Fair monthly rate for an accountant?

Spades

Spades

New member
Mar 19, 2007
660
5
0
Florida
We're in the process of finding a new accountant and I'm trying to avoid getting hosed. After all, switching is a pain in the ass so only want to have to do it once.

Met with a CPA who said their monthly rates begin at $300. Not being a cheap ass but this was their beginning rate without bookkeeping. In this case, we would need to maintain our own books with quickbooks online and him and his staff would review monthly bank statements to make sure everything lines up. They would also take care of all necessary state/federal paperwork, etc.

Anyone care to share what they're paying/have paid for accounting services? I'm planning on calling around a bit but wanted to get a bigger picture.
 


What services are you looking for, and what is the accountant offering? Do you have payroll?
 
Depending upon where you live, you should expect to pay $75-$150/hr. for accounting work and $150-$250/hr. for tax work/planning from a CPA. It's hard to tell if $300 a month is a fair amount without knowing for sure what they will do for you.

I'm not really sure what this would include??
*would review monthly bank statements to make sure everything lines up. They would *also take care of all necessary state/federal paperwork, etc.??

Make sure you know who (specifically) you will be working with at the firm and that you are comfortable with them. Don't expect them to have a clue about what you do!

Send me a PM if you have any questions and I'll do my best to help you out.

Good luck bro'
 
You don't really want an accountant.

What you want is a bookkeeper for the year - most accounting agencies have flunkies that do this for a much cheaper rate.

Then at the end of the year you want a CPA who will essentially audit all of the bookkeeper's work and do the taxes.
 
Johu, I'm looking for an accountant who offers bookkeeping as part of their package (dependent on the cost.) Once I have the figures tomorrow I'll probably base the decision on the cost vs. the time for us to do it ourselves. The CPA I met with today offered setting up our ledger in quickbooks and giving us a run down if we decide to handle it.

He's asking for 3 months of bank statements to give us an actual quote which I'm guessing is to see the # of transactions (but possibly also to see just HOW much he can charge us.) Kinda shitty, but I'm sure once you reveal a decent sized revenue they bump their rates.

Cosmo, I threw up the thread to see what you can typically get for $300/month. This guy was a little unclear on exactly what they would be offering for that rate and really emphasized the monthly bank reconciliation (and the fact that he would review it personally after his staff.)

I guess I could send over the statements to see the full quote but I'd rather not waste either of our time if he's a rip off.

How do all of you handle your bookkeeping? Quickbooks online? Just hand over your bank statements to an accountant monthly or quarterly?
 
It's not worth paying for reconciliation - it's so easy to do with spreadsheets and services like Mint.com if you're not working with too many vendors. I'd recommend asking business associates/partners about who they use - I find that you often find the best service from personal referrals.

For my bookkeeping, I have a limited number of vendors to pay so I just charge everything I can to my credit card & reconcile it with spreadsheets (export from CC company, import to spreadsheet).
 
Spades said:
Johu, I'm looking for an accountant who offers bookkeeping as part of their package (dependent on the cost.) Once I have the figures tomorrow I'll probably base the decision on the cost vs. the time for us to do it ourselves. The CPA I met with today offered setting up our ledger in quickbooks and giving us a run down if we decide to handle it.

He's asking for 3 months of bank statements to give us an actual quote which I'm guessing is to see the # of transactions (but possibly also to see just HOW much he can charge us.) Kinda shitty, but I'm sure once you reveal a decent sized revenue they bump their rates.

Cosmo, I threw up the thread to see what you can typically get for $300/month. This guy was a little unclear on exactly what they would be offering for that rate and really emphasized the monthly bank reconciliation (and the fact that he would review it personally after his staff.)

I guess I could send over the statements to see the full quote but I'd rather not waste either of our time if he's a rip off.

How do all of you handle your bookkeeping? Quickbooks online? Just hand over your bank statements to an accountant monthly or quarterly?
Click to expand...

I have so little entries (at most, 40 a month), I do it by hand and put it in Excel and my CPA does it all. (wicked cheap, but that is because I have an inside connection)

I tried Quickbooks, but about 10 minutes after I opened it, I said fuck that.

When it does get larger, I will have somebody do it for me with Quickbooks.

And they don't check your bank accounts to see what they can charge you... MOST will be the same, it is just that many purchases are dealt with in very different ways... such as with depreciation of assets and such... and lastly, to give you an estimate, they need to see an estimate of your daily revenue/expenses.

If you are worried about that... talk to a few of them. I talked to three. One recommend by my business lawyer, one by another business owner, and one by a family friend who has had the same firm for over 20 years. I went with the last.

Good luck!
 
$450/ month for bookkeeping, business filings and personal filings. Go with a smaller local firm that has in-house bookkeepers. Individual accountants will be way too expensive for all the menial stuff.
 
I have an awesome accountant. He just has full access to all my accounts and takes care of everything for me. The most I have to do is chase down recipts for expenses sometimes. He is also pretty much free.

Now you might say I'm crazy for trusting someone this much....but the guy did raise me and put me through college and all so I think I might be OK.
 
Here's what I'd do. Find an accountant that you are comfortable working with and have them help you set up Quickbooks so that you can use it to record your income, expenses and reconcile your bank account. Have him/her show you how to use quickbooks and have them set up an "Ask Accountant" account for income and expense. Any time you have a transaction that you don't know how to categorize, put it in the "Ask Accountant" account. Each month, or each quarter, send your Quickbooks files to the accountant so he/she can review things and take care of anything in the "Ask Accountant" accounts. Hope this helps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom