Accountant in Johannesburg

In Johannesburg, ask other business owners for referrals, confirm the firm holds a recognised professional-body membership, and check they know your industry. A short intro call plus a clear fixed-fee proposal beats picking on price alone.

Scope (exactly which filings and services are included), fees and how they're billed, deadlines and your responsibilities for providing records, and what falls outside the fee. A one-line quote with no engagement letter is a red flag.

Yes — legitimate planning around business structure, allowable expenses, pension contributions, timing of income, and available reliefs is core work. Be wary of anyone promoting aggressive 'schemes'; if it sounds too good, it usually attracts penalties later.

Common triggers: incorporating a company, hitting the VAT/GST registration threshold, taking on employees, or spending too many hours on the books yourself. Engaging one before year-end (not the week the return is due) gets you planning value, not just compliance.

Look for membership of a recognised professional body (see the country notes below), which brings training standards, regulation, and anti-money-laundering supervision. Anyone can call themselves an 'accountant' in most countries — a chartered/certified designation is the real filter.

Three models: hourly (declining, common for ad-hoc work), fixed fee for a defined deliverable like a tax return, and monthly retainer bundling bookkeeping, filing and advice. Fixed and monthly are now the norm because they give both sides predictability.

A bookkeeper records transactions, reconciles accounts and runs payroll. An accountant prepares statutory accounts, files tax, and advises on structure and planning. Small firms often use a bookkeeper monthly and an accountant annually.

Individual ITR12 returns run R500-3,000; company annual financial statements and ITR14 typically R6,000-40,000 depending on size and whether a review or audit is required. Confirm the CIPC annual return is included.