Author: admin

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Don’t call it ZERO! 

One of my pet hates is people who call XERO Zero. 

I can understand it when business owners make the mistake but accountants and bookkeepers who claim to be expert enough to assist clients do it too. 

And too many of these accountants don’t understand Xero’s full functionality and use it like any ordinary desktop (some even ask their clients to print out the reports at year end rather than logging in themselves). For these people Xero is just a big cost whereas, for us, it can really help a small business to punch above their weight in terms of both management information and business efficiency. 

I’ve been using it since a random client came to me using Xero for their bookkeeping back in 2012. And I liked it so much that we became Xero partners in 2013. 

Being a Xero partner means that we get full Xero training FREE of charge. Xero pay the cost for us to get the most of their software. In turn we can pass that on to our clients which we do through online videos as well as advice on how they can use their Xero better and/or take advantage of many of the add ons to save them time. 

So, in our experience, Xero is worth a whole lot more than zero. 

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No more Google! 

Why are you googling when you have a dedicated accountant on tap? Someone who can give you good quality personalised advice. 

Whether it’s ‘my mate at the pub’ or ‘my colleague on the golf course’ there’s nothing more annoying to accountants than their clients taking tax ‘advice’ from unregulated sources. 

As a qualified accountant I have to stay up to date with the latest legislation every year, to spend time understanding my client’s circumstances, and to refuse or refer work that I’m not personally qualified and experienced to carry out. But that doesn’t stop ‘Dave at the pub’ from offering his personal insights. 

Depending on the advice my usual response is that it’s not applicable to my client’s particular circumstances, not viable, or it may even be illegal. It may even refer to US tax legislation rather than UK! Even HMRC’s own website is so heavily dumbed down to be accessible to lay people that it can not always be relied upon. And it certainly isn’t personalised. 

I’m often asked to do live budget commentaries but I always refuse these as I prefer to listen, make notes about the clients each aspect will affect, and then read the full supporting documentation. Only then will I start to offer advice.  

I’m very much in favour of HMRC clamping down on unregulated tax advisers. Let’s make sure that accountants offer the best service possible by staying technically up to date and taking time to understand our clients and their financial circumstances. 

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What do you value?

Struggling to write this today as I hide in a café in the village while a house clearance company dispose of 14 years of my life.

But I’m a natural optimist (and the future is looking very good once I’ve waved goodbye to the memories here) so it’s easy to see the silver linings.

I’ve always believed that people are more important than things and so it was a no-brainer that I would choose to run my first business on just 25 hours per week so that I could spend time around my kids as they were growing up. I also worked from home until the team grew beyond 5 people and we had to take on external offices in the next town.

Working on limited hours meant that I soon became an acknowledged expert on how to run my business as efficiently as possible and it’s something that I love to share with accounts and business clients through coaching and courses. Which is how my second business was born.

Seeing my possessions go out of the door (some to new homes via a charity, and some to the dump) is hard but they are just objects compared to the family, friends, staff, and clients who ate around my dining table or shared their dreams in my offices.

What are your most precious memories? Does your business allow you to do what you want to do?

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How much do you charge?

I’m always tempted to say “let me get my tape measure out and work out the length of that piece of string” but somehow, I bit my tongue and explain that, like a builder, I can’t quote until I understand the job.

First, I need to understand the starting point:
• Type/complexity/size of business
• Limited/partnership/sol trader (we don’t handle personal tax except for directors of our business clients)
• Bookkeeping quality and software

Then I need to understand the desired end point. What services they want /need.

This helps me to understand the level of staff required, how much time they will spend, and any specific skills or tech the work needs.

Finally, I need to understand if we’re the right accountant for them:
• How tech savvy are they so that we can automate more work?
• What is their attitude towards paying tax?
• Are they looking to grow their business or make other changes where they can benefit from our business advice?

Only then can I produce the magic number from my costing spreadsheet.

In the meantime, we try to give a ballpark figure and put some sample packages on our website. We’re not cheap but, according to our testimonials, we’re worth it.

How do you set your prices? Do you quote one single price for an identical item, or does it need to be tailored to the specific customer?

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What recruitment crisis? 

On the one hand I hear people (accountants and other businesses) complaining about the lack of suitable recruits, on the other hand I see my kids’ clever school leaver friends working hard in short term jobs because they can’t find apprenticeships to launch their careers. 

I don’t know about other industries but in accountancy we have created our own crisis. We have a shortage of qualified, experienced accountants today because firms cut back on their training budgets a few years ago.  

Personally, I like taking on trainees as I can train them to do things the way I think they should be done. No ‘bad’ habits to unlearn from previous workplaces. And they’re usually pretty tech savvy to cope with our modern processes. 

In a relatively short time, you’ll have a fabulous employee, an excellent return for your investment of time and money, AND you’ll have made a positive contribution to somebody’s life (all my previous trainees are now in management positions and some on the cusp of partnership). For us their full-time availability during college holidays balances the additional time off required by our part timers who require additional time off with family at this time. 

If you’re really struggling the apprentice minimum wage is peanuts but hopefully you can afford a little more. 

So here are just a couple you might like to have working for you in the Bristol/Somerset area. 

One talented photographer looking for something that uses their analytical skills.* Currently doing pub work. 

One interested in tech/business looking for cyber security or similar. Currently stacking shelves. 

*I’m currently looking for 21 new clients to cover one trainee salary. Happy to accept referrals for coaching and/or company accounts. If you can offer a suitable job before I can then there are plenty more school leavers for me to recruit (I just happen to know these two) 

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Tax tip

Research and development tax credits are a government incentive to encourage companies to invest in INNOVATION. Over recent year HMRC have tightened up on what qualifies for research and development tax credits.  

Please ensure that your research is original work. 

Your project may research or develop a new process, product, or service or improve on an existing one.  

You must explain how your project: 

  • Looked for an advance in the field 
  • Had to overcome the scientific or technological uncertainty 
  • Tried to overcome the scientific or technological uncertainty 
  • Could not be easily worked out by a professional in the field 

Much of the ‘research’ that businesses previously tried to claim is now being rejected.  

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Tax Tip

This week saw the release of the quarterly ICAEW South West business confidence monitor. Have a read to see how the region is feeling about doing business. Do you feel the same?

Although generally positive late payments and increased regulation are worrying many.

In a separate survey, almost 50% of businesses said their costs had risen because of the increase in the National Living Wage. Almost 20% put up prices to cover the increase. Around 20% have already improved efficiencies, including using automation and investing in technology. Others have closed pay gaps and increased upskilling of staff in response.

On Friday 2nd August at 8.30am ICAEW will be holding an online discussion and overview of the results for the South West Region, led by ICAEW Head of Business, Simon Gray and Ed Tellwright from the British Business Bank – to join us please register here.

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Should you be selfish in business?

I believe that you should be selfish in business, but perhaps not in the way that you think.

When you set up your business you gave up regular income and security in order to run the business of your dreams. Your dreams may be similar to mine or perhaps not, but the point is that we want something out of our business in the form of work-life balance, profit, or passion.

And we should be selfish about structuring our business to achieve our personal goals.

I see far too many business owners who are working long hours for below minimum wage or just not enjoying whatever their business has become. Some of them come to me for coaching. They are worse off than if they had stayed in their imperfect employment and they need something to help them out of the rough and onto the fairway towards their original goal. (And there, as a non-golfer, my golfing analogies end!)

Are you where you want to be in your business? If yes then give yourself a round of applause, if not then reply to this email for news on our various coaching programmes.

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The King’s Speech 

At the state opening of parliament King Charles announced the following economic measure on the agenda for the new government 

  • Audit reform and corporate governance – long overdue and something that ICAEW have been pushing for 
  • Using the independent OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) to assess any significant and permanent tax and spending changes – this makes a lot of sense 
  • Great British Energy to accelerate future technologies for clean power – we have a number of clients working in this area who will be pleased to hear that they can move forwards 
  • Streamlining the delivery process for critical infrastructure such as the national grid and renewable energy 
  • Generally improving employment rights – while this may come at a cost to employers the best ones are already doing most of these things anyway 

And lots more

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Doing business on Deep Space 9 

I’m a bit of a scifi geek and I love the Quark character who owns the bar in Deep Space 9. He has some great business traits. And some bad ones! 

The good news is that Quark tracks his KPIs (on an hourly basis which is probably overkill!).  

In Season 2 Episode 10* Quark has enlisted a musician to draw more visitors to the bar BUT the musician is so good that nobody is actually drinking or buying food. He talks about his indicators which feed into his projections which in turn lead to profits.  

In one of my businesses I track speaking events because the more I speak, the more enquiries I get for coaching and courses. In another I track networking and ‘coffee’ meetings as relationship building leads to more referrals. 

What lead indicators do you track in your business that you know will lead to more profits in time? 

*in case you want an excuse to watch it  

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