What is the average accountant fee?
James Craig
Published Feb 14, 2026
The cost to hire an accountant varies slightly by state and territory. On average, personal tax services cost about $35 per hour in New South Wales. The average cost in other states is generally between $40 – $70 per hour.
How much do accountants charge for year end accounts UK?
An accountant performing the basic accounting services will usually work for between £25 and £35 per hour. More specialist services like tax planning and business planning advice may be much more expensive, in the region of £125 to £150 per hour.
How long does an accountant keep records?
seven years
Accounting Services Records should be retained for a minimum of seven years. Accountants, being a conservative bunch, will often recommend that you keep financial statements, check registers, profit and loss statements, budgets, general ledgers, cash books and audit reports permanently.
What’s the charge out rate for an accountant?
Charging an “admin fee” of say 2½% to cover the costs such as photocopying and support staff, which clients would expect to find included in the charge out rate. Charging notional expenses such as photocopying or support staff time.
Can a previous accountant charge for a handover?
The previous accountant has now informed our new client that he will only provide the information if £200 is paid in advance to cover the time spent on the handover. We do not charge for any work carried out on a handover and dont feel this to be professional.
How does an accountant decide how much to charge a client?
Over the years, accountants have used many different means of deciding how much to charge clients for the work that they have carried out. The starting point must be the engagement letter, which is considered in more detail in the article on Communication later in the series.
Why do so many accountants charge fixed fees?
Whether the reason is underlying computer systems or lack of imagination, few firms seem to build this into their programming or business models. These days, many clients require the certainty of a fixed fee, which can be agreed in before starting the work.