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Email template to ask your accountant to explain their fees

Your accountant sent an invoice that is higher than you expected, or shows a single line with no explanation, or you are about to ask them for new work and want to know what it will cost first. Accountants commonly bill by the hour in small increments, charge a flat fee per return or per month, or mix the two, and many also bill for phone calls and emails. An engagement letter is the written agreement that lays out what the accountant will do and how they will charge; if you never got one, this email is the moment to ask. Putting the question in writing gets you a clear answer you can refer back to, instead of a quick verbal reassurance that is forgotten by the next invoice.

Before you send

  • The invoice number, date, and total, and the number you expected. If you were quoted a price earlier, find that email or note.
  • Your engagement letter or proposal, if you have one, and what it says about rates and billing increments.
  • A list of what you asked the accountant to do during the billing period, including calls and emails you sent.
  • Any new work you are considering, described in a sentence, so you can ask for a price on it in the same message.
Subject Question about invoice #[invoice number] and your fee structure 
Hi [accountant name],

Thanks for getting [the tax return / the quarterly books / the work] done. I received invoice #[invoice number] dated [date] for [amount], and I want to make sure I understand how it was calculated.

Could you send me a breakdown showing the work performed, the time spent on each item, and the rate applied? I had expected something closer to [amount you expected] based on [the quote you gave me on date / last year's fee], so I'd like to see where the difference comes from.

Going forward, it would help me to know:

- Your hourly rates for you and for any staff who work on my account
- Whether phone calls and emails are billed, and in what increments
- A fee estimate for [new work you are considering], if that is something you'd take on

I'm not disputing the invoice at this point; I just want a clear picture before I pay it and before we plan next year. Could you get back to me by [date]?

Thanks,
[Your name]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • Most accountants send a time breakdown within a few days. A refusal to itemize, or a reply that only restates the total, is a bad sign, especially if you never signed an engagement letter.
  • If the bill covers work you did not ask for, say so plainly and ask to have that portion removed. If it covers work you asked for but the price was never discussed, ask for a courtesy adjustment once and accept the answer.
  • Ask for a written engagement letter for next year with rates, billing increments, and what is included. Any accountant who values your business will provide one.
  • If the numbers stay unexplained and the amount matters, your state board of accountancy handles complaints about licensed CPAs.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get my accountant to explain a bill 
Hi StandIn,

Please get my accountant to explain how a recent invoice was calculated and what their fees will be going forward.

Accountant: [name, firm, and email address].
The invoice: [invoice number, date, and amount].
What I expected: [amount, and the quote or past fee it is based on].
What they did for me in that period: [list of work].
What I'd like a price on next: [new work, or "nothing right now"].

Ask for an itemized breakdown of the invoice, their current rates and billing policy, and a fee estimate for the new work. If anything looks off, question it politely and bring me the answers with what you think is fair.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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