MONTHLY ACCOUNTING FEES FOR SMALL BUSINESS IN SOUTH AFRICA
If, as a business owner, managing your financial record keeping and staying on top of your tax and other compliance obligations is not an expense you want draining your bank account, you may be pressed to ask several accountants “what are the accounting fees for small business” or “what are accountant’s hourly rates in South Africa”? How much should monthly bookkeeping fees cost a small business? The answer is not as simple as it may seem.
Determine what you need
Bookkeeping and accounting are not the same thing. The rates for each differ, and as with all professional services, the cost that a small business will pay will vary dependent on the business’s needs.
If you are somewhat vague as to what bookkeeping is all about or what accounting services to small businesses entail, it would be beneficial to get a basic understanding first.
How do accountants determine their fees?
Accountants generally charge for hours worked at predetermined rates for certain services, especially those services where the scope of work and the complexity thereof is unknown, while other services that have specific outcomes are charged at fixed fee rates, such as registering a company, compiling annual financial statements, filing your annual tax return or a fixed fee per payslip issued to employees.
Monthly accounting fees
Accounting begins where bookkeeping ends. That is not to say that accountants do not do bookkeeping or provide payroll services, they most certainly do, but they specialise in preparing monthly financial reports or management accounts that provide you with accurate, timely and up-to-date insight as to the performance of your business. Management accounts are required by your accountant to spot troubling trends before they spiral out of control, enabling short-term decisions to be made, or to affirm the business is on track in relation to its financial plan.
Moreover, an accountant will use their extensive knowledge of tax laws to optimise income tax savings for both the business and the business owner personally, identify any tax “red flags”, ensure that payroll taxes are correctly applied, make certain that the business claims all VAT legally due to it and that the business is in compliance with all tax and other relevant legislation.
And to boot … you will always know how much tax you need to pay months before it becomes due so you will always be financially prepared, and together with accurate monthly management accounts, you will no longer feel as though you and your business are working in the dark, as you’re equipped with the financial knowledge to continue doing what you do well, working on your business.
Accounting rates for small business in South Africa for 2022 varies between R400 and R850 per hour. The rate is dependent on the complexity of the work, so for example, bookkeeping services are usually between R400 and R500 per hour, as is actual accounting work that begins from the bookkeeper’s trial balance to the management accounts.
Consultation fees on tax and business advisory matters, on the other hand, are usually charged at the top-end rates, between R600 and R850 per hour, as consulting is more complex and draws on a pool of intellectual knowledge and solid business experience. However, consulting fees of an exceedingly knowledgeable and experienced accountant can cost anything upwards of R1 000 per hour.
Is it a question of price, or value?
For many small business owners searching on-line for accounting fee rates to get some perspective on whether you are paying too much is not necessarily a question of whether you can get cheaper accounting services, but instead, it may be a feeling of not getting value for what you are paying for or your expectations are not being met.
It is important to hire a good accountant and not the cheapest. After all, it is a professional long-term relationship that you and your business are investing in, and not a commodity that you are paying for.