how much your accountant, FP charge per hour ?

Just wondering, came across a few want $250-$350, seems nobody works for $50 bucks an hour anymore (when the average wage is $20 an hour) !
 
$250 seems reasonable. Not sure of any accountants who work for $20 an hour! In fact you wouldn't even find a bookkeeper who works for that. Don't forget on top of the salary they have their overheads and other costs, plus it's a profession in which they are constantly having to keep their knowledge up to date so lots of non chargeable study time etc. It's not just accounting, EVERYTHING is expensive these days, professions, trades etc. It also depends who is doing the work, if it's a partner their hourly rate will be higher than an employee, but their knowledge will be greater so it depends how specialised the advice is you are after.
 
I think mine charges around $150/h.

I can't tell the exact figure because I don't know the exact time he spends on each of my returns.

If you want to save money sort out the receipts yourself, group them together, write on each receipt what the expence is for, do the sums etc.

Otherwise he'll need to spend all day sorting out the box with your receipts and
a. he has better things to do
b. You won't like his invoice
 
You can't run a business of $50/hr.

If the individual earns $80k per year, this translates to $40/hr for that individual just to cover an income. When you add the costs associated with running business, such as rent, staff salaries, equipment, consumables, advertising, ongoing education, etc, etc, etc....

If you're paying $150/hr you're getting a bargain. $250/hr is probably quite reasonable.
 
Egzackery-try getting a dam trady to do anything for $50 an hour!! And then try to get them to do a good job the first time and not screw you over for extras and make you feel like they are doing you a favour for fixing their shoddy work...grrrrr
 
I am looking for another accountant, just wondering how much everybody else is paying. I summarize incomes & expenses for each IP on a A4 sheet.
 
With many of the mid-sized firms, its mostly the cadets or graduates that do the tax returns with the seniors and managers reviewing the tax return.

The charge out rates and wages are generally as follows:

Partner $500+ p/h If equity partner, receives share or profits
Manager $250+ p/h 120K pa
Senior $180-$220 p/h 60-80K pa
Cadet $90-130 p/h 30-35K pa

With tax returns with IP's, most of the time goes into doing the workpapers for managers to review and to ensure that they will pass an ATO audit.
 
My accountant charges about $1k to do our tax returns each year (I provide summarised figures and info, and talk him through our year's finances).

My financial planner is free, because the bank wouldn't give me a margin loan with an FP, and he simply brokers the margin loan (and extensions), and buys the funds I direct him to.

I'm happy to pay whatever a professional asks, provided I am getting value for money.
 
I find that ways to save money on professionals is not to look for the cheapest, but to use the best as efficiently as possible. For example:

When I'm doing my tax return, I almost do it myself, get the accountant to look over the numbers and double check everything, add their own bit of flair and we're done. If you turn up with the shoe box and tell them to sort it, even a cheap accountant is going to cost you money. Two hours of your time will equal about 30-60 minutes of their time in sorting things out, so that is money that you don't need to pay.

But make sure you have the right professional working for you.

VYBerlinaV8, don't take this the wrong way, but Financial Planners are rarely ever free, so you're likely paying for it one way or another!
 
VYBerlinaV8, don't take this the wrong way, but Financial Planners are rarely ever free, so you're likely paying for it one way or another!

Not at all mate! My FP gets a commission on the margin loan he brokers, and if he recommends a fund which I buy he gets a commission there as well.
 
Not at all mate! My FP gets a commission on the margin loan he brokers, and if he recommends a fund which I buy he gets a commission there as well.

I think what FinSpec means is that although you might not physically hand him a fee, you might be paying for it in the products he recommends. If he works off commission, he might be recommending products that best suit him i.e. most commission rather than the product that is best for you. But I pressume you do all your homework before purchasing any of the products he recommends. It's probably the poor naive people who believe anything they are told, who get screwed over more this way.
 
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