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Hello guy’s im new to this forum, I have done a search on the topic on the site but have not come across what I am after apologies if this topic has been covered.
I have recently used an accountant and was invoiced; I queried the bill, requesting how many hours were taken to do the work. I was handed simply a list without any time apportioned to the tasks.
Considering that so called "professionals" charge by the hour it’s not difficult to provide an approximate answer for example time taken to analyse accounts (2hours).
I have been told its not company policy to issue such breakdowns, I have no hesitation against paying, what is due is due, all I was requesting was a detailed hourly Breakdown, to assure me that I was not being ripped off.
I have contacted the ICAEW body and have not been given a straight answer.
Approximately a month had passed and more work was to be done, I requested how far this work had progressed and was told either pay up or we shall not do any more work. There was no further explanation of the fees; I feel that I have been emotionally blackmailed into paying the fees. There is approximately 2 weeks to the tax return deadline and also this accountant has already done some work on the tax returns, so it would leave me out of pocket taking business elsewhere.
So could anyone please advice me if I am incorrect in asking for hourly breakdown instead of total hours spent? I am not against not paying but it seems like daylight robbery.
I used to run a web design and development company, which had the same kind of consulting billing model (for time).
We used to assign a "Case number" to blocks of work, and thus we could track backwards from an invoice to the case and the case contained detail of the work performed.
From a whole manner of different points of view this is optimal since the client gets a bill with the case number and could look online at the details of that case to see what was done.
However:
Assume for a moment that the case detail was "build a website". The total was, say, 30 hours. We would not have a very specific Breakdown of precisely how those 30 hours were apportioned. (This is a slightly trite example, since the original estimate would have been built up from the component parts of the build, so we'd still have a good idea of where the time went; in addition the client would have been expecting a bill of 30 x £85 anyway)
On the other hand, if the case were "add x button to page y of the website" then the relationship between the time and the bill is clearer. For instance, it took an hour to do it. "It" is therefore very specific.
Consulting firms do need to keep a timesheet of billable hours which then is used to produce an invoice. If you ask the company then they should be able to give some kind of breakdown but they may not have kept a record of each "line item" and simply added up the hours. It may therefore not be possible to give you that level of detail. I am not sure of legality of this.
Our policy was also that if an account fell into arrears no further work would be performed until that was resolved.
Generally where the final total is variable and can change "on the project" it's best to agree a maximum or total up-front as an estimate and then let the client know if that limit is likely to be breached, and explain why. This is good service - for instance if you ask a garage to "fix the brakes" and are told that changing the pads will cost X, but when they do the work they find the discs and calipers also need changing then they should pre-authorise that before going ahead.
Some kinds of work are such that it's impossible to give a good idea of cost. For instance "prepare tax return from Quick Books file" can be assigned an estimate; "fight Inland Revenue claim for £X due to Y" cannot really be estimated.
Did you agree any kind of total in advance - what were the Terms?
Well the pre agreed terms were to complete the works two weeks prior to the deadline as i had to send the forms off overseas. This work was not completed until i had to tell the accountant i am going to come in to your office and sit with you to ensure work is done. They also mentioned the more work I was to do for them the cheaper it would be for me. So I summarised all statements in Tax years for them on Excel and handed over, there was no issue for them to scroll through statements. Which would be time consuming.
After receiving this invoice I checked with another firm regarding to approximate time taken with all information supplied in similar manner i have been told maximum 2 days.
It appears that work only progressed over approximately 1 to 1 and 1/2 days at the most. As I started to put pressure on the firm to meet the 2 week deadline the work was done. (I told them on Thursday i would be coming on Friday if there was no progress and Monday afternoon work was done). Presuming that no actual work was done.
Also I have had extremely poor customer service with the firm, I have had emails saying is it ok to call you at this time of the day and I have replied back saying ok i shall be waiting, no phone call. When I leave messages on the answering machine no courtesy to call back, in the end i had no choice but to go personally in the office if wanted to get any feedback, and this has given them a chance to increase the fee (meetings) even though it was a 5-10 minute job of handing papers over.
I have had a search on the web and perhaps Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 will be useful.
If no agreement has been made with the supplier about completion of the work, or about the charge to be made, then if it is not completed within a reasonable time or the price is unreasonable, this is also treated as breach of contract and the consumer may be entitled to compensation.
Accountant or professional charges
, to assure me that I was not being ripped off.
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Re: Accountant or professional charges
