Annual Accountant Fee for An Exporting Business

[adventureinuk]

Dear all,

It's my first time to set up a business in UK.

Hence I have a lot of questions to ask and lots of things to learn from you.

In terms of the accountant cost, I got a quote from one of the accounting firm I met as below. Not sure whether it's reasonable or not. If not, do you have any recommendation?

My main business is exporting various packaged food from UK and in future EU to other countries. Monthly transaction in first six months: around 1-2 or max 3 transactions every one to two months. Each transaction is for container load export from UK. Each transaction may value around £ 30,000

Your advice / suggestion would be highly appreciated.

-VAT registration: around £550 per quarter

- annual filing of corporate tax: around £2,500 (plus VAT) BR

In terms of "prepare a set of statutory accounts for filing with Companies House to be around £3,000 (plus VAT).",

Many thanks!

 

[Bob]

Presumably you went to one of the big firms
You're well under the audit threshold so cannot see how they can justify a fee of nearly £8,000. Your inbox will be inundated with private messages offering to substantially undercut that quote. Hopefully, they will also comment on here

 

[adventureinuk]

Presumably you went to one of the big firms
You're well under the audit threshold so cannot see how they can justify a fee of nearly £8,000. Your inbox will be inundated with private messages offering to substantially undercut that quote. Hopefully, they will also comment on here

Thanks a lot Bob!

I reckon the firm is not a large firm like big four (KMPG, PwC, EY etc.) in terms of scale.

I do need some recommendation on good & cost-effective firms for my business.

 

[Jeremiah@RHJ Accountants]

I would say that is rather on the high side

What i would recommend is that you speak to your friends and family and see who they use as there accountant and speak to them as they will be able to give good or bad recommendations.

Alternatively there are plenty of accountants who post on here so why not speak to some of them or the ones who inbox you.

Ask them questions even if they appear daft to you and see if you can get a good feel for what they can offer you.

Don't just base your decision on price alone, as a good accountant will save you money in tax savings potentially and the good advice they give.

Good luck with the search

 

[faradaykeynes]

It must be London based firm?

 

[Bob]

@teddys do UK and international taxand accounts

 

[Mitchells Bristol]

Hello there

Those fees do seem on the high side. We have a client who does something that may be along similar lines - they export UK brand products to expat communities in Africa, so we are familiar with the issues you will face. Please feel free to send me a PM if you would like to discuss and we can give you a fee quote as a comparison.

 

[adventureinuk]

I would say that is rather on the high side

What i would recommend is that you speak to your friends and family and see who they use as there accountant and speak to them as they will be able to give good or bad recommendations.

Alternatively there are plenty of accountants who post on here so why not speak to some of them or the ones who inbox you.

Ask them questions even if they appear daft to you and see if you can get a good feel for what they can offer you.

Don't just base your decision on price alone, as a good accountant will save you money in tax savings potentially and the good advice they give.

Good luck with the search

Thanks a lot Jeremiah!

Unfortunately, I just came to UK and did't have any family and friend doing business here which means I need to rely a lot on searching and other people's feedback.

Thanks for your suggestion. I will talk to several accountants and find the most suitable one.

Cheers

 

[adventureinuk]

It must be London based firm?

Very true, a london based firm.

But I don't necessarily need a London based firm as long as they have relevant experience, reasonable price and good service.

Cheers

 

[adventureinuk]

@teddys do UK and international taxand accounts

Thanks for your recommendation, Bob.

Cheers

 

[adventureinuk]

Hello there

Those fees do seem on the high side. We have a client who does something that may be along similar lines - they export UK brand products to expat communities in Africa, so we are familiar with the issues you will face. Please feel free to send me a PM if you would like to discuss and we can give you a fee quote as a comparison.

Thanks! Message sent.

 

[SBlundell]

Two things personally I would say you need to think about:

1. Price isn't everything so you need to consider the whole package - are they reputable, do they seem to know what they're talking about, are they part of a professional body (you don't have to be to call yourself an accountant) essentially do they feel good to you? Are they someone you can build a relationship with and, as they're going to be assisting you with your financial affairs, are they someone you can trust?

2. It's a buyer's market - there are literally thousands of accountancy firms out there and compared to those sort of prices most of them would be more than happy to quote you on the work! So shop around - if you have the time available there's no limit to the number of different firms you could contact (although of course you may want to restrict yourself a little more than that!) so there's no harm in looking at plenty of options until you find one that 'feels right'.

Best of luck with the new venture

 

[Jeremiah@RHJ Accountants]

Thanks a lot Jeremiah!

Unfortunately, I just came to UK and did't have any family and friend doing business here which means I need to rely a lot on searching and other people's feedback.

Thanks for your suggestion. I will talk to several accountants and find the most suitable one.

Cheers

Your most welcome.

I see if you don't have any family and friends doing business here it can be tricky so as others have said make sure you get good feedback in terms of recommendations and testimonials.

They will need to have the relevant experience in your field so this will be important.

Having a good relationship with you accountant is paramount for any business to succeed in my opinion.

 

[adventureinuk]

Two things personally I would say you need to think about:

1. Price isn't everything so you need to consider the whole package - are they reputable, do they seem to know what they're talking about, are they part of a professional body (you don't have to be to call yourself an accountant) essentially do they feel good to you? Are they someone you can build a relationship with and, as they're going to be assisting you with your financial affairs, are they someone you can trust?

2. It's a buyer's market - there are literally thousands of accountancy firms out there and compared to those sort of prices most of them would be more than happy to quote you on the work! So shop around - if you have the time available there's no limit to the number of different firms you could contact (although of course you may want to restrict yourself a little more than that!) so there's no harm in looking at plenty of options until you find one that 'feels right'.

Best of luck with the new venture

Thanks a lot Sam!

Yes, I agree with you -- price isn't the most important factor when I choose the acceptant / accounting firm. I just want to find an accountant / firm which I can trust, being straight forward to me (advising me whatever I shall know since I am new to this country and there are many things I don't know) and have a reasonable price.

Cheers