First, pour yourself your drink of choice (whether it be a cup of coffee or a glass of wine) and take a breath. Whatever financial burden has been weighing on you, you can feel a sense of relief already, safe in the knowledge we’ve got you covered. I’m sure you will be keen to know what happens now.

We want your transition to us to be seamless and cause minimal disruption to your business. You’ll already have a good idea of how we work by now, but we want to remind you of how things are going to go from now on – so you don’t feel left in the dark. 

 

We’ll be looking for quick wins early on in the process

Not everything will change on day one – and you wouldn’t want it to.

There are a few steps we will go through to get you up and running on our systems.  After that, the kind of service you’ve signed up for and the complexity of your business will, of course, determine how much information we need from you to help us manage your accounts. We will want to get to know the intricacies of how you operate and make a plan for how information will be shared. This is really important so we can develop best practices for both parties. 

This transition will be a gradual process so we can work on your individual road map. But we will be implementing new systems and looking for process improvements over the course of several months. We’re always looking at how we can make marginal improvements, so you see some quick wins!

Rest assured our process is set up to deliver the best, most personable service available. This means we don’t rush to change everything at an unsustainable rate. 

First we need time to bed in, and really understand your business properly. 

 

The first few months are about developing our relationship

We’ll start by getting to know you, to fully understand the needs of your business. 

Ideally this will be in the office, so you can meet those who have been designated to work with you. We are a friendly bunch, and we love seeing our clients in person – but if for any reason it’s not feasible, video calls are always possible. Especially at the moment Zoom is a life saver.

The key to our success in working together is to develop a relationship with two-way communication and mutual trust. This is so important during the first few months of transition whilst both parties come to understand one another. 

According to American educational theorist David A.Kolb “learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience”. 

We are all experienced bookkeepers and accountants here at Starfish Accounting, but each business that we look after is different and brings its own unique set of requirements and challenges. 

We look forward to delving deep and learning about you, so you can benefit from our best recommendations and advice. 

 

What we need from you now – the data

We will need access to your Xero account as soon as possible, if we don’t already have it.  Once we have access we will run through some detailed diagnostics to check the integrity of your data. Sometimes these diagnostics can find things like underclaimed VAT which is an immediate easy win.

Getting the most out of Xero isn’t just about having accurate data. We will also review your systems to look for ways to be more efficient, to improve your cashflow, and to check you are not missing out on claimable expenses.

If you aren’t already using Xero then we will ask you to send over your current accounting data. This will include:

  • Your most recent financial statements
  • Bank statements from the start of your financial year to now
  • Lists of any outstanding debtors and creditors
  • Any contact details that you want to carry forward from your old systems so you don’t have to recreate the wheel.

We will then let you know the plan to get you up and running, and we will schedule in a Xero training session for you. Even if we are doing your bookkeeping it is good to know your way around the system.

 

Use us as a sounding board

Most important we need you to start using us as a sounding board. The sooner you start keeping us up to date on your business plans the better. If we don’t know what you are doing then we can’t provide timely advice. From simple questions like how to get your logo and payment details onto your invoices, to complex ones such as avoiding having to pay VAT on purchasing a business. Share your issues with us BEFORE things become a problem.

Having somebody you can talk to who is independent from the business and has NO bias is one of the real benefits of having an accountant on board.

 

There are no silly questions

You’ll come to know that we’re a very open company. As far as we’re concerned there’s zero shame in asking questions about anything you don’t understand, or would like more clarity on. 

We’re genuinely interested in your business dreams, ideas, and thoughts – and we’re always happy to talk through things with you.