Now Director, Laura Macarthy, takes part in Leaders Council roundtable discussion.

On 22nd November, a group of accountants and bookkeepers gathered at the Caledonian Club in West London to discuss whether the term ‘accountant’ should be protected. At present, anyone can call themselves an account; a fact that is not widely known among the public. 

There was unanimous agreement in favour of the motion, with many of the attendees citing the increased prevalence of online ‘accountants’ who are selling their services to UK businesses and individuals despite lacking any qualifications. 

Following the discussion, the Leaders Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will write to relevant figures in parliament informing them of the points that were raised. 

Speaking after the event, Craig Wilmann, director of the Leaders Council said, ‘We’ve never had a discussion before where everyone present spoke with one voice. Recent YouGov polling, commissioned by the association of accounting technicians, showed that 82% of sitting MPs would back this change. The political will is there, we just need to push the issue up the agenda.’ 

Leaders Council chairman Lord Blunkett said, ‘As far as I am aware, accountancy is the only major profession that isn’t audited. I don’t understand why multiple governments haven’t done anything about it.’ 

Please go to this link for more information:

Leaders Council Roundtable – Summary

Why not check out our new series of YouTube videos aiming to ‘Make Sense of Numbers Jargon’ at our YouTube channel ‘Bookkeeping Bites – Bossing Those Business Numbers’

Let us know what you think – we would love to hear from you!

Bookkeeping Bites has gone digital via our brand new Now Accounting Services Bookkeeping Bites YouTube Channel!!

Why not hop on and have a look here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC79MsL_tmLRy6NipsIITktQ

Better still, why not subscribe?

Making Tax Digital (MTD) – Income Tax for Self-Assessment (ITSA) Or ‘MTD ITSA’ as it is starting to be known!

“What are you going on about?”

MTD ITSA is Big G (HMRC)’s next bold step in digitalising tax services.

“I don’t get it, what does THAT mean?”

It means that Big G wants those people who complete a self-assessment tax return (SATR) to do it digitally.

“What? EVERYONE who completes a SATR?”

Well, no, not everyone actually. In the simplest terms, people who earn money through self-employment and people who receive rental income.

“Digitally? What does that mean? Do I do it via my digital TV?”

Errr. Nope. In HMRC lingo it is ‘using compatible software to create and store digital records of your accounts, sent quarterly updates, and send a final end of period statement’

“I still don’t get it! Whaaaaaaat?”

You need to use software to record the money in and out of your business.

You then need to send an update of this to Big G quarterly through a tax year.

And then again at the end of the tax year.

Simples. Right?

“But how the devil does that work with my shoebox of receipts that I take to my bookkeeper at the end of the tax year?!!”

 Well, putting it simply. IT DOESN’T. The shoebox will have to go. Lets book a ceremonial burning for it?

 “No! No! No! I DO NOT want to do this!! I LOVE my shoebox!! Is there any way around this? Can I get out of it?”

Most likely not… Sorry. There are a few automatic exemptions, but these are for very special circumstances.

There is an income exemption…. If your combined income is less than £10,000 in the 2022/23 tax year, Big G is saying, at the moment, you will be exempt from MTD ITSA.

“When? When will this start?”

6^th April 2024, for the 2024/25 tax year….

“Well, what are YOU doing about it?

 That is easy. All of our sole trader clients are already on digitally compatible software for the 2021/22 tax year. That way we know ALL of our clients will be set up ready.

Then all that is left to do is get ready for the first quarterly update in the 2024/25 tax year. We are VERY relaxed about it all.

 “I want to know what to do, what should I do?”

Well, it is super simple. Speak to us about our sole trader packages.

We offer the ‘NOW Quarterly’ package – digitally compatible software and quarterly bookkeeping included – so you are set up for your MTD ITSA.

Hello, are you still there?

“Errrrrr, yes, I am. I am just reading about your sole trader packages – they look good. I feel calmer now. I will get in touch.”

Well, that is easy to do, just go to our contacts page and drop us an email… We would love to hear from you.

It is always wonderful to receive a glowing customer testimonial for our bookkeeping services.

Not only does it rock our world to know our clients are satisfied with our service,  it helps us realise we are on the right track.

And we won’t lie, it makes us feel pretty goddamned good! Why not read on to see our recommendation in full….

An Accountant Recommendation

“Now came highly recommended to me by my accountant, and I am so glad that I decided to go ahead with them as my Bookkeeper.

I work 100% online and in different countries. My clients are from multiple countries and pay in different currencies through my website.

I needed a bookkeeper to help me set a streamlined automated system, where my website handled payments and worked seamlessly with Revolut Banking and Xero. It was a big ask, and Now were up to the task!”

What Skills did we Use?

“Now demonstrated that they could:

Work 🧡 very closely 🧡 with my web designers in Australia.

Help me to set up the 🧡 back end of Xero and Revolut Banking  🧡 so that I could smoothly take payments from my website in multiple currencies.

Be 🧡 available to have ‘face to face’ video calls 🧡 with me to answer any questions that I had in setting things up.”

Digital Bookkeeping-Revolution!

“Now have made the journey in automating systems as smooth as it could have been.

They have been trustworthy, incredibly patient, shown excellent communication skills. I have really been impressed with how they consistently thought ‘outside of the box’ to find solutions when unexpected hurdles came our way.”

How did this Help our Client?

“As a sole trader, the less I spend on having to do administrative tasks so that I can get on with my core business is incredibly valuable. I am confident in knowing that I can do my work with Now behind me.

Now is a dynamic dynamo!”

🧡🧡 Thank you Lisa McGarva of Thinking Feeling Moving 🧡🧡🧡 for being an awesome client and for the glowing recommendation.

Why not read the recommendation in full and connect with Laura on LinkedIn?

Do you love to learn?

We do. And the best type of learning is from our clients…. They amaze me.

Each day, they smack me between the eyes with something new and completely left field…

Learning from the Unusual

For example, did you know that such things as ‘Vulva Puppets’ exist? (I tease you not – see here for the low down – be warned, the landing page may not be for the feint-hearted!)

And that’s no clickbait either. I didn’t even know these things existed before meeting my client, the amazing Lisa McGarva from Thinking Feeling Moving who is a trainee Psychosexual Therapist…

And then I learnt of this whole new world of the educational tools she uses to help with her clients… And it really is a whole new world 😀

Every time I log into Lisa’s Xero software and Hubdoc to do her bookkeeping, my mind has to stay open and flexible– something we love to be.

Learning from Nature

Another example, did you know that you can manage Lyme Disease with purely herbal remedies? I would assume with something so ghastly that it would be conventional medicine all of the way…

But no, Kate Parker of Horsechestnut Herbals has taught me otherwise. A trained herbalist who has taught me to be question every time I do her bookkeeping. It means that everything is accounted for in the correct way.

Learning from Different Styles

And how about the client that does not ‘DO’ conventional ways of communicating? No point sending emails or making a call, it just does not DO IT FOR HIM…. What works is WhatsApp. EVERY TIME.

He has taught me to be flexible and responsive because I know as soon as I drop that WhatsApp, he will be there and want an online catch up. Like immediately.

He has taught me to understand that not all clients work in the same way and that we can work with that, in anyway that helps (and yep, don’t worry, all of these communications are recorded within our cloud based practice management software Bright Manager)

These are just a few to mention…

What this means for US

These amazing clients who each day teach me incredible new facts.

Above they teach us to be flexible, questioning and open bookkeepers.

Who, in turn, are there to help, care and support them on their business journey.

It was a Friday. My last email check of the day. My heart sank. An email from one of my favourite clients, simply with the subject name ‘Update’.

I am fortunate to have A LOT of favourite clients. This guy is near the top though. A third-generation dairy farmer, in the middle of a continually hard time. A cow inflicted injury here, a farm fire there, and rapidly increasing running costs for his business (feed, electricity, just to start).

Then there was the strangling, restrictive, supply contract to one of the largest supermarket chains, who would not budge from a below cost supply price per litre. It was only a matter of time, on these terms, of the inevitable.

The email was simple. The dairy herd had gone.

Whilst, of course, you can reply to the email. It didn’t clear my mind, and hasn’t cleared my mind, since reading it.  It stuck with me, right in my heart.

But why? Our agreement with him is not one of an emotional support. We are his bookkeepers. The cold left brained number crunchers.

But is that it? No. Putting it simply. It wasn’t. I had a stern talk to myself about my client not needing MY emotional response to HIS emotional situation. Then I did what we do best. The practical stuff.

👉 We arranged a time to talk. We covered the basics:

🐮 What about the monthly payroll?

🐮 Where are the staff?

🐮 How about the VAT registration?

👉 We covered the next steps with his farm – beef cattle and organic arable farming

🐮 Will it continue under his existing company?

🐮 And the proposed timeline?

👉 I shared details of people who can help him:

🐮A referral to a local organic farmer to share ideas

🐮Another referral to a local business who has a digital marketplace for grain and cattle sales

👉 We covered what he needs to know when he takes on a 2^nd employed role, outside of the farm:

🐮 How will this impact on his own tax?

🐮 What does he need to do with his tax codes when he is employed by two companies?

It doesn’t bring his herd, his livelihood back, but it did help. Us both.

His parting words? ‘Thank you. Thank you for your support’ 🧡❤️🧡

Yep, he is still definitely still near the top of my ‘favourite’ list.

The student loan thresholds are a-moving, and ⬆️  🎈 UP THEY GO 🎈 ⬆️