What it costs
A seat is one person in one role, for a set number of hours a month. The fee is fixed, so a job that runs long costs you the same. It is rolling monthly, and every seat after the first is 10% off.
The three seats
Production seat
One person in one of these roles: bookkeeping and VAT, payroll and admin, or marketing.
Accounts seat
One accounts preparer for year-end accounts, corporation tax, self assessment and management accounts, reviewed by our own UK practice.
Senior seat
One qualified accountant at reviewer level, for complex work or to review the work of your other seats.
Prices exclude VAT. Billing is rolling monthly from the first invoice, with one month's notice to change a seat's hours or end it. Hours are productive hours on your work, so planning and status updates are not deducted. Setting up a seat is free. The portal comes with every seat, for as many of your team as you like. A marketer is priced as a Production seat. Ad spend is yours and is paid direct to Google or LinkedIn at cost.
What the fee covers
- The person, their desk, the software on our side and their manager in Pretoria
- UK review by our own practice on Accounts-seat work
- Planning, weekly status and a Monday summary
- Cover for leave and sickness
- Recruitment, training and a replacement if someone leaves
- The portal, for everyone in your firm
A year of a seat against a UK employee
Production seat, 160 hours
A UK bookkeeper or payroll administrator on £27,000 to £32,000 costs £36,000 to £44,000 a year all in. The seat is £12,600 to £20,600 less.
Accounts seat, 160 hours
A UK part-qualified preparer on £32,000 to £38,000 costs £44,000 to £52,000 a year all in. The seat is £12,200 to £20,200 less.
Senior seat, 160 hours
A UK qualified accountant on £42,000 to £50,000 costs £58,000 to £70,000 a year all in. The seat is £17,200 to £29,200 less.
The UK figures are salary plus employer's NI, pension, software, a desk and a recruitment fee spread over an 18-month stay, which comes to about 1.35 times salary. Salaries are 2026 practice salaries outside London. Muckin prices exclude VAT, which you reclaim. An 80-hour Production seat from May to October and a 160-hour seat from November to April comes to about £18,300 a year.
What practice owners do with the hours
A 160-hour seat takes about 1,900 hours of production a year off your own team.
Advisory work
Management accounts meetings, tax planning and cash-flow conversations with the clients who value them.
Winning clients
Proposals, referral meetings and the warm leads that have been waiting for a call back.
Fee reviews
A fee review across all your clients takes about a week of clear time. A seat covers the production work during that week.
Running the team
One-to-ones, training and a proper review process for the people you already employ.
Buying another firm
A standing production team lets you take on a block of fees before you have hired for it.
Time off
Evenings, Fridays and a January that looks like the other eleven months.
Questions
What is the difference between a Production seat and an Accounts seat?
A Production seat is one person doing bookkeeping and VAT, payroll and admin, or marketing: work that runs every week. An Accounts seat is one accounts preparer doing year-end accounts, CT600s, self assessment and management accounts, reviewed by our own UK practice before the work reaches you. The people and the review cost different amounts, so the seats do.
What is included in the monthly fee?
The seat's hours on your work, planning and status updates, cover for absence, UK review on Accounts-seat work, the portal and all the tooling on our side. You provide access to your own software.
Is there a set-up fee?
Setting up a seat is free. If you need a major clean-up or a migration before the routine can start, we quote that as a one-off first.
Can I change the hours?
Yes, with one month's notice either way. You can add a seat for the year-end season and drop back afterwards.
Do you charge VAT?
Yes. Prices shown exclude VAT.
Work out how many hours you need
The capacity calculator turns your client numbers into hours a month and shows which seats fit.