Parth Shah

Fighting the pandemic: 5 traits of lasting accounting firms

by

According to the Office for National Statistics, 59 percent of UK businesses are not confident about surviving COVID-19. The Coronavirus pandemic that has swept across the globe since December 2019 has destabilised economies, taken down businesses and drastically altered daily life as we know it. The UK accounting industry is also feeling the ripple effect.

The situation is particularly concerning for small to mid-sized accounting firms as their resources are often more limited than those of larger accounting practices and are therefore more vulnerable to volatile market conditions.

In addition, it is predicted that a fifth of smaller UK firms ‘will run out of cash.’ Accountants, in particular, have stated that 18 percent of their clients are unlikely to get access to the cash they need to survive a lengthy lockdown.

If your accounting firm is navigating its boat in rough waters at this time, it is more crucial than ever to strengthen the core of your business and to adapt how you operate to suit the current times. Here are six best practices from Team Stellaripe to keep in mind:

1. Inclusive management

When working from home is the new norm, staff members may feel isolated from the decision-making process. At these times, it is more important than ever for the management to help everyone feel included in executive decisions.

Promote ‘diversity of thought’ by encouraging your employees to share their opinions, and be frank about sharing news with them, whether it’s good or bad.

Don’t forget the humane side of the crisis, and include everyone in the managerial processes at the firm level. This will help to enhance your credibility as an employer and also increase employee loyalty by boosting their morale.

2. Value Addition

Providing top-notch client support to retain your accounting business during the slowdown is crucial. Think of tasks you can do for your clients for free. The list could include advisory services or top-level admin work.

You should also manage your clients’ expectations so that they know their investment is safe with the understanding that things will take more time than usual. This way, you can continue to operate realistically and also protect your revenue.

Alternatively, utilise the time to pivot to a new business, make changes to your operating model or save initiatives for the recovery. For example, if your accounting firm has taken a significant hit, do you plan to consider accounting outsourcing moving forward?

What does your business partner suggest? Is laying off and hiring outsourced accountants at a low cost the right option for you?

3. Adaptability

Now more than ever, businesses need to build resilience, embrace digitisation and adopt agile practices to ride the wave of change. Successful remote work calls for a new reliance on technology and automation.

If your accounting firm did not rely on such technology earlier – including tools like Slack, Trello or Zoom that facilitate working from anywhere – now is the time to bring them in. You should also encourage your employees to actively use these tools and provide them with training if necessary.

Besides, if your clients are struggling with using these tech-forward collaboration and communication tools, you can also lend them a helping hand for free.

4. Productivity

For those used to working at an office and with the company of team members, productivity during the lockdown can take a hit. As a firm, now is the time for your top managers to show your teams how to remain at the top of the game while working remotely.

An excellent way to do this is by implementing a work routine that everyone can follow comfortably. Set aside time for team discussions on Slack and one-on-one calls, and provide flexibility to workers who may have family commitments at home.

Now more than ever, the focus should be on getting things done, not on the number of hours logged in.

5. Digital client experience

While in-person client meetings are no longer possible, there is still plenty of scope to foster a strong connection with your clients. Video conferencing technology makes it easy for the client to get personally acquainted with the relationship manager at your firm.

There can be meetings scheduled to discuss work commitments as well as to bond informally. Moreover, regular old-fashioned telephone calls are still a must to build and foster client relationships.

One cannot underestimate the power of a quick check-in call to answer a question that the client may have raised or simply to ask how they are doing. Your accounting firm can also become creative with their emails and share advice related specifically to business during the pandemic.

If done correctly, digital client experiences can have as much impact as face-to-face meetings and engender a solid bond that lasts well after the lockdown lifts.

6. Outsource

Going back to point #2, another best practice that many accounting firms overlook is the power of outsourcing. By delegating routine tasks to third-party accounting service providers, you can save a great deal of time and money.

This will help you remain financially steady and also lets you focus on client services for which you need support, such as tailored consulting and strategy planning.

Summing it up

At some point, this crisis will run its course. Until that happens, make sure your accounting firm plans to survive or better, to emerge stronger and ready to grow again.

If you are looking to shorten your to-do list and want to spend time making tweaks to your operating model, bonding with staff and clients or focusing on growing your advisory department, you can count on us.

Ring us at 020 3475 3537 for a free consultation around how Stellaripe can help you during the crisis and after it. You can also contact us here. Speak soon!

7 ways accountants can benefit from real-time accounting

by

In this day and age, it is no longer good enough for accountants to know about new technologies. They also need to be able to adapt it, tap into its full potential to stay ahead in the market, and drive business success for their clients and themselves.

That brings us to a new, relatively new term on the block, i.e., real-time accounting. It refers to the process by which users can access most up to date financial data from any device, any place, at any time thanks to the cloud.

This has manifold benefits for an accounting firm, particularly given the intensely competitive industry where data-driven decisions may need to be reached, and clients have to be pleased promptly.

With real-time accounting, accountants as well their clients’ can get access to accurate and most up-to-date financial information they need at the exact moment they need it. Adding to that, let us discuss seven ways in which you can benefit from real-time accounting:

1. REAL-TIME DATA COLLECTION

Data collection traditionally involved requesting records, organising and storing data, and extensive time spent on bookkeeping. This meant that obtaining adequate data to develop business solutions took a substantial amount of time.

With real-time accounting, data collection and query resolution can take place in a matter of minutes or even seconds for your clients. There’s no waiting around, no data entry, and no paperwork. They make it simple to capture, process and share all financial information instantly.

Applications such as Receipt Bank, Hubdoc, AutoEntry, Xero, QuickBooks, Zoho Books, and practice managers like Senta, AccountancyManager and others help in timely collection and keeping accounting data secure on the cloud.

They also streamline the workflow to make things easier for every staff member of your firm, allowing automation of tasks like reminding clients about documents, deadlines due, or discussing queries on the go.

2. Real-time business KPIs

Measuring business KPIs in real-time allows accounting firms to ramp up their productivity and advisory skills tremendously., The use of tools such as real-time dashboards and scorecards gives you better visibility of business trajectories, which lets you adjust and align your short-term or long-term objectives and identify areas which are doing well and those that require some changes.

You can proactively track and discuss with your clients’ variables such as the revenue per customer/product/location, customer life cycle, overall profitability and many more such KPIs with the help of real-time accounting.

Data-driven insights backed with real-time data can also help make quick corrections to prices as needed based on revenue and profit needs. By staying on top of business KPIs, you can also contribute better to the overall strategic decisions of your clients’ business, including areas that require more attention and the areas to exit, if found unprofitable.

 

3. Real-time cash flow forecast

Cash is the lifeblood of every organisation, and your clients need to always have a finger on their business pulse to gauge how much money they will need for current and future requirements, especially when things are uncertain such as the present COVID-19 situation.

With real-time accounting, you can get them daily or even hourly updates on the kinds of inflows and outflows they can expect soon. Accordingly, you can plan for working capital for your clients.

Real-time data also allows you to assess the possible impact of different external and internal forces on your client businesses, which again can help them prepare in advance for additional cash flow requirements.

4. Real-time client advice

With real-time data, client-related decisions no longer have to happen after days or weeks of deliberation. You always play on the front foot by offering proactive advice to your clients and promptly respond to changes in tax regulations.

At a click of a button, real-time accounting let you check critical factors affecting business performance and ultimately drive business in the right direction. 

This allows you to improve the customer life cycle and complete projects faster. As a consequence, your accounting firm also has the opportunity to charge your clients upfront for advisory services rendered quickly.

5. Real value addition in every client meeting

With real-time accounting, client connections go far beyond the occasional physical meetings. You connect with your clients over Skype for Business or Zoom or other video calling apps to answer any immediate questions or check in to provide project updates.

This also helps to make physical meetings more productive by keeping discussions to the point. With real-time data coming in, you and your clients can also have purposeful talks on how to grow and improve business performance based on current market trends. Action plans can now be executed in real-time.

6. Expedite compliance and drive more growth and revenue

With real-time accounting, your firm can perform its tax and compliance work much faster and more accurately than otherwise. This not only frees up your time but also gives you the luxury to choose whether to expand your service portfolio or focus on a niche area.

You can also nurture your existing client relationships and engage in more complex projects with them as the trust is solidified. This, in turn, allows you to win more clients through word-of-mouth and also expand your capacity by marketing yourself to more clients. You can also be of service to your clients by becoming a Virtual Finance Director, CFO, or Business coach.

7. Getting ready for MTD for income and corporation tax

By 2021, all businesses, self-employed and partnerships and landlords will fall within the scope of MTD (Making Tax Digital). They shall be required to report income tax and corporation tax summaries quarterly rather than once in a year.

Real-time bookkeeping will be of immense help for this. With data coming in consistently, you will find it much easier to compile all the inflows and outflows of your clients for a month or even a week on the cloud, which will help them stay MTD-compliant at all times.

Over to you

Now that real-time accounting has gained momentum in the industry, it is essential for you to also jump on the bandwagon. With the ever-increasing pressure on businesses to be leaner and more competitive in the market, your clients deserve an accurate and timely assessment of their financial health. And if you can do that for them on the cloud, in real-time, your clients can focus on more profitable practice areas, while staying compliant. If your accounting firm is not equipped to manage real-time accounting for your clients, don’t worry. Stellaripe, your accounting outsourcing partner, can do it for you, freeing up your time to focus on fueling client relationships. Get in touch with us to find out more about our real-time accounting services. You can also find us here: www.accountant-info.co.uk

7 Ways payroll outsourcing can help your accounting firm

by

Whether you are a small accounting firm just starting on your journey or a large practice handling millions of pounds’ worth of business, payroll is a function that remains a top priority, irrespective of size or domain.

Not only does correct payroll processing matter hugely when it comes to drawing up an income statement, but also it keeps employees happy when they are paid on time. Accounting firms often get requests from their clients to handle payroll for them.

At first glance, it might seem like a simple, straightforward process. How tough can it be to calculate your client employees’ hours and prepare their pay? Trust us – in reality, there is a lot more to payroll.

From calculating taxes and implementing wage policies to remitting to HMRC, the process is far from simple. In fact, things can escalate quite quickly and get complicated if not handled with dedication and finesse. Payroll clearly demands accuracy each time, every time – after all, no one appreciates even the tiniest error in their payslip.

Clearly, you are stalling your accounting firm’s growth if your practice staff spends more time managing payroll than offering advisory services such as tax planning and forecasting. That is why it makes sense for you to outsource payroll processing to specialised third-party vendors like Stellaripe.

Here are seven ways in which payroll outsourcing can help you:

1. Streamline your accounting firm

If you offer specialised services to your clients in niche areas such as forensic accounting or environmental accounting, then payroll management is not always the most profitable type of project to take up. Imagine your practice staff spending hours calculating weekly wages!

Therefore, by diverting your clients’ payroll management requests to third-party providers like us, your accounting firm is free to take up tasks that are more profitable and in line with your areas of expertise, thus letting you grow further.

2. Drive additional revenues

When your accountants are caught up with processing payroll, they lose out on work time that could be allocated to other, more critical tasks. By outsourcing payroll, you free up your accountants to spend more time interacting with clients, solving their problems and reaching out to new clients for potential business.

If you aren’t already offering payroll services, this could become a new revenue stream. All of these are money-making activities that your accounting firm can benefit from while an external team manages payroll for you.

3. Leave payroll and admin compliance worries

Payroll involves compliance norms of its own that can be tricky to keep up with for an accounting firm without specialised expertise, which could lead to legal hassles later.

Expert payroll accountants at Stellaripe, for example, are fully versed in all compliance-related matters and can also answer any questions that your clients may have about payroll and admin compliance.

We can also save you a ton of hassle as we manage HMRC, auto-enrolment pension and other statutory regulations. Further, we can also talk to HMRC and pension authorities on your behalf. It thus makes sense to outsource payroll to an external provider and free yourself from potential non-compliance liability.

4. Get it done by the experts

Payroll processing is a time-consuming task of its own that requires a high degree of expertise and accuracy to process the data correctly and identify any errors, even when multiple software solutions are being used.

Third-party providers are experts at precisely these things and are accustomed to handling hundreds if not thousands, of client payslips every month.

By entrusting the payroll function to us, accounting firms can rest assured that their clients’ payrolls will come back error-free and on time, every time.

5. Make payroll profitable

When you outsource your payroll function, you end up saving hugely in terms of time and money. Your accountants can now focus on the specialised work for which they are best trained rather than spending hours poring over large volumes of information and cross-checking all of it for errors.

Moreover, you don’t need to either procure payroll processing software for your in-house systems (which is an extra cost) or spend time training your accountants to use them. For example, the Stellaripe team already has all the necessary software in place to handle the payroll of accounting firms expertly and efficiently.

6. Simple pricing

Most of the third-party providers (like Stellaripe) that offer payroll services set a pricing model which takes into consideration: Total number of employees, pay type and pay frequency. Alternatively, some even offer a dedicated payroll staff to fully manage the payroll function including every type of correspondence and query resolution.

By contrast, keeping an in-house accountant to take care of payroll is a far more expensive undertaking that calls for salary, benefits, training costs and office infrastructure. The accounting firms that we work with find outsourcing to make far more financial sense when they are billed for the exact amount of work done by our expert accountants.

7. Enhanced data security

Client information is highly confidential, and third-party payroll providers keep that in mind when accounting firms outsource their payroll work. For example, we at Stellaripe make use of GDPR-compliant tools to manage client data, including password-protected payslips, employer reports, encrypted emails, and so on. These ensure that each client’s data is secure from start to finish, no matter how complex or voluminous the data may be.

Over to you

Payroll outsourcing is increasingly becoming the norm for accounting firms of all sizes so that the task can be done efficiently and promptly. Be sure to do your research and have a thorough conversation with the providers you shortlist so that you can choose the best one for the task and potentially work with them on a long-term basis.

Alternatively, you can ring us at 020 3475 3537 for a free consultation around how Stellaripe can keep all your payroll woes at bay. We take care of your payroll processing, auto enrolment, CIS, client liaison, HMRC correspondence and reporting – all under the same roof. You can also drop your contact details here for us to call you. Speak soon!

IR35 in the Private Sector Delayed: How should Accounting Firms Prepare

by

It looks like the contractors in the private sector can breathe easy (for a year). Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Steve Barclay, announced on 17 March that the implementation of IR35 in the private sector will now happen on 6 April 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

During Budget 2018, the UK government mentioned it would reform the off-payroll working rules in the private sector from April 2020. Fast forward to last week: the impending reform wasn’t even mentioned in the Budget 2020 speech.

However, in the executive summary was confirmation that the government has reviewed the reform and is currently making many changes to ensure its smooth implementation on 6 April 2020 in the private sector. But not anymore.

IR35 presents a bleak outlook for the contractor market as it impacts those operating via Personal Services Companies (PSCs). New legislation shifts the compliance burden from the contractors onto recruitment agencies and hirers specifically (any medium to large businesses) in the private sector.

Lack of clarity around the off-payroll reforms has caused a ruckus in the market, impacting contractors, recruiters, and businesses. The one-year delay due to COVID-19 is good news. However, Barclay insists the delay doesn’t mean cancellation, just a deferral.

Reasons why contractors want to be outside of IR35

Contractors who believe they are genuinely self-employed seek the flexibility to work with multiple clients and not be tied to a single employer. Especially in the IT sector, remote working is on a rise where companies are setting up the infrastructure that allows people to work from anywhere.

Further, many self-employed contractors operate from their own limited companies and enjoy lower taxes by paying a combination of a tax-efficient salary and dividends. Tax relief is also available to them in case they shut down their limited companies.

However, all this gets hampered when a contractor is identified (rightly or wrongly) inside of IR35. With clients erring on the side of caution, block decisions about the working position of contractors are frequently being taken and this has a dramatic effect on them.

Without full assessment of the relationship between the contractor and the client, contractors are being informed that the working practices followed with the clients show them as a ‘disguised employee’ and not an ‘independent contractor.’

That means their take-home pay will be reduced if they are unable to negotiate an increased day rate to adjust the higher employment taxes to be paid in this arrangement.

How accounting firms can remotely help contractors hit by IR35 during the Coronavirus outbreak

Most independent contractors have an accountant. With the IR35 reforms, the prospective impact on accountants was enormous where some were anticipating losing 20-30 percent of clients who are no longer contracting but moving to employment or umbrella companies, i.e., operating within the scope of IR35. Further, the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak has made everyone adopt work from home.

That means that even though contractors have a year in hand to figure out their plan of action, the pandemic has made it impossible for them to physically meet their accountants. The pandemic is already having a huge impact on small businesses throughout the UK, and everyone is still coming to terms with what this will truly mean.

The section below advises accountants like you on how to uninterrupted assistance to contractors in times like these:

1. Determine the IR35 status of contractors

Even though the final say lies with recruiters and employers, many contractors in the private sector will look out for accountants who can assess their engagements and prepare for the next course of action.

Your accounting firm could set up a special team or appoint a few staff members to assist in this regard. The communication can happen on Skype, Zoom and on the phone. Important documentation and information can be shared on email.

2. Handle deemed payments

If a contractor is found inside of IR35, they will be required to make a deemed payment. This amount is paid at the end of a tax year, and is calculated after considering corporation taxes and account expenses. You can calculate the amount they need to pay.

3. Ensure they hold small business insurance

If you have contractor clients with their own limited companies and employees, they must have the necessary insurances in place. One of which is Employers Liability insurance that provides compensation claims made by employees.

Your accounting firm can make sure that your contractor clients are adequately insured. Information can be exchanged via email or any other communication tool.

4. Help them with paperwork

In the event of an HMRC enquiry, your contractors may be required to provide copies for their contracts along with their accounts for a specific timeline. As their accountant, you are most likely to be their first point of contact – especially concerning the accounts.

Moreover, contractors might have to approach their insurers for their insurance to kick in before contacting the HMRC. You may have to tie all the loose ends for your contractors. Dropbox, WeTransfer and Google Drive are secure tools for sharing sensitive paperwork.

THINGS TO DO IF YOUR ACCOUNTING FIRM LOSES A LOT OF CLIENTS IN ONE GO

Hmm..if that happens to you, then there are specific steps you can take to minimize the negative impact on your business and to get back on your feet faster:

1. Expand your staff without the headache - outsource!

If you are spending more time handling accounting-related tasks and less time engaging with your contractors, it is time to consider outsourcing.

When you partner with an accounting outsourcing firm, they bring a certain skill set to the table – help you boost your efficiency and improve your bottom line.

The trained staff at the outsourcing companies are familiar with the latest changes in accounting laws and regulations and can guide in offering IR35 compliance support.

2. Offer new services - diversify!

If you have been only focusing on a limited number of services such as bookkeeping or year-end accounts, expand your service offerings. Payroll and tax return preparation are also viable services that can fetch you a range of clients.

Further, you can also take a step further and provide advisory services such as budgeting and tax planning apart. Your clients may be wishing you offered this service.

Even if you don’t have in-house expertise, outsourcing can help you diversify quickly without increasing your overhead costs.

3. Overhaul your marketing efforts

This scenario calls for you to pull up your socks and promote yourself aggressively in the market to attract more clients. Therefore, review your business website and revamp your business cards, marketing brochures and flyers.

Be active on social media and kickstart your email Marketing. Get the word about your services out there, and ensure that you spend at least an hour on marketing yourself. If you don’t have the right support in-house, Stellaripe can offer you digital marketing assistance.

The best part is you don’t have to be on the field to meet new prospects. Ramp up your online marketing efforts, hold preliminary conversations with potential clients on Skype or Zoom, and use DocuSign for paperwork!

4. Review internal processes - save costs!

Just because you have always worked in a particular way, doesn’t mean it is the best or the right way to do it. A perfect time to review your processes is when the focus of your accounting firm shifts away from contractor client demands.

Using someone to independently assess your existing processes is frequently the best way to undertake this as they do not bring all the historical ‘baggage’ to the table and can review things more objectively.

Outsourced accountants are frequently well placed to undertake this as they will have a wide range of experience of numerous processes and awareness of what works best.

Conclusion

Even though the world has shut down due to the pandemic, it will come out of it. And when that happens, the gig economy will continue to thrive, and people across the country still wouldn’t want to be tied down to restrictive working environments.

Your accounting firm should protect itself in the wake of the inevitable roll-out of IR35 in the private sector, and outsource vital accounting services, marketing your business aggressively to boost leads and make time to offer the right guidance to the deeply-affected contractors.

Want to have a quick chat about leaving your back-office worries to Stellaripe? Please ring us on 020 3475 3537 or email us at contact@stellaripe.co.uk.

Top 6 advisory skills accountants need to succeed in 2020

by

Now that the self-assessment tax season has come to an end, accounting practices can take a sigh of relief and take some time off to recharge and decompress. However, the ‘calm after the storm’ also brings an opportunity for accountants to prepare for the new tax year, upskill themselves, and expand their service portfolio.

Given how new technologies, communication methods, and job roles have dramatically altered the way businesses and clients interact with each other, accountants like yourself must focus on enhancing advisory skills to manage new-age clients and operational challenges.

We spoke to several accountancy practice experts to bring together this list of top advisory skills to focus on this year to help accountants deliver a great advisory service:

1. Advanced technological know-how

According to an IDC study, around 40% of all technology spending in businesses will be for digital transformation. The widespread adoption of technology through software, cloud, and electronic applications has shifted the balance of power towards the customer.

According to Martin Bissett, Founder of The Bissett Group, accountants must possess strong knowledge of what technology is critical, what is merely ‘nice to have,’ and what is superfluous, to increase profitability in that client’s business to the level desired. 

“Today, your clients expect you to be sufficiently savvy about all the platforms, processes, and integrations in use. You thus need to focus on smart, capable technology solutions that have robust controls, deliver quality results, and are also easy to understand by your client,” he explains. 

But it isn’t just the physical technology that needs to be considered that can add unnecessary complexity. Ashley Leeds, Head of Growth at Accountants Millionaires’ Club, believes that accountants need to be able to take the technical stuff out of the numbers and present in a way that their clients can understand. 

“They deal with people from all walks of life. Not everybody gets excited by a P&L or a balance sheet, or even knows what it is for that matter,” he adds.

2. Increased attention to detail

A detail-oriented approach to projects is what sets the top accountants apart from the mediocre ones. It involves procuring and checking the right documents, being aware of all necessary compliance norms, having excellent bookkeeping and compliance skills, and gathering and analysing appropriate sources of data.

As you know, in accounting, even minor errors in data entry can add up to significant discrepancies in the final result. It is always good to remember that attention to detail with your bookkeeping and care with your tax software solutions should ensure that no such errors creep in at any stage.

3. Awareness of the client's need and industry

“The driver for most of the accountants I meet is a desire to get involved (in their businesses) and to help people (with their personal needs)” shares Richard Brewin, FCA, co-founder of ProgressBB who has coached and presented to accountants across the UK, as well as in the US and Australia.

You can share proactive advice only when you have a comprehensive understanding of the industry in which your clients operate. It is thus ideal if you specialise in only a few niches rather than working as a generalist.

By doing so, you can acquire in-depth knowledge of the selected niches, enhance your services by learning from clients in that niche, and subsequently establish yourself as an industry leader.

4. Ability to build relationships

As experts with in-depth industry knowledge, you should focus on encouraging and assisting your clients in growing their businesses, however large or small they may be. In this regard, active listening allows you to understand the client’s vision and to take it forward.

Based on data analysis and the client’s KPIs, you can suggest new ways to reach and exceed those metrics. You can also connect clients with business coaches or influencers to give them guided assistance with their professional and personal goals.

The ability to help your clients have a robust financial, mental and physical health is something all accounting practices should strive for.

5. Proactive customer service

The ability to build a strong relationship with the client and gain their long-term trust is essential for those who provide advisory services. You are not exempt from this notion either. Customer service experience should thus be a high priority for you:

One way of doing this is by:

  • Providing weekly/monthly/quarterly reports of the work done
  • Connecting on a video conferencing tool or meeting for lunch periodically
  • Suggesting new solutions and checking on progress from the last meeting
  • Asking for feedback and implementing changes quickly

It even makes sense to appoint an account manager to every client for faster and better communication.

Research from Bain shows that businesses offering proactive customer experience services enjoy an increase in client retention by 5%, which goes up over time. Delivering timely and accurate responses to client queries is also essential to earning their trust.

According to Paul Shrimpling, Founder of Remarkable Practice Ltd, customer service requires a series of skills to work well.

“That includes having conversation skills – both questioning and listening skills. Preparation skills, on the other hand, help build rapport with business owners. Yes, technology helps but skills around leading and managing change are what will determine an advisors’ success,” he explains.

6. Communication with impact

86% of employers and executives feel that ineffective communication or lack of collaboration is the reason for workplace failures. Accountants should thus make it a point to implement processes that keep everyone on the team connected and in the know at all times. “Communicating with impact and challenging clients are probably two of the most important aspects from an advisory perspective. If you can’t communicate with impact, the message is lost. If you don’t challenge yourself, you don’t add 360-degree value. Additionally, if you don’t practice silence, you can’t listen to what your business is saying,” adds Alastair Barlow, Founder, flinder. Communication should thus be transparent and in real-time so that the team can respond promptly to situations, and also stay in touch regardless of where they are located. 

OVER TO YOU

It is impossible for the accountant to be an expert at all their clients’ needs. But building a network of contacts that reflects the accountant’s ethics and values will enable them to deliver a complete solution to the client.

The thing is, we have to own holding our clients accountable for getting stuff done and moving the needle forward. The product or solution or advice we deliver will help them achieve their desired outcome, but we have to stay on top of things to ensure they get there.

As an advisor, it is your responsibility to create and protect the sustainable value of your client’s business. But if you are busy managing tedious functions such as bookkeeping, year-end compliance, payroll and other admin stuff, there’s no way you can give the support your clients expect and need.

That’s where accounting outsourcing can do wonders. And since you have read this far, let me add that Stellaripe has the experience, expertise and resources to take you where you want to be. With our fully managed outsourcing support, we can free you up so that you can invest in more time with your clients and generate more advisory revenue.

Think of us as an extension of your accounting practice – a virtual shop front!

Call us on +44 20 3475 3537 to get your questions answered right now. We love to talk!

Eight strategies for a successful tax season

by

January 31 every year marks the deadline for filing Self-Assessment tax returns. Naturally, accountancy practices across the country are gearing up for the last leg of the busy period. While working overtime to meet the nightmarish deadline is an inevitable part of the tax season, it doesn’t have to be like that.

Accountants need to work better with their clients in the run-up to the tax season deadline. In this article, I discuss eight strategies that can help you boost your practice staff’s productivity and ease their workload.  So if you haven’t addressed these points for this year, keep a note to get things sorted early for this tax year.

1. Get organised

Taking some time out at the start to sort out your workflows will really help to avoid delays later. Review your best practices and make any adjustments you think you’ll need before the client rush begins.

There’s never a better time to assess your staff capacity and determine whether you’ll need to hire anyone on a part-time or contract basis to manage the workload. You should also ensure that all your tax guidance checklists and documents are in place and up-to-date so that your practice staff has an easier time accessing them.

2. Set up a document portal

If you haven’t gone paperless yet, you should. Keeping your documents digital helps streamline communication within your practice, and promotes easy collaboration with your clients. Trust me – you don’t want to be chasing them at the last hour.

You can start by setting up an online document portal where clients can upload their documents instead of mailing you hard copies. Be sure to collate each client’s records in separate folders to keep them organised.

A lot of accounting outsourcing firms – such as Stellaripe – store documentation on the Cloud. Get in touch with us to know more.

3. Get a grip on technology

Update your software licences well in advance of the tax season and ensure that you have enough for the entire practice staff. You could also consider bringing in an IT professional to look over your systems and ensure that they are free of bugs and glitches. Using cloud practice management and tax production applications gives your practice staff the flexibility to work remotely and also boosts everyone’s productivity. Make technology work for you this tax season. If you feel that your tech isn’t ready to take on the demands of the January 31 deadline, you could consider outsourcing your clients’ tax returns to an efficient accounting outsourcing service provider that’s always on board with the latest technology to ensure effective, on-time delivery.

4. Set the schedules

While tax season is undoubtedly hectic and everyone will be working overtime, it’s important to remember that your practice staff members have a personal life as well. Factor this into your guidelines for office operations during tax season so that everyone can have some flexibility and enjoy the much-needed work-life balance.

For example, you could set up a rota so that everyone works from home one day a week, or give each employee personal time off on the schedule. Using cloud software and integrations helps make remote working easier, thereby increasing their productivity by letting them work from the comfort of their homes.

5. Track progress constantly

Have a robust system in place to know where you are with each client. Keep an eye on completed tasks, send reminders to any clients who have delayed in submitting information or documents and push your practice staff to prepare taxes faster in case the pace has slowed down in the process.

Accountants often spend the final week working “non-stop” because they have to chase clients that couldn’t provide the complete records on time. That’s a nightmare, but an efficient way of managing your submissions is by dividing them into smaller chunks and completing one at a time.

6. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Tax season can be challenging to handle smoothly, especially with all the other accounting projects on your plate. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your tax projects, remember that you can always outsource them to teams like Stellaripe.

That way, some of the workload gets lifted from your practice staff’s shoulders, and you are guaranteed timely, accurate results from experienced outsourced accountants. Contact us to know more about our services.

7. Get quick approval

Your job doesn’t end after sending tax returns to clients’ for approval. Be sure to follow up with them proactively for a quick approval. That way, you have enough time to submit accurate returns ahead of the deadline, in case you are required to do that. You can speed up the process by explaining the tax returns to your clients over Skype or Zoom.

8. Schedule tax strategy meeting

You already know your clients’ sources of income and taxes. This gives you enough information to plan their tax returns for the year. Invite your clients to a strategy meeting to plan their taxes, either in person or through Zoom or Skype.

It’s important to remember that you need to propose investment options before this current tax year ends, and your client must make their investments before April 5. Be sure to make time for proactive advice during the meeting on how your clients can benefit as much as possible from current tax laws.

Over to you

January is always a challenging time for accountants in the UK. But you can make it a success by planning your tax season properly. Fortunately, Stellaripe can help you reduce the season workload without compromising quality.

Take a step forward towards increasing the efficiency of your accountancy practice with our help. Call us on +44 20 3475 3537 or email us at contact@stellaripe.co.uk to learn more about our accounting outsourcing services.

Why outsource your accounting function this Christmas

by

While the rest of the world is winding down or shutting-up-shop ahead of the festive break, many accountants across the UK find themselves far too  busy at this time of the year owing to the tax filing season that ends on January 31st.

Naturally, amidst the pop of prosecco corks and party poppers, the one thing that number-crunchers like yourself desperately want for Christmas is for dear ol’ Santa to sweep away those piles of client tax returns for you.

Good news: it is not too late to delegate the tiresome tax return filing chores to an outsourcing partner, your Santa in disguise! In this article, we give you six reasons why accounting outsourcing should be on your to-do Christmas list:

1. Become trusted business advisors of your clients

The start of the New Year brings you an opportunity to expand your service portfolio and increase visibility in the market.

Time-consuming, tedious functions, including bookkeeping, year-end compliance, and payroll, can be handled by professional accounts outsourcing company.

And, you can dedicate a higher proportion of your in-house staff’s time and efforts for delivering high-end services such as tax planning, budgeting, forecasting, and more.

That way, you can accommodate more client demands and build strategies for sustained growth, not just for them but also for your practice.

2. Provide predictive real-time accounting data to your clients

Catching up with the advancements in technology, accounting today aims to glean business insights from both past and present real-time data. Predictive real-time accounting gauges ongoing company performance and historical business data to predict the future of your clients’ business, also suggesting what measures can be taken to improve the same.

That vital insight enables you to make a real difference to your clients by having forward-facing conversations with them, backed with real-time data. What’s a better Christmas present than growth for any business owner?

3. Increase efficiencies with the right communication tools

As a business, setting and tracking meaningful and SMART KPIs enable you to gain an overall understanding of how your accountancy practice is performing.

When you outsource a portion of your services to an outsourcing expert, you set definitive processes in place to complete essential tasks on time.

For instance: make use of cloud collaboration tools for a transparent and smooth conversation. Even if you are on a Christmas break, you can connect with your outsourced team and keep track of the progress being made.

By taking such necessary measures, continuous improvements are made possible even when away from the office.

4. Expedite processes and service delivery time to your clients

Lack of skilled staff could lead to issues for your practice, such as missed expenses, late filing, payroll errors, and so on. The problem is even greater during the holiday season. If you are struggling with staff shortage, outsourcing your accounting function is a practical option.

You can employ highly-qualified and experienced accountants who make use of tried and tested processes to turnaround tasks quickly. Outsourcing gives you a competitive edge, and helps you maintain consistency across a range of functions, attracting and retaining clients, and scaling the support up and down your business as required, with greater efficiency.

The flexibility allows your accountancy practice to remain nimble without losing focus on core competencies or client service during the Christmas break.

5. Cut business costs without hampering the quality of the work

It may sound illogical to hire full-time accountants when you are trying to curtail costs. However, as strange as it may seem, it is almost always cheaper to outsource your core and non-core business functions.

You can easily save yourself from having to pay a full-time expert’s salary to take your step for outsourcing and hire an outsourced accountant. Salary aside, you will also save costs by not having to pay for facilities like insurance, pensions, NI contributions and other overhead expenses associated with full-time employees.

Outsourcing your accounting functions will help you keep overhead costs low while improving client experience and boosting your bottom line.

6. Be better prepared for the January 31 deadline

That’s the last date for anyone to file their taxes for the FY 2018-19. Because traditionally accounting firms remain closed for Christmas, filing taxes during the holidays becomes a challenge. It doesn’t have to be like that.

With outsourcing, you can ensure you don’t have to shut-up-shop and instead, continue preparing tax returns for your clients at a time when they need you the most, by delegating work to expert outsourced accountants.

Besides, this lessens your workload and frees up your time for more critical aspects of business, such as improving client relations. Further, you and your staff can also spend time with the family for Christmas.  A Christmas present for your whole team.

Summing up

Christmas is a time when everyone deserves a break. You and your practice staff are not exempt from this. Luckily, Stellaripe can reduce your tax season workload without burning a hole in your pocket or compromising quality.

Work with us, and we will provide the best experience for your clients; show them that they can count on you – even during the festive break. Utilise our dedicated accountants as your extended team. Contact us here.

Checks to make when choosing an outsourcing company

by
Making sure you undertake due diligence when choosing an accounting outsourcing company is essential. Find the steps to take in this article.

Checks to make when choosing an outsourcing company

There are many reasons businesses take the decision to investigate outsourcing; from lack of staff to a need to grow but without the associated infrastructure costs. Taking that decision is the first step on what can be a fairly uncertain road unless your next steps enable you to undertake due diligence when choosing who to partner with.

Here we look at six major steps that will help you make the right choice to outsource your business tasks.

1 Ask for references and testimonials

Nothing beats experience in the world of outsourcing and the first place to go when choosing a company is to see what others are saying about them. Reading or viewing testimonials is a good place to start. You could also ask for references from their other clients to ensure the testimonials are authentic. Any genuine company will be happy to put you in touch with their clients directly.

2 Sample work/trials

Once you have shortlisted the companies that you may want to work with, you should always ask them for a trial of their work. Again, genuine companies will offer trials as part of their sales process – either free or for a charge – just make sure that undertaking the trial doesn’t tie you in to any longer-term commitment. Asking for a trial also ensures that you get a clear picture of their style of work and allows you to decide if that is how you would like your project to be handled.

3 Check out their IT infrastructure

The company should have a reliable and robust IT infrastructure with security at its heart. You do not want your data held in an unsafe manner. Ask for full details of how they manage data, where their servers are, the security measures they have in place. Can they work remotely in a secure manner, so your data doesn’t have to leave your premises? This information is critical in your decision-making process.

4 Ask to see their current certificates

Bodies such as ISO provide their certificates to companies who have put strict procedures in place and then follow them. Each company that has been awarded an ISO certificate will be independently audited on a regular basis to make sure that they are operating consistently within their set procedures. Check what is the latest version of the ISO certificates they are holding – are they in date? It is easy to say you have a certificate, even if it has expired so make sure they are genuine.

5 Pay them a visit

It is important to fully evaluate the company you are planning to trust with your outsourced business. And the best way to do this is by paying them a visit. Some companies will even cover the cost of the visit but whether or not they do, you will truly get an impression of how the company is run if you take the time to see them within their own offices. It will also enable you to get a feel of the workplace and the company culture. This is a big step for you, you need to make sure it is a company you are happy and confident to work with.

6 Costs and expenses

Finally, once you are satisfied with the rest of the details related to your outsourcing service provider, it is time to clarify the costs and expenses that will be incurred. Effective communication is the key here. Also, it is sensible to get quotations from other companies so that you get a clearer picture of the cost trends in the industry. Remember that before finalizing an outsourcing partnership, both parties should be clear about, and agree, the costs and expenses involved. This can prevent a lot of misunderstanding and complication at later stages.

Following these tips can help you choose the right accounts outsourcing partner and move on to the next steps of a long-term relationship. Feel free to get in touch with us to talk through your outsourcing plans.

Outsourcing accountancy work can solve the accountant skills shortage

by

The skills shortage for accountancy roles continues to grow with no sign of a solution. We explain a quick and easy fix by outsourcing accountancy services.

How to solve your accountant recruitment issues

There has been a dearth of accountants for years and yet this situation seems incapable of being resolved. Reductions in training and qualified accountants, increasing retirements and a rising requirement for financial analysts all compound the problem. For those accountants looking for a job move, salaries are being pushed up to attract the best talent and it really is a job seekers market.

Essentially, the market is changing but the workforce has not adapted to it. The recently issued Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends 2019 guide provides some sobering facts about the state of the accountancy skills shortage. Tracking back to the economic downturn in the late noughties, the situation we have now has been exacerbated by the cutbacks to training of junior staff.

“We are witnessing a shortage of middle management candidates – technically strong ACA-practice-trained accountants, specifically across the finance and accountancy sector,” says Martin Parr of the Sellick Partnership.

“This is as a result of the 2008 recession when firms cut their graduate schemes, meaning that there were less candidates entering the market. These candidates are now qualifying, giving us a shortage.”

According to the Hays research, temp and contract workers have been brought in by around 40% of accountant and finance employers while others are training-up their existing staff to fill the skills gaps.

But what about the small practices, looking for growth or to replace a key staff member and whose pockets might not be as deep as the larger groups. A reliance on contract workers or taking on more work themselves are simply not suitable options for the long term.

There is a simple solution

Accounts outsourcing used to be frowned upon but with the skills shortage ongoing and more and more operators entering the market, its adoption is growing. In fact, many high street accountants and accountancy groups are already benefiting from the access to highly qualified and educated overseas workforces, many with UK accountancy experience.

It is a big step to take and it needs to be approached with the right frame of mind – outsourcing involves entering a partnership with the outsourcing company; it is not a matter of throwing a load of accountancy work at a company and expecting them to produce a miracle. Time and training, communication and working together; companies that approach outsourcing not as a quick fix but as a long-term investment, are most definitely the ones that benefit.

Many outsourcing accounting companies will be happy to spend time explaining how they work, will give you a trial and will bring their accountants or bookkeepers to spend time at your practice to ensure they fully understand how you work, what you expect and thus are better able to deliver to your requirements.

You have the option of taking someone on a long term contract – so that person or team of people works just for you as part of your extended team; or you can buy a number of hours and your work is undertaken by a team of accountants and bookkeepers. There are pros and cons to each option and will often be dictated by the amount of work you have; taking on full time employees on a contract basis is invariably cheaper and more cost effective.

One of the big advantages of choosing right accounts outsourcing company, in addition to the financial benefits, is the ability to pull in more resources when you need them and then release them when you are over the work hump.

If you would like to investigate whether outsourcing some of our accountancy work would be a good fit for your practice, why not give us a call now?

Taking those first steps to outsourcing your accounts

by

When an accountant starts to think about outsourcing, he may not realise all of the benefits it will deliver to their practice. We consider some of the main reasons to outsource.

A beginners’ guide to outsourcing

A frequently heard concept of the rationale behind outsourcing is that you can just get rid of the rubbish jobs that take up time.  Well yes, there is an element of passing over time consuming work to focus on other, more profitable work, though we would never describe it as ‘rubbish jobs’.  But in reality, accounts outsourcing brings so many more benefits that accountants never even consider.  We will run through a few here:

Review and improve processes

We all get stuck in the rut of doing something in a particular way because we have always done it that way.  Hands up anyone who religiously reviews their work on a regular basis.  One of the first things that happens when you outsource is there is a full review of your work and how you do it, the steps you take and so on.  Whilst an outsourcer should never insist it is ‘their way or the highway’, they will definitely suggest any improvements that could be made to your processes and the way they deliver your clients’ accounts.  They will have a broad experience from undertaking work of numerous other accountants and are well placed to know what works well and what doesn’t.

Free up time to focus on business growth

Once an outsourcer is working for you, you will begin to have the time to clear the decks and look at the opportunities you have for growing your business.  Never offered payroll or bookkeeping to your clients before?  Well now you can – new profit lines delivered by your outsourcer with no need to take on additional staff, software etc.  Now you can properly look at your clients’ accounts and begin to help them to grow and deliver more profitable business with advisory services.

Eliminate staffing problems

When one of your accountants or team leave your business, it presents you with a costly nightmare – trying to find a suitable replacement can be time-consuming and recruitment it costly.  An outsourcing company will provide as many accountants as you need, almost immediately who are trained, competent and capable of undertaking your accountancy work.  You can be involved in the recruitment process if you wish, or you can leave the entire process to the outsourcer. 

Lower your overheads

Outsourcers will cover holidays and sickness, software and training too so you don’t have those expenses on your bottom line.

And of course, you do hand over those repetitive, low revenue jobs that you UK team will be very pleased about.

If you would like to investigate whether outsourcing some of your accountancy work would be a good fit for your practice, why not give us a call now?