Both Hudson Business Advice and Minerva Accountants are paperless businesses. It feels great but, if you have a lot of paper in your business you may wish to start by becoming a less-paper business.
Look at all the ways that you handle paper in your business:
Paper in – can you get your clients to deal with you electronically through email, online portals and electronic forms etc. (Don’t forget to offer a telephone option). Ask suppliers to send their invoices electronically and use bank feeds instead of paper statements. We scan all incoming mail and file electronically.
Paper processing – try to replace paper with electronic systems as much as possible. Use workflow management software or even something simple like Trello to manage the processes in your business. Keep all your working papers electronically and look at the, on a second (or third) screen rather than printing them out. If your work involves going to site then use a laptop or other handheld devices to access your business software rather than carrying around piles of paper. Use client portals for sharing confidential documents. You can also use client portals for getting signatures or we use Signable software for ad hoc signatures.
Paper out – Use email and client portals to send information out. The only things that we send through the post are gifts.
Paper storage – You may use a DMS (document management system) or a series of folders on OneDrive or similar. If you have archives of paper information then it is rarely worth scanning these unless you are desperately short of space. You will rarely refer back to documents over a year old and few papers need to be kept more than six years. Start your paperless systems from today and dispose of your old papers as they pass their relevant date.
But it doesn’t end there. Now that we’ve reduced our paper, we’re working on reducing our digital footprint.
How deep do your values go?
I’ve realised that I must be a real pain to go out with sometimes. It’s because I have strong feelings about supporting local businesses, so my ethics pervade my purchasing decisions.
Ask me whether I prefer Costa or Starbucks and I’ll suggest a local independent café instead. If only the national chains are available, I’ll choose the one that pays a higher proportion of tax in the UK. The same goes for restaurants, although that also satisfies my foodie appetite as I usually find that independents offer much better food and service.
And I really try to avoid a certain pub chain that, in my opinion, treated their employees poorly when it came to furlough.
Even supermarkets get the same treatment as I know from farming clients which ones treat their suppliers better or worse. My preference is always my local butcher (a multi-generational business where the current sons are both triathletes, so they know how to eat!) and farm shops. I like seeing the names of the farms on my food and knowing that I have cycled past the animals, and they look well cared for. If you’re going to eat meat (and we try to have at least 1 veggie day per week) at least make sure that the animals have the best conditions as this is better for the animals AND for the environment.
How green is your bank? Here’s a useful website when choosing bank accounts:
https://bank.green/
How green is your pension?
https://makemymoneymatter.co.uk/
How deep do your values go when nobody is looking?
How do you capture good ideas?
I am so annoyed with myself!
Last night I woke up with a brilliant idea for this article but I failed to make a note. Not surprisingly I had forgotten it by the time I woke up properly this morning.
I have the memory of a flip flop (or a thong as my Aussie friends call them which can lead to some misunderstanding). Usually when I have an idea I make a note on my phone so that I can then make sense of it when I’m properly awake. Or I make a voice note if I’m driving.
I don’t just keep ideas for articles, I also keep ideas of projects that I think will drive my businesses forward so I also keep a folder of ideas amongst my other documents. Far too many of these are on Excel as that’s my app of choice as an accountant but it doesn’t really matter as long as they’re out of my brain and stored somewhere reliable. I also used to keep a box file of paper ideas and a folder full of photos or screen shots that I want to think about properly.
Once a year I spend a couple of days pulling around 12 business improvement projects together by wading through my random notes. I then implement these throughout the year. This means that I have separate times for ideas, deep thinking, and implementing my plans.
How do you capture your ideas until you’re ready do turn them into projects?
Are timesheets useful?
Anyone who had to do timesheets in an accountancy firm probably remembers how much time they spent/wasted recording their time to the nearest 6 minutes. Then trying to make sure that the hours balanced. What did you do with the extra hour you worked but didn’t get paid for? And what about the 7 hours on the job that was already over budget? And then being beaten with a big stick (not literally) for dumping everything to admin.
Most businesses, with the notable exception of lawyers, now charge fixed fees rather than hourly rates so timesheets are rarely used for billing. So, what purpose do they serve?
They are a mine of management information.
That over budget client was undercharged for years because nobody was honest about how long the job actually took. One staff member took twice as long to do jobs as another because they hadn’t been trained properly. And the amount of time genuinely spent on admin justified investment in some automated systems to speed things up.
So, what is the compromise?
We keep timesheets to the nearest 15 mins with the exceptions of phones calls and ‘quick’ emails which are recorded as a minimum of 10 minutes because of the disruption to other work. If I do some work on the train to a meeting, then I may double record the time as part of the meeting time AND the job I worked on on the journey as otherwise it would have had to be done in the office.
This means that I know roughly how much time (our most expensive resource) is spent on each job so I can ensure that our fixed fees cover this as well as a share of the automation and overheads. What I really need is reporting by exception. What jobs are taking significantly longer than expected so that I can see what the holdup is and how to improve. This doesn’t need 6-minute reporting. And it doesn’t need a timesheet balanced to the official working day.
Before implementing timesheets think about WHY you want them and make sure that they will give you the information that you need. You may find that the recording process doesn’t need to be too onerous. I use the Xero project app on my phone, but Toggl is another free resource.
How can tech help a small business?
With MTD on its way for sole traders and then limited companies it is essential to get everybody keeping digital records sooner rather than later. But, while MTD are wielding the big MTD stick, what are the benefits to small business owners of using modern cloud software for their bookkeeping?
- Multiple users can log in at the same time so accountants can help clients more proactively with queries or business issues
- Gone are the days of manually typing everything. Software can link to data entry apps to do your bookkeeping from a photograph or PDF thanks to OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or can link directly to electronic tills or online shops as well as automatically uploading your bank statements.
- Invoices can be raised from the app on a phone and card payments taken before leaving site. Saving Friday nights for relaxing rather than paperwork
- All this automation means that business owners can do some of the work themselves to reduce their bookkeeping bills.
- With remote access to the business numbers accountants can finally be more proactive
- Management information is available at the touch of a button. Of course, more complex businesses may need proper management accounts but even that is quicker with up to date bookkeeping.
- We run monthly bookkeeping health checks* for all our clients so that, even when they do it themselves, we can ensure that their record are up to date and in a good state each month.
- With up to date bookkeeping year end accounts can be produced much faster.
- Accounting software can be attached to hundreds of apps to help project management, staff scheduling, stock control, and all sorts of other parts of the business.
- It is easier to have regular contact between business owner, bookkeeper and accountant and to provide the best service possible.
*At Minerva Accountants we use Dext Precision, formerly Xavier, for most of our health check reports.
What is business advisory?
As you know I’ve spent the last year writing ‘Changing the Numbers: how to deliver advisory services for success’ to help accountants to provide real help for their business clients. And I’m the first to agree that, whilst all businesses need this service, not everybody can afford to pay for it. (This is why we have free products such as our Better Business webinars for accountants and our Money Matter ones for general business.)
But for those clients that can afford to invest in growing their business then we can do much better than a bit of tax advice at the year end or help completing a loan application. As accountants we have financial training but we also have exposure to hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses as well as running our own.
Accountants who, like me, have worked as Finance Directors or similar will know that their role at the board room table includes much more than ‘just’ accountancy. The topics that I’ve identified include:
1. Vision and values
2. Cash flow
3. Pricing
4. Staffing
5. Efficiency of operation
6. Funding
7. Tax
8. Mergers and acquisitions
9. Marketing
10. Sales
11. Customer services and quality
12. Cost control
Different accountants may offer advice on some or all of these areas depending on knowledge and experience so we need to be clear on those areas.
What do accountants and dentists have in common?
We’re both viewed as necessary evils.
I was quite shocked when, a few years ago, an old friend told me that she would rather see her dentist than her accountant. As somebody who is terrified of going to the dentist (he’s lovely really) this really made me view myself as an accountant in a different light.
I see myself as an expert who loves to help business owners. Sometimes that’s keeping them out of trouble and other times it can put an enormous smile on their faces. And my dentist probably sees himself the same way.
So I started to think about why I had chosen my dentist and what I could learn as an accountant:
• I choose to pay a little more in the hope of a better service than mere competence. I want somebody to take a little more time to reassure me should I ever need any work done.
• They have a dedicated car park (although I walk as they are opposite my office)
• The receptionist, Belinda, is probably their biggest asset. She always calls 48 hours beforehand to confirm the appointment so there’s never any confusion.
• Belinda is very reassuring with her calm, competent manner. She explains all Covid restrictions clearly as they are constantly changing
• The waiting room is calm and has free Wi-Fi so I can distract myself by checking my emails or messaging a friend while I wait.
• There are calming videos of fish and wildlife, including on the ceiling of each surgery. (I’m not sure what the accountants’ equivalent would be)
• The dentist and hygienist themselves are always friendly and ask about my kids or work; something personal to relax me.
• They take payment as I leave and book in the next appointment.
How much more enjoyable would clients find it if we spent time on creating a welcoming environment in our business? Take a few moments to think about how you interact with clients at every stage.
Success spirals
I’m a self-confessed procrastinator so I use a number of techniques to get myself focused on doing the RIGHT work. Fellow procrastinators will understand that procrastination isn’t the same as laziness, we’re often busy but doing the WRONG things. My oven was never as clean as when I was supposed to be studying for my accountancy exams!
For me it helps to take the first step towards whatever I’m supposed to be doing. I have seen this referred to as a success spiral but James Clear, in Atomic Habits, refers to ‘habit stacking’ in much the same way.
For me the hardest step is, almost always, getting out of bed in the morning so I often head straight for my office in my dressing gown. Once sat at my desk my day has started and I’ll shower and dress when I’m ready for a break. Obviously I can’t do this if I have a meeting first thing!
When writing my books it is often hard to get started so I break the book down into chapters and sit down in front of a blank page to ‘type some notes’ on the chapter. Once I’ve started typing I’ll often get a complete chapter drafted before I pause to draw breath,
If you’re a fellow procrastinator what is your first barrier and what can you do to remove that?
When should I recruit?
It’s a question I’m often asked.
You need to recruit BEFORE you get busy so that you have time to train your latest employee. Particularly if this is your first employee as all the training will be down to you. With my first employee, a trainee accountant, I was doing my own work in the evenings for the first two months.
You need to recruit early to allow your new person to get up to speed with the work, your clients, and your systems. Even with fully qualified accountants this took about three months.
You can accelerate both of these with a good induction programme. (I share ours on our courses)
You need to recruit early in case you find that you have chosen the wrong person. It’s something we all fear when recruiting but better to move them on quickly (and kindly) if they’re not a good fit so that you, and they, can find something better.
So, my rule of thumb is to recruit 5 months ahead of when I need the team member to be at full capacity. 3 weeks to advertise, 1 week to interview and decide, 1 month for them to give notice, and 3 months for them to get up to speed.
It’s much easier getting new business than new team members so, if you have the right person, you can soon find the extra work for them to do that will cover their costs.
What’s your experience of recruiting and onboarding new people?
We don’t need another hero
I’m currently reading Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller which is about getting the right marketing message for our business. It’s very good and I recommend it.
Miller suggests that we make our customer/prospect the hero and that we are not a hero but their guide. As you can imagine it set off a train of thought as I reimagined my own business in this light.
How do you and your product/service guide your clients to solve their problems and reach their goal? Now, how can you build this into your marketing?