Is this a good Accountant quote for Ltd?

stphnstevey

Hi

I have now seen two accountants
1) Was very helpful, informative and listened and gave me advice
2) Other tried to talk over me, didn't really listen and wanted to do as he thought best

Guess which one I will go with!

This is there quote. Are you able to give me an idea if this is a good or expensive quote?????

Formation of Ltd £130
Assisting with Ltd setup £200
Annual Accounts and Corp Tax return £650
Personal tax return 2 directors £200
Monthly payroll 2 directors £12
End of yr payroll, P35, P60, P11D and electronic submission £50

fengirl_2

This is very reasonable.

Pennywise

For a traditional "bricks and mortar" business, this may appear reasonable, but if I remember rightly, you are an IT consultant, so will have few transactions - probably less than 10 per month, i.e. one sales invoice, an expenses claim, a wages payment, then more infrequent payments for VAT, PAYE, corporation tax, dividends, etc. For an IT consultancy, this quote is far too high. The quote doesn't even include book-keeping and VAT return preparation, nor does it include dividend paperwork, minutes, annual return submissions, etc.

There are many IT contractor specialist firms who charge anywhere between £50 and £100 per month who do everything for you. Have a look at www.contractoruk.com forums where several such accountants are regularly recommended.

Firms off the top of my head (you can google for them) are SJD Accountancy, Nixon Williams, Wellwood Hoyle, Quay Accounting, but there are plenty more also. You don't need a "local" accountant - typical High Street accountants are 2/3 times more expensive than some of the smaller/specialist firms - the IT specialist firms are used to dealing with clients by phone/internet across the country with no problems.

I'd make a few more phone calls and talk to a few more accountants before you make your choice. But, don't be swayed by price alone - if you really are happy with the one you mention, then go with them - you'd only be looking at a few hundred pounds difference in cost which is irrelevant if you feel you are getting the best service.

stphnstevey

Yes I am a consultant

Very good advice - thanks Pennywise - will look into Internet and phone based ones mentioned

We discussed VAT returns and dividend payments being included in the misc Assisting with Ltd setup

My only thoughts were a local account would then mean I can see them face to face if needed, easier to take books to - but saying that I can't see why I couldn't do this over the phone.

TaxGeek

I agree that this is a good quote. The first two are one off costs, and after that it appears to be less than £1,000 pa - very fair for what you are getting.

Regardless of cost, I think that they were very helpful, informative and listened and gave me advice should easily justify slightly increased costs if you continue to benefit from this level of service.

robp

My wife and I both run our own IT companies and both use SJD.

My wife has had some problems with them, mainly communication, but they've been fine for me.

Some of these accountants (like SJD) have national offices, one of which may be near to you.

One thing that I would mention is that it feels like you're doing most of the work yourself. They provide you with a spreadsheet which you fill in and email to them every quarter. Price has just gone up to £111 per month.

stphnstevey

NOTE ALL PRICES NET OF VAT - I can claim back VAT, so I haven't counted this into quote

OK, just for completeness, the first guy that I didn't like was charging:

Company formation £125
CT600 (????) £100
Accounts £525

Says I can do my own PAYE, Self Assessment and VAT return????

As fairly similiar to quote above/below but other accountant was FAR better, I will ignore this one

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Also saw another one today. Turned up at my house in £70K XJ Jaguar ! That the neighbours thinking!!

Annual Acc + Corp Tax Return £400
Setup Ltd + VAT + PAYE £70
PAYE 12 months + P60's etc £35

He also said he would send a letter to IR to check I am IR35 compliant and get confirmation £70

This sounds a bit better quote and I quite liked him. He was knowledgable, down to earth and probaly someone I could work with easily

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Is there anything I have missed?

Pennywise

stphnstevey wrote: »

Also saw another one today. Turned up at my house in £70K XJ Jaguar ! That the neighbours thinking!!

Annual Acc + Corp Tax Return £400
Setup Ltd + VAT + PAYE £70
PAYE 12 months + P60's etc £35

He also said he would send a letter to IR to check I am IR35 compliant and get confirmation £70

This sounds a bit better quote and I quite liked him. He was knowledgable, down to earth and probaly someone I could work with easily

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Is there anything I have missed?

Yes, there is a slight problem - it is generally recognised that the LAST THING you should do is get an opinion from HMRC as to whether or not the contact is caught by IR35. You are putting your head above the parapet - HMRC status inspectors regularly argue a contract is caught only to lost at appeal. Well over 1000 cases have been argued in the appeal hearings from tax inspectors and they have won less than a handful! You get your contract reviewed by an IR35 expert - i.e. Accountax, QDOS, bouer & cotterill, not HMRC!

stphnstevey

I can see your point - why offer myself up, may as well wait to see if they spot me!!

If this is such a blunder, than the puts me off this accountant, so my decision is easy then! Thanks

CarolynH

I agree with Fengirl. This is a good quote.

Cook_County

You have mentioned my number 1 qualification for all of these, which is personality.

You have not said what professional qualifications they have & how many years they have been in business. There are many cowboys in the accounting world because it is largely unregulated so these are sensible questions so you know they undertake training and carry PI insurance.