Sannerud Savarese & Associates

"I just called and they said they are not taking new clients. I also asked about retirement planning, which they advertise on their website, but was told that they do not do retirement planning."

"This is a Professional Small Business Accounting firm. They are certainly not the cheapest, and I am very glad for that. They are extremely thorough and thoughtful. You get exactly what you pay for. Well educated professionals, doing their job properly. I wouldn't want the cheapest doctor just like I would never use the cheapest accountant. I have been well satisfied for 20+ years! They do a great job!"

"Overbilled / Lack of transparency!!!! This CPA who was recommended to me by a family member who has used their services for many years, so I was willing to make the trip up to Ham Lake to have my taxes prepared. I called before my tax appointment to verify that everything was good-to-go and I mentioned that I was thinking about starting a business with a friend. They scheduled a meeting for 2 hours, explaining that they wanted to get to know me as this was my first visit (awesome). We discussed my taxes and had an enjoyable conversation about my personal goals as we got to know each other (again, awesome). I was feeling really good about my trip. We got through my taxes and with ~15 minutes remaining the CPA said "we are running out of time so, tell me about this business that you mentioned". I gave her the elevator pitch, and she handed me a pamphlet from the front waiting area, explaining that I would have to pick an entity (which of course is the first step to starting any business, common knowledge). We discussed this for no more than 15 minutes, and I even stopped her from writing anything down because I wanted this to be informal. There was really no knowledge gained from the discussion, but I was excited to come to them in the future once I was more prepared to get the ball rolling on the business. A few weeks go by and I receive a call saying that I was to drive back up to Ham Lake to pick up my tax documents, sign a form and pay. Now, I have never paid more than a couple hundred dollars for my tax preparation as I have a very simple tax profile, and that is why I was surprised when I was handed a bill for $700! My heart dropped into my stomach. $300 for tax preparation (a bit steep, but understandable), and $400 for business consultation!? I could not believe it. I immediately asked for an explanation but the CPA who helped me was not on site and the front office explained that I was to pay in order for my taxes to be filed. I called said CPA and eventually received a call explaining that I was paying for them to arrange everything, and send me emails, and for their knowledge, and experience etc. Absolute lack of transparency. I feel like I was robbed. I will not do business again with this CPA. I have now read others reviews and I will agree with others that you are getting hamburgers for the price of filet mignon. I hope this helps for anyone deciding to do business with Sannerud Savarese & Associates. I really want to give more stars here, but I feel like they did me dirty. Demand transparency if you choose this CPA, they are nice people, but they will charge you for the most minimal of services."

"We had been seeing Sue for several years and thought we had a good relationship, although their fee was rather steep we thought, they had expertise we were looking for. Recently I asked a fairly straight forward question but received a lengthy and unhelpful response via e-mail. Since it wasn't the advice I needed I didn't reply again. Two weeks later I received a bill for $87 for this worthless e-mail. I called right away to figure out what this charge was because I had heard nothing about anything billable in the e-mail interaction, come to find out Sue was well aware she was going to bill me and didn't bother to say anything. When I said that I didn't agree to such a charge and it seemed high given the content of the e-mail, which didn't answer my question, she basically told me to get lost. I'm extremely disappointed. We have been working with this group for 5 years and pay a pretty steep percentage of our (usually significant) tax returns as a fee, and to be treated this way is beyond hurtful. I would not recommend this company which would apparently rather make $87 than come to an agreement with a client about fees. If she had even apologized for not giving me a heads up that her e-mail response would require billable hours I would have been understanding, but she was rude. So my husband and I will be taking our business elsewhere."

"I am and have been satisfied with them for many years. When I first hired them I had a couple of small business interests. Not real complicated, but more than I wanted to deal with. Now my tax account is pretty simple, but I still enjoy having Sue put it together and double check my record keeping. She has done my work since the beginning and she has always had plenty of time for me. When I utilize the services of a highly competent professional, I expect to pay a fair price. If I wanted cheap, I would go to one of the budget services that advertise on TV. I have always gotten more than my money's worth at Sannerud, Savarese, & Assoc."