Atchley & Associates

There is no one else I would have handling my accounts!
I interviewed a couple accountants before meeting with Atchley & Associates, and after leaving their office was totally confident I was in good hands. My personal accountant is Iain Howe and he possesses a wide array of accounting knowledge… from foreign and domestic tax, real estate, investments, personal, etc.
I use Atchley & Associates for my 3 businesses as well as my personal tax return. When we started, I was personally late on our returns and he was able to get all my late fees waived. Iain is very responsible in getting all my returns submitted in a timely manner, even during the busy tax season. Iain is always available for me and is very responsive.
I HIGHLY recommend Atchley & Associates, especially Iain Howe.

Sadly, as friendly as they were (which I will give it to them, they were friendly, until I got mad), they took advantage of a small-​business owner who didn’t have the funds for their plush accounting firm. They should have been up front. But they saw sucker on my forehead when I walked in and I have no respect for someone who tries to take advantage of the little guy.
I own a small company that has been growing. I have knowledge in my industry, but not accounting. At my husband’s request, we decided to hire an accountant. I went to one that I wasn’t happy with (they were slow to get things to me and missed a few deadlines). Then we switched to Atchley.
Boy oh Boy… They were sooooo nice when talking to me about their services. I told them OVER AND OVER again that I did not have money to be charged hundreds and hundreds of dollars every month, so if they thought it would be too expensive, I needed to look elsewhere. Their tag-​team sales pitch promised that I wouldn’t spend that kind of money for what I needed.
They lied.
First, they had to set me up in their system. Naturally. That makes sense. Next they wanted to review the tax documents from previous years. They said they could probably find errors and save me money. It wasn’t required, but it was recommended. So, I complied.
I turn over all of my paperwork. They write me a couple of emails, ask a few questions, and next thing you know… I get a bill over $ 1200. FOR SET UP ALONE. (start a new file in their accounting software, pop a few tabbed folders into their filing cabinet, start a chart of accounts that is probably already populated automatically, enter my personal information.) This DID NOT include the payroll I was paying for separately or actual entering of any current information or bank transactions.
Twelve. Hundred. Dollars. for set up. ALONE.
What part of «I can’t afford to pay you guys hundreds of dollars» do you not understand?! Apparently, that went in one ear and out the other.
When I asked for an explanation of the charges, I received an excel spreadsheet detailing every email, every phone call, every minute thinking about my company. I understand that they bill hourly, but there was no clear indication as to what they were doing when they billed the time. So I asked for clarification on certain things. And I received differing information from two different people about what the charges were for. If they can’t keep it straight, how am I? Also, they charged for internal emails between themselves that pertained to my company. «I had to ask the payroll department a question about your company, to someone else here in Atchley.» So I get charged for the email from Person A to Person B. Then the time it took person B to write back Person A. Then the time for Person A to read the response from Person B.
Also, I was charged for our initial consultation. Would that have been free had I not signed up?
The kicker? I was charged over $ 1200+ for set up and a review of old records and tax documents. WARNING… «review» doesn’t come with any explanations about what they found!!! They have to charge me to explain to me what they found. So when I blew my gasket when I saw the bill and cancelled all of my services, I was told they couldn’t share what they found without me being further charged for their time to explain it. But they wouldn’t explain it until I cut them the $ 1200 check. ‘
Sucker stamped on my head!
If you’re a large company with the funds for this level of accounting, then go for it. But if you’re a small business owner needing help getting organized, then I would suggest staying away.
And if you are a small accounting firm looking for business and scoping out reviews of your competitors to make yourself feel better… I understand and contact me! I still need an accountant.

Atchley & Assocates is a CPA (Certified Public Accounting) and consulting firm located near Far West/​MoPac in North/​Central Austin (next door to the HEB). Karen Atchley is a key partner in the firm, thus the name. Laura Stephens is also a partner of this firm.
I utilized them for my tax preparation services for about 5 years and I just fired them. I am disgusted with them.
In the 5 years I’ve had 5 different accountants. Each year another files my taxes. It seems like it’s a revolving door with constant change.
The good:
— Centrally located.
— Booksmart people with nice degrees (that probably will prepare your taxes correctly, but will charge you a ton, make you call them 12 times for an update, then overcharge you again).
— Great parking. Easy access to their office located on the first floor as soon as you walk into the building. (This is great because you can get the heck out of there fast if you need to after you see their bill)
— Nice office furniture. You can tell they don’t shop at Wal-​Mart for their furniture. (Now I know why they charge so much).
Laura Stephen’s firm recently (in last year) merged with Atchley’s firm and now offer additional consulting services.
It appears after this merger it all went downhill. I was never that impressed with them to begin with before their merger, but they seemed to be OK. Below is all the junk I’ve had do deal with for the last 6 months:
The BAD:
For the past 4 years they have charged me between $ 340-​$ 420 each year to file my taxes. But this year I received a bill for $ 890.00 for the same exact tax prep work as the previous year with no heads-​up about their «inflation».
Imagine paying around $ 400 each year, having the same stuff done each year, then getting a surprise bill for $ 890 with no warning. Ummmm, probably not the best way to treat a return customer. I asked them why it was so high, and they gave some lame excuse saying «You sent some of the stuff by email and dropped some off and we had to look around for it». Yea, I’ve done the same thing every year. I drop off the physical info I get in the mail from the county/​bank, etc, and I send a spreadsheet of all my individual deductions listed. I take a lot of time to prepare the spreadsheet to make it as easy as possible for them). But evidently this took them at least 3 minutes to bring up their email and walk to the front desk.
They also took forever to file my LLC paperwork. I had to email or call them no less than 13 times! My direct contact was so embarrassed that she said there would be no charge (typically $ 300). Which I thought was a nice gesture. But, 3 months later I get a bill in the mail for $ 300! I call them and they said «you have to pay this». I reminded them that they said I wouldn’t have to pay it and they said «we’ll look into it». Then I got another bill in the mail 2 weeks later for the same amount. I finally settled with them and I agreed to pay ½ and they seemed to accept it. BUT this was a friggin’ nightmare and not worth the dang time it took to get the LLC work done in the first place.
When they merged they bragged about their «additional financial consulting services», but good luck trying to get time with them to discuss your situation without having to take out a 2^nd mortgage on your house! They recently sent me a letter where they offer to go over your whole financial portfolio for only $ 1,000.00. What a deal!
— If you like arrogant suits that charge you a ton, work in Ivory towers, and are more pretentious than your furniture salesperson, than you will love these people!
— If you like not getting a heads-​up that your bill will increase by over 100% for the same services as the previous year with no warning you will LOVE these people.
— And if you love having to call and email 13 times to get an update on your paperwork, finally having it done 3 months later then told, and then told it’s no charge, and then get a bill 3 months later for $ 300 dollars, then you are going to be SOOOOOO happy with this CPA Firm!!!
And they have nice office furniture.