When I started out in business in 2011 I had a very traditional view of what my business should look like and how I should go about it and what software I would be using. During these early years I dipped my toe into cloud software and to be honest I was not that impressed […]

There are various key factors to the success of a business. A great sales process, good internal processes and knowing your finances. There are many more but I would definitely like to focus on the finances. All too often small businesses like to use cash, customers also like to pay cash, in the belief they […]

Since becoming self-employed I have learnt the value of outsourcing bits of your business that either you are too busy to maintain, do not have the specialist knowledge to make good use of it, or you find the task so mundane that you let it slide. Why spend a load of your time on a […]

I can still remember my first job in an accountant’s office. I made tea for everyone, I analysed bank statements, did bank reconciliations, analysed purchase and sales invoices and got sent for a long stand that could be found in the storage cupboard. This was all hand written stuff and helped by the trusty calculator. […]

What is business networking? Since starting out in business on my own in 2011, I really wondered how to get business in the door. Direct advertising campaigns, websites or even networking? I thought networking would be a good start. So I joined a referral network and visited quite a few of the local networking events […]

How hard is it to create a sales invoice? Ok you would think this would be a relatively simple task but it is something that new businesses get wrong quite often. It’s not the first time I have come across an invoice which someone has charged vat and there is no vat number on the […]

Don’t feel lost or alone when it comes to filing your invoices, help is at hand. I have seen many ways people file and reference purchase invoices. After years of doing this job the one way I prefer to file invoices is alphabetical and newest to the top of each supplier. I prefer this way […]

When I practiced as an accountant I really only got exposed to Sage as most of the clients used that. As a whole accountants use a completely different software package which will do tax, do statutory accounts, write your letters, monitor staffs productivity etc, etc. To be fair I knew how to run the reports […]

Whilst looking for inspiration for my next blog I turned to my Facebook page to see what my friends, family and colleagues would come up with. Now you will always get one smart arse amongst them all, and one came up with “should you trust your bookkeeper?” That is a damn fine question as it […]

Can you claim vat on your business mileage? Yes you can. This does seem to come as a bit of a surprise to some people, but there are certain rules you need to follow to be able to do this. You need to have fuel vat receipts from the petrol station, enough in value to […]