Accountant

[FMGF]

How much should I expect to pay for an accountant to do my tax return and bookkeeping as a small sole trader in Surrey? Any help would be appreciated?

How complete/accurate are your book-keeping records? Do you do regular bank reconciliations? What system do you use for book-keeping?

Are you VAT registered?
Do you want them to come to your premises?
How often does the bookkeeping need doing?
Are you doing any bookkeeping or just giving them a bag full of records?
What is the nature of your business? i.e are you selling lots of small items, or a few large items?

It's a gardening business which isn't VAT registered. I'm going to use an online accounting system called Wave. I'm hoping to do the bookkeeping myself and at the moment it's straightforward, working 6 hours a day, 4 days a week. I've not done a bank rec yet. I'll do once I've got everything online.
Thank you for your questions

I’m an accountant in Surrey, for a straightforward tax return it’s £250. Bookkeeping is charged at an hourly rate.

Most online accounting systems are pretty awful - if you can justify the cost, invest in Sage

Most online accounting systems are pretty awful - if you can justify the cost, invest in Sage

As an accountant of 35 years standing, I'd say the opposite. I hate Sage. Probably because 95% of the people who use it (including book-keepers, do it wrongly) meaning more work for the accountants, hence extra costs of sorting out the mess. Having said all that, I quite like the new Sage online version, but that's probably because it's nothing like the old desktop Sage! I have a few clients who "have to" use Sage because of their particular complexities or because they need integration with other software, but it's certainly not our software of choice. Most of my clients use online accounting - mostly Kashflow, Quickbooks, Xero or Freeagent - it makes things so much easier due to being able to work together remotely. But, sadly, Wave is one I won't touch with a bargepole - you really wouldn't pay for it, and using it just because it's free isn't really a good reason!

I am in London and charge £200-£250 for straight forward returns. If i get a shoebox of receipts uts £450. Wave is ok if you know what you are doing. A lot of my clients use Wave although a lot more are moving to quick books and xero which seem to have more secure features.

I definitely prefer online software to Sage