How we work with our clients
How we work
We are a small business with a team of three looking after our clients. This means we are very focused on our clients and you get a more personal experience than you will receive from most larger firms. We are small business owners ourselves and also have broad business knowledge from our corporate background, which means we can be your co-pilot in managing your business as well as your reliable accountant for handling the financials.
We believe in being organised - no one wants their accountant flapping around missing deadlines. You want to be reassured that things are in hand and informed of issues promptly. We use modern, practice management software that tracks every client's details and deadlines for all the services that we support them with. This means we don't miss deadlines (unless you don't give us the information we need when requested!) and the experience from your side should be calm and reassuring.
We are available whenever you need help by phone, email or WhatsApp. We use an online calendar booking system so you can find a slot that works for you without a back and forth on email. We have meetings to review numbers and returns as needed - usually more in the early days. We are based in Manchester (Sale M33) and regularly meet with clients who want to for a coffee in Sale to keep up-to-date. However, we work very well with our clients across the UK since online meetings are now the established norm and it doesn't matter where you work any more.
We like to use Loom to record videos of us walking you through your accounts or other topics from time to time. We find many clients appreciate this type of communication medium as it means they can watch in their own time, pause and think about any questions without feeling on the spot and follow up with a call as needed. We send out occasional email updates on tax topics to keep you informed.
We invoice our clients on a monthly subscription basis. We prefer to collect payment by Direct Debit as it takes the pain away from having to chase payments and we are all for automation and simplification.
We are chartered management accountants so we have expertise in accounting and tax (read more on our team page). Chiara has reinforced her accountancy qualification with a specialist tax qualification, but no one can ever know everything given the enormous amount of tax legislation and sometimes additional specialist help is required. If ever you have a very complex tax issue that we don't know the answer to, we will consult external tax advisors on your behalf and obtain written advice if needed to give you confidence in the way forward.
We are specialists with QuickBooks and are all Advanced ProAdvisors. Our practice is a Platinum partner as the majority of our clients use QuickBooks. We also support many clients with FreeAgent, which is a great option for many businesses. If you need to migrate to QuickBooks or FreeAgent from your current software or need to implement this for your business, this is another service we can provide.
We aim to try to communicate clearly so you understand and feel confident in the accounts and returns you are approving. Tax and accounting can be complicated in certain areas, but are not rocket science and it does not need to sound like a dark art.
We like to use modern software and look for opportunities to automate and simplify wherever possible. Efficiently is our aim.
Here are three key points behind our approach:
Our approach
01
Be friendly, approachable, and use clear language
We aim to be friendly, approachable and flexible and to talk to you in clear language avoiding jargon. We want to understand you and your business to support you and anticipate your needs. We have worked as commercial management accountants in industry so this is second nature to us. Basically, we want to help you understand your numbers and take away the worry about all the rules and requirements so you can focus on running and growing your business.
02
Use modern software and technology
We embrace modern technology and cloud accounting, which is no longer optional now that HMRC is introducing Making Tax Digital, for example. We use QuickBooks with the majority our clients, but we're also happy to support clients using FreeAgent, Xero or Sage. We run our practice using fantastic practice management software from AccountancyManager. This means that when you work with us you sign up for a client portal to store your documents securely and to avoid emailing confidential documents. The software also tracks deadlines for all our clients to make sure deadlines are never missed. On-boarding, signing documents and approving your accounts are all fully digital.
03
Great customer service
We want to support you not just as accountants filing your accounts once a year - although that is important - but also as business advisors when you need us. Our basic services start with accounts, tax, payroll and VAT and that might be all you ever need. However, growing businesses eventually need more management reporting to better understand their numbers, cash, profitability and performance. You might choose to sign up for our additional part-time Finance Director service. This could be a day a month or whatever makes sense for your business. This includes more focused reviews of your financials, help with commercial decisions (such as pricing) or developing longer-term plans. In summary, we will support you as your business grows and provide a sounding board for financial decisions.