You might think this is a simple question, based on how much they charge for the meeting…
You will be pleased to find that the majority of accountants don’t actually charge for an initial meeting, however there is an additional cost that you may not have counted – your time.
Most accountants work normal business hours, 9am – 5pm, which means you need to arrange to visit their office within those times. As well as the time for the meeting itself there is your commuting time to include, perhaps adding an hour or two & making it two to three hours in total.
Depending on what hourly rate you charge clients, that free meeting could easily cost you several hundred pounds in lost business.
This was one of the reasons why I decided to have meetings available in the evenings, early mornings and weekends – saving people money straight away. As well as the times of the meetings available, I also arrange to meet people at a location that’s convenient to them – whether that is their home, office or another convenient location.
You can see the times of meetings available in the top right corner of the website, so if you know anyone who thinks they don’t have the time to see an accountant please do let them know about the alternatives.