Accountant fees

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funkylady

Registered User
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36
i was wondering how much an a/c should charge i am new in buisness i am doing the books, vat returns myself
any ideas
funkylady
 
You would need to expand further on your situation.

For starters is it a Limited Company or Sole Trader? What is the level of transactions and the turnover?

its very difficult to give an accurate quote without seeing the books or having a better knowledge of your business.
 
if your turnover is 70,000 per annumn, take out the vat and cost of sales ...depends on your margins / is it a service or retail type business etc...maybe you make 10 or 20 k per year gross profit....will your accountants take ten per cent of your annual gross profit on you ? Worth getting a quote or two. I know of one business last year where the gross profit was about 25,000 and the accountants took nearly a fifth of that - robbers !
 
Certainly get a few quotes. The quotes we got varied wildly and were;

1. €3000 - €4000
2. €1600
3. €750

Exactly the same specification for all three.
 
Ask for a personal recommendation from a person or business organisation you trust.

But realistically, the amount should not be based on a percentage of your turnover or profit. Would you expect your accountant to work for free (or even pay you) in a year when you made a loss?
 
I agree that it should not be a percentage of turnover. I am in the same position you are with a slightly higher turnover and pay about 1050 incl vat.

A small firm is probably better for your needs than a large one.

Make sure they can do ROS filings (you will need this if you haven't already filed this year to make the deadline of 15 November). Note, you are leaving it late for this year!
 
leghorn said:
Certainly get a few quotes. The quotes we got varied wildly and were;

1. €3000 - €4000
2. €1600
3. €750

Exactly the same specification for all three.
Click to expand...

Go for the 750 one then. I myself and many other have found you do not get what you pay for when it comes to accountancy fees.....lets face it, there are more than a few chancers in the accountancy profession charging huge fees for not that much work.
 
pay coconuts and contribute to the accountants new mercedes / villa in the sun / investment portfolio
 
Go for the 750 one then. I myself and many other have found you do not get what you pay for when it comes to accountancy fees.....lets face it, there are more than a few chancers in the accountancy profession charging huge fees for not that much work.
Click to expand...
We do all our own bookkeeping. Just needed someone to put the data into accounts production and make the return.
(we did go for the €750 one)

What we have noticed in the past is that at it gets closer to the deadline, fees can certainly go up.
 
my husband paid €2500 this year the a/c does his vat every 2 months
he only invoices about 4 people every month ,and he does, the reciepts and year endings i think its alot he was charged,
what do you think
 
yoganmahew said:
Apologies, missed that bit - yes, they will not have to file until next October/November.
Click to expand...

No. Under commencement rules the 2007 return (assuming trade began in 2007) and the 2008 return need not be submitted until October 2009.

Preliminary tax may have to be paid next year.
 
funkylady said:
i am doing the books, vat returns myself
Click to expand...

Bear in mind that this may not necessarily cost less. The accountant might actually have more work to decipher your figures and workings. No offence intended! Get a quote for both you doing the vat erc and the accountant doing it too. Weigh up the difference and see if it would be more advantageous to let the accountant do everything.
 
rabbit said:
I know of one business last year where the gross profit was about 25,000 and the accountants took nearly a fifth of that - robbers !
Click to expand...

Rabbit some of your comments really irk me. Like the one above for instance. What a ridiculous comment! By that you are implying if a company makes a loss that there should be no charge? or if a company makes €1m maybe a €100K would be an acceptable charge?

You should really think about what you are saying before writting it. In this thread alone you have made several sweeping negative statements about the accountancy profession.

People use this site in order to obtain help and assistance. Your comments are neither helpful or useful.
 
TripleA said:
Rabbit some of your comments really irk me. Like the one above for instance. What a ridiculous comment! By that you are implying if a company makes a loss that there should be no charge? or if a company makes €1m maybe a €100K would be an acceptable charge?
Click to expand...

Do not take my quote out of context TripleA. What I also posted , in reply to the original poster who posted a valid question,and who had a turnover of 70k , was " if your turnover is 70,000 per annumn, take out the vat and cost of sales ...depends on your margins / is it a service or retail type business etc...maybe you make 10 or 20 k per year gross profit....will your accountants take ten per cent of your annual gross profit on you ? Worth getting a quote or two." I never suggested if a company made a loss there should be no charge....show me an accountant who would work for no charge. I have noticed, however, over several decades in business, some accountants who seem to charge more when their client is "in the money". Another poster , leghorn, " noticed in the past is that at it gets closer to the deadline, fees can certainly go up." An interesting point he/she makes. That is the beauty of this site. I would remind you, Triple A, people use this site in order to obtain help and assistance.
 
funkylady said:
my husband paid €2500 this year the a/c does his vat every 2 months
he only invoices about 4 people every month ,and he does, the reciepts and year endings i think its alot he was charged,
what do you think
Click to expand...
VAT every 2 months is very easy to do, especially if your husband only invoices about 4 people a month. I personally used to do mine every 2 months for many years. Assuming there are not many purchases either, he could do this return in about 15 minutes or less every 2 months I would say, once he gets the hang of it. His sales ledger, of about 36 entries per year, would not take much work either. I know of one accountant who charged 700 euro for half an hours work, so that puts the 2500 euro in perspective. Its worth getting a three or more quotes. They can vary greatly. A newly qualified accountant , hungry + setting up in practice, should still be able to do the job , and may be cheaper than an older, established firm. You would shop around to buy a tank of petrol , why not on other costs ?
 
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