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vat and tax returns

  • 07-06-2011 2:10pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 51 ✭✭


    :confused:Last year i paid over €4000 to my accountant and i think it was too much,self employed builder/carpenter no employees,how hard can it be to do this myself as i have lots of time. is sage good and is it easy use as i am not the most computer literate person. advice appreciated. thanks. i do vat every 2 months


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 474 ✭✭J.Ryan


    It sounds high, but we are only hearing one side of the story, talk to your accountant, see is there anything that you can do to reduce the fee, ask him/her to explain why the fee is so high.

    They should have given you a letter of engagement stating how the charge the fees, maybe along the lines of (my wording anyway, bold is just for this post)

    "
    · Our fees are computed on the basis of time spent on your affairs by the partners and our staff and on the levels of skill and responsibility involved. Unless otherwise agreed, fees will be charged separately for each main class of work at appropriate intervals during the course of the year and will be due on presentation. "

    If that is the case, then there should be timesheets available to back this up.

    If you still think its not reasonable, there is a thread in this forum where you could ask for quotes.




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 51 ✭✭smellyfinger


    as far as i am concerned it is too expensive,my turnover last year wass €250,000 and i am being charged €200 plus vat to do 2 months vat, which is done in an hour!but,i have made my mind up and i am doing the accounts/vat myself from now on. my main question is is sage easy to use and can i do accounts properly with it?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 101 ✭✭EamonOSullivan


    Sales of 250,000 accounts fees of 4,000 doesn't sound too bad, given that your accountant has to deal with Tax Clearance Certs, VAT, your PAYE ( assuming you have a limited company ), Relevant Contractors Tax, the Construction Industry Federation, and anything else that comes your way in the line of accounts, tax and administration issues. So there may a lot more to it than just the hour once every 2 months.

    Having said that, I take it that your sales have fallen in the last few years, so probably you should get some reduction. My advice to you is to ask your accountant and you will probably receive some discount on last years fee.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 474 ✭✭J.Ryan


    as far as i am concerned it is too expensive,my turnover last year wass €250,000 and i am being charged €200 plus vat to do 2 months vat, which is done in an hour!but,i have made my mind up and i am doing the accounts/vat myself from now on. my main question is is sage easy to use and can i do accounts properly with it?


    I find Sage fairly easy to use and you can do accounts from it (if you know what you are doing), I would caution you about doing this work your self.

    Its very easy to make a small mistake that if found in a revenue audit could cost you a lot in interest & penalties.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 51 ✭✭smellyfinger


    PLEASE. Its as simple as this. Is sage easy to use or not. That is the only question i am asking! When i was turning over 2.3 million and 13 employees it didnt cost this much.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 101 ✭✭EamonOSullivan


    Sage is a straighforward system to use, but not without its pitfalls if you are not computer literate.

    I suggest you get someone in for a day to put all your entries on to the system - probably take a few minutes to do each purchase invoice - and you put some of them in yourself to see how it works.

    Daily rates for a good bookkeeper are 200 and upwards, and you'll be sorted, usually if you get a freelancer they will answer you calls and help you over the phone if you have any problems.

    Let me know if you need a few names, I can get you someone with loads of experience in contstruction accounts.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,943 ✭✭✭smcgiff


    PLEASE. Its as simple as this. Is sage easy to use or not. That is the only question i am asking! When i was turning over 2.3 million and 13 employees it didnt cost this much.

    To be fair, you're asking the wrong people if it is easy to use. It's easy to use for us.

    Similarly, a diagnostic system for checking engines would be easy to use for a qualified mechanic, but not so for me.

    If you're paying the same now as you were when your turnover was 10 times as much then you're getting a raw deal.

    To answer your question. Sage is easy to use, but I suspect you'll find it difficult if you don't get training.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,724 ✭✭✭kennyb3


    Sage is a straighforward system to use, but not without its pitfalls if you are not computer literate.

    I suggest you get someone in for a day to put all your entries on to the system - probably take a few minutes to do each purchase invoice - and you put some of them in yourself to see how it works.

    Daily rates for a good bookkeeper are 200 and upwards, and you'll be sorted, usually if you get a freelancer they will answer you calls and help you over the phone if you have any problems.

    Let me know if you need a few names, I can get you someone with loads of experience in contstruction accounts.
    Big +1 for this.

    Sage is easy to use like everything in life - if you know what you're doing.

    Balls it up and you might end up paying €6k not €4k for the mess fixing.

    Simplest thing to do is to get a decent bookkeeper to enter up everything for you. Id be surprsied if you couldnt get someone for 100-125p/m and then the accountant himself will have very little input.

    I do plenty of such work outside of my practice hours and the extra cost of my work is offset and more by the saving in the accountancy fees. Plus the client then has someone to constantly ring and ask questions rather than be afraid to ring their accountant for fear of incurring extra time.


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