Fees

Neillaw

I've just invoiced a client for a vat return together with a set of management accounts for a nine month period. They are now jumping up and down saying the bill is to high and they were expecting a 12-14 page management accounts pack.

I charged £330.00 for the vat return and management accounts, this is a nightmare client who I work via another accountant. I consider this to be on the low side as their paperwork is crap!

Expenses aren't cross cast, they don't want to provide me with bank statements or purchase invoices. This causes a lot of phone calls to get the information I need. The accountant I'm working through is in the process of dropping them.

Does anyone consider this to be overcharging.

Thanks
Neil

burg

No!
9 Months! Depending on the size of client then this fee is more likely to be for 3 months or maybe even just one month for us.

My thought would be state that the rate is low and if you had billed all your time it would have been X. Lesson for the future regarding management accounts is that they can be interpreted many different ways so be clear on what it involves and manage client expectations prior to commencing work. Also if you work on a fixed fee basis rather than hourly you can quote up front and it helps maintain the relationship.

My advice would be if you cannot set realistic expectations with realistic fees then walk away as you may end up doing the work for free as they may never pay!

Neillaw

Thanks Burg
The client would prefer to spend the money on Entertaining!