Well it's really a how long is a piece of string question, and there isn't a right or wrong answer given that it depends on what you're prepared to pay; if you're only prepared to pay ?30 than obviously it is, and if you're prepared to pay ?60 then it isn't?

Assumed you mean a self-employed sex worker (as there would be no other reason for asking here) with a basic business model and no added complications such as a second business, employees/different departments and whatnot it seems highish to me, but then I've been with my accountant for years and pay what I originally did so I'm not that up to speed really.

Either way nobody can tell you what to do, and if you think what's being offered is worth it than that's your choice. I would want a pretty comprehensive breakdown explaining this before I went ahead, but that wouldn't be affected whatever I was paying .

Well I'm sure your accountant would be happy for you to pay the entire annual fee in one go if you wanted to, but I doubt that's very popular with most people so it's more common (as far as I know) to split it into monthly direct debits, which is also how I pay mine, just like I do with council tax and other biggish bills I don't want to spring for in one lump.

Your occupation doesn't (or shouldn't) make a blind bit of difference. Our business model is very simple and that's what counts - the only way it would matter here is if you were being charged an inflated rate because of your job, which you ought to be able to find out. You're paying for accountancy services, which would be producing a set of proper accounts and filling out your tax return accurately based on the records you provide, just like anyone else.

Like Amy I do my own accounts,

I don't do my own? It's one of the few things I don't do myself, but I have a good chartered accountant (which I think can also bump the fees up) and I wouldn't have it any other way. I think I would have had a job being able to buy property without his help/proper 'official' paperwork, to say nothing of the fact that my maths is so bad I couldn't score a darts game if you held a gun to my head.

Saying that an accountant 'isn't doing anything' I suspect is a bit like the idea that if we do three one hour bookings we've only 'done anything' for three hours that day. If nothing else, your accountant is responsible for your tax and accounts being accurate (assuming you've given them the right information) as well as having expert knowledge should things go wrong, and the time needed to keep this up to date won't be free either.

Thats is true Amy. I might have to give this some thought.

Sorry amy, I was confused (as usual!)

Amber123, I dont necessarily think it is a lot of money - when I did pay it was around the ?700 pa mark if I recall but it does depend where you are (as UKDomme says), whether your Accountant is Chartered or the other kind (both are legit, but as amy says, one costs more)

If you're not sure though I would suggest politely asking him why you should carry on using his services. He should be able to justify his fee to you and to explain how he has helped you save money. In this day and age its a reasonable question to ask - particularly as he knows you can do them yourself if you want to.

R xx

i do my own and did so on a previous business of mine and will do so for this aswell. Its not too bad really as long as u keep on top of it.

I think it is too much, i save all my accounts myself and just put them down in a spreadsheet or a book, incomings, outgoings and then found an accountant that would just fill in my tax return, works for me just one yearly bill.