Most accountancy firms in Northern Ireland won’t tell you what they charge until you’ve sat through a meeting. That’s not because the numbers are complicated. It’s because most firms price by the hour, and an hourly rate is a number nobody can budget around.
We publish our fees. This article explains what accountants in Northern Ireland actually charge, why two quotes for the same business can be hundreds of pounds apart, and how to tell whether a cheap quote is cheap or just incomplete.
The short answer
For a business in Northern Ireland in 2026, expect to pay roughly:
- An individual who needs a Self Assessment filed: £10–£30 a month, or £120–£350 as a one-off.
- A sole trader or self-employed tradesperson: £45–£150 a month.
- A limited company with one or two directors, no VAT, no staff: £100–£185 a month.
- A VAT-registered limited company paying staff: £145–£275 a month.
- A company that wants bookkeeping, management accounts and tax planning handled entirely: £650 a month upwards.
All figures exclude VAT. Those are our bands, and they sit in the middle of the Northern Ireland market. Online-only firms advertise lower headline prices; Belfast city-centre practices charge more. Our full accountancy pricing page sets out what’s inside each band.
Why there’s no single “accountant price”
Accountancy fees are driven by work, not by turnover. Four things decide where you land.
Your entity
A sole trader files one tax return. A limited company files statutory accounts at Companies House, a CT600 with HMRC, a confirmation statement and a director’s Self Assessment. That is four deadlines instead of one, and the accounts have to meet a reporting standard. This is why a limited company costs at least double a sole trader at the same turnover.
VAT
Registration adds four returns a year and a scheme to manage. Expect from £45 a month on top of your base fee for quarterly VAT returns with a proper review.
People you pay
Every payslip is a Real Time Information submission to HMRC. Monthly payroll for a handful of staff is cheap, around £9 a payslip. Weekly payroll for a site crew is not, and CIS adds a monthly return on top.
The state of your records
This is the one people underestimate. A business with reconciled bank feeds in Xero sits at the floor of its band. A business that hands over a carrier bag in March sits at the ceiling, because someone has to rebuild a year of transactions before any accounts can be prepared. If you want the accountant to keep the books for you, bookkeeping starts at roughly £235 a month and rises with volume.
Fixed fee or hourly?
Hourly billing still exists in Northern Ireland, typically £65 for junior time up to £250 for a partner. It’s appropriate for one-off work: a catch-up of prior years, an HMRC enquiry, a tax planning project. It’s a poor fit for ongoing compliance, because you’re charged every time you ask a question, and bills spike in January when you most need to talk.
Fixed monthly fees solve that. The scope is written down, the price is agreed before work starts, and you pay by Direct Debit across twelve months. The trade-off is that a fixed fee has to be quoted properly, which is why any firm worth using will want a twenty-minute conversation before giving you a number.
What a cheap quote usually leaves out
If you’re quoted under £50 a month for a VAT-registered limited company, read the inclusions list before you sign. The common omissions:
- Director’s Self Assessment sold as a £150–£200 add-on.
- Payroll priced per employee on top.
- Fee protection insurance not included, so an HMRC enquiry is billed by the hour.
- Support capped at a number of emails or calls.
- No qualified review. Your accounts are prepared by software and a junior, with nobody senior signing them off.
None of those are unreasonable. The problem is only finding out six months in. Ask for the scope in writing.
Northern Ireland specifics
Tax law is the same across the UK, but a few local factors affect what you’ll pay and what you should look for.
Cross-border work. If you trade with the Republic, have Irish customers, or are a director resident on the other side of the border, you need a firm that handles both regimes. That’s specialist work and it costs more than a standard package, but it’s far cheaper than getting it wrong.
Construction. CIS is disproportionately common here. If you’re a contractor or subcontractor, make sure CIS returns and the CIS-suffered reconciliation are inside the fee.
HMRC enquiries. Enquiry activity has stepped up across the UK. A return prepared to withstand an enquiry, with fee protection cover behind it, is worth more than the £30 a month saved on a budget package.
How to compare two quotes properly
Line both up against these questions:
- Which filings are included, by name: accounts, CT600, confirmation statement, SA100, VAT, PAYE, CIS?
- Is Self Assessment for each director inside the fee?
- Is there a cap on calls and emails?
- Who reviews the accounts before they’re filed, and what are they qualified as?
- Is fee protection insurance included?
- What’s the minimum term and notice period?
- Is catch-up work quoted separately, and before or after you sign?
If a firm can’t answer all seven in writing, that’s your answer.
What we charge
We’re an ACCA-regulated practice in Carrickfergus with around 2,000 clients across Northern Ireland, the rest of the UK and overseas. Our fees are fixed, published and collected monthly. Individuals from £10 a month, sole traders from £45, limited companies from £100, and a full outsourced finance function from £650. Every band includes unlimited calls and emails, fee protection insurance and a named manager.
See the full bands, add-ons and one-off prices on our pricing page, or book a 30-minute new client meeting and we’ll give you an exact figure in writing the same day.
