I started a small manufacturing business last year. Just me, making stuff from plastic and ally. The financial year here is the calender year, so only really 9 months of accounts.
Each month I input my receipts onto the computer, and the software allows each to be categorized, input and output vat calculated, and I do a nice little printout that shows expenses brroken down by category, post/phone/materials/tools etc. Some months there is only 7 or 8 receipts, others maybe 20 or so.
Not knowing exacly how the tax system works here, and the fact that I made a thumping loss (which can be carried over for self employed people), I decided to let an accountant finish it up and complete my tax return.
So I get his bill today, and he's charged me for 10.5 hours. It seems a bit excesive to me, as even if he's gone through every single receipt and entered them onto his software, there's certainly not a day and a halfs work. Ok, so he renamed some of the categories to suit the entries on the tax form. I do the same each month with my accounts package and it takes 20 mins tops for each month. It's not like I just gave him a plastic bag full of receipts and invoices - each month was sorted individually with a cover sheet, together with the VAT return, bank statement, and any invoices issued. I also gave him the final cover sheet that shows the whole year's worth of entries.
So what do you guys think - is 10.5 hours excessive?
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Accountants fees new
Accountants fees new
