How Startup Accountants' fees are set
A startup pays for two kinds of accounting work. The first is the work every limited company has to do each year whatever else is happening: bookkeeping, VAT returns once registered, the year-end accounts, the corporation tax return, the confirmation statement and the directors' Self Assessment. We charge for that as one monthly fee. The second is work that happens once or at particular points, such as setting up the share structure, applying for SEIS or EIS advance assurance, making an R&D tax relief claim or setting up an EMI share option scheme. Each of those has its own published price or a written quote.
Payroll and workplace pensions are charged on top of the monthly fee once you employ people, and Business Pulse, a finance team or a part-time finance director can be added when the company needs regular management accounts or more finance work done for it. Every price we publish excludes VAT and is confirmed in writing before you commit. Our pricing page lists every fee in one place, and the instant quote works out the monthly fee for your company.
What this guide covers
- The monthly accounting and tax fee and what sets it
- Payroll and workplace pension fees as you hire
- SEIS and EIS, share structure, R&D and EMI prices
- Business Pulse, a finance team and a part-time finance director
The monthly accounting and tax fee
Accounting and tax for a limited company starts at £49 a month + VAT. The fee is set by your turnover. The instant quote asks about the company, shows your figure and emails a proposal setting out what the fee covers.
For a limited company the monthly fee covers:
- bookkeeping in Xero, kept up to date through the year
- VAT returns under Making Tax Digital, once the company is registered
- the year-end accounts filed at Companies House
- the corporation tax return, known as the CT600
- the confirmation statement and other Companies House filings
- your Self Assessment as a director
- a named accountant and Buzz OS, our system for your deadlines, documents, tax estimate and VAT approvals
Moving to us from another accountant is part of the monthly fee. We write to your previous accountant for professional clearance and your records, register as your agent with HMRC and set up your software. Our switching page explains the handover.
Before the company starts trading
A company that has been formed but is not yet selling anything still has filings to make. It files a confirmation statement every year, files accounts at Companies House, and once it starts to do business it must register for corporation tax within three months. A founder who is spending money on a product before launch also needs those costs recorded, because many of them can be claimed against the company's profits later and some of the VAT can be reclaimed after registration. Our post on pre-trading expenses covers the rules.
With no turnover yet, the monthly fee is the £49 starting point. If the founders want the shares set up for investment from the start, the share structure work is £750 + VAT. That covers subdividing the single £1 share many companies are formed with, allotting shares between founders, updating the registers and filing section 431 elections inside the 14-day window where shares vest. Each later share issue is £195 + VAT. Our page on share structure and cap tables explains why investors look at this first.
Once the company is trading
When sales begin, the monthly fee moves with turnover, and the instant quote gives the figure for the turnover you expect. The work covered stays the same: bookkeeping, the year-end accounts, corporation tax, the confirmation statement and your Self Assessment. A company's first accounts usually cover a little more than 12 months, and our guide to your first company year end sets out the deadlines that follow.
If the books have fallen behind before you come to us, the catch-up work is quoted once, in writing, after we have looked at the records. Every other figure we produce depends on the books being current, so this is done first.
After VAT registration
A company must register for VAT when its taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, and many startups register earlier by choice so that they can reclaim VAT on their costs. Quarterly VAT returns under Making Tax Digital are part of the accounting and tax fee, so the returns are covered by the fee the company already pays. We also work out when you need to register and which VAT scheme suits your figures. Our VAT guide covers the rules and our VAT service page covers the work.
Payroll and workplace pensions
Payroll is charged on top of the monthly fee once the company pays salaries, including a salary paid to a director:
- £8 per employee a month for a monthly payroll
- £12 per employee a month if you pay weekly or fortnightly
- a £25 monthly minimum
- a £75 set-up fee
The payroll fee covers payslips, the real-time filings to HMRC each payday, starters and leavers, statutory pay, P60s and an automatic enrolment assessment every pay run. Workplace pensions are £2 a month for each employee in the scheme, with a £150 set-up fee, covering contribution uploads, changes and filings to The Pensions Regulator.
The minimum decides the fee for a small team. Three people paid monthly come to 3 × £8 = £24, so the £25 minimum applies. Five people paid monthly come to 5 × £8 = £40 a month, and if four of them are in the pension scheme, pensions add 4 × £2 = £8 a month. Our post on your first hire and payroll covers the registrations and costs of employing people.
Raising investment
Most of the cost of preparing for a round depends on the state of the company's records, so investor readiness is quoted before we start. That work brings the books, filings and share records up to date, builds a forecast with its assumptions written down and puts together the financial documents investors ask for in due diligence. Our investor readiness page sets out what is checked.
If your investors are individuals who want tax relief under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) or the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), two fixed prices apply:
- Advance assurance, £499 + VAT. We check the company and the planned share issue against the scheme rules, send the application to HMRC before you pitch, and answer HMRC's questions until it replies.
- Compliance, £599 + VAT. After the round we file the SEIS1 or EIS1 compliance statement and issue an SEIS3 or EIS3 certificate to every investor, which they need to claim their relief.
Shares issued in the round are covered by the £195 + VAT share issue fee once the share structure is in place. Our SEIS and EIS page explains the schemes and the order the steps must happen in.
R&D tax relief claims
An R&D tax relief claim is £1,500 to £3,500 + VAT, depending on the size of the claim. The fee covers deciding which work qualifies, costing it, writing the technical description with your team, filing the forms HMRC requires and handling any HMRC enquiry into the claim. The fee is a fixed amount agreed before work starts. Our R&D tax credits page covers the work and the rules.
EMI share options
Setting up an Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) scheme is £2,950 + VAT, then £295 + VAT a year. The set-up fee covers the scheme and its rules, agreeing the share valuation with HMRC and notifying the grant to HMRC inside the deadline. The annual fee covers the scheme's annual return. Our EMI share options page explains how the scheme works.
Business Pulse and finance team fees
Once investors expect regular figures, or the founders want a budget to manage against, the company can add Business Pulse on top of its accounting and tax fee:
- Quarterly Business Pulse, from £375 a month + VAT. An annual budget, a 12-month cash flow forecast updated every quarter, quarterly management accounts against the budget and a 90-minute review meeting, with your figures in Buzz OS.
- Monthly Business Pulse, from £499 a month + VAT. Monthly management accounts against the budget, the forecast updated every month, a 60-minute monthly meeting and priority support.
When the company wants the day-to-day finance work done for it, a Buzz finance team takes it on:
- Finance Manager, from £750 a month + VAT. Weekly bookkeeping in Xero with each month closed in five working days, payroll and employee expenses, VAT returns and records ready for a lender or investor.
- Financial Controller, from £1,500 a month + VAT. All the Finance Manager work, plus a monthly board pack for investors, lenders or your board, customer invoicing, supplier payments and cash monitoring.
- Part-time finance director, from £2,000 a month + VAT. Peter Allen, Buzz's co-founder and Financial Director, with an annual plan, a 12-month forecast, a KPI dashboard and a quarterly board meeting, and the finance team's work included.
A budget, a cash flow forecast or a business plan can also be bought on its own, and we price it when we know what you need.
Fees paid to others
Some costs go to other organisations and are paid by the company directly.
- Companies House. Forming a company online costs £100. The confirmation statement costs £50 online, paid with the first statement in each 12-month period.
- Xero. Xero is paid to Xero, and its UK plans start at £18 a month + VAT.
Worked example of a first year's fees
An illustrative company is formed by two founders, starts selling software subscriptions in its third month, takes on three employees paid monthly in its sixth month, all three join the pension scheme, and it raises a seed round from individual investors under SEIS before its first year end. All figures exclude VAT.
One-off fees
- Share structure for the two founders: £750
- SEIS advance assurance: £499
- Shares issued to the investors in one allotment: £195
- SEIS compliance statement and investor certificates: £599
- Payroll set-up: £75
- Pension scheme set-up: £150
The one-off fees come to £750 + £499 + £195 + £599 + £75 + £150 = £2,268.
Monthly fees
- Accounting and tax: from £49 a month, with the figure for the company's turnover taken from the instant quote
- Payroll for three employees: 3 × £8 = £24, so the £25 monthly minimum applies
- Pensions for three members: 3 × £2 = £6 a month
Payroll and pensions add £25 + £6 = £31 a month for the seven months they run in the first year, which is £217. If the founders added Quarterly Business Pulse after the round, it would add from £375 a month on top of the accounting and tax fee. These figures are illustrative, and your quote and proposal set out the fees for your company.
Getting a figure for your company
The instant quote asks about your company, works out the monthly fee and emails a proposal with everything it covers. Specialist work is quoted in writing before it starts, and the full price list is on our pricing page.
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