We all received emails from companies offering us an opportunity for a fixed-fee accountancy service. Is this something that works for clients? There are pros and cons like many things.
An accountancy firm, like your own operation, is a business. It has overheads, the most important being the staff. Good staff comes with an associated cost based on level of experience. As a traditional rule accountancy firms calculate their staff hourly rate based on their pay, allocation of overheads, and a profit margin.
So whilst a fixed fee basis might have its merits, are you getting the level of service you require? The answer needs consideration. The fixed fee companies operate on the basis of clients not asking them too many questions to ensure the time staff spends on their work is less. So what happens if you have a business that needs more support than the normal business? It is likely that is where frustration sets in as the time taken is normally then re-assessed.
With a traditional accountancy firm the fees will not be fixed but will be reviewed on an annual basis, but you get the best of service as someone isn’t sitting with a stopwatch to get things done as quickly as possible, or questions are answered with minimal of thought.
A good Accountancy firm will give you an estimate of fees then assess normally at end of year time to budget. They then work with the client to assess how they can help the client realise benefits.
Contact us for more detail. We pride ourselves on being proactive and reactive which many fixed fee services don’t provide.
