I’m looking to reduce a few costs, and currently pay £90 per month which covers all my Ltd company business, returns and personal tax return (plus unlimited calls, questions and one meeting per year).

They were nearer £60 per month when I instructed them, but price rises and VAT registrations have pushed their fees up, so it might be time to change.

I havent really considered doing my own accounts, not sure how feasible that is?

Not something I’d be saving money on.
Mine cost £125/month + VAT, but she saved me a vast multiple of that because she was on the ball and was genuinely interested in my business. Others had the chance and I seemed to be just a monthly income for them.

Probably worth saying I am a one man band, probably on the edge of IR35, on the VAT flat rate scheme, so about as simple as it gets. Not sure I would get extra return for a top notch accountant vs a cheaper one.

I agree. Although I’m coming from a different angle as I’m an accountant specialising in contractors. Anything below £90, I think you’d struggle to be able to deliver a decent standard of service.

Fair enough, so maybe the real choice is to pay an Accountant or take a DIY approach. The thought’s occured because I will be taking 6 months off this year, but obviously still paying the same amount to my accountant for the year as it’s the same amount of work to her.

I do my own so pay nothing out to accountants but not VAT registered so a fair bit easier.

Our standard fee is £99 but if you do your own VAT or aren’t registered, we drop it to £79. Your current accountant might also offer a year end only service. That might work in your circumstances.

Blazin-Saddles, assuming you dont have an accountancy background, how long do you reckon it takes you each year to do this? Ever had any run ins with HMRC because of errors or other issues (if you dont mind me asking!)

Flying Ox, who do you use?

I use SJD, about 120 a month. They do provide a good service whenever I need anything and seem generally on the ball, but they don’t seem particularly interested. Get that monthly income, turn the handle feel from them.

I use Crunch 60 + vat per month for the all in service. They a cheaper one which you could drop down to for your 6 months off.

I am looking for a good accountant ut there is also a bit of backlog as I have had a busy year since starting up. Really need to get it sorted before I have issues.

I was paying 80 per month – competent but no interest in what I was doing and can’t say he was at all proactive in saving me money. Now pay piece meal – 75 for end of year, 25 for each VAT return etc. Local accountant – no more proactive than the last one but way cheaper.

Flying Ox, who do you use?

Was a lady called June Cox at Goldcrest Accounting in Dunstable. I’m in Edinburgh and the distance was never an issue.
I’m back PAYE now so don’t speak to her as often as I used to, but she has always been very genial; Christmas cards, birthday cards, wee something as a wedding present, that kind of thing. Every phonecall I made to her was roughly 40% business, 60% just shooting the shit. And whilst I’m sure she looks nothing like her, her telephone voice gave me the impression that she looks very much like Mama Fratelli from the Goonies. For that alone, she comes highly recommended.

Her office number is 01582 666506

I have been doing my own but I’m not VAT reg. I doubt a pro could save me the £1k+ fees above. Was toying with a similar approach to cb and just paying for the end of year thing. At £75 it would make sense.

Thanks for that, may just give her a bell.

£120 a month to SJD.

I may consider doing more myself in future, but this has been my first year contracting and they’ve been very good at answering the multitude of questions of varying dumbness that I’ve thrown their way.

Blazin-Saddles, assuming you dont have an accountancy background, how long do you reckon it takes you each year to do this? Ever had any run ins with HMRC because of errors or other issues (if you dont mind me asking!)

No problem, maybe takes a day of paper shuffling and filling in a form online but that’s it. I’ve heard the the VAT element is a fair bit more involved though.

A friend of my dad’s was a tax inspector and basically said “just claim for everything” which is pretty much what I do, I don’t take the mick with receipts and not had any issues thus far, I’m far from a big company though. Dad was trading as sole trader for 20 years and only had 1 audit in that time, they discovered they owed him about £100!

I do my own, including VAT.

VAT is ridiculously easy, so not a chance I’d pay anyone to do that – as long as you’r paperwork is in order and you keep a balance sheet, it literally takes 5 minutes to complete your return online.

That done every quarter and (for me, being a 1 man band Sole Trader)at the end of the year 90% of your Self Assessment work is done anyway.

I’m sure folk will come on calling me a fool, but my business is very straightforward – invoices out/payments in (approx 2 per month), accomodation, fuel/other vehicle costs, some tools/clothing/odd few materials,subsistence, insurances, administrive costs and that’s about it. I’m sure I could claim for more, but not a lot and these would be questionable items not solely for work purposes – so for the sake of a few quid, I keep it clean incase they come knocking.

It’s quite enlightening doing it yourself – anything you are unsure about is researchable on the HMRC website. A colleague, who isn’t daft by any means, often comes to me with queries then verifies it with his accountant. My question to him is always why isn’t his accountant telling him this, but hey ho.

I used this guy last year – again he seemed quite helpful but not overly interested.. but he did put up with some stupid first timer questions of mine.

Not sure if I’ll use him this year as like has been mentioned it was all fairly straight forward… but I may do just for the sake of it

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It MAY be a bit more complicated because you’re Ltd. I’m not, and I’m under the VAT threshold. I do my own accounts, as per the guy above it probably takes me about a day per year to organise the return but I do keep receipts and my accounts in some kind of vague order on a monthly basis. The annual return is simple, just have evidence to show how you came about to every number you put on it.

I do my own, one man band, VAT registered.

I use a very simple accounting package that costs buttons

Company accounts with Payroll. Other ones available there too.

clicky clicky

fill in Excel spreadsheets for purchases, sales (when paid to help cash flow and VAT quarters), sorted.

It does payslips, the numbers for a VAT return ans so on. Not sure I’d do it if I had a few employees though, although it is only like a bit of book keeping surely.

Will consider an accountant when one proves he can save me what I pay him without risk of me going to jail.

coolhandluke – I would assume from your post you are a Ltd company?

Otherwise, why are you doing payroll?

coolhandluke – looked at the VAT FRS, saves us money.

+1 SJD, been good for 10 years.

Coolhandluke, without knowing your numbers, I couldn’t say whether I could save you money, but two questions I would ask initially are:

1) Are you on the VAT flat rate scheme?
2) What is the “salary” aspect of your remuneration?

(For the avoidance of doubt, I am absolutely NOT touting for business)

What has being a limited company or not got to do with PAYE? If you have employees you need to do so through PAYE

Those that are limited, doing there own accounts and putting through a basic salary to qualify for NI contributions might want to look into the RTI implications.

If you’re on the flat rate scheme, did you complete and submit the VAT 600FRS. HMRC have rejected rates used and backdated the liability. If you are on FRS you should always check against standard to see if it’s still in your interest when you factor the Corp Tax too

craigxxl – I presume the first part of your post is aimed at me? If so, coolhand declared himself a one man band. In that case, if not ltd, then why PAYE? If you are a sole trader, then you are the business and taxed accordingly.

The colleague I mentioned above insisted on having a business account and paying himself a wage (simply by transferring money into his personal account each month), as he thought that’s what he’d be taxed on – until I put him straight.

My accountant (in Cheltenham) is brilliant. He rides bikes (slowly 😉 ) and we talk about tax over a pint in the pub.

I won’t say how much he charges, since he might well read this 😆

If anyone wants a recommendation, my email is in my profile, and I’m happy to pass on his details.

Dave

The colleague I mentioned above insisted on having a business account and paying himself a wage (simply by transferring money into his personal account each month), as he thought that’s what he’d be taxed on – until I put him straight.

If he ran a limited company that wouldn’t be far wrong. Except of course the company would have tax to pay also.

algarvebairn – obviously, but he was a sole trader

Hi, OP back again..

Coolhandluke – I’m in the same position as your, but have only been contracting 18 months. I am on the flat rate VAT scheme, and already do my own VAT returns (takes 2 minutes online). I keep a balance sheet in Excel to reconcile against my ltd company’s bank statements. Transactions are basically;

credit – invoices, interest
debits – salary, dividends, pension, accountant, CT and VAT, plus the occassional business expense (including £0.20 per mile for riding to work!). I dont need to buy materials for my business, it’s basically marketing consultancy.

I did look at Quickbooks, it was a bit daunting and way over the top for what I need.

What has put me off doing this myself was the apparent complexity of my end of year company accounts, a 15 page document with all sorts of adjustments and entries. Thing is though, I’d already estimated my own corp tax amount and was within £200.

Is the filing of accounts for a small one man ltd company, only me on the payrole and sole director, really so complicated? Even if it is, maybe I would be better off paying just for that as a service? I’ve exhausted most of the usual noob contractor questions about dividends and allowable expenses, so things just tick along.

Hope all you on FRS went for the business type with the lowest contribution that ‘could’ describe your business, rather than the one that accurately describes your business but is a higher rate…

Hope all you on FRS went for the business type with the lowest contribution that ‘could’ describe your business, rather than the one that accurately describes your business but is a higher rate…

I use the one that accurately describes it, as to do anything otherwise (especially doing it knowingly) would be tax evasion and illegal.

The FRS categories are weird, so are the VAT amounts – hairdressers pay more than publicans, tobacconists or journalists.

Whilst I’d love to be able to claim to carry out “farming” or “selling childrens clothing”, that might be seen to be evasion….

year end books in not vat registered, 340 quid a year

The FRS categories are weird, so are the VAT amounts – hairdressers pay more than publicans, tobacconists or journalists.

Not at all: the rates are based on what an avergae standard rate trader in the same sector pays. Its turnover based. On a standard basis, you deduct the VAT on your purchases from the VAT on your sales. So a trader who buys and sells beer or tobacco, will necessarily pay more than a hairdresser who has less purchase VAT to deduct as most of their costs will be labour which has no VAT on it.

I keep a balance sheet in Excel to reconcile against my ltd company’s bank statements

That’s not a balance sheet its a bank rec.

Preparing a balance sheet (which is what you need to submit to CH) can be a bit complicated but I think you could probably manage it with a bit of help. I still reckon you’d be better paying for a year end only service. It’d save pillocking about at HMRC’s website trying to file your statutory accounts information as well.