How much do you pay your accountant?

[Merguez]

I am going to go from being a sole trader to a limited company, & I also need to register for VAT.

So I think it is time I moved on from doing my taxes myself to hiring a professional - the first person I spoke to has already pointed out that I under claim my expenses.

I am interested to know what others in my position pay for this service?

My business is a very simply consultancy, I work from home, with 4 regular clients and various temporary short-term projects.

Thanks.

It depends on whether your accountant is going to register your VAT and ne business, also how many hours it takes to do your books.
I can't really say as ours is never the same tbh, but everything she has done is itemised and of course the services are tax deductible anyway.

They are proposing a one-off fee to register the VAT & business and then a monthly fee for doing the bookkeeping and payroll.

I am not sure if this is better than having someone work strictly on an hourly basis.

Ok, I'm going to say that the going rate around here (East) is £50+vat for registering and about £1100+vat (works out at £110pcm total) for doing annual accounts, corporation tax, single director payroll and VAT returns if you use an online accounting system which will download your bank transactions.

That is about standard around here. It is a lot more than if you were a sole trader but the work is more complicated. You will still save a lot by being incorporated provided you are making more than about £20k profit.

I would also say that for that amount I would be expecting a properly qualified accountant, ideally Chartered (so ACA or FCA). And I would want someone who was local to me and approachable for small queries without extra charge. I would also want them to turn your annual accounts round in a few weeks rather than months.

Confession time - I am an accountant!

Sorry, if by registering you also mean incorporating the company then it would be nearer £75-100+VAT.

Thanks Goodpresentideaplease. Monthly cost is about in line wit what I've been quoted but the incorporation & VAT charges I've been quoted are much higher.

Can I also ask about software packages - Sage or FreeAgent?

I would avoid sage personally (and I have spent years using it so know it well). I only have one client using FreeAgent but it seems ok and fairly user friendly.

Other good online packages are xero and quickbooks online. I have many clients using quickbooks online and am a pro advisor for them, but it can be less user friendly that some if you're not comfortable with accounts.
Nearly all the online packages have a free month trial, (watch out though with qb as you can't get the discounted first year price if you use the trial!). All also offer free accountant access. I would say to see what you personally feel comfortable with, I think FreeAgent, xero and quickbooks are all good and do the job.

In terms of incorporation, if you know what you are doing you can do it yourself for £13 but I wouldn't advise that to save £50ish as it is important to get it right. The accountant might be charging you for business valuation to 'sell' the business to the limited company, which used to be worth doing and could save a lot of money but that loophole was closed late last year so is no longer worth it.

Good luck!