Author: Jade Donno

Accumulator Challenge group shot

The 1 Accounts Accumulator Challenge

Posted on | by Jade Donno

The 1 Accounts Accumulator Challenge

This year we are thrilled to announce that we are the sponsor for St Nicholas Hospice’s Accumulator Challenge. We felt it fitting that on their 10th year anniversary we should be the sponsor as Paul won the first one raising £2600. This year we hope to get lots of business involved and make this the best year ever!

Who are St Nicholas Hospice? 

St Nicholas Hospice is a local charity providing help, advice and support to people in West Suffolk and Thetford in the final chapters of their life who are living with long-term and life threatening illnesses. Their services are not just for patients but for family members and friends too. They include anything from specialist medical care to bereavement support and practical help. To run the hospice they require £11,000 every single day. Any help to raise money to help is greatly appreciated.

What is the Accumulator Challenge? 

The Accumulator challenge is a great event for business to get involved in. On the 13th of June you will receive a crisp £50 note. From that £50 you need to generate as much profit as possible. You have until the end of September to raise as much money as you can. There will then be an awards ceremony in October to announce the winners.

What can I do to raise money? 

Here at 1 Accounts we want to help you with creating ideas to make the most money from your £50. Below are just a few ideas you could action:

  • Hold an auction
  • Hold a fundraising event
  • Complete a sporting challenge
  • Social activities

For 5 years Paul, Jenni, Jade and Katie were involved in the Challenge, they dressed up as clowns, busked, held a casino night and wine tastings. The video below shows all the fun they got up to!

What’s in it for you? 

We understand that as a business your time is precious however the Accumulator challenge can be beneficial for your business as well as the Hospice.

  • You will gain networking opportunities with people and other business.
  • It can build teamwork and moral within your staff.
  • You will gain PR/marketing opportunities from the Hospice and 1 Accounts Online
  • You will make memories for your business and have fun doing so.
You are not a bank

1 Accounts – You are not a bank

Posted on | by Jade Donno

You Are Not A Bank

As a small business, credit control can be a nightmare. Paul will tell you that when he first started running his traditional accountancy practice (Paul Donno & Co) he was pulling his hair out when he would do work, invoice the client and then not get paid. Unlike buying a product, paying for a service seems to have less urgency when it comes to paying. It used to take Paul on average just over 90 days for collection on 10 day accounts.

There is a group we belong to called the 2020 Group. One of the founders, a guy called Gordon Gilcrest spent some time with Paul to help his overcome this problem, he sat him down and said to him:

“Paul, you are not a bank. If people want a loan, they can go to the bank and they can pay interest on it. You are not a bank; you have credit terms, stick to the credit terms. If you give 14 days’ credit that gives them the right to pay within 14 days, not over days and pay you 50-60 days later”

This advice has stuck with Paul, and he re-evaluated his approach as a result. He spoke to the clients who were taking a long time to pay and advised them that they needed to change their ways. He also parted ways with a couple of companies.

When starting 1 Accounts Paul did not want these problems again. We set up Go cardless and have automatic direct debits taken every month. The direct debit is automatically set up when the proposal is signed. This saves time, money and chasing.

Here is our advice to you if you are struggling with credit control:

  • Look at your trading terms and ask yourself why you are offering credit, and if you do offer credit, want are your terms? Work out on average how quickly your customers are paying.
  • If you are lending money long term, that is for banks to do and not you!
  • Look at all types of money collection and do not put barriers in the way. Take credit cards, offer direct debit, provide alternative funding to customers
  • Remember ‘Turnover for vanity, profit for sanity but cash is reality’
  • It is no good tying up your money in stock that takes ages to turn over, measure stock turnover and don’t lock up your cash.
  • Don’t give extended credit, and if you do chase it hard, you have already paid for the goods sold or staff to provide services.
  • Without cash, you cannot make rational business decisions to move forwards.
1 Accounts helping the environment

Green is the new black – why go paperless?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK

Trees. Water. Carbon emissions. Time. Money. The environmental impact of paper production in the financial industry is significant and yet completely avoidable. In an age where nearly everything is digital and in the cloud, we needen’t use so much paper. Using an online calculater we have esstimated that as firm we save the following per year:

  • 450kgs of Wood
  • 10,900 Litres of Water
  • £146.80K
  • 7000 hours

The Facts 

Worldwide the use of paper has risen by 400% in the last 40 years. The paper industry is the fifth largest consumer of energy in the world. Going paperless can help:

  • Save trees – Trees provide habitats for animals, covert CO2 to oxygen and help clean our water.
  • Save water – To make 1 A4 peice of paper it take 10 liters of water. Being paperless can help conserve our worlds water sources.
  • Reduce polution – Making one tonne of paper emits more than 1.5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Using elss will help reduce the number of pollutants in our atmosphere.
  • Fuel – Documents need to get from A to B. The transportation of documents burns fuel and releases greenhouse gases. Eliminating paper documents will reduce the  amount of fuel used.
  • Save time – Printing, stuffing, posting, waiting & chasing all takes time. By going online you can get your time back.
  • Save money – Paper, envelopes, ink and postage all costs money.Imagain being able to eliminate this cost.

How We Work 

Emails not letters 

In todays era most companies are using email, however some still use ‘snail mail’ to send important documents. We however send all our emails via Microsoft outlook. If any include secure information we will send via Karbon. Emails not only save lots of paper they also save the time and money it would take to post each client queries. The only letters we send are to HMRC and to send goodies to our clients.

Digitally Sign Documents 

All our Accounts, Tax Returns and engagment letters have to be signed by clients. We do this digitally. For our engagment letters we use Practice Ignition and for accounts, tax returns and any other documents we use Docusign. These products have made our life so much easier, no more posting to clients and then waiting for them to sign and send it back to us.

Online Software 

All our clients use online accounting software, so not only are we paperless, we are helping our clients become paperless to. Gone are the days of manual books, paper records and bags full of receipts. With the online software we suggest to clients that they digitally send their invoices and request their suppliers to send their invoices directly to their Xero or receipt bank. This avoids the need for paper. We also use Xero and digitally send our invoices each month.

We love that being more efficent and saving money goes hand in hand with helping the envirnment and we love helping our cleints become paperless to!

should I employ a business coach?

Should business employ a business coach?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Should Business’ Employ a business coach? – Absolutely!

A note from Paul

Over the years I have seen many people that say they are business coaches and I really would not trust them to deliver, especially those that are part of a franchise and just follow set procedures.

A business coach should understand your business, understand you and work to empower you to put your business in the direction that it wants to go.

Our first coach

My first encounter of a coach was about 20 years ago and the lady Gabriel Blackman-Shepperd was a life coach, she helped me to understand issue facing me at the time and my vision of the future, interestingly some of my vision at that time remains today.  Gabriel understood me and worked really hard to focus me.

Coming to present day I have used three business coaches, all of whom have had a significant impact on my business.

Tough Times 

Starting 1 Accounts Online was at a really difficult time, coming off of a terrible experience in my business career & my youngest daughter becoming confined to a wheel chair; I had lost a bit of the original spark I had and needed some guidance on where we were going.

The government had a great scheme in place where they funded a coach and I took on the services of Dominic Bowles who really helped me and my wife Jenni.

Dominic worked hard on the ethos of our business and his advise will always be part of our business regardless of changes.

Dominic helped us get personal and business goals which we smashed!  We also learnt  that family values are so important to Jenni and me and that this had to come through our business as well, something we had lost sight of over the previous couple of years!

Dominic has been back a few times since and we really value his input.

Pricing change

When we first started our Online business we had a specific business model that we identified would not work in the long term and this was based on price.  Price was OK to start with as it was only Jenni and me working from home but to move the business forwards I needed to really understand my pricing.

I signed up to a program with Mark Wickersham who is well known in our industry and via webinars and reading I started to understand pricing, my market place and the real psychology behind price.  This time spent with Mark was really important to us.

Once I had what I wanted I stopped the coaching and I think it is really important to know when you have gained what you need from your coach, but do not be afraid to return to brush up on your knowledge.

Skip to the present 

Our latest coach Heather Townsend has been a really interesting partnership.  I first met Heather at the Practice Excellence Awards where we won best New Practice in the UK, as you can imagine I was on top of the world and thought I knew everything.  Heather said that she would love to work with us and could really help us, at the time I really doubted that!

Six months ago we joined Heathers Millionaire Accountants program and it is really only today that I have seen real value in the process.  Heather no doubt will tell people that I am a really difficult person to recognise my achievements as my growth is never enough, she constantly reminds me that 62% growth last year is really good and yes I suppose it is.

Sitting back today reflecting on Heathers input to our business has been enormous.  With Growth comes pain and my real pain was systems and lack of robust systems to grow with us.  We started setting up Karbon four months ago and Jade (our practice manager and my daughter) has worked relentlessly in getting this right for us.  Karbon have also been a great partner in improving the software.

We have also changed our Tax and Accounting software to TaxCalc and the monthly saving has been over £800 per month, more than covering Heathers fees.

We have introduced daily team meetings, led by Jade and weekly full meetings led by Jade as well, these meetings have really helped to Gel the team together and our apprentices are now flying and having an important and significant impact on our business and our clients businesses.

We are also instigating our monthly management meeting with three of us focusing on driving the business forwards.

I also spend Wednesdays working from home and specifically working on the business, as a business owner this is so important to the business.

All of the above has been so positive on the team, our client service and the bottom line that we are looking forward to Heather and her team working hard to reach the goal we both promised our selves at the start of the process.

Top Tip – 

Chose your coach wisely, give them at least six months to prove themselves and re-evaluate what they deliver to your business.  Heather may not want to be but she is stuck with us for at least another six months and more than likely beyond!

 

2018 tax reuturns

1 Accounts 2018 Tax Returns

Posted on | by Jade Donno

2018 Tax Returns

A note from Paul

This year has been really strange for me in preparing for January and completing over 160 Tax Returns in one month.  A Challenge that I was prepared for and it was 60 less than last year!

Today is 25 January and we have 9 left to do which hopefully will be down to zero by the end of today!

Waking up this morning I thought how on earth did we achieve this and how am I so chilled about it, I have come up with four key reasons that we have achieved our goals.

Building blocks spelling Tax

Practice manager

We employed my daughter Jade as practice manager during this year and next to Jenni, she is probably one of the only people that can sort me out.  Jade said that I was not going to do all the returns on my own this year and that we have to spread them around the team.

Jade has also worked relentlessly on getting our systems into place and her devotion to getting Karbon into a great working tool has been second to none.

Jade split the returns and shared the work load with all of the team.

Jade has seen the stress in past years that I have put myself under and wasn’t going to let it happen this year.  She is also in charge of onboarding and will not let the last minute “don’t want to pay” person take up our time.  Filtering out the clients that just do not work for us has been a real challenge for me to say no, but Jade has done this so well.

Apprentices

Over two years ago we invested our time and faith in the apprentice scheme and  this month I have seen both of our apprentices shine.  They have both gained level 3 of their AAT and have worked hard and learnt a lot this last month.

The rest of our team have all stepped up as well and really worked hard to reach our targets whilst getting on with their normal work load, all managed by Jade using Karbon.

Apprentice Grace
Apprentice James

Systems

For anyone that knows me, whilst I preach about systemising your business and put robust systems in place for our clients, I am the best person to mess my own up and go outside the system.

Karbon has been such a great system for us and we can all see our own progress during the month with regards to our work load and Jade has already planned year end accounts to the end of July!

Four months ago we changed our Tax and accounts software and have really tested this new software to the limits, and it hasn’t let us down.

Some people said why not change this in February when demand is not high, however the decision to really use it in anger during our busiest period has worked very well.  It is amazing how quickly a problem gets sorted out and we move on.

Business Coach

Yes we are business advisors and we do coach our clients as well as make there lives easier with great systems because life is too short to do your books.

In my opinion all businesses need a coach and we are no exception, I will write another Blog on our use of coaches and what to look for later; I did not think we needed our latest coach and she also thought we were well sorted by our very public image in our industry, how wrong we both were!

I use Heather Townsend of Accountants Millionaires (I am not one yet!!) and she has guided me in many ways, that until now (6 months later) I hadn’t really appreciated, sorry Heather.

Heather recommended our change in Tax and Accounts software, huge saving In monthly fees over £800 per month!  Insistence of investing in a practice management solution (Karbon).  Guidance on the issues of employing your daughter who is as strong headed and stubborn as me.

The guidance from her team and the ability to allow me to focus and empower my team is exactly what a coach should do.

Now looking forward to growing the business in 2019 and building on our fantastic dedicated team.

1 Accounts New Website

1 Accounts launches new website

Posted on | by Jade Donno

1 Accounts opened its doors 5 years ago. As time and technology has moved on, so has 1 Accounts and so to celebrate our 5th birthday we decided to treat ourselves to a new Website! – Whoop!

Growth

Over the last 5 years 1 Accounts has grown dramatically. We have moved into a larger office, expanded our client base and gained 5 new staff members. The business has come on leaps and bounds from when Paul & Jenni were running the business from their home. It was clear this growth needed to be reflected in a cool new website.


Click here to see our team

Feedback

The feedback we have had from our clients over the past year, is that their new online software is giving them their lives back. We are freeing up our clients time so that they can spend more time with their families, increase their handicap or even go on longer holidays. We believe that time is unnecessarily spent doing your accounts when you should be out enjoying life.


Click here to see our clients feedback

Products 

Our old website has a heavy focus on Sage One. As our existing clients know we still use Sage, however we have now broadened our horizons and are now Xero Gold Partners. We are looking forward to expanding our expertise so we can offer our clients the best online accounting solution for them.


Click here to see our products

Services

You will notice that our services have changed. We are no longer offering the essential, full and premium service. We felt these names were boring and did not reflect our clients’ needs. We now offer services for a range of Limited Companies according to where they are at in their business journey.  Young Business, Growing Business & Rapid Growth.


Click here to see our services

The last 5 years have been a whirlwind and we can’t wait to see where the next 5 takes us!

“I have always enjoyed being an early adopter of technology and saw the potential of cloud based accounting from the very beginning. Starting a new company based solely on a cloud based service was a risk but I am delighted to say that it has paid off.

“We have carved a niche as experts in the online accounting arena and have formed solid relationships with the leading providers of online accounting software – Sage and Xero.

“We are using the technology to do things differently to a traditional accountant. No time sheets, fixed fees paid by monthly direct debit and we use the software to automate the compliance. We can then use the time saved to add value to the client’s business.

“This approach works really well, as can be seen by our growth over the last four years. I am confident that, with our talented team and investment in systems and processes, we will continue to go from strength to strength.”

What is MTD?

What Is Making Tax Digital?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

What is MTD?

Fact: 

All of our clients are Making Tax Digital (MTD) compliant because they use the latest online accounting software provided by the market leaders – Sage and Xero.

What is Making Tax Digital (MTD)?

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is a government initiative which aims to transform the administration of tax to create a simpler, more effective and efficient tax regime that makes it easier for taxpayers to get their tax right.  (Let’s not forget to mention the estimated additional revenue of £610 million for HMRC as a result of the reduction in tax errors!)

Businesses that meet the criteria will be required to file their tax online, make online payments and keep digital records.

Quite simply, Making Tax Digital (MTD) is all about managing your accounts online.

Who is affected?

On 1st April 2019, all UK businesses that are VAT registered and operating above the £85,000 VAT threshold will be required to keep their records digitally and to submit VAT returns to HMRC using MTD compliant software.

Other areas of MTD, such as income tax and corporation tax, have been put on hold until 2020, at the earliest.

What do I need to do now?

If you are not VAT registered then you do not need to do anything at the moment. Just keep an eye on your turnover and if you think you are nearing the threshold give us a call on 01440 844 986. You should also be mindful of announcements from HMRC as to when income tax and corporation tax will be covered by MTD.

If you are already using MTD compliant accounting software then you do not need to take any further action.

If you are not using an MTD compliant accounting software, such as Xero or Sage Business Cloud, and you are above the £85,000 VAT threshold it’s time to call 1 Accounts!

Ditch the dinosaurs…

Many “traditional” accountants are panicking because they have not embraced the digital revolution. They have chosen to continue with desktop based systems, time sheets and outdated processes.  With the deadline for MTD looming they are now in danger of extinction!

This is the advice from the ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) for their members:-

Preparing your practice for MTD

Agents will need to take steps to prepare both their own practices and their clients for the disruption that Making Tax Digital and digitalisation will cause to the market for accounting and tax services.

 

Pick the pioneers…

1 Accounts was established in 2013 with the sole focus of moving businesses from the traditional accountancy model to online accounting with all its time and money saving benefits. The team at 1 Accounts are experts in cloud accounting, they did their learning on the “digitalisation of accounting services” years ago and have the accolades to prove it –  Sage UK’s Top Online Accountants, 2020 Innovation Awards 2016 most ‘Innovative Practice’ and a Xero Gold Champion Partner with a Making Tax Digital Ready classification.

The dinosaurs will be charging their clients for the privilege of learning about the “new ways” and converting clients from desk based systems to online systems. Just think – if they are operating time sheets, every hour has to be accounted for! Do you want to pay for them to catch up?

Paul's new book

Boring to Soaring

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Paul's new book

Paul writes his first book

Our director Paul has written his first book. The book tells of how he started his business life as a young lad collecting golf balls from the local golf club, to building a business, merging a business and ultimately building the current business.

1 Accounts Online is a growing business that could be described as disrupting the accountancy profession.

What to call the book?

After asking friends, family and clients for title suggestions on Facebook Paul decided to call the book ‘Boring to Soaring’. This title seemed fitting to describe how the business has moved from the boring traditional world of accountancy to soaring into the clouds and changing the perception of the profession.

The book details Paul’s journey through business so far which has had some bumps and challenges along the way. Paul frankly speaks about his own mistakes in business and how he overcame them. Ultimately, when the chips were down, and he hit his lowest point in business it was both determination and the support of friends and family that he proved that you can bounce back stronger.

Paul also talks about his long and strong relationship with Sage UK. Like any relationship, it has been both challenging and rewarding working with a large organisation. Paul encourages smaller businesses to work with larger organisations and never feel like they are too small to make a difference. He claims that anyone can be a specialist or even a ‘thought leader’.

The book is aimed to help any business owner showing that whatever your business is, many of the issues and problems are just the same. The book has some key messages, tips and advice that Paul hopes will help small business owners to have confidence and grow.

The 14 key lessons at the end of the book include:

  1. Learn from your mistakes
  2. Be Nice
  3. Branding
  4. Outsource to Good Quality People
  5. Just say ‘Yes’ and feel the fear
  6. Know your numbers
  7. Go Online
  8. You are not a bank
  9. Collaborate with your team
  10. Social Media
  11. Never too late to learn
  12. Automate as much as you can
  13. Awards
  14. ENJOY

The most important lesson?

The most important lesson is to enjoy what you do and have some great fun on your journey.

Want a copy?

If you would like a copy of Pauls book please email boring2soaring@1accounts.co.uk

All proceeds for the book are being donated to Little People UK. This is a charity very close to our hearts. You can also donate to this charity by following this link: http://littlepeopleuk.org/ways-you-can-donate/justgiving

Looking to publish a book?

There have been many people that have helped in the production of our book, but I can’t thank the printers enough for their help and patience. If you are looking to publish a book please speak to Danny at Gipping Presshttp://www.gippingpress.co.uk/

From strength to strength

From strength to strength

Posted on | by Jade Donno | Leave a Comment on From strength to strength

From strength to strength

Multi-award winning accountancy firm 1 Accounts Online Ltd is celebrating success as it enters into a fifth year of business with ambitious growth plans for 2018.

1 Accounts was established by Paul Donno in December 2013. The aim of the new business was to offer clients an alternative to the traditional accounting model through the use of cloud based solutions.

The company began operating from a home office with just 2 members of staff and a handful of clients.

Fast forward to December 2017 and the number of clients has increased to over 160. Additional staff have been recruited to support the growing client portfolio. The team now stands at seven, including two Chartered Accountants and two apprentices. The company is committed to the apprenticeship scheme and developing talent internally.

An expanding team

1 Accounts has moved offices twice in the last four years to accommodate the expanding team and now occupies a large, modern office space in Haverhill High Street. In July Paul partnered with Cambridge businessman Mark Coplowe to launch 1 Accounts Cambridge to extend the company’s reach into Cambridgeshire.

Awards

1 Accounts has been recognised with a number of national accolades and awards including Highly Commended for the British Accountancy Awards in 2013 and 2014 and Winner of the Best New Practice Award in 2016. They were also awarded Most Innovative Sole Practitioner in the 2020 Innovation Awards in 2016 and in November this year were shortlisted for the Practice Excellence Pioneer of the Year Award.

Ambitious Plans

Paul and the team have ambitious plans for this year and they are looking forward to pursuing the opportunities that the future holds.

“I have always enjoyed being an early adopter of technology and saw the potential of cloud based accounting from the very beginning. Starting a new company based solely on a cloud based service was a risk but I am delighted to say that it has paid off.

“We have carved a niche as experts in the online accounting arena and have formed solid relationships with the leading providers of online accounting software – Sage and Xero.

“We are using the technology to do things differently to a traditional accountant. No time sheets, fixed fees paid by monthly direct debit and we use the software to automate the compliance. We can then use the time saved to add value to the client’s business.

“This approach works really well, as can be seen by our growth over the last four years. I am confident that, with our talented team and investment in systems and processes, we will continue to go from strength to strength.“

We've been nominated

High hopes for prestigious award

Posted on | by Jade Donno

We've been nominated

The team from 1 Accounts Online, is celebrating after being shortlisted for a prestigious national industry award. Managing Director, Paul Donno, has been nominated for the Practice Excellence Pioneer of the Year 2017.

The annual Practice Excellence Awards celebrate excellence in the accounting profession. They aim to highlight the key role that accountants play in supporting UK businesses. This year there have been a record number of entries with over 200 submissions across 10 different categories, up by 16% on last year. There are 4 other accountants shortlisted in the Pioneer of the Year category. Paul will be competing with some of the leading names in the industry to win the coveted title.

Paul comments, “Over the years we have won several notable industry awards including the British Accountancy Awards for New Practice last year. The Practice Excellence Awards are definitely a big deal within our profession and I am really delighted to be shortlisted.”

The Practice Excellence Awards Ceremony takes place on 19th October at The Brewery, an impressive venue in central London. 500 guests will attend the dinner which is being hosted by comedian and satirist Marcus Brigstocke. Paul and his fellow director, Jenni Donno, will be attending the event as guests of Sage UK and are hoping to return to Haverhill with another trophy to add to their growing collection!

Since establishing 1 Accounts the number of employees has increased from 2 to 6. The latest member of the team is ex Castle Manor student James Revell. He will be undertaking an Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Apprenticeship through West Suffolk College. James was put forward for the role by Karen Chapple, ONE Haverhill’s Youth Skills Manager. In December the level of expertise within the company will be further enhanced with the appointment of another Chartered Certified Accountant.

1 Accounts has also recently extended its reach into Cambridge with the opening of 1 Accounts Cambridge Ltd, headed by experienced Cambridge businessman Mark Coplowe.