Who much do you pay your accountant?

[*Bob*]

To the self-employed in our midst:

How much do you pay your accountant.. and for what level of service? (ie how much work do they do on your behalf)

[TillieTrotter]

I used to pay mine ?1200 a year for doing my end of year accounts but also used his book-keeper to do my quarterly VAT at ?140 a pop. Was with him for about 11 years. Sadly I dont need him anymore.

[lozzyloz]

I do my own VAT returns and payroll so normally pay between ?600-?1,000 for year end. Bennett and Co in Upland Rd

[*Bob*]

Lozzy,

Why the variation in fees? Do their charges change according to your income or something like that?

[cactus]

I paid mine ?1000 for my first tax return, and then he charged around ?500-?600 for subsequent ones, being new

to self employment I thought he was a bit expensive at first, but his fees seem reasonable now.

[*Bob*]

How much work do you do yourself regarding the accounting?

[lozzyloz]

*Bob* the variation depends on how much advice I ask. I now do my own books (very simplified excel spreadsheets geared around recording expenses and completing VAT return) and I expect this years fee to be closer to ?600. For a previous F&B business I was paying up to ?3,000 a year to a city based firm even though I did all the book-keeping and payroll (using SAGE) with the exception of year end. I felt this was a little excessive so I moved my business to the above local co. Downside is that they don't have quite as much resources and can be a little slower but otherwise I'm happy.

[karter]

bob, thanks for the mice tips. The accountants i deal with charge according to turnover and the amount of paperwork associated with it.

[*Bob*]

Thanks, folks.. I do like to be in the know in these matters.

As I thought, I pay mine an absolute pittance (though deservedly, I would argue).

I get uppity about the earn more / pay more fees thing, but it seems a lot of accountants seem to want it (Though as I keep telling *Bob* Junior, "I want doesn't get")

Perhaps if your business is complicated and you employ staff etc - but in my case it's just different figures in the same boxes.

[Kerri]

I do mine myself, wouldn't want to pay anyone for that :)

[AnotherPaul]

I use a firm in the west end, they charge 1500 p/a and for that I get the spreadsheet I put together sorted through, and married up with all my receipts and invoices. They sort errors and most importantly advise me on how to be registered and how to declare. They also handle all communication with the IR regarding child credits and any errant IR queries.

It's a lot to be paying but they do a good job and their advice has saved me far more than I've paid them.

That said I'm thinking of going local in part to cut costs. Recommendations anyone?