How to hire
Match the person to the job first. A sole trader usually needs a self assessment return and tidy records; a limited company needs statutory accounts for Companies House, a corporation tax return, a confirmation statement and often a director's return; landlords, CIS subcontractors and employers add property pages, CIS deductions, payroll and pensions. Ask which of those your fee covers before you compare anything else, since two quotes at the same price can include very different work [9].
Anyone can call themselves an accountant, since the title is not protected by law, so credentials are your first filter [13]. Look for a chartered accountant with the ICAEW, a certified accountant with the ACCA, a licensed accountant with the AAT, or tax credentials with the ATT or the Chartered Institute of Taxation [1] [2] [3] [10]. Check one: search the ICAEW directory or the ACCA firm finder by firm name, or the AAT directory for a licensed member, then ask the firm to confirm the membership in its engagement letter.
Check the company behind the name at Companies House: search the firm or company number, confirm the status reads active, and note the incorporation date so you know how long the record runs [11]. A sole-trader practice such as WSA will not appear there, which is normal. Ask instead how long it has traded, who does your work, and what happens to your records if you leave.
Get two or three fixed written quotes on the same scope and make each one show the same six lines: which filings are included, whether the fee is monthly or annual, whether VAT sits on top, whether software such as Xero is included, what counts as extra, and how you can leave [7] [8]. Director self assessment returns are often quoted separately from company packages, and catch-up bookkeeping from a shoebox of receipts is routinely charged on top, so tidy records are the cheapest discount you control [8].
Ask how the firm handles digital filing. From April 2026 sole traders and landlords with self-employment and property income over fifty thousand pounds must keep digital records and send quarterly updates under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, with tax still due the following January [6]. If your turnover is nearing ninety thousand pounds you must register for VAT, so agree who prepares those returns before you cross the line [5].
Finish with three pieces of paper. First, an engagement letter setting out scope, fees and exit terms, and sign nothing without one. Second, written agent authorisation: your accountant acts for you at HMRC through form 64-8 or an online service, but you stay legally responsible for your own tax, so check every return before it is filed [4]. Third, proof of filing: filed accounts you can see at Companies House and submission receipts for HMRC returns [11] [4].
Telford and Wrekin adds a few local wrinkles. Firms working from commercial premises pay business rates on top of rent, though the council charges nothing on a single occupied property with a rateable value of twelve thousand pounds or less, with relief tapering away above that line [15]. New and growing firms can also use the council's free business support, from growth grants to recruitment help and workshops [17]. Landlords should know the borough holds eight conservation areas, including Wellington and the Severn Gorge, where even small alterations can need permission, with extra controls over minor changes inside the Gorge [16]. Mention rental property in those streets at the first call, since the tax and record-keeping follow the property.
A typical job runs the same course whatever its size. You send a short brief covering business type, income streams, staff, software and deadlines, and the firm replies with questions or a meeting, often a free first consultation. Then comes the fixed written quote on the six lines above, followed by the engagement letter and agent authorisation, which you read and sign before anything is filed. Records move across next, increasingly through shared software rather than carrier bags, and the firm files each return, sharing proof as it goes. The year closes with a review meeting where next year's fee and deadlines are set while there is still time to act.
Judge the written quote on completeness rather than lowness: every filing named, the monthly or annual shape, VAT on top or inside, software included or extra, catch-up work priced, enquiry cover stated, and exit terms you could actually use. At the end of the year expect three things back: accounts you can see at Companies House, submission receipts for HMRC returns, and a closing statement showing what was filed, when, and what happens next [11] [4]. Chase anything missing from that set before you pay the final bill.
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, a standard self assessment return typically costs between one hundred and fifty and four hundred pounds plus VAT: simple employed returns sit at the bottom of that range, sole traders in the middle, and directors and partnerships toward the top [7]. Filing close to the January deadline, messy records and extra income streams each push the fee up [7].
Limited companies mostly buy monthly packages, typically sixty to two hundred and fifty pounds a month covering accounts, the corporation tax return, VAT, payroll and the director's return, or pay a one-off annual fee of five hundred to fifteen hundred pounds for accounts and the corporation tax return alone [8]. The realistic budget for a typical solo-director company sits around a hundred to one hundred and fifty pounds a month [8].
In this round, Brims Books publishes the clearest menu: a sole-trader return at two hundred and forty-five pounds, company accounts at five hundred and seventy, a personal return at one hundred and fifty-five, payroll at two hundred and forty and record-keeping at twenty-seven pounds a month. Every other firm quotes fixed fees in principle but publishes no amounts, so treat the written quote as the price.
Ask whether VAT is included, since published ranges exclude it, and confirm what the software licence, catch-up work and an HMRC enquiry would add [7] [8]. Get the scope in writing before anything is filed: exactly which returns, which deadlines and which person does the work, with agreement on how fees change if you take on staff or register for VAT.
Bookkeeping and VAT work usually ride inside the monthly package, but priced alone they run to roughly twenty-five to fifty pounds an hour or one to four hundred pounds a month for bookkeeping, and fifty to one hundred and fifty pounds a quarter for each VAT return, as of summer 2026 [19]. Clean records supplied through shared software sit at the bottom of both ranges, while high transaction counts, multiple rates and partial exemption push VAT work upward [19].
Payroll follows headcount at roughly five to fifteen pounds per employee each month, with minimum monthly fees meaning the smallest teams pay a floor rather than a per-head price, as of summer 2026 [19]. Starters and leavers, benefits reporting and CIS deductions each add their own line, so employers should ask for payroll priced apart from accounts [19].
Red flags
Quotes a fixed monthly fee without asking about your income streams, staff numbers or records.
Will not name the qualified person or professional body behind your work when asked.
Works without an engagement letter setting out scope, fees and how to end the agreement.
Asks you to sign HMRC agent authorisation without walking through what it permits [4].
Promises a specific tax saving before opening your books.
Files returns you cannot inspect: no Companies House record and no HMRC submission receipt shared [11].
Offers a cash-only price with no written quote or terms.
Sends the engagement letter after filing has already started, or never sends one at all.
Cannot show a single filed return, receipt or Companies House record from past work when asked.