissed about every 12 months or forever chasing someone I have paid for a supposedly first class service that hardly ever delivers.

[d000hg]

Pay 'peanuts,' you get monkeys. I always use a proper accountant with a bricks and mortar building I can visit.

We've gone that route with our family business but they don't charge particularly more for tiny Ltds than the online guys, in fact less than some. Do you go out of your way to find someone who charges more?

[BolshieBastard]

Pay 'peanuts,' you get monkeys. I always use a proper accountant with a bricks and mortar building I can visit. Even though my accountant eventually left the practice I was with, the new guy was up to speed quickly and I formed a great business relationship with each of them over many years.

Talking over the end of year accounts wasnt just financial guff. It included how the industry was going, how did I see the next few years going, football rivalries(!), home life etc.

Sure, it wasnt the cheapest but negotiating a discount wasnt a chore.

[Fred Bloggs]

I was extremely hopeful that developments like FreeAgent and bank account integrations etc.... would make threads like this less frequent. I hoped that the sheer portability of simple contractor accounts would enable customers to leave the very bad companies at will. Perhaps a combination of contractor inertia and other less tangible barriers to freedom of moving accounts hasn't happened the way I had hoped it would. Not yet anyway.

[saptastic]

This.

Staff, especially experienced, qualified, good staff, are expensive. Easy way to boost profits (in short term at least) is to slash staff numbers/quality. Customer service suffers...but from a pure nosed business perspective you hope the cost savings will outweigh the potential loss of turnover from more unhappy customers.

On the flip side investment in people means long term growth and advocacy.

[Maslins]

It matters only insofar as it damages their bottom line, and it probably doesn't (that much) due to their size, rate of turnover and the degree of apathy among some contractors about switching accountants, especially when they have little knowledge of accounting and the process is comparatively hard, absent the use of accounting software (i.e., like switching banks).

This.

Staff, especially experienced, qualified, good staff, are expensive. Easy way to boost profits (in short term at least) is to slash staff numbers/quality. Customer service suffers...but from a hard nosed business perspective you hope the cost savings will outweigh the potential loss of turnover from more unhappy customers.

[jamesbrown]

strange - as I posted in another thread - customer service should be the number one priority for accountants. Its not rocket science - so bizarre it has not been sorted and it has spread across their other brands from the feedback on here.

It matters only insofar as it damages their bottom line, and it probably doesn't (that much) due to their size, rate of turnover and the degree of apathy among some contractors about switching accountants, especially when they have little knowledge of accounting and the process is comparatively hard, absent the use of accounting software (i.e., like switching banks).

[saptastic]

strange - as I posted in another thread - customer service should be the number one priority for accountants. Its not rocket science - so bizarre it has not been sorted and it has spread across their other brands from the feedback on here.

[Eirikur]

Took me four months after ending my relationship with SJD to get everything sorted, (plus the notice that I gave them which was about 6 weeks in stead of the required 4 weeks) daily chasing from me and my new accountant. They have become a complete mess several years ago

[Fred Bloggs]

Good question. Not traded for 3 years (PAYE) so I assumed it was dormant.

Never assume anything. You are being robbed I reckon. Close the company down and if you ever need one again, it takes about 5 minutes on Companies House website to register a new company.

[Sgpg]

Good question. Not traded for 3 years (PAYE) so I assumed it was dormant.

[northernladuk]

I'm with SJD too. The company is dormant but the fees have kept from £40 to £72.

Ouch! That's a lot. Is it truely dormant i.e. you've applied for it or is it just not trading. Big difference.

[Sgpg]

I'm with SJD too. The company is dormant but the fees have kept from £40 to £72.

[northernladuk]

Same thing that's been going on for the last 5 years +. Surely this isn't the first time you've had issues with their service in all this time is it?

[malvolio]

Just an anecdote, but SJD for me is pretty much the same as it's always been for the last 15 years. I occasionally talk to my latest accountant , about every year I get an email saying my old guy is leaving and then an email from the new guy and they seem to do what's needed. Granted I haven't had any activity with my company for a while. At least for me they answer emails.

And I binned them because after 15 years of goo d service they closed the local office and moved everything to London, I had no idea who my accountant was, they cocked up my year end and when I left they didn't stop the RTI reports to HMRC who then thought I was earning twice as much as I actually was.

Couldn't even be arsed to apologise for landing me with a series of default penalties from HMRC and were still emailing things about "my" appointed accountant's holiday plans six months later, meaning they'd kept all my personal details. Complete waste of time and money AFAIC...