Accountant Fee Hike - How to Challenge Rip Off Fees

LLachy100 on 05/07/2019 - 02:02

Is my Accountant chancing his luck with a massive fee-hike?

Just got 2018 invoice for my company tax return - $2,600+GST this year - compared with $1,800 the previous year.
A 44.5% increase with no explanation and no notification?
No additional services this year, zero advice given, not proactive at all plus there was fewer transactions to reconcile than the previous year.
He got a bit pissy since I hired a professional bookkeeper in 2017 to do my monthly bookkeeping and lodge quarterly BAS (less fees for him)
So, he put his rate up in 2017 (cos he wasn't party to the quarterly any more)
This year he's hiked it up by another $800.
He's never quoted hours, and this year shouldn't be any more than previous.
What rights do I have to not pay this extra fee?

Financial

Comments

  • 4WDBargainer on 05/07/2019 - 04:46
    +7

    Did you challenge him on the previous BS rate hike? Why are you still going through this guy after he did you like that in 2017? I wouldn't have gone back after that. He probably did this to you because you put up with it the first time.

  • whooah1979 on 05/07/2019 - 06:07
    +3

    Did you ask for a quotation before engaging their service?

    • apsilon on 05/07/2019 - 06:25

      This. He has the right to charge whatever he wants. You have the right to go elsewhere. That's how things work. If you didn't ask up front how much something is you can't complain about it after the service is delivered.

  • RockyRaccoon on 05/07/2019 - 06:33
    +1

    Another newbie weirdie post

    • plmko on 05/07/2019 - 09:22

      Where do these people come from.

  • pantsparty on 05/07/2019 - 06:36
    +6

    How to challenge - ask him to charge less, if he says no, take your business elsewhere. I don’t think you needed an ozbargain post for somebody to tell you this.

  • foxmulder on 05/07/2019 - 08:04

    Do it yourself?

  • Third_Gear on 05/07/2019 - 08:08

    My guess is he does not like you and would rather you took your business elsewhere. Pay the bill and move on and ensure you negotiate pricing each year before work is done.

  • jjjaar on 05/07/2019 - 08:14

    Get a bunch of quotes from other accountants and pick one.

  • kasumi on 05/07/2019 - 08:24
    +1

    Ask him for an itemised breakdown of the account. Your bill should show what type of work and how many hours it took. All accountants have to record their billable units when working on someones account, so it should be easy enough for him to generate it. If you think you're overcharged, you can argue with him before you pay the bill, otherwise, take your account to another accountant

  • Dont Care on 05/07/2019 - 09:24
    +2

    Are you just posting the same stuff you post in whirlpool forum?

  • nicolemcmilllon on 05/07/2019 - 09:28

    What kind of work does your company involve. If you give me a breakdown I can tell you if it is at market rate or if he is over charging you. PM me if you like.

  • Smulder on 05/07/2019 - 09:45

    Is your bookkeeper any good? Perhaps they are making a mess of your books and making the accountant's job more difficult.

    It is often quicker and easier to do a job yourself, than to try to fix the mess someone else made.

    • mrsi on 05/07/2019 - 10:29

      Agree with this. I'm a professional bookkeeper and sometimes it's quicker (and cheaper) to just delete everything else the last person has done than try and find the multiple of errors to fix it.

      I'd just politely ask about it. Say you're surprised at the fee for exactly the reasons you said above (fewer transactions, nothing else changed) so you weren't expecting anything different. You might even find it's a receptionist's admin error and they've charged you standard rates for new clients and you are on an older rate.

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