Category: Business

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Judge the judges 

I’ve been busy this week judging accountancy awards. 

I always love doing this as I like to learn what the best businesses are doing. But some entries are easier to judge than others. 

Entrants are asked to submit facts and figures to support their entry. As most of the judges are accountants you can expect that we will focus on these. And yet too many entries are clearly written by a marketing person with eloquent prose. Judge what your judges will be looking for. (This is even easier when you know who the judges are.) 

Awards entries are like CVs, imagine me saying “so what?” or “prove it” to every sentence on your CV. Facts, figures and evidence are import in any awards entry but even more so when your judges are accountants.  

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How to get the most out of your team 

Personality profiling is often criticised as it is not an exact science. However, as long as you understand the limitations, it can be very helpful. 

We use DiSC profiling but there are other systems based around colours or you could use Myers-Briggs.  

This helps us to understand our preferred communication style and also how our colleagues and clients like to communicate. For instance, my brief bullet points are probably great for somebody who likes to get straight to the point but there are other personality types that would prefer something longer with more descriptions and examples. 

So here’s an example of how we use it in practice: 

In my previous practice we had an art gallery as a client. The owner was a business person who liked direct communication (like me). However many of their artists joined us and preferred a gentler style. I had to adapt my communications and use a more verbose style to get my message across. It is up to us to speak to clients in plain English and also in a way that they can understand. 

On the other hand we had another wonderful client who was even more direct than me which intimidated one of our junior staff. Fortunately I was able to explain that this was just the client’s usual style and not a criticism of the work and their professional relationship flourished from there. 

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Tax tip – interest on your director’s loan account 

If you have put money into your limited company that has not yet been repaid then you can pay yourself interest on this loan. This can be a tax efficient way to take money out of the company BUT you would need a CT61 form completed for HMRC each quarter. 

If you’re interested then please contact us for further information. 

If, on the other hand, you have borrowed money from your company then you may face a higher tax charge and even a personal tax charge. We have software to help you plan your dividends. 

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Paying your spouse

Paying your spouse a salary can be a good way to save tax if they are not using all of their personal allowance.

BUT you need a credible job description and they must be paid at least minimum wage. We’re happy to make suggestions of how they can assist you in your business.

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New corporation tax rates

As from 1 April corporation tax rates increased for companies with taxable profits above £50,000. The new rate is 25% for companies with taxable profits above £250,000 with a hybrid rate of 26.5% for profits between the two limits.

If your profits are close to the £50,000 you may wish to consider:
1. Are all your costs allowable for tax?
2. Paying into a company pension for yourself or your employees
3. Paying interest on any directors’ loan accounts that are in credit.

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Know your client

Lots of client meetings this week. Yes, we need to know our clients for AML but chatting to them usually results in extra work. Sometimes it’s a quick query that can be answered straight away and earn ‘brownie points’ and client loyalty but sometimes it is paying work that earns extra fees.

How often do you speak to your clients?

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Are you multitasking or attention switching?

We used to be proud to multi-task.
And then we were told it was wrong as we were attention switching which was less efficient rather than more.
But sometimes it is possible to multi-task efficiently.

This is when we’re doing simple tasks that require little thought. For instance, this tip is a result of me cracking an egg for my breakfast while pouring water into the teapot. Both simple tasks that I was able to do using muscle memory and minimal brain input. I also do those all essential pelvic floor exercises while cleaning my teeth so that I can laugh as much as I like when I’m in that retirement home.

Many people listen to a podcast or radio show while doing doing physical exercise. (I’m unable to do this as my focus super-power means that I automatically block out all sound to focus on the other task)

What little tasks can you combine without losing quality?

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Would you buy a discounted parachute?

It’s a question that Brad Burton asked which got me thinking. (So I hope it will get you thinking too)

Why do we assume that we need to be cheap to be attractive?

Quality is often more important than price. Yes, at Minerva we can use software to churn out accounts fairly cheaply but business advice is much more valuable and that takes time to understand the client’s business. It’s hard to be reactive, let alone proactive, on a tiny budget.

What could you do better in your business if you had a little more time or money to put in? And how much more valuable would that appear to your ideal customers?

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Getting the most out of conferences

There are all sorts of conferences and events you may attend for different reasons but you need to prioritise what you want to get out of an event in order to make the most of it.

For me it’s usually about the people and maximising the time. I try to meet all the people I chat to remotely throughout the year. Here’s how I go about it.

1. Wear comfortable shoes and make sure that you look like your social media photo so you’re easy to spot. For me this means an up to date, professional photo online and remembering to wear contact lenses, hair down, and usually a branded shirt at the event.

2. First plan any talks you want to see – If speakers are unpaid the talks are often just selling a product rather than real value to you so leave.

3. Next identify any exhibitors you want to catch up with or see new products. This is the time to meet the people. If necessary you can arrange a demo when you get back to the office. Worth having a separate email when booking to separate the more spammy follow ups. If you don’t want a follow up don’t agree to have your badge scanned or hand over your details (it saves their time too)

4. Book when and where you’re going to meet other business friends.

5. Carry plenty of business cards unless you prefer to keep your contacts on Linked In. (Whilst sales folks often have their contact details on Linked In many people don’t due to the volume of unsolicited calls. Having a Linked In profile doesn’t mean that people log into the app; even my retired parents have profiles for some unknown reason 🤷🏻‍♀️)

6. Associated social events are an added bonus. Usually great for dancing but too loud for proper networking (or is it just my age?).

7. Transfer any items to your to do list on the train home so they might actually get done.

8. Book the next day as a quiet day for an introvert crash and/or to follow up on everybody that you met. Add new contacts to your CRM and connect on social media

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