How much does an accountant cost for a small business in Ireland? There is no universal annual fee. A sole-trader tax return, a contractor-company package and ongoing bookkeeping for a busy limited company buy different amounts of work. Start with published prices as examples, then compare quotes against your actual transactions, payroll and filing requirements.
Direct answer
In the provider examples checked on 2 October 2026, selected monthly plans were advertised at €129, €165, €195 and €199 before VAT, with materially different eligibility and scope. Those prices are not an Irish average or a guaranteed quote. Multiply the applicable monthly fee by twelve, then add excluded year-end work, setup, software and disbursements to compare the real annual cost.
Published Irish accountant prices: a dated snapshot
The examples below come from providers' own pages, not anonymous forum posts. They are not a representative sample or a ranking of firms. Annual figures are our arithmetic for twelve monthly payments at the advertised price, before VAT and any extras; they are not separately advertised annual offers.
| Published example | Monthly price before VAT | Twelve-month calculation | Scope point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incorpro contractor package | €129 | €1,548 | Limited-company contractor; one customer, transaction and payroll limits |
| Forti sole-trader Starter | From €165 | From €1,980 | Small-activity plan; confirm the relevant return and bookkeeping scope |
| Forti LTD Starter | From €195 | From €2,340 | Limited-company plan with activity limits |
| Incorpro Startup Basic | €199 | €2,388 | Company plan with transaction, sales and payroll limits |
Sources: Incorpro contractor pricing, its company packages and Forti pricing. Check the current page and engagement terms before relying on a figure. The lowest example is not automatically available to a business with staff, multiple customers or a large transaction volume.
Annual-only work is not the same as a monthly package
A quote for preparing accounts and a tax return from tidy records may be much narrower than an ongoing engagement that includes bank reconciliation, bookkeeping, VAT returns, payroll and support. Identify which tasks you do yourself and which the firm takes on. Two businesses with the same revenue can require very different work if one has a few invoices and the other has several sales channels and employees.
Ask whether a monthly payment is a retainer for ongoing work or simply instalments toward an annual fee. Establish the covered accounting period, minimum term and effect of cancellation. Paying monthly does not necessarily mean you can stop paying before year-end without affecting the agreed fee or completion of the work.
Sole trader versus limited company: compare the right scope
Ask for a quote matching your legal structure. A sole-trader engagement may concern business accounts and an individual return; a limited-company engagement may involve company accounts, company tax and CRO compliance. Do not compare them as interchangeable products. Use our structure guide if you are still deciding how the business should operate.
Also ask whether personal returns for directors are included and on what assumptions. Other income or unusual transactions can require additional work. An advertised company package is not automatically a fixed price for every shareholder's personal tax affairs or specialist planning. List the people and entities that need services in your quote request.
What normally changes an accounting quote?
If payroll is a separate line, use our Irish payroll-service cost guide to compare headcount, pay frequency, setup and extra processing charges.
- Transaction count, bank accounts and quality of the starting records.
- Payroll headcount, payment frequency and related administration.
- VAT work, cross-border activity and the number of sales channels.
- Inventory, assets, loans, group relationships and unusual transactions.
- Historical cleanup, late returns or an incomplete handover.
- Management reporting, meetings and specialist advice requested.
Turnover is only one possible pricing measure. Ask how transactions are counted: a bank payment, a sales-platform settlement and the individual orders behind it may require different treatment. Clarify the charge if you exceed the package limit rather than assuming an advertised entry-level fee will remain unchanged as activity grows.
Request an itemised quote before comparing firms
Give each firm the same brief: structure, year-end, approximate monthly activity, payroll, VAT position, software and outstanding work. Ask for written inclusions and exclusions. The goal is to compare like with like, not encourage a provider to guess a price from the phrase “small business”. Include expected changes such as your first employee or expansion into another country.
| Quote line | Clarification to request |
|---|---|
| Bookkeeping | Who enters records and reconciles accounts, and how frequently? |
| Year-end work | Are financial statements and the relevant tax returns included? |
| CRO compliance | Is the B1 service included, and are statutory fees separate? |
| Software | Is the subscription included, and who controls access and export? |
| Support | What meetings, advice and response arrangements are covered? |
| Extra work | How are cleanup, amendments and specialist questions charged? |
A worked comparison: similar annual bills behind different monthly fees
Suppose fictional Firm A quotes €150 per month but charges another €700 for year-end work. Its twelve-month service total is €1,800 + €700 = €2,500 before applicable VAT. Fictional Firm B quotes €210 per month with that same year-end scope included: €2,520 before applicable VAT. The apparent €60 monthly difference becomes only €20 annually once the excluded work is accounted for.
This is an illustration, not a current offer. You still need to compare scope, qualifications, timing and service. If one engagement has different payroll limits or excludes tax advice, the figures are not equivalent. Add setup, software or statutory disbursements once—and only once—to each applicable quote.
VAT, statutory fees and tax bills are different costs
Record whether the professional fee includes VAT and ask for the final payable amount. Do not assume every business can reclaim VAT, or treat an accountant's fee as including the taxes the business itself owes. Preparing a tax return and paying the resulting liability are different items in your cash budget.
Similarly, an annual-return administration service is distinct from the CRO filing charge. Our CRO fees guide explains the statutory side. When reviewing an engagement, ask whether those disbursements are included; do not add them again to an expressly inclusive quote.
How to keep the fee proportionate without cutting necessary work
Keep business and personal transactions clearly separated, supply complete records on the agreed schedule and resolve queries promptly. Agree responsibilities for invoices, expense evidence and bank reconciliation at onboarding. Consistent records make it easier for the firm to define and price the work; they do not remove your company's obligations or guarantee a particular discount.
If switching accountants, establish who completes open periods and what records, software access and authorisations need to transfer. Paying two firms for overlapping work—or assuming each has filed the same return—can undermine the saving. Read our latest-accounts checking guide to understand what the public filing record can and cannot confirm.
Check the firm as well as the fee
Verify any claimed professional membership through the relevant body, ask about the engagement and insurance arrangements, and identify the legal entity that will invoice you. If it is an Irish company, review its public record separately. A CRO number is not an accounting qualification, and a company report does not assess the professional quality of tax or accounting advice.
The best quote comparison ends with a written scope, total price basis and clear division of responsibility. It should leave you able to explain what will be done, for which period, by whom, and what could produce an extra invoice—not merely quote a low starting price.
Sources and editorial review
The cover is an AI-generated editorial illustration, not a photograph of a named accounting firm or real customer records.
Provider prices checked by the Businesses.ie Editorial Team on 2 October 2026 against the linked Incorpro and Forti pages. Calculations use twelve monthly payments and exclude VAT and extras. These examples are not a market average or endorsement. The worked comparison is fictional. This is general information, not a personalised quote or tax advice. See our editorial policy.