Advice Needed

[Antoinette]

I am trying to set up my own online bookkeeping business and have had two enquiries.


I was wondering if someone could advise me on what would be reasonable rates?

I dont want to charge to little or too much!

Thanks

[bwglaw]

£15/hour is the going rate for a book-keeper but then again I had an 'accountant' who was AAT qualified and charged £40/hour. We then used someone else.

[Antoinette]

£15/hour is the going rate for a book-keeper but then again I had an 'accountant' who was AAT qualified and charged £40/hour. We then used someone else.

Thats a scandalous amount to charge!

I will go with the £15/hour but!

Thanks for your help.

And I have sent you an email[/url]

[bwglaw]

I agree...£40 is a lot for an AAT - which is why we got rid of him because he was misleading. Seeking advice from AAT may be a good idea too...they were a client of ours!

Will check email, thanks

[KM-Tiger]

£15/hour is the going rate for a book-keeper..................
Might be where you are, but it certainly isn't down here.

I would venture to suggest £10-15, depending.

[Antoinette]

£15/hour is the going rate for a book-keeper..................
Might be where you are, but it certainly isn't down here.

I would venture to suggest £10-15, depending.

Thanks - I live in Maidstone and dont want to charge too much.

[Hayles]

We were paying our book-keeper £10 per hour.

Until we recently changed because there's no record of two company cars that we bought three years ago... :evil:

[Antoinette]

Jesus thats terrible. Seriously.

[KM-Tiger]

Thanks - I live in Maidstone.........................
Just down the road then! Though I should say that I am not looking at the moment.

You might do better to think of charging your services per task, rather than per hour, albeit that you will have an hourly rate in mind when doing that. But I think a potential employer would want to know how much the job would cost.

Out of curiosity how would an online bookkeeping service work? Most of what you do would need access to original documents, invoices, cheques, paying-in slips, bank statements to reconcile, etc.

[Antoinette]

Thanks - I live in Maidstone.........................
Just down the road then! Though I should say that I am not looking at the moment.

You might do better to think of charging your services per task, rather than per hour, albeit that you will have an hourly rate in mind when doing that. But I think a potential employer would want to know how much the job would cost.

Out of curiosity how would an online bookkeeping service work? Most of what you do would need access to original documents, invoices, cheques, paying-in slips, bank statements to reconcile, etc.

I am only in the early stages I guess. Maybe as part of my cost I would have to include good old royal mail charges.

Or it would mean me making a visit to a premises?

Anyone got any ideas?

[bwglaw]

£10/hour...is that not rather low?... considering the amount of training one may have especially those AAT qualified. I have come across a book-keeper in the area charging £15/hour and only has a degree, not even AAT qualified.

Or are people in Kent so tight ;)

Agree that some services can be at fixed cost i.e. Tax Return, Payroll etc. However, this would depend on complexity. I think an hourly rate is better because you may get a client with a large bag of receipts and may expect that to be in the cost.

I think the Statutory Accounts should be at a slighty higher rate.

[KM-Tiger]

Anyone got any ideas?
It's tricky. Personally I would not want to run the risk of losing that much vital documentation by posting it, so a visit would be the only way. There is also filing to consider - how would that get done?

But you could make it work by visit and collect documents, do the work, then return, file and collect the next batch of douuments, and so on.

That would then leave how you would interact with your employer. Usually there are questions, queries, even the nitty gritty of is there enough cash in the bank to pay the bills!

[Hayles]

We have to send everything to our new book-keeper but it's really not working.

I think that once a business gets to a certain size, it needs a 'hands on' book keeper to keep everything in check. No problem for smaller business though. Maybe a visit a month would suffice then?

Best of luck

Hayles

[Antoinette]

£10/hour...is that not rather low?... considering the amount of training one may have especially those AAT qualified. I have come across a book-keeper in the area charging £15/hour and only has a degree, not even AAT qualified.

Or are people in Kent so tight ;)

Agree that some services can be at fixed cost i.e. Tax Return, Payroll etc. However, this would depend on complexity. I think an hourly rate is better because you may get a client with a large bag of receipts and may expect that to be in the cost.

I think the Statutory Accounts should be at a slighty higher rate.

Hi

Did you get my email?

[KM-Tiger]

Or are people in Kent so tight ;)
No, just running a business.

[NicolaCassidy]

Antoinette,

I have a book-keeping business in Manchester and if you need any advice, don't hesitate to pm or email me.

Nicola

[VeryMark]

We pay £16 to our book-keeper and she's worth her weight in gold - I introduced her to my BNI chapter when she was starting and she got enough work to build her whole business on.

[bwglaw]

Hi

Did you get my email?

Yes, got the latest with attachment - will reply shortly

[Antoinette]

We pay £16 to our book-keeper and she's worth her weight in gold - I introduced her to my BNI chapter when she was starting and she got enough work to build her whole business on.

What is a BNI chapter?

[bwglaw]

See this link:

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=8893

[Antoinette]

See this link:

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=8893

Thanks - am glad I stumbled across this site. Things are looking quite positive!

Just hope all the initial interest pays off!

[bwglaw]

It will...if you give some accountancy/tax advice then things will start to come your way. There are some Accountants on here. I am very fortunate not to have direct competition yet!

[Antoinette]

It will...if you give some accountancy/tax advice then things will start to come your way. There are some Accountants on here. I am very fortunate not to have direct competition yet!

Thank you. For the time being I am only looking at part time as my studying is taking up a lot of my time!

[donna]

I am trying to set up my own online bookkeeping business and have had two enquiries.


I was wondering if someone could advise me on what would be reasonable rates?

I dont want to charge to little or too much!

Thanks

hi there im an certifed accounting technican i have qualified from college about three years ago i have my own bookkeeping business working from home pm me and we can chat about what there is out there available trust me i can help you progress further if you want my business is very succesful i could carry on talking to you forever on this subject
i can give you the going rates in uk as well