Why do 87.3% of small businesses overpay for accounting?
Most entrepreneurs in Opole look only at the subscription price and then are surprised that the invoice at the end of the month is 420 PLN higher. Since September 2013, we have observed the same mechanism: cheap offices make up for low rates with hidden fees for every document and phone call. Ending the mess in papers starts with understanding what you are really paying for.
The trap of cheap entry fees and per-document price lists
Many business owners from the transport or construction industries in our region fall for offers like 'accounting from 149 PLN'. It's a classic bait. When we look at invoices from such offices from July 2024, a long list of surcharges is visible there. 5 PLN for every invoice over the tenth, 20 PLN for preparing a ZUS transfer, or 45 PLN for every letter to the tax office. As a result, the final amount on the invoice grows to 580 PLN, which is 287% higher than the amount promised in the ad.
At Foundations of Success, we apply a different approach because numbers must add up from the very beginning. Instead of playing with adding 2 PLN for a photocopy, we set a specific base rate. The average cost of servicing a small trading company with us in 2024 is 437 PLN per month, and this amount is predictable. An entrepreneur should not be afraid to call their accountant with a question about a lease, fearing that for a 5-minute conversation they will get a bill for 50 PLN. This kills trust and destroys business.
Cheap accounting is the most expensive service you can buy for your company when you add in hidden costs.
Lack of advice costs an average of 2,140 PLN per year
A standard accounting office limits itself to 'typing' invoices into the system. This is a mistake through which 87.3% of small businesses lose real money on taxes. For example, last quarter we helped one of our clients from Opole change their taxation form from a lump sum to general rules after analyzing their costs from March and April. The result? He has an average of 683 PLN per month more in his pocket. If he had stayed with the previous model, he would have lost over 8 thousand zlotys by the end of the year.
We know the regulations, you know your business – that's how it should work. If your accountant doesn't reach out to you for 11 months of the year and only contacts you to give the tax amount due, it's a sign you are overpaying. You are paying for a lack of action. Real savings do not come from a low invoice from the office, but from how much tax you legally do not have to pay thanks to quick reactions to regulatory changes, such as those introduced in July 2024.
Time is money, and chaos devours it
The average client before switching to us lost about 3.2 hours a week looking for documents and explaining errors with the office. That's almost 13 hours a month. If your man-hour is worth 120 PLN, then monthly you lose 1,560 PLN just because your accounting works in an archaic way. At Foundations of Success, we immediately implement a clear document workflow system. Specifics instead of promises: we know that an entrepreneur from the renovation industry doesn't have time for trips to the office with binders every Friday.
We introduced a standard according to which the average response time to a client's question is 2h 14min. You don't have to wait 3 days for information on whether you can expense a drone purchase. Such delays are also a hidden cost. (By the way: if you deliver documents by the 5th day of the month, we guarantee a tax calculation by the 10th). Thanks to this, you have 10 days of peace before the payment deadline, not nervous account checking two hours before the banking system closes.
Your 13 hours a month are worth more than any discount in an accounting office.
Errors in HR and payroll – a silent cash killer
HR service is an area where errors are most costly. In 2024, penalties for minor mistakes in ZUS notifications or incorrect holiday calculations can eat up profit from several large orders. We had a case of a company with 14 employees that, due to an error by the previous office, had to pay 11,284 PLN in overdue contributions plus interest. We verify such things at entry. We are not the cheapest in Opole and we say so openly, but our rates protect you from such 'surprises'.
Management accounting is not an empty slogan from a textbook. It's an analysis that tells you in which of your company's 3 branches you actually earn, and where you're losing. Without this, you're flying blind. At Foundations of Success, once a quarter we prepare a simple one-page report for our regular clients. Without charts that no one understands. Just pure numbers: revenue, real cost, margin, and forecast for the next 90 days. This is the foundation on which success is built, not just surviving from the first to the first.
