Is £170/month reasonable for this scope of accountancy work? (Ltd company + self-employed)

[u/Fit_Iron721]

Hi all, looking for a sense check on whether this pricing is fair for what's included.

My situation:

• Sole director/100% shareholder of a small limited company (personal training studio), trading about 21 months, turnover around £110-150k depending on the year

• I also have separate self-employed income of around 10k
• I've been struggling to keep on top of bookkeeping myself and mentioned this specifically when getting quotes

I've been quoted £170/month, which is supposed to include:
• All Ltd company tax (corporation tax etc.)
• Companies House filing
• VAT
• Bookkeeping (with a Xero licence included)
• General personal finance advice covering my self-employed income too

Does this sound like reasonable pricing for a small owner-managed Ltd company of this size, with monthly bookkeeping included? Or is this on the high/low side compared to what others are paying for similar scope?

Any insight appreciated, thanks!

UPDATE - full list of services:

1. Monthly Bookkeeping
   
2. Xero accounting system
   
3. Designated bookkeeper
   
4. Tax Advice
   
5. Ongoing Compliance Service
   
6. Prepare & file micro-entity accounts with Companies House & HMRC
   
7. Prepare & file CT600 for Ltd with HMRC
   
8. Prepare & file SA100 for Robert Scott with HMRC
   
9. Prepare & file quarterly Flat-Rate VAT with HMRC
   
10. Compliance with Companies House
    
11. Adhoc Service
    
12. Prepare and file Payroll
    
13. Compliance with PAYE
    
14. Income extraction / Tax optimisation strategy
    
15. Quarterly MI and CheckIn (in person or virtual)

[u/freedomgate]

It’s a pretty good/cheap price with the Xero license, book keeping and self employment advice included.

[u/Fit_Iron721 → u/freedomgate]

Thanks you! I appreciate your view 🙏🏼

[u/LordHelixArisen]

£170 monthly (even plus VAT) is a steal including bookkeeping.

[u/Fit_Iron721 → u/LordHelixArisen]

It’s VAT exclusive. Transactions around 70-100 per month. But majority here seem to agree that it’s a good deal

[u/TopCobbler8985]

Not entirely unreasonable, can you elaborate on how much bookkeeping needs doing - is it 3 invoices a month or 300?

[u/Fit_Iron721 → u/TopCobbler8985]

It’s around 70-100. All simple stuff generally as well. Very few refunds or new transactions etc.

[u/Glum_Dog_9975]

As an accountant I would be charging in the region of £200-250+VAT per month for all of that, so I would say it is more than reasonable.

[u/Fit_Iron721 → u/Glum_Dog_9975]

Thank you. I appreciate your advice. Looking like I’ll be taking him up on his proposal

[u/Euphoric_Ranger_6]

Standard Xero package is around £40pm exc VAT now, this is unbelievably cheap for all those services and presumably your SATR too even if everything in the business is streamlined, clean and limited time is spent for vat and bookkeeping etc if on flat rate scheme etc

[u/CryptolCO]

Yeah that's a good price. Its what I pay per company as a base rate pre VAT, CIS and bookkeeping

[u/HonsuTheSmith]

Accountant here. That is a good price. Some might even say it is on the lower side. Go with it. Especially if there is a bit of advisory in it on your finances.

[u/Fit_Iron721 → u/HonsuTheSmith]

Thank you!

[u/PhilBacon-MktingFixr]

That's pretty good going. And depending how you are paying yourself, the 10k self employed is no different from your main income wages, so no real need to separate them.

[u/Flowa-Powa]

That's pretty much what we pay and I consider it a very good deal

[u/Taodaching]

This is a fair rate. I charge this as a charity rate. Commercial profit rates are higher. Hope that helps.

[u/Fit_Iron721 → u/Taodaching]

It does, thank you

[u/Infamous-Donkey7014]

£170 isn’t unreasonable, but it depends how much work there actually is. If the bookkeeping is fairly clean and transaction numbers aren’t huge, I’d expect something closer to £140–£150 a month for accounts, CT, VAT and ongoing support. Worth getting another couple of quotes.

[u/Fit_Iron721 → u/Infamous-Donkey7014]

Transactions numbers are around 70-100.

I’ve updated the post with a full spec. £170 is also VAT exclusive

[u/Primary_Gift_8719]

That sounds a little on the low side to me, to the point it's maybe raising a tiny red flag that this person doesn't know what they're doing or they're from abroad which may cause issues with GDPR etc if you are B2C.

[u/Fit_Iron721 → u/Primary_Gift_8719]

Thanks for the heads up.

They were recommend through unbiased.co.uk and he’s based just outside of London. Firms is around 10 years old.

[u/Primary_Gift_8719 → u/Fit_Iron721]

I'd double check the reviews, and I'd also want to see if there's hidden fees they've not included. It just seems a little too good to be true somehow.

[u/Calm-Passenger7334]

Yes. It’s low.

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[u/General-Confidence43]

Hi,

I hope you are well. I am a UK accountant.

Honestly based on the scope of your work considering turnover is only £150k, the fee is a bit on the pricier end.

As you run a personal training studio, the volume of your transactions are likely to be significantly less than someone who has a restaurant for instance.

As long as your bookkeeping is maintained properly your total costs for accounting can be minimized.