Accountant Fees

[vinu 0]

Hi, I am looking to find an accountant for my Limited Company. I have been quoted £1000 + VAT per annum upto £20,000 revenue which covers everything. How are PropertyHub's Tax pricing compared to this? I am contemplating on setting up a  consultation with PropertyHub - but it wouldn't be worth it if they're more expensive than what I've found already. 

Just looking for rough estimates for a startup company.

Thanks

[taxantics 41]

I think it’s down to the added value you get. There’s no point paying over 5% of turnover for accounting services when you can get the same service for a lot less. If the cost includes some advice and general support and you feel you get value from that, then a good accountant/tax advisors support is worth its weight in gold. £20k of income from one property is usually simple to administer - £20k for a window cleaner with all the expenses and involved becomes more work so there’s more to it than measuring turnover.
 

I run a boutique practice and fees for start up property companies are from around £600 per annum depending on activity and extent of services required.

If you already know the direction you’re taking; i.e. buying property in a company, then a consultancy service might be overkill. If you have funds and need advice on developing, using pensions and the such like, then consultancy and mentorship are probably worth considering.

[EvolutionBlogger 72]

On 8/16/2020 at 2:59 PM, vinu said:

Hi, I am looking to find an accountant for my Limited Company. I have been quoted £1000 + VAT per annum upto £20,000 revenue which covers everything. How are PropertyHub's Tax pricing compared to this? I am contemplating on setting up a  consultation with PropertyHub - but it wouldn't be worth it if they're more expensive than what I've found already. 

Just looking for rough estimates for a startup company.

Thanks

Your quote sounds perfectly reasonable and fair. However, you shouldn't choose an accountant based on how much they cost. You should make your decision based on how good you think they'll be. A good accountant will save you your fees many times over! 

One simple question to ask. How will you help me to save tax? What strategies will you apply for me? If they're unable or unwilling to give you an answer, then walk away 

[nick smith 13]

Hi,

Was just about to ask the same question myself. We have just paid £1300 inc VAT for two tax returns covering 5 BTL properties in both names and over £25k income pa. They aren’t specialist property accountants and we don’t really get any property specific added value from them so was interested in views from those who use property specialists and what typical costs look like. As an additional point our firm charge £75 per return for each additional BTL so every time we add to our portfolio it will cost a further £150.

Thanks

 

Nick

[david slater 82]

Nick. It is quite normal to to add an extra fee for subsequent properties that are added to the portfolio as it does add to the complexity/workload. But looking at yours it is for personally held properties only?

Depending on how the profits are split down between the two of you and assuming you don't have significant activity in your tax returns in addition to property/PAYE salary then the fees do seem on the high side. Are your accountants based in London by any chance?

[nick smith 13]

17 hours ago, david slater said:

Nick. It is quite normal to to add an extra fee for subsequent properties that are added to the portfolio as it does add to the complexity/workload. But looking at yours it is for personally held properties only?

Depending on how the profits are split down between the two of you and assuming you don't have significant activity in your tax returns in addition to property/PAYE salary then the fees do seem on the high side. Are your accountants based in London by any chance?

Hi David,

Thanks for the reply. No they're not based in London, they're a national franchise and we use the local branch. The properties are owned equally between us but the income is split in favour of my wife using trust deeds. There is nothing particularly complex about our situation we just have these properties and our salaries which are dealt with through PAYE.

Thanks

 

Nick

[taxantics 41]

The fees aren't unreasonable although ever increasing fees per property is indicative of not having a scalable solution. Using software wisely can keep costs, both present and future, from escalating. Our landlords clients typically pay around £1,000 including VAT for 5-10 property portfolios and £1,200 for corporates. This includes cloud bookkeeping software and an annual tax review with recommendations to maintain efficiency. With the right systems in place, costs can be kept low. Fees should be comparative to the service you receive and not the profit you make!

[david slater 82]

I am assuming the package isn't including cloud bookkeeping software.

Our current fees for our basic package would be about half the price you are paying.

On 1/27/2021 at 2:11 PM, nick smith said:

don’t really get any property specific added value from them

Nick did they advise you to set up a deed of trust? If so that may have saved you some tax.