Minerva Accountants Bristol and Somerset
Fully digital Xero accountants taking the hassle out of your business
As an athletics coach for endurance events, I’m used to planning training loads that include elements of fast work, long slogs, technique work and recovery.
In your business life this would equate to sprinting for deadlines, putting in sustained effort for maintenance, improving your skills and automation, and resting.
Business owners always seem to forget the resting bit but, if it’s good enough for top athletes, it’s good enough for you too.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?
When I talk to accountants about how to have a ‘better’ tax return season my assumption is that they want to avoid having to do all the work in a short period but I am aware that some accountants choose to work this way. They deliberately set aside December/January to do nothing but work, and then take most of February as holiday, and work part time the rest of the year.
And you will all have different goals for your businesses.
Most goals are a mixture of profitability, work-life balance, and final valuation on exit. But you might have a specific aspiration to drive a particular car whereas I’m happy with my battered old Skoda when it’s too far to walk/cycle or public transport isn’t suitable.
When we take on new clients the first thing we discuss is what motivated them to set up their business. We do this for coaching clients as well as for Minerva Accountants clients so that we can give the best advice. Not everybody wants to grow an empire. Other people are happy to put in longer hours short term in order to accelerate their new startup.
We run Vision and Values sessions for business owners and/or their teams. But you can read ‘Start with Why’ by Simon Sinek to ensure that you are clear about where you and your business are heading.
You can order ‘Start with Why’ here.
This is a bit of a personal one.
After 5 years of debilitating ‘women’s problems’ (not a secret but you probably don’t want the details so just take it from me that it made life seem twice as hard as previously) my recent surgery means I’m now feeling more energised and enjoying life again.
It’s been a long drag but I’m so please that I’ve succeeded in spite of this and it’s all down to discipline and doing the right things
So, what is happening?
1. My third book, ‘Changing the Numbers: how to deliver advisory services for success’ has launched and been shortlisted in the Business Book Awards. I’ve also been giving talks and training on the topic.
2. I’m expanding Minerva Accountants so watch this space
3. I’m opening up more coaching slots (group and individual).
4. Online courses are still available but you will be able to start any time and combine this with a rolling 6 months of group coaching. No more missing out on the start of a cohort.
As always there’s lots of free stuff available for those who want a taster but also for those who can’t afford me yet – Join us for any of the free webinars here.
But it’s not just about me. There is a lesson for all of us:
– discipline gets you through when motivation is lacking
– doing the right things gets you the right results
– coaching can provide the clarity to see what the right things are for your business and gives the accountability to follow through
– support through menopause can help the women in your life to keep achieving their best (thanks Lauren Chiren for your talks that made it clear that I wasn’t ready to retire)
If I can help you please get in touch. I’m looking forward to catching up and I still enjoy a pot of tea.
| People are more important than things This is one of my fundamental beliefs although it may sound a little odd for an accountant who primarily advises people how to grow their business and/or how to make it more profitable. But many of the techniques we use to make a business less dependent on its owners in order to scale are the same ones that we use to make owners less essential so that they can have a better work life balance. It is really important to me WHO I work with as it’s about far more than money. While it is important to enjoy our work I also believe that we do our best work for people we like and where we are a good fit. That’s why I only accept about half the people who ask me about coaching. Sometimes it’s the wrong type of business, or they require different expertise, or it may just be that I don’t feel a connection. Because if you don’t trust me you won’t follow my advice. Not that you have to follow my advice but it would be a waste of your money and my time if you NEVER followed my advice. One element of what helps to develop a connection is shared values. We donate 1% of our turnover to charity, we make a donation to fund a day’s education for everybody who attends our free webinars (we like to think that it will encourage the right sort of people to attend), we run a paperless office and, when we can’t avoid travel, we offset. Not surprisingly many of our clients also include charitable donations such as 1% for charity and 1% for sustainability. Or they’re members of B1G1 doing business for good. So, if you’d like to help a girl to receive a day of education please join us for our series of Better Business webinars (for accountants and bookkeepers) or Money Matters webinars for other business owners. Details here. |
Emails, phone calls, texts, messaging systems of every kind! Are we making ourselves too available at the expense of actually getting the work done?
I know lots of accountants suffered from this during covid with Friday evening announcements raising lots of client queries via multiple channels but it is often and issue even now.
We’re often encouraged to be available to clients the way THEY want to communicate but it’s a lot easier if we can streamline those communications.
This is how we control incoming communications at Minerva Accountants:
Mobile – This is not on my business cards. I guard my number and rely on voicemail when I’m in meetings or deep work. I block people who ring repeatedly but don’t leave a message.
Landline – this is a VOIP number which goes straight to my answering service (Answer-It.co.uk if you need a recommendation). They answer it professionally, get rid of sales calls, and email any genuine messages.
Calendly – I encourage people to book calls directly in my diary using calendly.com and so far only one person has abused this to book a sales call. Calendly links with my diary and only offers times when I am free. It emails me when a booking is made as well as putting the appointment in my diary. All bookings are for a phone call unless there is a reason to Zoom.
Webchat – this is run by real people (MeluChat.com) not bots so they can deal with some queries, book calls via calendly and email me messages.
Social media messaging systems – I’m careful who I connect with and block people who spam me this way. My usual response is to encourage people to book a call via Calendly or refer them to my website. As we have a lot of scheduled posts (we use Smarterqueue) people assume that this is an easier way to contact me but emails are always best.
WhatsApp – I don’t use this for business at all.
Course signups – these are all automated through the main website or through Thinkific. I only speak to people that we need to vet for our coaching and more expensive courses as I don’t want them to waste their money. Sign ups are forwarded to me by email and also linked to our CRM system (Active Campaign).
Emails – my favourite as I can review them when I’m free, forward them if I choose to delegate the task, link them to our practice management software, and there is a written record of what was said.
I don’t have notifications set for any of these systems as I log into emails and social media at least once a day to check for messages at a time that suits me.
To simplify outgoing communications we use helpsheets and videos. Clients often have similar queries. Whenever a client asks a question that I think may be asked again we create a Helpsheet or a training video that we can send to everybody who asks in future. It saves a lot of time and allows at least some of the replies to be delegated.
How do you control your communications in and out?