Contractor accountant fees / costs comparison table

With hundreds of prospective accountancy firms to choose from, this table lists the monthly fees charged by some of the UK’s leading specialist accountants.

For more details on our partner contractor accountants, please visit our directory.

Notes

• The table above compares ‘standard’ monthly accountancy packages which must include as a minimum: Preparation of your company’s Annual Accounts, filing of quarterly VAT returns, and payroll processing for the director. We’ve covered the typical duties of a contractor accountant here.
• All companies must file an ‘Confirmation Statement’ each year to Companies House. This replaced the ‘Annual Return’ from June 2016 onwards. The standard submission fee is £13. You may have to pay this additional fee.
• All the prices listed above are subject to VAT at 20%.
• Please do email us if you’d like us to include your company here, or to change/update any of the costs displayed in the table.

Things to consider when comparing contractor accountants

• Does your accountant charge to incorporate your company (and set you up as a client), or is this included in the monthly fee? Although the actual company formation costs a mere £13 (via software filing), you will also need to be registered for VAT, registered as an employer with HMRC, and have your payroll set up. Your accountant will also need to set up your share structure, and attend to further administrative tasks.
• Due to the nature of online accounting, and the limited time you’d ever need to spend face-to-face with your accountant, for most contractors location isn’t an important factor when choosing an accountant. However, if you would prefer to hire an accountant based nearby, have a browse of the websites above for location information. Several of the larger firms have offices (or satellite offices) in London, Manchester, Birmingham, and other major cities. Others will offer to pay you an initial visit, wherever you live.
• In some cases, particularly with ‘online’ accountants, you will be expected to do a fair amount of bookkeeping legwork yourself. Without a more complex table, it isn’t possible to show exactly which tasks each firm will carry out on your behalf, although for a number of providers, ‘bookkeeping’ (entering your transactions into an accounts system) is a chargeable extra.
• A director’s self assessment return fee cannot be claimed against your company, as this is a personal cost. Some accountants will complete one director’s return for free, whereas others will charge a one-off fee.
• IR35 contract reviews – some accountants provide a ‘free’ review service (subject to 1 or 2 reviews per year), whereas others charge a fixed-fee for an in-house or third-party review. However, you may prefer to pay an employment status specialist to undertake this service.
• If you change accountants, you may incur additional costs to bring your accounts up-to-date.
• Make sure you compare like for like when comparing the most popular monthly packages, as although the ‘core’ accounting requirements for all companies must be met, no two packages are exactly the same..
• Price is just one factor you should consider when comparing contractor accountants. Customer service is arguably more important, given the similarity in fees charged by the leading accountants.

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