It’s always good to get an insight into someone else’s working day, that’s why we like to focus on different members of staff for our ’A Day in the Life feature’. This time, one of our Directors Keith Grover describes a typical working day.

The alarm goes off at the usual time of 6.00am. I’m up straightaway or else I’m struggling! I go downstairs for a shower, breakfast, stroke the cat and read the Bible. Before I leave, I check my emails. I live in St Albans and drive to work, so leave the house at 7.00am, popping into a local newsagent to buy a copy of The Times newspaper en-route. I arrive in the office at 7.30am.

Busy morning

I’m not the first one in; a couple of my colleagues are here already. I switch on my computer, re-review and deal with the straightforward emails and then put the kettle on for a cuppa char! I have a brief discussion with Karen Robbins, one of our managers, about how she’s getting on with her jobs and everything is going well. I go back to my desk and update my time records on our costing system for the last three days.

Next, I do some work on the accounts of a client, a business owned by a wealthy Greek businessman. I have a few questions so I email these over to the company administrator.

I’m responsible for the preparation of our company’s own accounts and so I do some work on the January 2018 books and records.

This year, I’m the Chair for the Ambition 2018 Sales and Marketing Conference. Even though it’s not being held until 14 November, we want to get 10 sponsors on board as soon as possible. I liaise with a member of the committee and email a potential sponsor, as does she.  

There is a little bit of our month-end billing still to do, so I discuss these with my fellow director Karen Chase in order to finalise them.

Signed accounts arrive in the post from a client, a small limited company owned by a guy I met through a local networking group. I sign these as well as our accounts file, then return the file to the manager handling the client and she does the rest.

A local accountant arrives with an audit of a large property company to sign off. We have an excellent arrangement with him whereby he prepares the accounts and we carry out the audit as he is not a registered auditor. We also discuss his exit strategy as he is coming up to retirement and wants to sell some of his portfolio to us. He agrees to prepare further details for me to review with my fellow directors, with a view to this happening in April.

We are having a marketing meeting this afternoon at 2.30pm with our marketing consultant, Kate Adam from Meredith Marketing. I do some preparatory work, scheduling the new clients that we have gained in January. It has been a good month and the results are encouraging.

We are in the process of becoming a Xero Partner – Xero is a very popular cloud-based accounting software that’s increasingly being used by our clients. In order to achieve this partnership, I’m going through Xero’s web-based training modules. I complete three modules. These are fairly time-consuming, but it is important that this is completed sooner rather than later.

Working lunch

Kate Adam arrives at 1.00pm and the two of us pop up the road to a local Italian restaurant for a light lunch. We discuss marketing as well as having a general catch-up. We get back just before 2.30pm and go straight to the boardroom where we are joined by Karen Chase, Amy Armitage and Charlotte Nicholson. It’s a very useful meeting where we discuss what has been successful and what hasn’t been over the past year. We come out with an action plan with a view to a follow up meeting in a month’s time.

It’s now 4.00pm so I go back to my desk to catch up and deal with a number of emails, telephone calls and other admin matters, before leaving at 4.30pm. I’m due to go out with some friends for an Indian meal tonight – we’re meeting there at 6.00pm so I need to get away a bit earlier today.

I like having a job with variety

My day is extremely varied, which makes it really enjoyable and rewarding. Being a director means that I get involved in practice management and marketing matters as well as accounting technical ones. Today has been more of the former rather than the latter, but that’s how it goes and both are important.

I’ve been at HB Accountants for over 31 years. It’s a great place to work and the people are wonderful, as are our clients and contacts. The work-life balance has always been important here so there is not a long-hours culture, which I’m extremely grateful for.

Starting your own business is exciting, risky, hard work and scary (especially if you’re giving up a full-time job in order to launch your own company), but at the same time it can be tremendously fulfilling as well as profitable.

According to the latest figures, the number of UK start-ups is booming – in 2016 there were a record-breaking 657,790 new businesses. In East Hertfordshire alone there were nearly 4,500 new businesses, which is terrific news for the local economy.

If you have a really good business idea and are determined to help break start-up records in 2018, there are a number of organisations you can turn to for support, mentoring and training to enhance your chances of becoming a success. We’ve taken a look at some of their advice:

Business plan

Entrepreneur.com has published a number of useful articles on how to write a business plan, letting you know what kind of information you need to include, including financial information, competitor analysis and a development plan.

Start-up loan

If you’ve been trading for less than two years, you could qualify for a government-backed start-up loan between £500 and £25,000 as an unsecured personal loan with a fixed interest rate of 6%. Applicants are offered free support and guidance with writing a business plan and, if your loan is successful, you’ll qualify for up to 12 months’ free mentoring.

Training

Although you will be starting a business to do something you not only enjoy but also do well, there are inevitably many processes and procedures you’ll have to follow, whether it’s registering your company, coping with the day-to-day finances, marketing and social media etc. In Hertfordshire, entrepreneurs can take advantage of free or low-cost training courses run by Wenta, an organisation that provides support to start-up entrepreneurs across the county.

Staffing

It may well be that you need to employ staff members, either from the outset or as you start to expand. If you’ve never recruited before, you’ll need to find out about your obligations as an employer, as well as advice on managing your new staff. The government website for small businesses has a section on recruiting and hiring providing comprehensive advice and a support helpline.

Accounts

Whilst it’s possible to set up your own business on your own, there are compelling reasons to use professional help wherever possible, especially when it comes to doing the small business accounts. We can help you with tax returns, VAT registration, shareholders’ agreements and even payroll to ensure that you don’t make mistakes that could prove costly in the long run.

For an SME, a merger can make very good business sense. The combined strength of two companies can provide rewards in terms of economies of scale, market share, a wider reach and improved productivity. A merger could help you get into different markets, allowing both companies to expand into different areas without the need to start from scratch and build up a client base.

However, although mergers and acquisitions can ultimately be good for business, they pose a lot of challenges that you will need to consider if you want to get it right. It could be quite beneficial to seek objective and practical advice from an expert. 

Due diligence

However well you think a merger is going to work, you must always do your due diligence in advance to make sure your new partnership is based on strong business and financial foundations. This could involve a thorough audit and assurance check before any documentation is signed.

Governance

One of the main problems that can occur from two companies coming together is that you will have twice as many directors and managers! The combination of doubling the management team and bringing together their different leadership styles could result in a much slower decision-making process. The new leadership and decision-making structure needs to be clearly defined as uncertainty about who is responsible for what will end in chaos, and that is not good for business.

People

Possibly the greatest challenge to a successful merger is people. The changes will bring with them uncertainty and resistance that will need to be managed carefully. There could be a lot of problems caused by bringing two distinct company cultures together and many mergers and acquisitions have failed because of HR issues. It could well be that you lose key talent because of the uncertainty beforehand, or personality clashes once the merger is complete. To make the new business work, you must effectively manage the changes in order to get buy-in from staff in both companies.

Communication

Communication plays an absolutely key role in the success – or otherwise – of a merger. Change is unsettling for everyone concerned and, if you are not careful, will cause rumours to circulate that could cause a lot of trouble amongst your staff and clients, with the potential to sabotage the success of the merger. To avoid this happening and to allay people’s fears, you must keep everyone informed at all times, letting them know how changes will affect them.

Auditing is legislation-driven, which means there are very few businesses that voluntarily initiate one without being required to! Companies are required to undertake an audit when they meet certain criteria as regards turnover, gross assets and an average number of employees. If they are a UK subsidiary of a global firm, then these same criteria apply to the worldwide group.

If your company has been asked to set up its first audit, there are two main advantages to coming to a medium-sized company like ours rather than one of the better-known national or multinational firms.

Service and price

It will probably be no surprise that the cost of using a local auditing firm will be less than the fees charged by companies headquartered in London. But because we can do the work cheaper does not mean our service levels will be lower – quite the opposite in fact, and we pride ourselves on our high customer service levels.

The other main advantage for our clients is that we are local. This means that geographically we are easily accessible, enabling us to have quick, ad hoc meetings that answer questions and resolve issues before they have a chance to become a problem. The ease of being able to meet whenever needed ensures a much better level of client support.

Continuity

You are much more likely to see the same faces for every audit, offering greater continuity. Whilst audit teams are always headed up by a partner and a manager, the bulk of the onsite work is undertaken by our trainees. We take on school leavers who train with us for seven years before they qualify. This means there is a very high likelihood they will undertake audits for the same clients throughout their training. When they get to know your company better, they will not need to spend time learning about you and the way your company works, enabling them to get on with the work more quickly and efficiently.

The large companies tend to exclusively employ graduate trainees on a three year training period, with long periods of study time away from the office. It is usually impractical to send the same trainees to do the same company’s audit on a regular basis, meaning there is little continuity and new audit staff will need to spend time getting to know their clients on almost every audit.

In large accountancy firms, the partner and manager allocated to the account also tend to be more remote, meaning the client doesn’t get the opportunity to build up relationships with their accountants that are as close and supportive as we have with ours.

If you’d like to talk to one our accountants to discuss your auditing needs, contact us to make an appointment.

Getting the payroll right every month is crucial for any company, however large or small. A recent survey has identified Europe as the most complex payroll region in the world, with 65% of professionals saying that managing legislative, HR and payroll updates is their number one challenge, with issues such as GDPR, Working Time Regulations, IR35 and the gender pay gap adding to the complexity.

If you run your own business and have been struggling with managing your own payroll, or your payroll manager has just handed in their notice, then it’s time to think about the benefits of outsourcing your payroll to a specialist company.

Reduces errors

Mistakes will be costly in terms of time and money to put right. Vitally, they will inconvenience the member/s of staff concerned, possibly even leading to them having problems paying their rent or mortgage. This will not only be very stressful for them, but it could result in reduced motivation and loyalty. And if payroll mistakes happen on a frequent basis, you could end up losing staff.

By outsourcing the work to payroll specialists, the likelihood of errors becomes minimal.  

You benefit from their years of experience

When you outsource your payroll to a specialist, you get the benefit of the combined experience of every expert in their company. They will also be in a much better position to stay up-to-date with developments and make sure you are compliant with employment laws and implementing changes in legislation, e.g. auto-enrolment and GDPR.

Allows you time to do what you do best

Why would you want to struggle with a task that you’re not familiar with when the success of your business depends on you concentrating your time on doing what you do best? That’s exactly what payroll specialists are doing!

By outsourcing payroll to a specialist, you can concentrate more of your time and energy on running your business, secure in the knowledge that all your staff will be paid what they’re due, on time.

You save on the costs of staffing

If you employ a dedicated member of staff to deal with your payroll, then you will be responsible for their recruitment and training. But if you are not a payroll specialist, how well do you understand what you’re looking for in terms of skills and experience when recruiting a new member of staff? And if that person doesn’t work out and leaves your company at short notice, where will that leave you with regards to getting the payroll done? By outsourcing your payroll to an accounting specialist, you are also relieving yourself of these worries.

You will also be saving on the costs of having another member of staff in the office, including overheads, equipment costs and other resources, recruitment costs, contributions, perks etc.

Peace of mind

Essentially, by outsourcing your payroll, you are giving yourself peace of mind, enabling you to concentrate your time and energy on running the business. With no margin for error and real time reporting to the Inland Revenue, our payroll specialist team can help you fulfil your payroll needs accurately and on time, every time.

If you would like to talk to us about the possibility of outsourcing your payroll, please contact us to make an appointment.

With the ever-growing public awareness of their impact on the environment, the labour market, societies and small businesses around the world, more and more companies are being scrutinised about their attitude toward the way they operate. In fact, your company’s ethical stance is increasingly important, with customers wanting to see proof that your company takes care of its staff, the local community, and the environment.

Why is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) so important?

There are some compelling business reasons for your company to adopt a CSR policy. According to the UK Small Business Consortium: “88% of consumers said they were more likely to buy from a company that supports and engages in activities to improve society.”

Sharing and promoting your CSR policy will gain you more clients and customers and also a lot of positive PR. Use social media to let people know what you’re up to and to post news of staff who take part in fundraising activities. If you’re doing something special that is benefiting the community (e.g. corporate sponsorship, fundraising, providing work experience for vulnerable members of society), send a press release to your local newspaper, business magazines and organisations your company is a member of (e.g. the local Chamber of Commerce) in the hope of getting editorial coverage.

And if you are thinking of entering business awards, being able to show evidence of a strong CSR policy can really help your submission – indeed, it could mean the difference between being a finalist and being a winner.

CSR is as important on a global basis as it is in first world countries. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) actively supports SMEs in developing countries with environmentally and socially responsible entrepreneurship. “Ensuring that CSR supports, and does not undermine, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries is crucial to meeting the goal of improving the impact of business on society.”

Hoddesdon companies and their CSR policies

In Hoddesdon, Pindar Road is a hugely important commercial area in terms of industry and business. Out of interest, we looked at the websites of companies based on Pindar Road to see how they promote their CSR policies.

Our findings reveal that few companies publicise their CSR policies on their websites, but this isn’t to say that they are not doing anything in this area – indeed they are; references are made to staff taking part in events to raise money for charities on social media – they just need to make more of it.

To encourage you to think about highlighting elements of CSR your company excels at, here are examples of Pindar Road companies who talk about aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility on their websites.

Enterprise Document Solutions UK

One of the main selling points for a document management company like e-docs UK is that it works towards a paperless office, and this is going to have an obvious environmental impact. However, e-docs has gone further, with an active environmental

policy to lessen its own environmental impact, incorporating objectives and targets for the future, promoting environmental awareness, ensuring its operations are socially responsible, recycling wherever possible and using reputable waste carriers.

Affvs UK Limited

Affvs UK salvages vehicles that have been written off by insurance companies. It has turned a business requirement to be compliant with Environmental Agency guidelines into a CSR promotional tool. It provides information about the salvage process and guidance about buying used car parts which creates a good impression of a trustworthy company that cares about the customer.

In addition, it donates 10% of vehicle scrap value to Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust.

DW Windsor

DW Windsor is a designer and manufacturer of lighting solutions. This company’s main angle is that it supports British industry by sourcing components and raw materials from UK companies and, in doing so, supports the employment and skills of the country’s workforce. They are a member of the ‘Made in Britain’ campaign.

In addition, the company has also been a sponsor of Isabel Hospice’s Bubble Rush this summer, news of which was covered on its social media channels.

MISL

Three years ago, document management company MISL gained publicity for a recruitment drive that resulted in the employment and training of 20 previously unemployed new members of staff. Sadly there have been no updates about how the 20 have progressed as this could have provided extra publicity for the company.

Ambition Broxbourne Business Centre

The Ambition Broxbourne Business Centre is part of a nationwide chain run by Basepoint Business Centres. The Centre’s success as a business in its own right relies on the success of the start-ups and small businesses that rent office space. The company therefore provides free business support and mentoring for its members, and many Basepoint centres have regular networking meetings. Charity is at the heart of Basepoint’s CSR. The company is owned by The Act Foundation, a grant-funding charity, with all the profits going to people in need. Each centre also supports a local charity with fundraising activities, though there is no mention of Broxbourne’s chosen charity on the Basepoint website.

National Windscreens

Another company that is part of a nationwide group which understands the importance of informing consumers about its CSR policy. National Windscreens takes its environmental policy seriously, recycling 100% of its glass. And like many large companies, it also adheres to the Modern Slavery Act which means a commitment “to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking violations in our supply chains or in any part of our business”.

Our own CSR policy

Here at HB Accountants, we take our own responsibilities seriously. We play an active role in the local community, with fundraising events for local charities and networking events to support other local businesses.

Our staff regularly take part in fundraising activities for the official HB charity, which this year is Teens Unite.

We are also a finalist in the Supporting Young People category at the forthcoming Hertfordshire Business Awards.

If you would like to talk to us about how we can help your business, contact us for more details. We would also be very happy to talk about all our CSR policies and activities at the same time!

In the old days, all your accounting was done on a disc. You would buy the software on a disc and install it onto your computer. It was self-contained, which meant that as long as your computer was working, everything would run smoothly.

Unfortunately, there were downsides. What if something went wrong? The system may well not have been supported, so if something did go wrong, you had to bring in outside experts to sort things out. Every two to three years, you’d have to make a decision about whether or not to buy an updated disc. And when it came to submitting figures to your accountant, you had to download the information and send it on a separate disc, risking it being damaged or lost in the post.  And if your accountant only ever saw your figures once a year and you’d been inputting them wrong, it wouldn’t be picked up until there was a year’s worth of corrections to make to the annual accounts. The downsides of disk-based applications have led to the introduction of cloud accounting.

These days, more people are switching to Cloud accounting, but mainly because there is no disc alternative any more! The switch happened fairly seamlessly and most people have adopted the new system quite happily. However, there are some people who are still wary of the Cloud; if you’re one of them, it might help to understand the advantages.

How the Cloud has simplified the accounting process

How you input your figures hasn’t changed at all, but the fact that the software is hosted remotely has revolutionised the process, making things a lot easier for all the parties involved for a number of reasons:

• All information is updated in real-time, enabling a number of users to work on the same file without having to send each other different versions every time it’s updated. The people who need to see the figures, e.g. bookkeeper, MD, can access it whenever they need to. This can save a lot of confusion about what changes have been made as it’s always up-to-date in real-time.
• It simplifies the year end processes. As your records are updated simultaneously, all your accountant needs to do to access your figures is to log in. They can work on your data, print reports, raise queries and make any adjustments they need to do there and then, speeding up the process considerably. Accountants can also log in at any time to check that everything’s all right, giving companies the reassurance that they’re on the right lines, and for any errors to be picked up early. With permission, we like to check our clients’ figures on a quarterly basis which gives us and you peace of mind.
• The software is automatically upgraded meaning you’re always working on the latest version.
• You no longer have to worry about the expensive and bother of security and maintenance as the host companies take care of backups, updates and cyber security. In fact,your data is probably safer on the Cloud as it is encrypted and password-protected, meaning that even if your computer is stolen, all your information remains secure.
• Cloud accounting is very cost-effective. Although you will have to pay a monthly fee to use the software, in the long run you could still end up saving money on the old system where you simply bought a disc. Your office will spend less on hardware as all your data storage is taken over by the Cloud company, with the added bonus of that hardware not taking up valuable office space; and you will no longer need to employ or outsource IT experts to look after it.

If you’re setting up a small business from scratch, you know that money is going to be tight. That’s why most entrepreneurs begin by trying to do everything themselves in order to keep costs down. But there are some compelling reasons to seek professional help from an accountant from the very beginning, which may end up saving you a lot of money in the long run.

Firstly, an accountant can help you get the structure right, especially when it comes to tax. For instance, often when a couple set up a business together, one of them will continue working in a full-time job until the business takes off. An accountant will help you set up an equal shareholding which will help keep finances ‘in the family’ when it comes to dividends. This can be especially helpful in cases where doing this can keep you under the 40% tax threshold.

Secondly, an accountant can help out with HMRC-related matters, helping you with VAT registration, setting up your payroll, registering for Corporation Tax etc. You can rest assured that your accounts would be set up accurately – it is not uncommon for people doing it themselves to make mistakes which can be costly to put right. And an accountant can also help you out with company registration.

The future isn’t necessarily bright

It is quite common for two or more friends or acquaintances to go into business together. Sometimes this doesn’t end well and the business suffers when friendships end and one of the partners wants out. To prevent a lot of grief and expense in such an event, it is recommended that all partners draw up a Shareholders’ Agreement before the launch of the business. A good accountant will be able to recommend a solicitor who specialises in these agreements.

Advice

Accountants are always happy to help give clients advice which points them in the right direction. They can put you in touch with bookkeepers, and can also recommend the right bank to have your company account with – the bank that is right for your personal account isn’t necessarily the right bank for your business.

It is always a good idea to keep in touch with your accountant and recommend touching base every three months to make sure everything’s running smoothly? This is especially important if you’re doing your own bookkeeping, as you need to make sure it’s up-to-date and being completed properly – if not, there will be plenty of time to fix any errors.

Our approach

From time-to-time, all small business clients have little questions that will only take a couple of minutes to answer, but they are reluctant to get in touch with their accountant about it. We don’t have a problem with our clients calling us with such questions and are happy to answer them free of charge. That way small issues can be dealt with before they can escalate.

In its 2017 annual Audit Quality Thematic Review, the Financial Reporting Council found nearly a third of audits carried out “required more than just limited improvements”. In reporting about the review, the Financial Times pointed out that recent high-profile accounting scandals “raise questions about whether auditors are being appropriately sceptical when they scrutinise company accounts”, quoting a £4m fine the FRC had charged Deloitte for its audits of Aero, and a £3m fine against PwC for its audits of Yorkshire-based sub-prime lender Cattles.

Relationship-building with clients

We understand that as the majority of companies start out small – many as sole traders – directors prefer to use the services of a sole practitioner accountant or a small accountancy practice. It’s understandable that the accountant and the client will build a very good relationship with each other, with a lot of trust and loyalty on both sides.

As a business expands, it is inevitable that the director will want that relationship with the accountant to continue – and so it should. The problem for the accountant is that if the company is ever in a position to need auditing, it could become problematic if they don’t have the training and experience to undertake the task.

Many accountants in this situation are hugely reluctant to introduce their client to another accountancy firm as there is a risk that their client could be poached by a larger company. Quite often they muddle through with their own audit – but without the specialist training, experience and accountability, it could leave them vulnerable.

Outsourcing

The best compromise for sole practitioner accountants, or those in firms too small to have trained auditors, is to outsource the task to a registered auditor.

We are Registered Auditors with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and specialise in audits for businesses requiring FCA compliance, charities, pensions and solicitors.

At HB Accountants, we pride ourselves on our ethical stance and would never approach your client.