Accountant retainers/fee

[InfoEarthling]

For those of you who have an Accountant on retainer.. how much is your accountant charging you monthly??

My accountant seems expensive to me, and he just upped his retainer, which I find insulting. But before I seek out other representation, I want to see how much others are being charged per month. He charges me $1000/month [yes.. one thou$and]

My accountant does all the filings, tax returns and notices.

I still do my own payroll submission; I do not give him access to my accountants. But he does the employee W2s at the end of the year.

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[NatCh]

Retainer? Do you need a CPA on retainer? My CPAs all work on a fee-for-service basis to do the filings, returns, bookkeeping, payroll, financial planning. If I have a question I either email or call them and there has never been a charge for the consultation. What exactly do you get for the retainer fee?

 

[Podfather]

For those of you who have an Accountant on retainer.. how much is your accountant charging you monthly??

My accountant seems expensive to me, and he just upped his retainer, which I find insulting. But before I seek out other representation, I want to see how much others are being charged per month. He charges me $1000/month [yes.. one thou$and]

My accountant does all the filings, tax returns and notices.

I still do my own payroll submission; I do not give him access to my accountants. But he does the employee W2s at the end of the year.

IMO you are being way over charged unless you have a massive practice. A payroll service and a good software like Quicken to organize your expenses should decease your accounting expenses to Federal/State income taxes and retirement plan filings which could be handled as fee for service.

 

[347932]

For those of you who have an Accountant on retainer.. how much is your accountant charging you monthly??

My accountant seems expensive to me, and he just upped his retainer, which I find insulting. But before I seek out other representation, I want to see how much others are being charged per month. He charges me $1000/month [yes.. one thou$and]

My accountant does all the filings, tax returns and notices.

I still do my own payroll submission; I do not give him access to my accountants. But he does the employee W2s at the end of the year.

That is insanely high. Find a new accountant imo. You should not to be paying a "retainer". They should be sending you bills for the work done as it comes. Or give you a flat rate for filing taxes...etc.

Are you in a large practice with multiple doctors? If you are, that number may be a bit more reasonable, but paying $12 000 a year for accounting help for a small business is a lot to be shelling out.

 

[PADPM]

I have personally never heard of an accountant/CPA requiring a retainer, unless a client has a prior record of an unpaid balance.

I've spoken with several CPA's and a retainer of one thousand a month for a medical practice (unless it's huge as stated above) is theft.

Despite how much or how little you decide your accountant should do for you or your practice, the fee charged should be based on a fee for service/hourly rate similar to an attorney.

Please do yourself a favor and find another CPA......an honest one who won't take you to the bank.

By the way, does your accountant credit that 1,000 a month toward your bill or does he just keep that money???

 

[PADPM]

I stand corrected. I just got off the phone with my accountant and he said it is NOT unusual to take a retainer. It depends on the agreement you have with your accountant, the amount and type of work he/she is performing, the size of your practice, the amount of money you are generating, etc., etc.

However, naturally the retainer is credited toward the work that is performed and you should receive a statement or breakdown to show where your money is being spent.

My accountant said that many clients prefer this method so they don't get hit with one large bill at the end of the year.

He recommends that you have a meeting with your accountant for a FULL explanation of the hows, whys, etc., of your retainer fee and if you have other options. Ultimately, it should be your decision on how you'd like to spend your money, as long as the bill is paid in full.

He said there are too many variables to answer the question generically, since it really depends on the size of your business and the amount of work the accountant is performing on a regular basis, to see if a retainer fee is warranted. That's why he recommended having a sit down with your accountant.

 

[Podfather]

I stand corrected. I just got off the phone with my accountant and he said it is NOT unusual to take a retainer. It depends on the agreement you have with your accountant, the amount and type of work he/she is performing, the size of your practice, the amount of money you are generating, etc., etc.

However, naturally the retainer is credited toward the work that is performed and you should receive a statement or breakdown to show where your money is being spent.

My accountant said that many clients prefer this method so they don't get hit with one large bill at the end of the year.

He recommends that you have a meeting with your accountant for a FULL explanation of the hows, whys, etc., of your retainer fee and if you have other options. Ultimately, it should be your decision on how you'd like to spend your money, as long as the bill is paid in full.

He said there are too many variables to answer the question generically, since it really depends on the size of your business and the amount of work the accountant is performing on a regular basis, to see if a retainer fee is warranted. That's why he recommended having a sit down with your accountant.

When I was first in practice I had an accountant who charged a retainer and subtracted it from his charges. However within in a few years, I noticed that his retainer always wasn't enough and then discovered it went up and was actually a percent of my annual income even though his work hours hadn't changed. I did research, fired him, and found an accountant I still use today (over 20 years). With my new accountant, my accounting charges dropped close to 66% the first year!

 

[Foot Doc]

i have some oceanfront property in kentucky that you may be interested in.

 

[Podfather]

i have some oceanfront property in kentucky that you may be interested in.

Sorry my friend I already own most of the oceanfront property in Kentucky. Bought it for a sweet price when I was first in practice from my first accountant.

 

[PADPM]

Sorry my friend I already own most of the oceanfront property in Kentucky. Bought it for a sweet price when I was first in practice from my first accountant.

I think I know that guy......he tried to have me invest in a surfboard shop in Kansas.