Bookkeeper went 4-7 hours over her estimate but didn’t check in before billing me

[n2ustarzphawl]

@jro1 Definitely bring it up and say you're not happy, but be inqusitive and ask why to figure out if there's something you could be doing throughout the year to prevent your books being in a state where they take much more time. As others have said half yearly or quarterly bookeeping could let them raise issues before it becomes a huge cleanup job once a year.

In the future put in agreements like this that any amount x hours over the estimate must be approved in writing.

 

[tammyinga]

@jro1 So she went 50% over her estimated hours? I think that's excessive and should have been communicated as soon as she knew it was going to be more work (ideally within 2-3 hours of starting). I would pay 10-15% over the estimate without an approval, but not 50% more.

Did she indicate in her estimate that it could be more than the top end of 7 hours?

I would push back on paying the extra 4 hours maybe offer to pay 2 of them as a courtesy.

Then I would find another bookkeeper.

 

[barneyo]

@tammyinga Giving an ultimatum to a bookkeeper or CPA at year end is extremely ill-advised. You have more to lose than they do.

As someone who did payroll, if you did this, I would generously refund your money, give you back your original files, and you would get none of the work I did.

Then I'd wish you the best of luck finding someone else knowing full well you have 3.5 weeks or so until your taxes are due to be filed.

 

[tammyinga]

@barneyo That's fine, I understand. If you go 50% over budget and think that's a-ok without communicating then I wouldn't want to work with you either. You're not good at your job if you're that bad at estimating.

Maybe OP has really messed up books but his bookkeeper should have reviewed them before giving an estimate, and should have estimated on the high side to prevent something like this from happening. It's just bad business not to communicate with your clients if you are going to exceed an estimate by a significant amount.

I am also perfectly capable of handing my own books. I've had to fire a bookkeeper before for sheer incompetence (that almost cost me tens of thousands of dollars had it not been found) so I made sure to understand my books and learn how to use our accounting software.

I do understand it's a busy time of year for bookkeepers and tax professionals. I have several friends in the business. If OP is getting charged $50/hr for bookkeeping services then I would be inclined to say just suck it up this year and have a conversation next year but I have a feeling OP is paying $100-200/hr. When you're paying a professional you should expect professional service, which includes good communication.

 

[barneyo]

@tammyinga

If OP is getting charged $50/hr for bookkeeping services then I would be inclined to say just suck it up this year and have a conversation next year but I have a feeling OP is paying $100-200/hr.

They never answered before so IDK. I think it makes a huge difference too tbh. I think it's probably the lower end. You get more problems and quibbling over bills there.

 

[dawn05]

@jro1 The focus shouldn't be whether your book is organized or disorganized. The key issue is that if your bookkeeper realizes your book requires extra attention due to its complexity and needs more time, she should communicate with you to revise the estimated hours.

I wouldn't agree to pay the full price under these circumstances. My approach would be to negotiate, suggesting that after seven hours of work, any additional time should be billed at half the rate.

 

[movieexpert]

@jro1 Does your accountant not do this as part of their scope with taxes?

 

[dpatt9318]

@jro1 Let them know. IF they are good at what they do and honest turn it into a conversation where both parties are honest about what they need. As in they need to get paid for their time and you need to know when they are going to go over estimate. Notification of estimate overage is ultra basic. I was making those calls at like 15 years old. That was for a repair business, but as a book keeper they should be better at keeping track of numbers than a dyslexic 15 year old.

 

[geronimobutler]

@jro1 Idk about bookkeeping but doubling the estimate quoted to a client is not very professional in my field. I would assume that is the case in all fields.

 

[barneyo]

@geronimobutler Its not that unusual - they prob quoted a price then op shows up with all their receipts for the year in a shoebox. Why I stopped doing this.

You don't normally find a floor you missed when you do HVAC or extermination or an extra engine with automotive. With anything in accounting (and a lot of embedded software consulting where you discover some 90s hardware is dependent on running on windows 3.11 or something that hasn't been supported in a decade), it's pretty routine.

 

[nightskies]

@jro1 The way I deal with this is putting a Not To Exceed (NTE) price in a contract, or an email.

I have done it before where I get a bill above the NTE price and I say “yep, I will pay you the NTE price.” The response is usually some whiny complaint about how they spent more time.

That’s when I tell them “yeah, but I specifically told you I wouldn’t pay more than the NTE price in writing.”

 

[sfashi01]

@jro1 They should have communicated with you before doubling your time

 

[bwc]

@jro1