# Accountant Fees



## daff72

I am looking for advice on the following situation. Got a price off an accountant to prepare and return two years tax forms. It was explained to him what was involved before he took the job on. Due to delays out of his control it was a while before it all got resolved. We did end up getting a decent sum out of revenue which was good. However the accountant has now come back to us and has practially gone from quoting us 450 to asking for 800 plus vat. The plus vat bit is annoying firstly as he had quoted 450 and i would expect an accountant to include vat costs in quotes. Also he is adding on extra costs for what he said was all the extra work involved. I appreciate that there was more work involved than perhaps he had anticipated but dont like the way he has come back to us and doubled his price. What are my rights on this, should I just pay him what he is looking for an leave it at that or should I stand my ground and stick by his original quote. Can't help but wonder if there had been less work involved would there have been a reduction on his part - i think not.


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## mercman

And if you had not received the Tax refund would you have expected him to do it FOC. You get what you pay for in this life.


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## rabbit

mercman said:


> You get what you pay for in this life.


 
Not true.  That excuss is only used by those who caused half the mess in "rip-off Ireland".


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## mercman

Rip off Ireland has taken a hike. 

Accountants must pay secretaries, office space, computers, stationary and Insurance (Professional and Buildings). If a person is seeking good professional opinion they must accept that it has to be paid for. And I'm not an Accountant.


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## Eblanoid

The price seems reasonable given the work involved. I got charged €300 + VAT by an accountant who sent a boilerplate letter to an Ulster Bank contact of his, asking them to set up a company bank account for my company.  On the phone the accountant had said to me that a "chat" would be free and never informed me that a bill would follow.  Expensive lesson for me.


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## mghchilli

I have to say it sounds really good value to me.


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## simplyjoe

Ask for the bill to be quantified - hours worked at applicable charge out rate. did you sign a letter of engagement before the work was done. This is a letter from the accountant to you setting out each of your rights and responsibilites as well as detailing the charges structure of the accountants firm. The bill however does not seem too unreasonable. If there were delays not caused by the accountant then he should not suffer. Also all quotes - business to business - are generally done before VAT - €400 means €400 plus VAT.


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## rabbit

mercman said:


> Rip off Ireland has taken a hike.
> 
> Accountants must pay secretaries, office space, computers, stationary and Insurance


 
As regards secretaries, if 5 minutes work needs to be typed it can be done by the accountant himself / herself.    The rest of us need office space , a computer ( big deal, dell sent me an offer of them for 300 euro each recently ), stationary ( big deal , the rest of us do too )....it does not justify some accountants charging eg 800 euro per hour.  Foreign accountants are amazed at what some accountants charged here, at least during the celtic tiger.


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## askalot

simplyjoe said:


> If there were delays not caused by the accountant then he should not suffer.



A delay does not necessarily mean more work but it often seems to be used as an excuse to up the bill.


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## simplyjoe

IMO delays always causes more work as the job has to be picked up and put down - this all entails some element of re learning what has been done and what needs to be done - phone calls reminding people - checking for deadlines - etc


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## John Rambo

rabbit said:


> As regards secretaries, if 5 minutes work needs to be typed it can be done by the accountant himself / herself. The rest of us need office space , a computer ( big deal, dell sent me an offer of them for 300 euro each recently ), stationary ( big deal , the rest of us do too )....it does not justify some accountants charging eg 800 euro per hour. Foreign accountants are amazed at what some accountants charged here, at least during the celtic tiger.


 
You're not being fair here.

The OP was quoted a price which would have been a guideline. By their own account they're not familiar with the charging structure of professional firms (given the ambiguity of the VAT issue). €800 for two tax basic tax returns sounds reasonable. We don't even know the level of complexity involved. Did the accountant have to chase banks and stockbrokers for the relevant information? Were the income and expenditure accounts or Case V rental income computations to do?

And citing €800 an hour fees isn't particularly relevant. Only a tiny amount of individuals would charge that, and it would be for extremely specialised high level work where such a charge would be appropriate.


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## z103

> Also he is adding on extra costs for what he said was all the extra work involved. I appreciate that there was more work involved than perhaps he had anticipated but dont like the way he has come back to us and doubled his price.


My understanding is that the accountant underestimated the work involved in the initial quote. This is the accountant's problem, not the OP's problem (at least it shouldn't be).

The OP should only pay what was quoted for the work. It was a quote, not an estimate.


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## John Rambo

leghorn said:


> My understanding is that the accountant underestimated the work involved in the initial quote. This is the accountant's problem, not the OP's problem (at least it shouldn't be).
> 
> The OP should only pay what was quoted for the work. It was a quote, not an estimate.


 
That's the salient point. I very much doubt it was a quote. It was most likely a guideline which was caveated in the appropriate fashion, i.e. if additional work was required it would be billed at X, Y or Z per hour. The OP stated that there were delays which weren't caused by the accountant. By all means the OP can and should ask for a breakdown of the fee, but based on the (admittedly limited) amount of information posted it sounds like the fee was based on "good time".


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## z103

We need more information from the OP - was it a quote or an estimate?


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## Bessa

I think its great value for two years accounts, I pay that amount for one year but i must also add that my accountant is charging me that for the last four years approx. I am delighted with this charge but i pay him on the nail for his services, which is probably why my accounts are still the same price. It usually pays to pay promptly for professional services, as my solicitor never rubs it in either.


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## MandaC

€450 for a tax return is very low.  We used to get people asking for quotes for tax work (it's only this, or only that and when you would get the file there were loads of extra work)

Did the Accountant give a written quote or was it verbal.

It is also silly to say that if an Accountant has a Secretary then the Accountant should do the typing, not the Secretary.  In most practices, an Accountant would be on a higher charge out hourly rate than a Secretary.


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## Graham_07

leghorn said:


> The OP should only pay what was quoted for the work. It was a quote, not an estimate.


 
 is an interesting item which differentiates between a quote and an estimate.


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## billythefish

€450 sounds very very cheap. sounds like you got value for money at €800 + Vat. simplyjoe made a good point that the job has to be returned to a number of times and the relearning all has to be taken into account.


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## Jim Davis

_"It's unwise to pay too much, but it's also unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do.​_
_The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it's well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough money to pay for something better."  -_ John Ruskin​


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## rabbit

daff72 said:


> should I stand my ground and stick by his original quote.


 
Stand your ground + pay him his original quote.  A lot of accountants seem to charge more than they quote.  Foreign accountants are amazed at what some accountants here charge and get away with....all part of rip off Ireland is the kindest explanation.


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## Graham_07

rabbit said:


> Stand your ground + pay him his original quote. A lot of accountants seem to charge more than they quote. Foreign accountants are amazed at what some accountants here charge and get away with....all part of rip off Ireland is the kindest explanation.


 
Same goes for foreign 
dentists -v- irish dentists
car prices -v- irish
etc. etc. 
On radio today it seems home improvement costs, getting a plumber , electrician etc. is, in some cases 1/2 that it was a couple years ago. There are more than just accountants out there whos prices are different to other countries.


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## Jim Davis

rabbit said:


> Stand your ground + pay him his original quote. A lot of accountants seem to charge more than they quote. *Foreign accountants* are amazed at what some accountants here charge and get away with....all part of rip off Ireland is the kindest explanation.


 
From where!?!


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## simplyjoe

daff72 said:


> It was explained to him what was involved before he took the job on. Due to delays out of his control it was a while before it all got resolved. We did end up getting a decent sum out of revenue which was good.


 
Who was responsible for the delays. If it was you  - pay up!


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## Cayne

Jim Davis said:


> From where!?!


 
I think accountants in Zimbabwe are pretty competitive. Although i have no direct experience!

Seriously its worth paying for a good accountant. The quotes above seem pretty good.


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## Graham_07

A person I know recently got a quote for piling for foundations. The company doing the work got all the plans dimensions etc. and gave their quote. When the work was done they said, words to the effect " it took a bit more than we thought so it's €2,000 more". The customer said, "hang on you had the plans etc. you knew what was to be done I'm not paying any more". The contractor said....you'll love this..." well you can't blame a guy for trying, never mind".

The core problem here is the serivce. People do not attach the same value to time and a few bits of paper as they do to physical goods. People have no problem paying €2,000 of a plasma TV. But €2,000 for 14 pages of company accounts in a little folder does not sometimes look like it took that much work to do. I have found this across many services.


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## Bronte

OP if you were given a price for the work then that should be it, but if the job turned out not to have been what you outlined to the accountant, and you did mention things outside his control which led to more work than maybe he should be paid for this.  Was the original price to include everything, did he say if there are some problems I will have to charge you extra?  Also what are the reasons for the extra work.  Did part of the bill include things that did not include his fee.  In relation to VAT I don't get your point you should always ask if it includes VAT or not, this is to both tradesmen or professionals.  I too think the price you paid seems very reasonable.


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## z103

> But €2,000 for 14 pages of company accounts in a little folder does not sometimes look like it took that much work to do.


You should maybe investigate accounts production software. This should reduce the time to produce company accounts significantly. 
http://www.relate-software.com/


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## Graham_07

leghorn said:


> You should maybe investigate accounts production software. This should reduce the time to produce company accounts significantly.
> http://www.relate-software.com/


 
I have no problem with the time or skill needed to produce ( to IAASA standards ) statutory financial statements for limited companies. My point is that when a client gets that little booklet of financial statements it may not sometimes look like it is worth the money paid for it.


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## billythefish

I'm with Graham on this one. People look at a set of documents and don't see the work and preparation that goes into preparing the numbers behind it.


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## Graham_07

billythefish said:


> I'm with Graham on this one. People look at a set of documents and don't see the work and preparation that goes into preparing the numbers behind it.


 
Thats a discount of 25% on next years accounts for you my good man


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## billythefish

well i'm an accountant as well graham lol. but if you give me 25% discount on mine, i'll gladly give you 10% on yours..


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## Graham_07

billythefish said:


> well i'm an accountant as well graham lol. but if you give me 25% discount on mine, i'll gladly give you 10% on yours..


 
Hmmm if I were a Government Department head or a HSE spindoctor I'd probably think thats a really really  good deal.


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## rabbit

billythefish said:


> I'm with Graham on this one. People look at a set of documents and don't see the work and preparation that goes into preparing the numbers behind it.


 
You are quite right.  I know of one accountant for example who does the annual books for one limited company.  The limited company does not trade or carry on any business.  The accountant charges a four figure sum each year just to keep the accounts up to date + do any returns to the companies office.  As you say, people look at a set of documents and don't see the work and preparation that goes into preparing the numbers behind it.  The poor accountant.


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## Graham_07

rabbit said:


> You are quite right. I know of one accountant for example who does the annual books for one limited company. The limited company does not trade or carry on any business. The accountant charges a four figure sum each year just to keep the accounts up to date + do any returns to the companies office. As you say, people look at a set of documents and don't see the work and preparation that goes into preparing the numbers behind it. The poor accountant.


 
And if the client does not query the fee and is "mugged" like that then you know the saying.... "a fool and his money should never have been put together in the first place".


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## billythefish

rabbit said:


> You are quite right.  I know of one accountant for example who does the annual books for one limited company.  The limited company does not trade or carry on any business.  The accountant charges a four figure sum each year just to keep the accounts up to date + do any returns to the companies office.



hmmmmm... sarcasm....

a four figure fee for dormant accounts is, in my opinion, a complete and utter rip. personally i think about €400 + vat is about right and that should include a nil corporation tax return if the company is still CT registered.

although, this limited company you refer to could be ringing the "poor accountant" every other week with a query on this and that. if so, clients are very quick to forget all the times they rang with sundry queries and whinge about paying them. makes me angry.... grrrrr.....


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## rabbit

billythefish said:


> hmmmmm... sarcasm....
> 
> a four figure fee for dormant accounts is, in my opinion, a complete and utter rip. personally i think about €400 + vat is about right and that should include a nil corporation tax return if the company is still CT registered.


400 euro plus vat is 486 euro.   How could a poor accountant survive if he / she only got that amount of money each and every year just to keep the accounts up to date + do any returns to the companies office for a non-trading company ?



billythefish said:


> although, this limited company you refer to could be ringing the "poor accountant" every other week with a query on this and that. if so, clients are very quick to forget all the times they rang with sundry queries and whinge about paying them. makes me angry.... grrrrr.....


 
No,the limited company does not trade or carry on any business...perhaps the accountant would charge double that if he / she had to answer a query once or twice during the year ?  It would be only fair, double the work, double the fee.


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## rabbit

Graham_07 said:


> And if the client does not query the fee and is "mugged" like that then you know the saying.... "a fool and his money should never have been put together in the first place".


 
As "billythefish" says, that would only make him _"angry.....grrrr......"_  He did  query the fee or "_whinge_"  ( billythefishes word, not mine ) once, but was that was what professional fees were.  The explanation was not a million miles different - but not the exact same as - your explanation _" The core problem here is the serivce. People do not attach the same value to time and a few bits of paper as they do to physical goods. People have no problem paying €2,000 of a plasma TV. But €2,000 for 14 pages of company accounts in a little folder does not sometimes look like it took that much work to do. I have found this across many services." _

Poor accountants should charge as much as they can get away with.   After all, many people they deal with are "fools". ( your word , not mine ).   They may be elderly, they may not know very much about taxation, they may have inherited the limited company, they may be this or that, they may be timid when dealing with a professional in a suit, but they are still "fools".   As you rightly say, "a fool and his money should never have been put together in the first place".


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## Bronte

rabbit said:


> Stand your ground + pay him his original quote. A lot of accountants seem to charge more than they quote. Foreign accountants are amazed at what some accountants here charge and get away with....all part of rip off Ireland is the kindest explanation.


  I don't know which foreign country you are refering to but I think Irish accountants are quite cheap.  But as in all cases one should shop around.


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## rabbit

Bronte said:


> I don't know which foreign country you are refering to .


only a few other first world countries like the U.S, Germany and Australia




Bronte said:


> I think Irish accountants are quite cheap..


 
Course they are. Where else would you only get a four figure fee for dormant accounts. 



Bronte said:


> as in all cases one should shop around.


For most peoples accountancy requirements not always easy to get a quote though. Do not forget "when a client gets that little booklet of financial statements it may not sometimes look like it is worth the money paid for it." ....a lot of time and skill is needed to produce financial statements. I am sure it must be often difficult to estimate how much time in advance a client will take as well.  Clients are often fearful of "shopping" around for financial statements...one of the arguments accounts often use is that it will take someone else longer to get accustomed to the accounts / client.   Another excuse is increased risk of revenue audit through chopping / changing....probably not true but "fools" who know little of accountancy or taxation can be told anything...that is why they go to experts...

"a fool and his money should never have been put together in the first place".


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## billythefish

someone wake me up when rabbit's done.... well.... rabbiting.....

"As "billythefish" says, that would only make him _"angry.....grrrr......"_ "

...btw you've actually taken that comment completely out of context. maybe go back and have another read


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## Graham_07

rabbit said:


> The accountant charges a four figure sum each year just to keep the accounts up to date + do any returns to the companies office. ... The poor accountant.


 


rabbit said:


> 400 euro plus vat is 486 euro. How could a poor accountant survive if he / she only got that amount of money each and every year just to keep the accounts up to date + do any returns to the companies office for a non-trading company ?


 


rabbit said:


> ...perhaps the accountant would charge double that if he / she had to answer a query once or twice during the year ? It would be only fair, double the work, double the fee.


 


rabbit said:


> Poor accountants should charge as much as they can get away with. After all, many people they deal with are "fools". ( your word , not mine ).


 


rabbit said:


> Course they are. Where else would you only get a four figure fee for dormant accounts.


 
At this point I think a troll alert may be relevant. 

Rabbit, your opinion of the accountancy profession in Ireland is exhaustively documented in many many posts. I know that you feel it incumbent upon yourself to waken the populace to the devil incarnate that accountants represent. How I've hid my horns until now I have no idea. I know also that your opinion stems to not some small degree from an appalling experience of yours/someone you know well with accountants which was again documented back in posting history ( before you try hitting me with my own pitchfork I am agreeing with you. It was an appalling situation ). However as in every service out there one gets what one pays for. That may be good value or bad value and it is up to the individual to see if they are indeed getting the service they expect at a price that is acceptable and after that no more can be said or done. Chancers exist everywhere ( except government of course  ) just go the Golden Pages. If one cannot get sufficient detail to form a proper judgment that the price represents fair value then go elsewhere.

Incidentally, on the subject of fees for dormant accounts, I have just invoiced a client for the following :-
- Statutory financial statements for a non-trading (mostly non-trading although there were 3 payments from bank and 2 receipts to bank )
- Abridged financial statements for CRO
- B1 for CRO and submission with accounts
- Minutes of statutory meetings 
- CT1 for Revenue
The invoice was €305+VAT21.5%. 
I guess I should pack my case and head off to the poor house now shouldn't I.


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## rabbit

Graham_07 said:


> Incidentally, on the subject of fees for dormant accounts, I have just invoiced a client for the following :-
> - Statutory financial statements for a non-trading (mostly non-trading although there were 3 payments from bank and 2 receipts to bank )
> - Abridged financial statements for CRO
> - B1 for CRO and submission with accounts
> - Minutes of statutory meetings
> - CT1 for Revenue
> The invoice was €305+VAT21.5%.


Good value for money in fairness...I have in decades of dealing with accountants and having many friends / relatives / buddies dealing with accountants - never heard of such low fees.



Graham_07 said:


> However as in every service out there one gets what one pays for.


 
Are you not contradicting yourself here...


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## z103

> Good value for money in fairness...I have in decades of dealing with accountants and having many friends / relatives / buddies dealing with accountants - never heard of such low fees.


Maybe that the 2009 (recession) price.


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## rabbit

leghorn said:


> Maybe that the 2009 (recession) price.


 
so you now think it more a case of what the market will bear rather than the price reflecting the quality of the service ("_ one gets what one pays for "_ )?


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## Graham_07

The work took a couple hours. Yes, he got what he paid for. Statutory financial statements and related work to professional standards, acceptable to Practice Review , CRO and Revenue. That price is not materially different to last number of years for same work either. Fair days pay for fair days work comes to mind.


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## Graham_07

rabbit said:


> Are you not contradicting yourself here...


 
No, what I mean is you get exactly what you pay for...in some cases what you get may be worth more than you paid...and in some cases less. I do not mean that pay less means less quality.


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## d2x2

Good value to me... I want your accountant's details!!


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## Bronte

rabbit said:


> Good value for money in fairness...I have in decades of dealing with accountants and having many friends / relatives / buddies dealing with accountants - never heard of such low fees.
> 
> ..


 
This should be put up in lights, it's the first time Rabbit has ever praised an accountant as far as I know.  Maybe he's mellowing....


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## rabbit

Bronte said:


> This should be put up in lights, it's the first time Rabbit has ever praised an accountant as far as I know. Maybe he's mellowing....


 
I , or any of many business friends I have chatted with, have ever heard of such value 
_"- Statutory financial statements for a non-trading (mostly non-trading although there were 3 payments from bank and 2 receipts to bank )
- Abridged financial statements for CRO
- B1 for CRO and submission with accounts
- Minutes of statutory meetings 
- CT1 for Revenue
The invoice was €305+VAT21."_

If the firm who provides that service really does that, I think they deserve a free "plug" here.

However, what about all the other accountants who charge more ?  What about those who would charge a four figure sum ?


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## Graham_07

rabbit said:


> I , or any of many business friends I have chatted with, have ever heard of such value
> _"- Statutory financial statements for a non-trading (mostly non-trading although there were 3 payments from bank and 2 receipts to bank )_
> _- Abridged financial statements for CRO_
> _- B1 for CRO and submission with accounts_
> _- Minutes of statutory meetings _
> _- CT1 for Revenue_
> _The invoice was €305+VAT21."_
> 
> If the firm who provides that service really does that, I think they deserve a free "plug" here.
> 
> However, what about all the other accountants who charge more ? What about those who would charge a four figure sum ?


 
As said previously that fee was based, not so much on what was done but on how long it took to do.  If one were to charge on a flat basis of what was done, the fee would probably have been higher but that would have been unfair to the client given the largely non-trading aspect. Furthermore, I have dealt with that client in various businesses over some 20 years. They are now mostly retired. I felt the fee fit the work and was fair to both the client and myself.


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## simplyjoe

I would charge approx €390 incl VAT and including the €20 filing fee. So that is two accountants not charging 4 figure sums. Shop around - some accountants charges are outrageous.


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## rabbit

One case I know of recently.   An accountant charges 1300 euro simply to do a corporation tax computation / submission ( a non-trading limited company, no business, but it has some money on deposit....corporation tax has to be paid on the interest ) ...and the customer queries the charge of 1300 verbally to the accountant and he says he will look in to it , but a week later an invoice comes with no change.  The customer emails the accountancy firm , but they do not reply...what next?  Is there an accountancy body to monitor outrageous fees ?


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## Jim Davis

rabbit said:


> One case I know of recently. An accountant charges 1300 euro simply to do a corporation tax computation / submission ( a non-trading limited company, no business, but it has some money on deposit....corporation tax has to be paid on the interest ) ...and the customer queries the charge of 1300 verbally to the accountant and he says he will look in to it , but a week later an invoice comes with no change. The customer emails the accountancy firm , but they do not reply...what next? Is there an accountancy body to monitor outrageous fees ?


 
Laissez faire


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## Graham_07

rabbit said:


> One case I know of recently. An accountant charges 1300 euro simply to do a corporation tax computation / submission ( a non-trading limited company, no business, but it has some money on deposit....corporation tax has to be paid on the interest ) ...and the customer queries the charge of 1300 verbally to the accountant and he says he will look in to it , but a week later an invoice comes with no change. The customer emails the accountancy firm , but they do not reply...what next? Is there an accountancy body to monitor outrageous fees ?


 
Unlike solicitors there are no "scale" fees as such in accountancy. Firms will have certain charges either per hour or for certain all inclusive work but it is up to each to set the fee structure. It is really up to the client to check this in advance. I find that hourly rates do not largely work on repeat work as some times you will gain or lose a few hours on a job and the provision of an "all in service" for an agreed yearly fee mostly works best. The client knows in advance the expected charge and has unlimited ( fair usage policy applies  ) phone or personal call support for that.


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## Jim Davis

*Never wrestle with a pig*

You both get dirty and the pig will love it.


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## rabbit

Methinks best to let the pig come looking for the money.


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## Graham_07

Jim Davis said:


> You both get dirty and the pig will love it.


 


rabbit said:


> Methinks best to let the pig come looking for the money.


 
And get his armani suit dirty.....


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## Bonafide

As simplyjoe said business to business quotes are generally done before VAT.

You seem happy with the original quote of 450. You also seem to suggest that there was quite a bit of work in it, therefore I assume you are not averse to the idea of paying him a little more than the original quote.

Have you considered asking for a discount on the basis that the accountant did not tell you of the overrun until the job was done. Split the difference?


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## JKForde

*Accountant Fees for handling sole trader VAT and annual returns*

Hi, Can someone advise...

I'm a sole trader, 40k-50k coming in. I supply the accountant with a spreadsheet breakdown of the annual ins and outs with VAT broken down and totalled (so he can't charge time for flicking through receipts)

Now, his annual return fee has crept up to 900 incl. vat, and recently he's asking 450 incl vat to do a year's vat return (something i would expect to be included in the annual return work!).

My query is what's the typical fee for doing a sole trader's accounts, esp. when the sole trader supplies him with a breakdown for the year's ins and outs.

Thanks a lot.


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## mf1

*Re: Accountant Fees for handling sold trader VAT and annual returns*

The fees are not excessive. Everyone always thinks that their job is really little and that other people should pay the fees necessary to keep the office up and running and pay an income to the accountant. 

You are not a sold trader - you are a sole trader.

mf


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## JKForde

*Re: Accountant Fees for handling sold trader VAT and annual returns*

Thanks mf, firstly for pointing out the repeated typo! (shouldn't write posts on the phone!) and for the advice. My accountant works from home, doesn't employ a secretary and doesn't have a whole lot of overheads (I've seen his office!)

I was just wondering if he is paying himself 70euros an hour plus VAT, would a VAT return, where he has all the information already and is using ROS, take 5 hours?


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## mf1

*Re: Accountant Fees for handling sold trader VAT and annual returns*



JKForde said:


> Thanks mf, firstly for pointing out the repeated typo! (shouldn't write posts on the phone!) and for the advice. My accountant works from home, doesn't employ a secretary and doesn't have a whole lot of overheads (I've seen his office!)
> 
> I was just wondering if he is paying himself 70euros an hour plus VAT, would a VAT return, where he has all the information already and is using ROS, take 5 hours?



I remember a client once working out for me that I should be paying myself X and if my overheads were  Y that he felt my hourly rate should be B. The relationship was not a happy one. And did not last. 

I don't think the fees you've been quoted are excessive. If you don't want to pay them go elsewhere . You could of course always do the VAT returns yourself!

mf


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## Graham_07

*Re: Accountant Fees for handling sold trader VAT and annual returns*



JKForde said:


> My accountant works from home, doesn't employ a secretary and doesn't have a whole lot of overheads (I've seen his office!)


 
Did you see
- His Professional indemnity insurance premium ?
- His Continuing Professional Development course fees ?
- His institute membership and practising certificate fees ?
- His software and related costs ?

I work from home, my wife acts as secretary, I still have considerable overheads. 

As MF1 said, if you are unhappy with the fees, get alternative quotes. There are plenty other accountants out there.


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## JKForde

thanks, i appreciate the replies.. must look into getting that ROS certificate


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## John Conlon

*High accounting fees*

If foreign accountants were so impressed with fee rates in Ireland one would surely expect some to set up here. Super profits never last. this is an economic truism. There are almost no barriers to entry to accountancy. Any non-qualified person can call themselves an accountant. Therefore, if it was so massively extortionate everyone would be doing it.


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