How much would this cost?

[Kerwin]

I'm trying to figure out how much money I'll need to spend on an accountant. I need the following services:

Yearly ltd company accounts
VAT registration in the UK
VAT registration in the EU
VAT returns in both UK and EU
Help with finding any relevant funding opportunities (R&D tax credits etc.)
Bookkeeping

Ideally, I'd like to pay monthly, so I don't have a massive bill at the end of the year. I don't have much money so I'm really looking to cut costs as much as possible.

 

[RobPickering]

I’m sure accountants will be delighted to give you an estimate, but the actual cost will depend upon the volume and complexity of the transactions. To just give you a very rough figure I’d suggest expect £2000 per year, but could be more.
I assume you’ll be operating in more than one currency and so there will be currency conversion costs and corrections - the bookkeeping could be a little complex and so I’d suggest you get a quote for regular bookkeeping as well. Potentially you could get the training to do much of it yourself, but that’s a high commitment and errors then mean paying the accountant to fix them.
There are currently very few opportunities for funding grants except for a few specific topics including green energy and electric cars. Many funding options are winding down due to the end of EU funding but I’d expect UK funded ones to start being announced soon, but the red tape often means a long wait for them to be available. My honest advice is don’t expect any grant funding. Startup loans are available and useful but remember they have to be repaid.
R&D tax credits typically only apply to LTD companies that have been trading for at least two years. Accountants often have limited experience and may be able to handle claims, or you can go to a specialist such as CaTAX who will handle claims on a no-win, no-fee basis.
The best way to get accurate costs is to approach a few local accountants with a brief amount of detail including the countries in which you plan to trade and the estimated volume of transactions separately for UK and non-UK, ie bills paid and customers invoiced. And ask their advice about bookkeeping and what else they recommend you might need or want (such as monthly management accounts).
Hope that helps.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

I'm trying to figure out how much money I'll need to spend on an accountant. I need the following services:

Yearly ltd company accounts
VAT registration in the UK
VAT registration in the EU
VAT returns in both UK and EU
Help with finding any relevant funding opportunities (R&D tax credits etc.)
Bookkeeping

Ideally, I'd like to pay monthly, so I don't have a massive bill at the end of the year. I don't have much money so I'm really looking to cut costs as much as possible.

That's just not enough information to ascertain the work required and even give you a ball park figure. You'd be better contacting a few accountants direct. They'll need to see your bank statements etc and have full details of your company to give you an accurate fee quote.

 

[Kerwin]

That's just not enough information to ascertain the work required and even give you a ball park figure. You'd be better contacting a few accountants direct. They'll need to see your bank statements etc and have full details of your company to give you an accurate fee quote.

OK. Thank you. It is for a startup, though with no previous transactions. I have a business plan with some estimated numbers, but that might not be 100% accurate.

 

[Newchodge]

You might need to specify which EU countries you will be dealing with. I don't think VAT is the same in all of them.

 

[Kerwin]

You might need to specify which EU countries you will be dealing with. I don't think VAT is the same in all of them.

I don't have any specific requirements for the country. I was under the impression that one handled it via VAT OSS since I will be supplying services to EU residents. I was thinking of Ireland, though, because at least they speak English and would probably make some things slightly easier.

I'm happy to change my mind if required, though.

 

[Truemanbrown]

Most accountants will give you a free consultation, so they judge the scale of the work to be done and then give you a quote.

 

[MrGerbil]

I wouldn't quote less than £2,000 for this, maybe a lot more, depending on complexity.

 

[Kerwin]

I wouldn't quote less than £2,000 for this, maybe a lot more, depending on complexity.

As an accountant, would you be happy to take monthly payments rather than one lump sum? I'm trying to determine if paying monthly is common or whether most accountants will want the whole amount up front.

 

[MrGerbil]

As an accountant, would you be happy to take monthly payments rather than one lump sum? I'm trying to determine if paying monthly is common or whether most accountants will want the whole amount up front.

That varies between accountants. I personally never do monthly payments.

 

[free-rider]

Just as a ballpark figure for what we usually charge. I run accountancy and tax advisory firm in Kent and our minimal fees for bookkeeping + Annual Accounts + UK VAT returns would start from £175+VAT pcm, so £2,100 for basic compliance service (increasing with the number of transactions and complexity and handholding requirements).

Add IRL VAT returns - another £150 per period, I.e. £900+VAT per annum as a minimum.

R&D claims on % of claim basis - usually 20% for tax savings below £30k.

Consultancy/handholding at hourly rate if £150-200 per hour +VAT.

 

[Kerwin]

Just as a ballpark figure for what we usually charge. I run accountancy and tax advisory firm in Kent and our minimal fees for bookkeeping + Annual Accounts + UK VAT returns would start from £175+VAT pcm, so £2,100 for basic compliance service (increasing with the number of transactions and complexity and handholding requirements).

Add IRL VAT returns - another £150 per period, I.e. £900+VAT per annum as a minimum.

R&D claims on % of claim basis - usually 20% for tax savings below £30k.

Consultancy/handholding at hourly rate if £150-200 per hour +VAT.

If I did the bookkeeping and spent time trying to learn some of the more basic accounting things, would that have much of an impact on the price at all? I have a book on bookkeeping and accounting, and I can always get more.

 

[free-rider]

If I did the bookkeeping and spent time trying to learn some of the more basic accounting things, would that have much of an impact on the price at all? I have a book on bookkeeping and accounting, and I can always get more.

If you did your own bookkeeping it could reduce the cost, but only if bookkeeping is done to a certain level, I.e. our staff does not need to spend more than 30 min per month reviewing and correcting postings.

We usually find that it works better when clients are concentrated on running/growing their business and let us look after the books.

 

[HFE Signs]

Depends on the amount of work required to get the accounts information to an accurate level. The size of the company and number of transactions might be helpful. For a SME I'd expect between 2-3k per year

 

[Kerwin]

If you did your own bookkeeping it could reduce the cost, but only if bookkeeping is done to a certain level, I.e. our staff does not need to spend more than 30 min per month reviewing and correcting postings.

We usually find that it works better when clients are concentrated on running/growing their business and let us look after the books.

Depends on the amount of work required to get the accounts information to an accurate level. The size of the company and number of transactions might be helpful. For a SME I'd expect between 2-3k per year

Thank you both. I guess you are right about letting my accountant handle things like that. I'll assume it'll be roughly £2,500 a year for my business plan.

 

[AndreasC]

Hi Kerwin,

To answer your question I accept payment monthly or yearly. I usually do yearly as its less admin but don't ask for an upfront payment which you seemed to imply. If you have just set up your company your accounts/tax return won't be due until 2024 so you don't need to pay for that now.

It would be easiest to have a free no commitment meeting to flesh things out and see what may be required and I can then tell you what the first year fees are likely to be, which helps you budget, but also so that we are both happy to then move forward.