2019 piggy bank

What happened in 2019?

2019

2019 was another great year for 1 Accounts Online. We have streamlined our processes, brought in more team members and continue to provide a great service to our clients. With new advancements in technology such as open banking and MTD it is an exciting time to be a part of a rapid changing industry.

Automation, Automation, Automation

ClickWe encourage all our clients to use technology and automation to help streamline their business. We have continued to increase our use of automation using our workflow system Karbon. The team used to spend a few hours (at least) chasing client information. With our new automated system they no longer need to do this, as the emails automatically send requesting the required information for tax returns, quarterly reviews and accounts. There have of course been a couple of hiccups along the way, but we have saved the team time so they can focus on helping our client’s businesses grow.

MTD

One of the big changes in 2019 was MTD. HMRC decided that VAT submissions will have to be submitted through online software. Luckily for us, all our clients were using Xero or Sage Business Cloud so we had the software down. Jade then signed each of our clients up for MTD at no additional cost to the client. After HMRC’s rocky start, MTD is now underway and we look forward to seeing all taxes made digital.

New Clients

We have had an influx of new and exciting clients from web design to construction. We love adding more clients to the 1 Accounts family and look forward to helping them grow. We have enjoyed helping our existing customers thrive, our passion is to help business grow and we have seen wonderful changes in many of our clients.

New Services

In 2019 we started to develop new services for our clients. These are, The Business Coaching Service and Social Media. Watch this space as both services will be up on our website soon! If you can’t wait, email jade@1accounts.co.uk for more information.

New Team Members

2019 we brought 3 new members to the team. Katie started in the middle of the year for 2 days a week to help Jade with the sales side of 1 Accounts. Although they are sisters, they work well together and have developed a new sales process for the new year. Katie has also made great progression with her walking, and now walks the length of the office with a frame. We then had Fran start to help Jade for 3 days a week. Fran is also a pet photographer and loves to be creative and take pictures. In the last week of December we hired a new Bookkeeper Katy who will start with us this month. We are very excited to welcome her to our team and look forward to watching our team grow even more in the new year..

Hello May

1 Accounts May Update

MAY UPDATE

May disappeared before our eyes, with tax returns, accounts and quarterly reviews in full swing. The sunshine has been fleeting but our smiles have stayed all month long. Here is what we got up to this month:

Clever Grace

Grace got a whopping 86% on her exam on Management accounting and budgeting. She is studying hard for her level 4 AAT and will be fully qualified in no time. Her next exam is on Management accounting: Decision and control.

Outsourcing our IT

When there is a problem with IT it can be detrimental, especially to 1 Accounts as we need our computers in order to do our work. It can take hours for us to figure out how to fix a problem and so when starting 1 Accounts Paul decided to outsource our IT and take the hassle away. We have just changed providers to Platform 365. We can’t wait for them to start!

Jade Singing

Jade had her busiest month ever with her singing. She sung love songs, jazz songs, pop songs & rock & roll songs. She also had her first gig in her duo The Blue Jays at Nine Jars. Be sure to keep an eye on her Facebook Page for more events!

https://www.facebook.com/jadedonnosinger/

April Showers

1 Accounts April Update

April Update

With the start of a new tax year, lots of bank holidays and new starters 1 Accounts have well and truly stepped into spring!

Start of the Tax Year

The 6th of April marked the beginning of the next tax year. With this brought some changes to personal allowance, minimum wage, student loans and auto-enrolment. To find out more about these changes please read our blog ‘Happy New Year’.

https://1accountsonline.co.uk/2019/04/12/happy-new-year/

Automation, Automation, Automation

This year we have introduced client checklists. All our clients will notice that they have received a checklist from Jade to complete their self assessment tax return. These are sent automatically via Karbon so that we can spend more time helping our clients. We will also be automating emails on company year ends to request accounts information in order for us to get accounts completed as soon as we can. We love this new level of automation as we can provide a higher level of service.

A proper family business

We now have all the Donno’s onboard! Katie has now joined us to help us with our sales. Anyone who knows Katie will know that she can sell ice to eskimos and will look great doing it! We now have Paul, Jenni, Jade and Katie (the whole family) working for 1 Accounts. Paul won’t know what’s hit him!

Happy Birthday James

James turned 20! We all went out for a lunch at Nine Jars to celebrate his birthday. We also decorated the office especially! No birthday gets missed here at 1 Accounts!!

Paul went to prison

After Jade went to the prison last month, Paul decided he wanted to go. Unfortunately they let him out too. Paul spoke to the offenders about starting & running their own business. He was given lots of questions that he was happy to answer. He also gave them all a copy of his book, which they asked him to sign. We are not sure Paul’s head fit out of the prison doors on the way out!

Donation

If a client refers us we always send a gift to say thank you! We asked one of our clients for their home address to send our special thank you gift. They asked for us to donate to charity instead, which is an amazing gesture. We donated to Little People UK as it is a charity close to the company’s heart.  We love how amazing our clients are!!

Daisys for a march update

March Update

1 Accounts March Update

We have stepped into spring with March, the clocks have changed meaning lighter evenings leaving the office very cheery.Here are just a few of the things we got up to in March.

Jade Went To Prision…

… but unfortunately they let her out!

Jade went to Highpoint Prision to see how rehabilitation is helping the ex-offenders. She was taken on a tour of the prison and then networked with the ex-offenders. Here at 1 Accounts we support Highpoints mission to help educate the ex-offenders so they can leave the prison and not re-offend. Jade learnt that many of the ex-offenders would like to leave and start their own business as employment is hard to find with a criminal record. Paul is due to speak at Highpoint in April to discuss how to become self-employed.

Katie turned 20

This month was Katie’s birthday! Although she works for Fiscale Ltd and not 1 Accounts Online due to accessibility she works from our offices and is part of the team. She was very grateful for all the birthday messages she received from clients! For her birthday she went to Prezzo and got loads of make-up, making her a very happy girl!

Great review

1 Accounts Cambridge got a great review from personal fitness trainer Joe Mitton:

” HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!!!! I have known Mark for years and he has been nothing short of incredible in helping with my taxes, end of year accounts and a whole host of other issues. Accountancy isn’t my area at all yet Mark made it a seamless processes for me enabling me to get on top of and stay on top of my accounts.He always goes above and beyond and I recommend him to everyone!!!! Can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me!”

James went to Paris

James went away to the city of love with his girlfriend. He came back with stories of climbing up the Eiffel Tower, eating French food and river cruises. He had such a great time he brought the office back tasty treats and keyrings!

Good Job Kerry

Our star bookkeeper is also the queen of payroll. She spent March preparing us for the payroll year ends. If anyone completing their own payroll is struggling please let Kerry know and she will be happy to help – Kerry@1accounts.co.uk

Lloyds Cyber Fraud

Jade went to the Jocky Club in Newmarket to hear Lloyds Bank speak about cyber fraud and how it is affecting business. She learnt the following tips:

  • If you get an email stating that bank details have changed always ring the person to find out if it is correct, also check the numbers over the phone! This is the same for internal emails as these can also be intercepted.
  • Use a £ sign in your password as many international keyboards do not include this symbol
  • Never give your bank log in details over the phone! No bank would ever need these details, no matter how convincing they sound.
  • Never click a link on an email from an unknown source (even the unsubscribe button)
  • Fraudsters are clever, it is easy to be fooled so be extra vigilant.

They also showed us this video about how easy it is for people to find out your passwords, make sure your password isn’t too obvious:

 

Accumulator Challange

In March we announced that we are sponsoring this years Accumulator Challenge. The challenge involves receiving a £50 note and having to make as much profit from it as possible. All of this is in aid of St Nicholas Hospice. For more information on how to sign up please email jade@1accounts.co.uk