Bookkeeping for sole proprietors: how to pick an accountant
What decides the cost of bookkeeping
The price depends not on the “size of the business” in general but on a few specific things: whether you are registered for tax, how many transactions and documents you have a month, whether you have employees, whether you use a billing machine or software, and whether you receive foreign currency. The workload is one thing for a sole proprietor with no staff and ten transactions, and quite another for a shop with a billing counter, two employees and imports.
So there are no identical rates. That is why it helps when accountants quote a price for your situation instead of sending you to a price list.
How it works on BlaBlaPrice
You write one request: your type of business, activity, how many transactions, what needs doing. Accountants and accounting firms reply with offers in the chat: the monthly cost, what the service includes, the way of working and terms. They see how their offer looks among the others and improve their terms. Reviews are shown next to each. Your phone number stays hidden until you choose a provider.
What to put in your request
- Registration — tax-registered or not, any other registrations you have.
- Employees — how many you have, as this adds filings.
- Type of activity — e-commerce, income in foreign currency, use of a billing machine.
- Volume of transactions — roughly how many a month, for example 30.
- What you need — filings, tax reminders, business registration, billing setup, full bookkeeping.
- Format — online or offline.
- City — if you need meetings.
- Monthly budget — the amount, if you want to name one.
Example: “Sole proprietorship, not registered for tax, I provide IT services and part of my income is in foreign currency. 2 employees, about 30 transactions a month. I need filings and tax reminders, online. Wellington, budget up to $62 a month.”
How to compare offers
First find out what exactly the monthly fee includes: filing returns, calculating taxes, exchanging invoices and bills, advice, work with billing, payroll documents. Some things, such as foreign currency accounting, notices and rebuilding past books, are often charged separately. Ask whether the price changes when your transactions grow.
Find out who exactly keeps your books: one person or whoever is available. Ask how fast they answer questions and how you pass documents. It also helps to ask for a sample report or reminder, so you can see how it looks.
Common mistakes
- Choosing only by the lowest price and not asking about the scope of work.
- Not giving the accountant access to the bank and documents on time: the proprietor pays the late penalties.
- Not agreeing who is responsible for an error in a return and what to do in case of a notice.
- Changing accountants without a handover of documents.
For separate tasks, such as returns, see accounting services. For the full list of categories, open the business services section. Complicated tax questions are worth checking with a specialist. More about the service on the “How it works” page.
