Client Information

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Your First meeting with Hughson & Associates

To assist at your first meeting, please bring with you the following:

F.A.Q

How do Accountants charge?

Accountants charge by time. The longer it takes to prepare your accounts the more expensive it's going to be. Some businesses sell books, clothing or CDs, ACCOUNTANTS SELL TIME. The more presentable you submit your financial records the quicker we get it done, and the more cost effective it is.

What are your current charge out rates?

Director Level: $250.00 p/hour

Senior Level: $120.00 p/hour

Intermediate Level: $85.00 p/hour

Administration: $90.00 p/hour

Why is my bill so much more this year than last year?

This could be for several reasons:

Can you give me a quote for the Job?

Just like its impossible to quote a building or plumbing job over the phone without looking at the site plans, it's not possible to know how long any accounting work might take. A lot depends on how the records are presented. We can give an estimate after reviewing your records. If we have not prepared financial statements for you before there will be additional one-off setup costs.

When will the Accountant look at my financials & tax return?

The staff process the records and produce a draft set of financial statements. They then go to the Accountant who reviews them and considers any tax planning. This tax planning that could save you thousands in tax. The staff then finalise the financial statements according to instruction. Sometimes the client is called in to discuss various problems or look at options. This process is designed to minimise the cost to the client.

Why has my job taken so long this year?

In our peak period between May and December the turn around time could stretch out to 3-4 months or more, as every one wants their work done in this period. Every accountant in NZ is in the same boat. So please be patient in this period. If your job is required urgently please tell us as we can accommodate most requests.
In the off peak period between January and March turn around time can drop back to a few weeks.

The computer shop said that the accounting software should reduce my accounting costs, this hasn't happened. Why?

Every accounting firm strikes this one, and it's very frustrating when a client gives you a years computer printouts or a floppy disc and it doesn't balance we then have to spend hours and hours sorting out the mess. Efficient computerisation of your records depends solely on the user. If the input is good then it will reduce time. However if the user is not good then it takes a lot more time to try and sort out the mess. Often it's much more cost effective to use a simple manual system or supply cheque butts and bank statements. We can use a more junior staff member to process it saving you money.

Paying Accounts on time.

Please help us provide you excellent service by paying your accounts on time. Without payment we cannot provide the resources to give you prompt service. Some clients take a long time to pay but expect us to drop everything and attend to their needs immediately. It must be a two way street. You want the best service possible and we have to be given the opportunity to provide it within the constraints available to us.

We have a policy that we will not continue doing any accounting services until the account is paid and current. If you are having difficulty in paying your account, we can offer you the following services:

We Endeavour to communicate with our clients with regards to overdue accounts, if you choose to ignore the communications, we will after a period of time forward the account to a debt recovery agency. As this will incur recovery costs we encourage our clients to communicate with us to help keep the accounts current. We are here to help, please ask for assistance.