Accountancy prices online ?
Discussion
Anyone used the likes of Crunch or SJD for an online accountant ?
looking at changing but don't know if online is the way to go. Also what should you be paying ? I Don't mind paying if the service and advice is good and proper.
There seems to be such a large spectrum of prices from 64.50 for crunch to 109 for sjd there are a few in the middle and one or too cheaper.
Anyone got experience with any, pitfalls or any advice would be gratefully received.
I am an IT contractor so very simply LTD company and Vat registered.
looking at changing but don't know if online is the way to go. Also what should you be paying ? I Don't mind paying if the service and advice is good and proper.
There seems to be such a large spectrum of prices from 64.50 for crunch to 109 for sjd there are a few in the middle and one or too cheaper.
Anyone got experience with any, pitfalls or any advice would be gratefully received.
I am an IT contractor so very simply LTD company and Vat registered.
For that price level, I guess you don't get any advice for that price - purely an accounts and Corp Tax prep and file service and perhaps it may include VAT return filing (but based on your workings and unchecked).
I assume there is a menu of "Extras" to add to the basic price should you want more?
The one thing you don't get is somebody who you can trust to get back to you when you ask a question or have a concern in the evenings or weekends etc - my clients do and yes they pay more than £65 per month!
David
I assume there is a menu of "Extras" to add to the basic price should you want more?
The one thing you don't get is somebody who you can trust to get back to you when you ask a question or have a concern in the evenings or weekends etc - my clients do and yes they pay more than £65 per month!
David
A bog standard IT Contractor doesn't need much advice though do they. 12 invoices a year. 1 employee on a payroll, flat rate VAT scheme, expenses and dividends. If there was a decent accounts package that would submit Annual Accounts and corporation tax returns I wouldn't even bother with an accountant. Accountants provide an invaluable service for many companies and individuals but in my opinion not for IT Contractors.
Oh ye of little faith.
Many people like reassurance - and having somebody they can chat to is a comforting thought.
If you have an accountant you feel no need to chat to - that may be because you have an accountant who is not interested in you. So, perhaps the disinterest is mutual. That is certainly not the way I operate.
And define a "bog standard" contractor
Many people like reassurance - and having somebody they can chat to is a comforting thought.
If you have an accountant you feel no need to chat to - that may be because you have an accountant who is not interested in you. So, perhaps the disinterest is mutual. That is certainly not the way I operate.
And define a "bog standard" contractor
I used Crunch Accounting for a little over 6 months, so I feel quite qualified to provide feedback here.
We took Crunch on board just as we had set up our company. They dealt with our VAT registration. The way they explained the difference between the different VAT schemes was a bit vague and I believe we ended up going with the wrong scheme - in the end the difference in VAT paid on either scheme has been negligible as we've adapted to the VAT scheme we're on and we have flexibility in how we can take on outgoings. They also neglected to tell us about the VAT discount you can get on the flat scheme for the first year of trading.
You get an Account Manager who you direct questions through. They can usually answer the basic questions, which will probably form the majority of questions you throw their way - depending on your existing knowledge of accounts and tax of course. Then they have access to in-house tax specialists, etc (like all the bigger accountant firms) who can always respond to the more complex questions you might chuck at them.
You don't get a personalised service despite having an Account Manager. They are rapidly growing (on the coat-tails of the expanding startup scene in London/UK and the increasing SME segment). I imagine their Account Managers have two or three dozen clients at least. I had to explain company situations several times on more than a few occasions because my Account Manager couldn't remember, or hadn't noted, things I had explained before. But again you could find the same problem with any one-man-band accountant who has taken on too many clients.
Their online system is excellent. Better than Xero (which I currently use), better than Kashflow (which I've trialled). It is superb at giving you an up-to-date glance at all your finances - corporation tax, next VAT bill, dividend pot, directors loan accounts, etc. Really easy to use, add expenses, file VAT returns, everything. It is the software that underpins their success and sensibly they've worked hard to continuously improve it.
Lastly, they have a defined market - freelancers, contractors, basic SMEs. They are great at serving that market (to a point). We ultimately left them because we had two directors and three shareholders. We had two different classes of shares and wanted different ways of taking differing amounts of dividends for each director and shareholder. We were also looking at arrangements to go into partnerships/LLPs with other people and businesses on startup projects. So we were moving out of their defined market and it just became a bit too difficult to fit into their streamlined processes and systems.
I never once had a problem with not seeing my accountant face-to-face. They were on the end of an email or phone to answer my questions, and so is my current account (who is just 5 miles away, who I've seen twice in one year).
If you fit within their target market, don't require anything complex with your accounts/returns and are not fussed about seeing your accountant face-to-face but do enjoy having access to a realtime dashboard of all your companies accounts, then I'd thoroughly recommend them. For anything else, look elsewhere.
I moved away from them in April 2013.
We took Crunch on board just as we had set up our company. They dealt with our VAT registration. The way they explained the difference between the different VAT schemes was a bit vague and I believe we ended up going with the wrong scheme - in the end the difference in VAT paid on either scheme has been negligible as we've adapted to the VAT scheme we're on and we have flexibility in how we can take on outgoings. They also neglected to tell us about the VAT discount you can get on the flat scheme for the first year of trading.
You get an Account Manager who you direct questions through. They can usually answer the basic questions, which will probably form the majority of questions you throw their way - depending on your existing knowledge of accounts and tax of course. Then they have access to in-house tax specialists, etc (like all the bigger accountant firms) who can always respond to the more complex questions you might chuck at them.
You don't get a personalised service despite having an Account Manager. They are rapidly growing (on the coat-tails of the expanding startup scene in London/UK and the increasing SME segment). I imagine their Account Managers have two or three dozen clients at least. I had to explain company situations several times on more than a few occasions because my Account Manager couldn't remember, or hadn't noted, things I had explained before. But again you could find the same problem with any one-man-band accountant who has taken on too many clients.
Their online system is excellent. Better than Xero (which I currently use), better than Kashflow (which I've trialled). It is superb at giving you an up-to-date glance at all your finances - corporation tax, next VAT bill, dividend pot, directors loan accounts, etc. Really easy to use, add expenses, file VAT returns, everything. It is the software that underpins their success and sensibly they've worked hard to continuously improve it.
Lastly, they have a defined market - freelancers, contractors, basic SMEs. They are great at serving that market (to a point). We ultimately left them because we had two directors and three shareholders. We had two different classes of shares and wanted different ways of taking differing amounts of dividends for each director and shareholder. We were also looking at arrangements to go into partnerships/LLPs with other people and businesses on startup projects. So we were moving out of their defined market and it just became a bit too difficult to fit into their streamlined processes and systems.
I never once had a problem with not seeing my accountant face-to-face. They were on the end of an email or phone to answer my questions, and so is my current account (who is just 5 miles away, who I've seen twice in one year).
If you fit within their target market, don't require anything complex with your accounts/returns and are not fussed about seeing your accountant face-to-face but do enjoy having access to a realtime dashboard of all your companies accounts, then I'd thoroughly recommend them. For anything else, look elsewhere.
I moved away from them in April 2013.
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