AFor Bookkeeping and Accounts

Bank holiday weekend is nearly here.

Which means if you’re currently staring at your to-do list thinking you should just get one more thing finished before you switch off…

You probably won’t. 😂

There will always be another email to answer, another job to finish and another thing that suddenly feels urgent at 4.30pm on a Friday.

My advice is do what actually needs doing, leave the rest until Tuesday and go and enjoy your weekend.

Your accounts will still be there when you get back, and so will we.

Have a good one and maybe a glass or two (I know I will)🍷

Apparently, working with me is "like having an older sister who tells us how it is."

I’ll take that. 😂

That’s how Rosie Spencer from Secret Door Events described working with me when we asked her about her experience with AFor.

Rosie and her business partner Sarah-Jane launched Secret Door Events last year, with their flagship event Nordic Nights bringing a Scandinavian-inspired Christmas party experience to Leeds.

When they first came to me, they’d already done a lot of the groundwork themselves. What they needed was another pair of eyes over the numbers.

So I reviewed their profit and loss forecasts, sense-checked the figures and made sure everything stacked up before they pushed ahead.Rosie said they wanted someone approachable, straightforward and easy to pick up the phone to.

For me, that’s where having the right accountant really matters.

It’s not just about filing accounts at the end of the year. It’s having someone there to sense-check things, answer the questions and tell you if something doesn’t quite add up before it becomes a bigger problem.

Rosie said they wanted someone they could trust, someone approachable, straightforward and easy to pick up the phone to.

That’s exactly how I want my clients to feel.

Want to find out more about Rosie, Sarah-Jane and what they’re creating with Secret Door Events - give them a follow and read the full Secret Door Events case study here: https://www.afor.co/news/casestudysecretdoorevents

Keeping your business and personal spending separate is always an ace move (sorry, couldn't resist lol).

Technically, there are situations where you can use a personal account for business expenses.

Would I recommend mixing everything together? No.

A separate business account makes it much easier to see what is coming in, what is going out and what actually belongs to the business.

It also saves you, your bookkeeper and your accountant having to work out whether that payment was for stationery, stock or Saturday night’s takeaway.

Business money in the business account. Personal money in the personal account.

Currently using one account for both? If you want to get things tidied up, give us a call. We’ll help you sort it.

You might know me as an accountant.

What you might not know is that when I’m not working with numbers, there’s a good chance you’ll find me working security.

It started when I first met my partner Charlie. He’d retired and was doing security work, so I went along to a nightclub with him one night so we could spend some time together.

That one night somehow turned into weddings, events, venues, agricultural shows, b**r tents and music festivals.

Then I was told I probably wouldn’t get my security badge.

So naturally, I went and got it.

A week of training in self-defence, first aid and all the rules later, I was licensed and Charlie and I started getting booked to work together.

And quite a few of my clients have actually come through my work in security. DJs, musicians, event companies and people I’ve met along the way who’ve got to know me outside of the office first.

It’s completely different from sitting behind a desk looking at accounts, and I think that’s partly why I enjoy it.

Although, strangely enough, the two jobs probably have more in common than you’d think.

At AFor Accounting, we often get asked: “If my business is making a profit, why am I still short on cashflow?”

The simple answer is that profit and cashflow are not the same thing.

Profit tells you whether your business is making money once your costs are taken into account.

Cashflow is about the money actually moving in and out of the business, and whether it is there when you need it.

So you can be making a perfectly healthy profit on paper and still look at the bank account and wonder where all the money has gone.

There are lots of reasons that can happen.

You might have customers who haven’t paid you yet. You might have a VAT bill, Corporation Tax, wages, suppliers or another large payment due.

You might be investing in new equipment, stock or another member of staff.

The business can still be profitable overall, but the timing of those payments can make cash feel very tight.

That’s why we always say your bank balance only tells you part of the story.

You also need to know what customers still owe you, what bills are coming up, what tax needs to be put aside and what money you expect to come in over the next few months.

Once you know that, it becomes much easier to make decisions.

Can you afford to take someone on?
Can you make that purchase?
Can you take more money out of the business this month?
What happens if a customer pays late?

If cashflow is tight, the most important thing is to work out why before it becomes urgent.

If your business is making a profit but you’re still wondering where the money is going, message us the word PROFIT and we’ll help you work it out.

Or read our latest blog post: https://www.afor.co/news?category=Blogs

Being a business owner, I know what it’s like to have those nights where your brain just will not switch off.

Why has that client gone quiet?�Did I pay my suppliers?�Have I replied to that customer?

And as an accountant, I also know just how much worry can come from the money side of running a business.

Will I have enough to pay the tax bill?�Have I done everything I need to do?�Am I going to get one of those brown envelopes through the door?

At AFor Accounting, we know your finances are only one part of your business. But when something doesn’t feel right, they can very quickly become the thing keeping you awake at night.

So if you’ve got a question, something’s worrying you, or you just need someone to tell you whether you actually need to worry, pick up the phone and call us.

I’m not going to charge you for asking a question. I’m not going to quietly add it to your bill. You don’t even need to be a client.

Sometimes you just need to talk it through with someone who knows what they’re looking at.

That’s what we mean when we say:
Good with numbers. Better with people.

Ernie would like to remind you that your first Making Tax Digital deadline is on Friday (7 August).

If you’re a sole trader or landlord earning over £50,000, your first update needs to be submitted to HMRC by 7 August.

Before you panic, this doesn’t need to be complicated.

You need to make sure you’ve:
Signed up for Making Tax Digital through GOV.UK.

Chosen compatible software and connected it to HMRC. We recommend Xero.

Added your income and expenses for 6 April to 5 July, and submit the update by 7 August.

If you’re reading this thinking, “I’m not sure I’ve done any of that,” you’re not the only one!

We’re not here to make you feel daft or stupid.

We’re here to help you stay compliant, get everything sorted and reduce the chances of those scary brown envelopes landing on your doormat.

Drop us a message and we’ll help you work out what needs doing

Praying for a miracle before the Making Tax Digital deadline?

If, like me, tech is not your thing and you’ve been putting this off, now is the time to get it sorted.

Your first quarterly update is due by 7 August and covers the income and expenses recorded between 6 April and 5 July.

Before you can submit it, you need to be signed up to approved digital software, such as Xero, and make sure your records are fully up to date.

At AFor Accounting, we can check whether Making Tax Digital applies to you, help you get set up and make sure your first quarterly update is submitted correctly.

Comment MTD and we’ll help you get it sorted before 7 August.

AFor Accounting started with a piece of paper.

On one side, I wrote all the reasons for starting my own accountancy business.

On the other, I wrote all the reasons not to.

The benefits of building something for myself outweighed the reasons not to.

And that’s where the name AFor came from.

From the beginning, I wanted to create the kind of accountancy business I would want to deal with.

One where clients could pick up the phone without worrying that a stopwatch had started and they were racking up a massive bill. Where they could ask questions without feeling daft and get honest advice from someone who genuinely wanted their business to succeed.

Over the years, we’ve worked with everyone from nail technicians, hairdressers and gardeners to pharmacies, dentists, event companies and even a Formula 3 pit team.

Every business is different, but our approach stays the same.

We listen, explain things properly and help people understand their numbers so they can make better decisions.

We’re good with numbers, but we’re better with people.

That has always been the AFor way.