accountancy fees
Discussion
hi all :-)
im currently a sole trader, working in the electrical / telecomms industry.
my current accountant does all my book keeping, tax returns etc, and vat.
im paying around £1.9k pa in accountancy fees.
i personally think this is expensive, how much does anyone else in similar circumstances pay?
im based in somerset.
thanks in advance mark :-)
im currently a sole trader, working in the electrical / telecomms industry.
my current accountant does all my book keeping, tax returns etc, and vat.
im paying around £1.9k pa in accountancy fees.
i personally think this is expensive, how much does anyone else in similar circumstances pay?
im based in somerset.
thanks in advance mark :-)
Depends on the size of your business, the volume of work involved and the time it takes to do it.
Considering you are not a limited company and you (probably) have no PAYE to administer, it does seem a tad on the high side - especially since you are in an area where professional rates would not be as high as (say) the Greater London area. Unless, of course, you have some complicated areas outside of the business but wjhich have to be included on your Self Assessment tax return.
My normal annual charge for a sole traders of around £60,000 to £100,000 turnover size would be in the £500 to £800. If I was doing quarterly VAT returns as well, that would add on abount another £400 to £600. But then, I'm exceptionally cheap.
Considering you are not a limited company and you (probably) have no PAYE to administer, it does seem a tad on the high side - especially since you are in an area where professional rates would not be as high as (say) the Greater London area. Unless, of course, you have some complicated areas outside of the business but wjhich have to be included on your Self Assessment tax return.
My normal annual charge for a sole traders of around £60,000 to £100,000 turnover size would be in the £500 to £800. If I was doing quarterly VAT returns as well, that would add on abount another £400 to £600. But then, I'm exceptionally cheap.
ah yes sorry. i am a sole trader, no employees or sub contractors, turned over 65k last year, but on target this year of about 90-150k. seen my accountant this week, and she has set up a d/d of £98 month for accountancy, and quoted £200 a quarter for vat returns.
have just had a letter this week saying im being investigated too :-( good job i paid insurance against it happening.
whilst on these lines i asked her for tax saving advice, but she wasnt particuarly helpfull.
i may make up to 100k profit this year, and need to keep the 40% down!
heeellllpppp!
have just had a letter this week saying im being investigated too :-( good job i paid insurance against it happening.
whilst on these lines i asked her for tax saving advice, but she wasnt particuarly helpfull.
i may make up to 100k profit this year, and need to keep the 40% down!
heeellllpppp!
I am pretty sure that the Investigation Insurance you took out was to protect you from having to pay additional accountancy fees in respect of all the extra time fees which will now be incurred by your accountant in dealing with the investigation. It won't protect you against any tax, interest or penalties that you may have to pay as a result of the investigation.
Have you been given any indication as to what particular aspects of your Self Assessment are being investigated - you are entitled to know this.
Have you been given any indication as to what particular aspects of your Self Assessment are being investigated - you are entitled to know this.
Edited by Eric Mc on Saturday 14th April 15:43
unclemark123 said:
hi eric. as yet i dont know what part of my self assesment they are looking at, nor my accountant, but she suspects the interest i had on some savings looked abnormally high compared to my turnover 2 years ago.
the insurance was to cover her fees thankfully!
the insurance was to cover her fees thankfully!
If your accountant has screwed up you can always sue them for any loss due to fines. Thats why they have professional indemnity insurance
Either you or the accountant should contact the Revenue directly and ASK were there any specific areas they were concerned about. You are allowed do this. This is to prevent the Revenue from "fishing" for information - which, under their own guidelines, they are not supposed to do.
Once an investigation is launvched, at some point the Revenue will want to arrange a face to face meeting with you. Try and arrange for the meeting to be held at THEIR office and make sure your accountant attends this meeting with you.
Once an investigation is launvched, at some point the Revenue will want to arrange a face to face meeting with you. Try and arrange for the meeting to be held at THEIR office and make sure your accountant attends this meeting with you.
Edited by Eric Mc on Saturday 14th April 15:53
thanks eric, i dont think my accountant realises that either. she has asked me for information on nearly my whole bloody life! (o.k slight exageration)
it would be nice if it was only the one particular area, as they say they are looking to see if you pay to much or little tax, but i know a few people who have been investigated and they the revenue are like the gestappo.
it would be nice if it was only the one particular area, as they say they are looking to see if you pay to much or little tax, but i know a few people who have been investigated and they the revenue are like the gestappo.
Once the Revenue commence an "enquiry into a return", the first thing they ask for is all the books and records and supporting paperwork which were used to compile the annual accounts enetered on the relevant tax return plus other paperwork supporting other entries (income and claims) shown on the Self Assessment tax return.
This is absolutley standard procedure and the best thing to do is gather together the data and get it off to the Revenue as quickly as possible.
Once the Revenue have perused the paperwork (which often takes over a month), they contact you again to arrange the "meeting". Again, this is "standard" procedure. They sometimes request to have the meeting at your business premises (or even you home) but they cannot insist on this. The best place for the meeting is their office, or, failing that, the accountant's office.
At the meeting, they can fire all sorts of questions at you. This is where the the presence of the accountant comes in useful as they can monitor the types of questions breing asked and guide the taxpayer in the right direction regarding appropriate answers.
Taxpayers are often their own worse enemies at these meetings as they usually want to "please" the tax inspector by wishing to appear co-operative". Often, they say too much, not in that they reveal things they shouldn't but in that they lead the Inspector up paths and avenues which will just waste time and may result in the Inspector thinking there is something worth pursuing, even when there isn't.
Best of luck.
This is absolutley standard procedure and the best thing to do is gather together the data and get it off to the Revenue as quickly as possible.
Once the Revenue have perused the paperwork (which often takes over a month), they contact you again to arrange the "meeting". Again, this is "standard" procedure. They sometimes request to have the meeting at your business premises (or even you home) but they cannot insist on this. The best place for the meeting is their office, or, failing that, the accountant's office.
At the meeting, they can fire all sorts of questions at you. This is where the the presence of the accountant comes in useful as they can monitor the types of questions breing asked and guide the taxpayer in the right direction regarding appropriate answers.
Taxpayers are often their own worse enemies at these meetings as they usually want to "please" the tax inspector by wishing to appear co-operative". Often, they say too much, not in that they reveal things they shouldn't but in that they lead the Inspector up paths and avenues which will just waste time and may result in the Inspector thinking there is something worth pursuing, even when there isn't.
Best of luck.
At that level of projected profit, it may be worth considering a Limited Company, there are other issues to consider, but it could save youtax, depending on how you run the business.
Has this been looked into before? I don't know when you started SE or what your year end is, but if it's in line with the tax year, there's certainly potential.
Has this been looked into before? I don't know when you started SE or what your year end is, but if it's in line with the tax year, there's certainly potential.
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