You’re Probably Pay Too Much For Your Accountant

I saw the following article recently and it reminded me that a lot of SMEs I work with are paying over the odds for accountancy services.

For a start a lot of what needs doing is primarily bookkeeping services which can be sourced for a significantly lower hourly rate than you are probably paying your accountant to enter invoices and receipts.

I have noticed that there are a lot more online services that are offering a much lower cost than traditional High Street firms of accountants; with many package options aimed at the small business.

One in particular that caught my eye has a very competitive solution providing you with all the necessary requirements to meet your statutory commitments. I suggest you take a look: Accountants Team. Packages start from £19 per month.

Small Firms Not Happy With Rising Accountancy Fees

According to new research 15% of small businesses say that rising fees is their biggest accounting gripe.

The survey of 269 businesses by Crunch.co.uk, which questioned attitudes to and experiences of accountants, was carried out in July.

Other top gripes were jargon, or ‘accountant-speak’, and charging for communication such as phone calls and emails — 18% combined agreed these were pet hates.

Of the 183 businesses that said they used an accountant, 18% felt they were boring, in-line with popular opinion.

When asked who they’d rather be stuck in a lift with, politicians beat accountants (36% of the vote against 33%), however accountants did score higher than model Katie Price, AKA Jordan, who came last.

Overall, the majority of small businesses that took part in the survey were limited companies (61%). 38% were sole traders, with just 1% operating through an umbrella company.

Almost two thirds (65%) of those using an accountant preferred to use an online service, while 14% favoured old-fashioned methods.

A fifth of respondents weren’t completely happy with levels of communication from their accountant, rating them ok to poor.

9% of those surveyed had incurred penalties from HMRC as a result of late filing by accountants at least once.

16% of small businesses questioned said their accountant hadn’t given them advice on the most tax-efficient way to pay themselves. When asked if they understood IR35 – HMRC’s controversial freelancing tax legislation – 58% did, with the rest not understanding or recognising it at all.

Source: http://www.freshbusinessthinking.com

Free Resources