Contract ended, accountancy options?

[Wanderer]

I have recently ended a contract part way through my financial year. I have been operating as a VAT registered Limited company (IR35 compliant) and only drawn the dividends so I'm not too concerned about paying any VAT or CT due (assuming my accountants have gotten their sums right).

Ask around a few accountants for a quote to do your end of year accounts and do the rest of it yourself. At best though, you might save a couple of hundred quid. Ask yourself what's your hourly rate and is it really worth the hassle of changing accountants?

I'm wondering why you didn't take any salary though? Did you have salary in this financial year from another source?

[kaiser78]

Or offer to pay by the hour, which would soon add up to £750 anyway ?

[northernladuk]

It does seem excessive for the very customised support you are looking for. What type of accountant is it? One man band or big contractor supplier? It must be very difficult for them to accomodate your type of work though, they are trying to run a business and really don't want to be bothering with such small contracts of work. You also say this is all you want but you expect to be able to ring him and speak to him from time to time so that will be factored in the solution he is offering.

I think you are going to struggle to find someone to give you such a small service at the price you want without him covering his back if you start ringing him etc. £750 will only equate to a few hours of his time as well.

Does seem a lot for what you want but might be hard to find someone to do it for less. To him its same piece of work however simple it is to you I guess.

Try ringing around and see if someone will do it or at least get an idea if this is normal?

[Clare@InTouch]

What's your company year end, and how much have you paid in fees since your last year end? Does the £750 include payroll year end next year, and your personal tax return?

It's hard to know if £750 is expensive without knowing more details to be honest

[stevie8abes]

Hey all,

I have recently ended a contract part way through my financial year. I have been operating as a VAT registered Limited company (IR35 compliant) and only drawn the dividends so I'm not too concerned about paying any VAT or CT due (assuming my accountants have gotten their sums right).

However, my accountancy firm want to charge me £750 to continue administering my account. As this will represent simply producing 2 x zero VAT returns and my year end accounts in Jan it seems a little excessive.

What's more, it looks highly likely that I'll be returning to the world of PAYE so I was hoping to return my company to a dormant state.

Can anyone offer me any advice? In particular I'd like to know if the £750 is actually reasonable or are there cheaper options? And what's involved in effectively 'mothballing' my company?

Any help/advice would be appreciated.