How much I should I charge

Accounting Fee

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I have a cleint and he has got 2 companies. He wants me to do payroll (3 in one and 2 in other) , VAT, annual accounts and tax for a flat fee of £1200 per year. Is this cheap? resonable or how much anyone of you will charge?

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By mg200
18th Apr 2018 12:44

£1,200 per company sounds about right as long as you do not end up doing bookkeeping.

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Replying to mg200:
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By Cheshire
18th Apr 2018 12:51

I read it as £1200 for the lot!

OP - did you actually read the 2013 post you also dropped the Q onto? https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-answers/how-much-would-you-charge-0

as this, whilst out of date will probably answer the question, although you dont mention bookkeeping specifically, but do mention VAT. So perhaps you can expand.

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By Martin B
18th Apr 2018 12:57

How long is a piece of string? Not enough information and sounds very low if the £1200 is for both companies.
Work out roughly how much time it will take ( w/off set up costs etc if you want) X your hourly rate and this will give you an idea and the decide factoring in how much capacity to have.

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PJ
By paulgrca.net
18th Apr 2018 12:59

Do all your clients tell you how much the fee is!

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paddle steamer
By DJKL
18th Apr 2018 13:00

The one caveat- clients with two companies that are not good at record keeping can be a disaster.

If a lot of transactions via wrong beast, poorly recorded inter company transactions, that could eat a lot of your time.

Unless you have inspected the books I would want a get out of jail card in my terms before offering anything fixed (I do not do fixed fees but have plenty of experience of families with more than one business)

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Man of Kent
By Kent accountant
18th Apr 2018 13:02

At least £2k for each one - that's without knowing any detail.

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By mrme89
18th Apr 2018 13:49

It would have been nice if you could have bothered to put some effort into the question.

On the information provided, it is far too cheap.

You don't mention:-
1) The nature of each business
2)the state of the records
3) the volume of transactions
4) whether these companies are operating a proper bank account in the name of each company
5) VAT scheme used
6) Whether the payroll is weekly, monthly etc.
7) Whether the staff are on a fixed salary or they change each pay period to each pay period

Frankly, if you need to ask a question, and ask the most basic of questions, you can't fully understand what it entails and you should decline the appointment anyway.

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By andy.partridge
18th Apr 2018 13:56

Totally reasonable if the client accepts that all work will be outsourced to India.

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Replying to andy.partridge:
Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
18th Apr 2018 17:14

I think the Indian lads might scoff at the fee, although not where an Indian would outsource it to.

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By bernard michael
18th Apr 2018 13:59

Is that £1200 per company - not bad depending on the work involved?
If it is to cover both it's ridiculously too low

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By 5Mglobal
18th Apr 2018 17:26

Thanks All.

It’s for both companies
Turnover of both is around £100K
At present they employee 3 in one company 2 in the other. Payroll involve commission and pension elements. No one off set up fee involved. It’s educational training provider. £1200 include Vat registration and any adhoc advise on different matters.

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By Matrix
18th Apr 2018 17:37

I would charge £1,200 for just making the monthly payroll and pension submissions for two companies.

The level of turnover should support paying an accountant a proper fee to do everything properly.

Tell the prospect how much it would cost and see if you can come to an agreement.

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Replying to 5Mglobal:
Man of Kent
By Kent accountant
18th Apr 2018 19:35

"...and any adhoc advise on different matters..."

You may as well pull your pants down and bend over. You're leaving yourself wide open to office visits, phone calls and emails every day.

£2.6k minimum for each, extra if the bookkeeping is rubbish.

Extra for vat registration and directors tax returns.

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By dbowleracca
18th Apr 2018 22:20

I would be wanting £1,200 plus VAT a year for the payroll on its own and about £2,000 plus VAT for the company account and CT600 (between them) and that would be if they had very good records and were low maintenance.

Take the job on at this fee and you will earn about £10 per hour over the year I suspect!

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By marks
18th Apr 2018 23:38

I would be looking to quote somewhere between 1.75% - 2% of turnover. Probably closer to the 2% given turnover of £100k.

So thats £2k + VAT for each company based on the fact they have good records eg all balance sheet accounts reconciled at year end

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By tracey2412
24th Apr 2018 12:14

as a bookkeeper I would be asking £100 a month as a retainer (based on an hour-ish a week average / 1/2 day a month) to do the payroll (just 1, though might do the 2 if it was straight forward, no SMP, no CIS, no faffing) & then be 'available' for questions on the system & checking their own entries e.g. at VAT return. IMO, that is far too low for all the higher level accounts work, tax advice, submissions, CTax calcs, etc. Take the advice of other experienced responders, charge what YOU are worth, what the client thinks is irrelevant. If you value yourself, you will attract clients who also value you. This one obviously does not.

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By Ammie
24th Apr 2018 12:27

I am nearer the Kent Accountant on this one.

There are too many variables and unknowns to consider and this could lead to working for well below market rate.

Generally, the "free lunch" seeking client will drive you totally mad and to despair. However, there are exceptions and you may find that the job is a dream. In my experience they tend to be few and far between.

We are entering into an era when the quality of work is far more important than taking on every client that comes your way. Don't get caught out attracting business because you are cheap, because invariably it will cost you stress and grey hair!!

If you really want the work charge a more realistic rate with a promise of a review the following year once you have experienced the relationship and work presented. That should reveal any dark intentions of the client.

I would pitching my fees at a starting point of about £2,300, per company, on the basis that the records are clean and communication is professional and efficient, no chasing, missing information, delays and excuses.

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By Thaya10
24th Apr 2018 13:00

The reality is you need to look at the market. I know the average for the whole lot is about £1200 for shops etc- provided not too many invoices, bank entries etc. Since there is no need for an audit lot of bookkeepers are doing the whole lot and they take about 60 hours resulting in £20 per hour. That is the competition. That is for one company, sole trader etc. If they use a good software package and know what they are doing then the fee is reasonable

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By I'msorryIhaven'taclue
25th Apr 2018 11:41

bernard michael wrote:

Is that £1200 per company ...?
If it is to cover both it's ridiculously too low


5Mglobal wrote:

It’s for both companies

So the proposed fee is £600 per company.

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