Paying an accountant

[Jordan Alexander]

How do you pay an accountant for tax consulting? Is it an hourly rate? Or a monthly fee and you can ask questions anytime? I’ve never had an accountant but the more I learn, the more I see how important a real estate savvy accountant can be! The BP tax books are a great start, but I’m going to need a pro.  Thanks for any suggestions! 

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Jordan Alexander:

How do you pay an accountant for tax consulting? Is it an hourly rate? Or a monthly fee and you can ask questions anytime? I’ve never had an accountant but the more I learn, the more I see how important a real estate savvy accountant can be! The BP tax books are a great start, but I’m going to need a pro.  Thanks for any suggestions! 

My accountant offers a package deal or an hourly rate. He then suggested which would work best for us, which is the package deal. We agreed and I'm glad we did because he has spent a lot of hours cleaning up mistakes made by our last accountant and it's easily paying for itself! 

If your portfolio is simpler, and not screwed up by our last accountant, then hourly may be the better way to go.