fees for accountancy work

bumblebee

Hi all

I am new to this. How should i work out how much fees to offer a prospective client? For example if a client needs his year end accounts and tax return and he is a sole trader. Should i be charging % of income and then come to an agreement (say £350 for turnover of £35,000 plus a charge for Tax return say £60) is this reasonable?

burg

I started by going for fixed fees based on my experience of what I knew my previous firm would have roughly charged. I then kept a log of my time at my desired charge out rate to see how well I recovered and therefore if my pricing was suitable.

I have now gone on to develop a fixed pricing model for my company. I price jobs based on the:-

Business type
Any cash
no of bank accounts
no of transactions
VAT registered
quality of bookkeeping / records
business sector
volume of hand holding / advice required
rick of industry

It's something that takes time and experience to get right. I no longer do timesheets as I am happy that my charges are fair and right for me.

bumblebee

Thanks Burg, wish i had started this way back, I might have had more knowledge and experience by now, but... better late than never. Also, glad to be part of this forum. Thanks once again for your advice.
Better get back to work now!!

T.C.

Also remember that a business with a small turnover does not mean that the accounts are in a good order. Some of the smallest businesses can take the longest if everything arrives in a carrier bag, or worse still on a spreadsheet full of errors. Each job should be priced individually, in my opinion. I also charge more the next year for those who are slow payers. Good luck.

bumblebee

Thanks for the advice TC.