Acumenica Group

The boys in the office are officially outnumbered slightly less now. 🤣

Until recently, we only had two men in the Acumenica office, so it was Jamie & Alan VS 7 women.

Now Logan and Daniel have joined the team as our new Accounting Apprentices and have already had a shot of our new workstation.

They'll be learning the ropes, working alongside the team and getting plenty of real experience as they start their careers in accounting.

It’s great to be able to bring new people into the profession and give them the chance to learn on the job.

So, an important question for you all...

Whats the one piece of advice you'd give to someone starting their first job? 👇

Welcome to Acumenica, Logan and Daniel. 👋

A profitable job can still put you under pressure.

Winning a good job feels like good news, and usually it is. But business owners often forget to ask this one question:

"Can we actually afford to deliver it?"

Say, for example, you win a sizeable project. You probably have to pay for the materials, subcontractors and wages a good while before you'll actually get paid by the customer.

On paper, the job makes a great profit, but in the bank, money may be tighter than it was before you won the job.

Before taking on a big job, we recommend mapping out when materials need to be bought, when wages are due, when you can invoice and when the customer will actually pay.

Once you have this, you can then look at what you can negotiate. For example, deposits, stage payments, supplier credit or better payment terms.

Profit matters, but cash flow decides whether you can actually get the job finished.

A profitable contract is only a good contract if you can afford to deliver it.

This was a point in this week's Three Things Thursday. If you want the full issue, drop us a DM with your email, and we'll get you added to the list and this week's issue to your inbox.

It was a slightly different Monday this week for some of the team at Acumenica.

Today, Alan, Kirsty, Jamie and Erin headed along to Falkirk FC to film some new content.

We've got a mix of videos coming your way over the coming weeks. Some useful, some that put the players' football knowledge to the test, and a lot of Alan's bloopers, which I'm sure you'll be glad to see 🤣.

It's always great getting out of the office, especially when it means spending a few hours at the Falkirk Stadium

A huge thanks to the team at Falkirk FC for having us along, and to Coll and Connor for being great team players.

Keep an eye out for the videos.

Have you started integrating chatbots and contact forms into your systems for clients to contact you?

We'd think again.

Read more about this in this week's Three Things Thursday; there's still time to sign up for todays issue.

Sign up here:https://www.acumenica.co.uk/three-things-thursday

Your ETA Isn’t the Problem. Your Silence Is.

Do you give customers an ETA and then fail to meet it? Or, even worse, fail to keep them updated when there’s a delay?

That’s one of the quickest ways to lose their trust, and eventually their business.

We've written a short blog post about an experience we had with an unmet ETA and the impact it had.

You can read it here:

Your ETA Isn’t the Problem. Your Silence Is. - Acumenica Accountants in Scotland and the UK - Tax Reduction & Compliance Specialists Keep up to date with the latest news, legislation, and tax advice

Did you miss last week's issue of Three Things Thursday? Come on now... you're missing out on free weekly tips to help you run and grow your business.

Here's a snippet of what last week's issue contained:

1. Filing Your Clients’ Accounts Six Months Early Isn’t The Flex Your Accountant Thinks It Is. Of course, it's great to have your accounts filed on time, but if all you know in July is what happened in the year that ended 9 months ago as opposed to how the business is performing now, what your tax bill is likely to be, and whether the business is actually making the money they think it is, what's more useful? You can't change what happened in the past, but if you know what's happening now, you can make active changes.

2. The Offer That Gets Them In Isn’t Always The One That Keeps Them.
Attraction Offers VS Continuity Offers. Imagine you run an agency and you want to charge £5k a month; asking a prospect to commit to £60k a year is quite bold. Instead, start with a £5k “strategy sprint” that tackles a specific problem and has a clear outcome. This is the ATTRACTION. Once this is finished, the client now needs someone to implement the strategy; this becomes the CONTINUITY offer, the £5k a month you wanted in the first place. Make your offer a journey: start, stay, expand.

3. Payrolling Benefits From 2027
At least, for once, HMRC has given employers time to prepare. From 6 April 2027, payrolling Benefits in Kind will start to become mandatory, replacing the P11D process for certain benefits. Instead of providing a benefit during the year, reporting it on a P11D afterwards and HMRC eventually adjusting the employee’s tax code, the taxable value will be dealt with through payroll as the benefit is provided. Whoever runs payroll knows when benefits start, stop or change. Information will need to reach payroll promptly rather than being picked up when the P11Ds are prepared.

Want the full issue? Sign up to Three Things Thursday here: https://www.acumenica.co.uk/three-things-thursday We'll get last week's issue delivered straight to your inbox, and you'll get all issues from this week onwards every Thursday morning.

Three Things Thursday Signup - Acumenica Accountants in Scotland and the UK - Tax Reduction & Compliance Specialists Genuinely useful ideas, tools or observations that can help you run your business better, from tax tips and financial insights to smarter ways of managing cashflow, growth and decision-making.

From just a meeting room to a media room/podcast studio 😉/meeting room.

A little before & after of the space where some excellent conversations are going to happen.

Watch this space👀

Another great business we’re proud to be working with 🤝

We’re delighted to be supporting HPP (Heating Plumbing Parts Group Ltd) across all branches, online businesses and online services with accounting and advisory services.

HPP Ltd is a well-established independent heating, plumbing and bathroom supplies merchant with a great reputation for high-quality products, expert advice and outstanding customer service, with physical locations and an e-commerce site, and an underfloor heating offering.

As accountants with a growing focus on supporting trades businesses, it's great to be working with a business that supports tradespeople every day. It’s a natural fit, and we’re excited to help the team at HPP with their accounting and advise them on their growth strategy.

We’re looking forward to building a great relationship with everybody at HPP Ltd, and who knows, there may be a few ideas in the pipeline too.

We’ve shared more about the appointment and why HPP is such a natural fit for Acumenica in our latest blog. Read it here:https://www.acumenica.co.uk/post/welcoming-hpp-as-a-new-client

HPP Loanhead HPP RosythBathrooms by HPPHPP FalkirkHPP Macmerry

We are delighted to be sponsoring Ewan Simpson’s away kit for the 26/27 season!

Two of our recently announced sponsors have updated their branding – Varda Advisory, who sponsor Craig Ross’s home kit, and Acumenica Group who sponsor Ewan Simpson’s away kit. Thank you again for your support!

You can read about our player sponsorship deal here: https://www.airdriefc.com/player-sponsorship

Are you only hearing from your accountant when there's a deadline or they need something? Regularly surprised by your tax bill? Feel more like a number than a client?

You might have outgrown your accountant.

Our latest blog covers five signs that the support you’re receiving no longer matches the business you’re running.
Read it here: https://www.acumenica.co.uk/post/five-signs-youve-outgrown-your-accountant

In the meantime, if you're not quite ready to make the switch, sign up to Three Things Thursday. Every Thursday we'll send three practical ideas and insights straight to your inbox, the kind of useful stuff you might not be getting from your current accountant...
Sign up here: https://www.acumenica.co.uk/three-things-thursday