Before working with WBS…
Submitting my accounts used to be a horrific process. My previous accountant didn’t use technology so I’d have to ring him to come and collect the paperwork, and as you can imagine, it was time-consuming and draining having to navigate spreadsheets and scraps of paper to try and understand what was going on with my business.
Fast forward a few years when he retired, and I was transferred to a big company. While the process was definitely more modern, there were other major issues. Since I was a small business, I was towards the “bottom of the pile” so I got stuck with a Junior Accountant. A Junior who couldn’t even answer my questions without having to go up the ladder and I had zero support.
It wasn’t long before I was fed up with not getting what I needed. I wanted a better relationship with my accountant and to have more support when doing my tax return, and that’s when I met Dona. She seemed like the sort of business I wanted to work with – similar to mine, a small business focusing on individuals – but little did I know that she would give me so much more than I was expecting.
Now, I know exactly what’s going on in my business
Since working with Dona and Andrew at WBS (which has been longer than I care to admit), I’ve gone from “my accountant is a source of stress and frustration” to “my accountant is my biggest supporter and asset.”
It’s amazing the impact they’ve made. Previously, I would have a very frantic and stressful week prior to needing to hand in my year-end accounts and now, I’m actually completing my accounts every month! Not only that, but I now also use the information that my accounts provide me to manage my business, rather than doing it purely and simply as a function of submitting the numbers to the taxman so I could pay my tax bill.
This transformation was largely down to them training me on Xero. I was very skeptical of it at first, but I took to it straight away as it made such a big difference quite early on. This is what allows me to gather information so that I can make impactful changes. I changed my credit card and telephone supplier because I could see how much my costs had gone up over the years, and I’m able to prioritise what I need to work on to grow my business rather than just run it. Now, I can even tell you what’s happening in my business on a daily and weekly basis!
WBS Accountants will become your business partner
If you want a business partner that will grow with you instead of just an accountant who files your taxes once a year, work with Dona and Andrew! They are always so friendly and approachable and accessible, and they actually spend time with you to look at your figures and make better business decisions. Sometimes it feels like they are as invested in my business as I am!
As well as eliminating the stress of completing my accounts, WBS is also incredibly proactive. For example, we’ve been talking about the changes I need to put in place for Making Tax Digital for the past 4 years! With my previous accountants, having to complete my accounts quarterly would have made my stres levels soar, but with Dona I’m already doing this. Even though the changes don’t come into effect until April 2024, I’d be ready tomorrow.
In short, Dona has made a massive difference to my business. The way they work has created more time for me – time that would have been spent with paper – but now I use it to actually work on my business rather than in it. I probably average just 20-30 minutes a week with my paperwork now and as we all know, time is money.