Looking for an accountant for annual return submission

Hi, I’m looking for an accountant to submit our annual return to replace the previous accountant who sadly seems to have fallen off the radar this year (nothing serious I hope). We are a small limited company / ecommerce business that a friend and I run part time from home.

I’ve tried using the built in quickfile system but only seem to get recommendations for accounting firms looking for £200+ - a bit steeper that the previous ~£60 we used to pay.

Please drop me a message if this is something you can help with or if you know of anyone who might. If location is relevant, we are based in the midlands/Warwickshire.

When you say annual return. Do you mean your confirmation statement. Or your Ct600 tax return and statutory accounts to both hmrc and companies House?

If the latter, I must say, £60 is way below what most accountants charge. £200 is around the average charge.

Sorry I can’t help in this instance but good luck with your search.

Thanks for the reply. It was indeed the CT600 tax return and statutory accounts so you can understand why I am so frustrated to be unable to get hold them again this year!

To be fair, we are a small/hobbyist business w. small revenue and everything is prepared in quickfile so no work needs to be done in that respect as far as I am aware. I’m sure I am horribly underestimating what is required but I can’t imagine it would take an accountant much more than a hour or two to process hence why I always find a minimum fee of £200 a little frustrating (unless the hourly rates of accountant are significantly higher than I am aware).

Perhaps someone could enlighten me as to the ins and outs of the process so I might see why that fee is justified. Not intending to offend any accountants here - just trying to understand.

Well accounts have to be prepared and formatted in xirbl. They also have to produce two different types. Full set for hmrc and abbreviated for companies House. To do this, account production software is needed which accountants have to pay for.

Accountants don’t just charge for their time, but also factor in the cost for their software which is used to produce the accounts.

Thanks for the quick reply. That makes sense. Guess I should just count myself fortunate for the previous arrangement I had.

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To be perfectly honest, £200 is a very good price for a set of limited company accounts and tax return, no matter how small the business! As @Paul_Courtier says, there’s quite a bit more to it than just filling in a few numbers and pressing submit!
In addition to the cost of software, accountants should also be a member of a professional body and will have (often hefty) membership subscriptions to cover, CPD to pay for to ensure they are up-to-date with all the latest developments etc. This is why it takes 3-4 years to qualify. What you are rally paying for is their knowledge and expertise, not the couple of hours (or generally much more!) it takes to produce a set of accounts and tax return :wink:

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