Accountants fees a small fortune. What’s reasonable?

[bobbybo]

Have been with a good big 5 accountant in Edinburgh for 15 years. Started with property portfolio paying £1300 a year in around 2009.
Now have a limited company for student accommodation , run by myself , wife and odd contractors for a few weeks for painting yearly. 72 rents in & paint , bits n pieces going out. Straightforward business like BTL predictable yearly with inflation.

Now being quoted 6.5k a year for that business.

Also have separate construction business Ltd we used to build the flats, now dormant but not closed. Quoted 4.5k for this years accounts for it.

Extras for meetings & personal accounts. Adds a couple of thousand on top.

I inflation calculated my previous £1300 a year and it’s £1900 in todays money.

Feels high, any thoughts on what would be fair level?

Thanks

[Shiv_P]

Find a smaller independent value accountant

[bobbybo]

Shiv_P said:

Find a smaller independent value accountant

Yes sounds about right. Anyone have a stab at what approx fees they would expect for that business?

[Al Gorithum]

"I inflation calculated my previous £1300 a year and it’s £1900 in todays money." Sounds about right if not a bit on the heavy side considering the number of transactions.

[FlyingPanda]

It all depends on what you give them and how much they have to do. If you’re using half decent bookkeeping software (Xero, Quickbooks etc) and you’re using it well (ie: they don’t have to go through it correcting mispostings etc) and you file your own VAT returns then for a very small business with few transactions £1000 - £1500 sounds about right. Add in a bit more if they’re doing your annual SA return or if you have a complex personal tax structure, but I’d be surprised if you needed to pay more than £1900. The problem with using the ‘big firms’ for a very small business is you are paying for a big name but (in my past experience) the work is not being done by one of the big names, but usually by a recent addition to their team looking to build experience.

Edited by FlyingPanda on Monday 27th March 10:09

[bobbybo]

FlyingPanda said:

It all depends on what you give them and how much they have to do. If you’re using half decent bookkeeping software (Xero, Quickbooks etc) and you’re using it well (ie: they don’t have to go through it correcting mispostings etc) and you file your own VAT returns then for a very small business with few transactions £1000 - £1500 sounds about right. Add in a bit more if they’re doing your annual SA return or if you have a complex personal tax structure, but I’d be surprised if you needed to pay more than £1900. The problem with using the ‘big firms’ for a very small business is you are paying for a big name but (in my past experience) the work is not being done by one of the big names, but usually by a recent addition to their team looking to build experience.

Edited by FlyingPanda on Monday 27th March 10:09

Yes I think the work is being done by more junior staff, & a chat yearly with partner.
My question and concern as a non accountant would be if moving to a smaller firm would the quality be similar? Or enough for what I need? The firm I’m with know their stuff & can answer anything. I did speak to one of those yellow shops you see ‘tax shop’or something, & they didn’t have a clue.

Some of the rural firms if you drive out of city I know people use & are a lot cheaper. City offices, rates etc.

[FlyingPanda]

bobbybo said:

Yes I think the work is being done by more junior staff, & a chat yearly with partner.
My question and concern as a non accountant would be if moving to a smaller firm would the quality be similar? Or enough for what I need? The firm I’m with know their stuff & can answer anything. I did speak to one of those yellow shops you see ‘tax shop’or something, & they didn’t have a clue.

Some of the rural firms if you drive out of city I know people use & are a lot cheaper. City offices, rates etc.

I think that's an important point - you rarely need to meet an accountant face-to-face these days (I haven't sat in front of mine for over 5 years) as it can all be done by phone/email/Zoom, so there's no point in paying for a city centre office. I'd be looking for a well-regarded accountant that specialises in small businesses. Some of the small business groups have directories and forums (are Federation of Small Businesses still going...?) or even a business-related Facebook group - personal recommendations can be the best way to find someone that handles your type of work.

[Eric Mc]

Does your business require formal audits these days? It does seem to be quite a bit larger and more sophisticated than when you first engaged this firm of accountants.

[Double Fault]

My wife runs a small, independent accountancy business and she has confirmed that you are paying way too much and probably not getting much in the way of personal service.

An accurate number would depend on specifics but you really want to be finding a new accountant.

[bobbybo]

Thanks for everyone for reply’s. Wife inputs with Xero & no we don’t get much attention.
Have a recommendation for another rural firm that has enough staff to give a skill spread, am going to take the leap.

Always great advice on PH when you need it :-)

[s2kjock]

bobbybo said:

Yes I think the work is being done by more junior staff, & a chat yearly with partner.
My question and concern as a non accountant would be if moving to a smaller firm would the quality be similar? Or enough for what I need? The firm I’m with know their stuff & can answer anything. I did speak to one of those yellow shops you see ‘tax shop’or something, & they didn’t have a clue.

Some of the rural firms if you drive out of city I know people use & are a lot cheaper. City offices, rates etc.

Those fees do sound a bit steep, but they likely don't want your business so are pushing you away. Huge pressure on staffing for the sector at the moment.

There are a number of "city" based firms who are not the "big 5" able to to that work without you needing to go rural.

I wouldn't go near any of the tax shop type outfits.