Last reviewed: 30 May 2026

Quick summary

  • This guide is for a consultant or small consultancy with one to three employees comparing accountant quotes and trying to understand scope, payroll, VAT and year-end support.
  • Pin down turnover, number of employees, payroll frequency, VAT status, bookkeeping quality, director support, advisory access and what is excluded before asking for quotes or filing anything.
  • Use the checklist and examples below to make the accountant conversation specific.

Topic hub: Choosing an accountant hub

Direct answer

You should not treat this as a broad accountancy question. The answer depends on the specific records, dates, thresholds and decision in front of you. Start by pinning down turnover, number of employees, payroll frequency, VAT status, bookkeeping quality, director support, advisory access and what is excluded, then decide whether this is a DIY task, bookkeeping task or accountant judgement call.

What this guide is focusing on

Use this guide if you are a consultant or small consultancy with one to three employees comparing accountant quotes and trying to understand scope, payroll, VAT and year-end support. It focuses on the point where a generic article usually fails: the reader does not need a theory of accountancy, they need to know what to gather, what figure matters and what to ask before paying for advice.

What figure, record or decision should you pin down?

Pin down turnover, number of employees, payroll frequency, VAT status, bookkeeping quality, director support, advisory access and what is excluded. This is the decision model for the page. If those items are unclear, the accountant conversation should start with organising the facts rather than jumping straight to a filing answer.

Records to gather

  • latest turnover and profit
  • employee count and payroll frequency
  • VAT status
  • bookkeeping software access
  • quote scope and exclusions

Real examples for this situation

  • A one-director consultancy with clean Xero records is not the same as a consultancy with payroll, VAT and messy expenses.
  • A cheap quote may exclude bookkeeping cleanup, payroll questions or director tax planning.
  • An expensive quote may be good value if it includes proactive VAT, payroll and director support.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Comparing only annual price.
  • Ignoring who does the work and response times.
  • Missing exclusions for payroll, VAT returns or bookkeeping cleanup.
  • Assuming advisory calls are included.

Questions to ask an accountant

  • What is included and excluded?
  • Who handles payroll and VAT questions?
  • How many advisory calls are included?
  • What bookkeeping quality do you expect?
  • What would trigger extra fees?

What an accountant will actually check

An accountant quote for a consultancy should be judged by scope rather than price alone. Check whether it includes annual accounts, Corporation Tax, director Self Assessment, payroll, VAT returns, bookkeeping review, software support, Companies House filings and advice calls. A cheap quote may be fine if your bookkeeping is clean and you only need compliance. It may be poor value if every payroll query, VAT question or bookkeeping correction is charged separately. A higher quote may be fair if it includes proactive review and responsive advice.

How to compare accountant quotes

A cheap quote can be good value if your company is simple and the scope is clear. It becomes risky when the fee excludes the work you assumed was included, such as bookkeeping review, director Self Assessment, payroll, VAT returns, Companies House filings or advice when you take money out of the company.

An expensive quote can also be fair if it includes proactive review, software cleanup, management accounts, VAT support, salary and dividend planning, and quick access to advice. Compare quotes by deliverables, response times and review points, not just the monthly direct debit.

What should be inside the quote?

For a small consultancy, the accountant quote should be judged against scope. Annual accounts and corporation tax are only part of the picture. You may also need director Self Assessment, payroll, VAT returns, bookkeeping review, management reports, dividend paperwork, Companies House filings, software support and advice on whether subcontractors, travel, home office costs or equipment claims are being handled correctly.

A quote that looks cheap may be perfectly fine if you already keep accurate records, have no VAT, no payroll beyond the director and only need year-end compliance. It becomes expensive later if every question, correction or missing return is charged separately. A quote that looks expensive may be fair if it includes quarterly reviews, VAT checks, payroll, software cleanup and access to advice before you take money out of the company.

Ask each firm to break the quote into deliverables, filing responsibilities, response times, software assumptions and exclusions. Then compare like with like. The best quote is not the lowest monthly fee; it is the one that matches the actual risk and admin load of your consultancy.

Extra accountant conversation point

Consultancies should also check advisory access. If you regularly ask about subcontractors, IR35-style status questions, overseas clients, VAT on services, director pay or whether to hire staff, a bare compliance quote may feel cheap but leave the important decisions unsupported. Ask how many advice calls are included, who answers them and whether the firm understands consultancy revenue rather than only year-end accounts.

Final practical check

If you are comparing three quotes, send each firm the same short brief. Include turnover, company structure, VAT status, payroll needs, transaction volume, software and advice needs. Different answers are then easier to interpret because they respond to the same facts.

If the quote is still hard to judge

Ask the accountant what they would need from you each month and each year. A confident answer usually reveals whether the fee assumes clean records, regular bookkeeping, or a large cleanup at year end. That is often where cheap and expensive quotes differ most.

Official guidance checked on 30 May 2026

Rules and thresholds can change. Check official guidance before important decisions.

Related guides

Cheap accountant vs good accountant: what should you look forQuestions to ask before hiring an accountantHow much does an accountant cost for Self AssessmentChoosing an accountant hubSpeak to an accountant

FAQs

What should I prepare first?

latest turnover and profit, employee count and payroll frequency, VAT status, bookkeeping software access, quote scope and exclusions.

When should I speak to an accountant?

Speak to an accountant when the answer affects registration, VAT, MTD, company money, deadlines, records cleanup, a tax return or a decision you are not confident applying to your own facts.

What is the main mistake to avoid?

Comparing only annual price.