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Optimum Professional Services are delighted to launch the new monthly conversational series, “Optimum: LIVE!” which will provide the opportunity for you to hear from members of the Optimum team and special guests each month as they delve into a variety of subjects in light-hearted, fire-side chat style productions.
Each episode will be shot or broadcast live (yep! One take!) which means that it is not scripted or edited and has a more natural and engaging tone.
This is a https://www.visual-pr.co.uk production
00:00:00:09 - 00:00:21:25
Chris
Welcome back to Optimum Live. Today we're going to take a wander down a typical annual optimum journey for us clients so that we know the support that we can get.
00:00:21:27 - 00:00:25:26
Chris
So welcome back to Optimum Live. And I've got Mike Blake in with me. Hello.
00:00:25:26 - 00:00:27:01
Mike
May I doing Chris all right?
00:00:27:02 - 00:00:51:28
Chris
Yeah. Good. This is going to be an interesting one. This one. Obviously I'm able to add my perspective as a client as well, albeit smaller than some of the different ones. But that's the beauty is that you work from multiple million turnovers to, I don't know, 50 grand a year or whatever it might be. Annual turnover. But you've got to manage all of us and work with us.
00:00:51:28 - 00:01:00:02
Chris
And I've always said this and I make no bones about saying it again. You guys are not just accountants. You are business advisors. It's fair.
00:01:00:02 - 00:01:19:09
Mike
Comments. Fair? Yeah, we we would take it more than perhaps, someone else would take it in the journey and try to be, more understanding and more sort of rounded in our approach to, to that specific client rather than one size fits all. You can't come and fit in our box and join our journey. We're trying to join your journey.
00:01:19:11 - 00:01:41:26
Chris
Yeah. Because I think, a key one. And again, I can it evolution as well over time. But there's that whole we don't I certainly had no idea what the heck I was doing on that side. And it was so reassuring to have someone that wasn't just once a year. There's all the documents, and then you go and there's that.
00:01:42:02 - 00:01:45:22
Chris
That's the output. Yeah, and I got it. Thank you.
00:01:45:25 - 00:02:07:06
Mike
That's it. It's trying to build up that that confidence along the year so that you understand what you're doing. Because again if you what if you have more understanding of the numbers than when you're making those decisions on the day in front of, say, a supplier or a customer or something like that, you know, you have the confidence with that rather than going where I'm not sure, and then maybe missing out on some opportunities just through hesitation.
00:02:07:12 - 00:02:08:03
Mike
Yeah.
00:02:08:05 - 00:02:27:21
Chris
And and that's, that's includes the possibilities that you could open up the things that we need to be aware of. What that actually means. You know, just because I see numbers there doesn't mean. And just because I'm on Xero in my instance, other accounting packages are available. Doesn't mean I'm able to go, oh, that's that's the picture.
00:02:27:21 - 00:02:38:21
Chris
Is it? Because there's lots of reports that can be run that maybe include things that skew the picture, whereas you guys are working with us in a much more holistic view.
00:02:38:21 - 00:02:46:07
Mike
Is that, yeah, it's working. What what makes you tick with the business? What makes you maybe stress what your concerns?
00:02:46:07 - 00:02:48:13
Chris
Talk about stress.
00:02:48:16 - 00:03:03:07
Mike
I can't deal with all of it. But like so some people worry about what their tax bill is running and they want to be able to save every month. Others want to know where they are on the journey of, of of revenue growth. Others are working out what, what their overheads cost him because it's all creep in.
00:03:03:07 - 00:03:23:05
Mike
And are they capturing it all? And so to each client, I would say that nearly everyone is different. Slightly. Yeah. And the important bit for us is to understand what that is so that we can design those reports that tick, tick the box and you can click the button and go, okay. Yep. That, that service. What, what my concerns were or what my stress was or what woke me up last night.
00:03:23:06 - 00:03:30:23
Mike
I can see this report. Okay, lovely. And if not, have the confidence to give us a shout. If it's not, if you're not getting the answer you wanted. Yeah.
00:03:30:23 - 00:03:55:17
Chris
And I mean we're going to cover also things is the pictures that it paints to see what options are available to us as we sort of grow and flex and whatever else happens, whether it's, it's, a growth, positive growth, whether it's a government enforced change, whether it's a marketplace, you know, enforced tweaking of things or whatever. So let's let's take this through in a, in a logical structure.
00:03:55:19 - 00:04:00:24
Chris
First point to cover pre year and review.
00:04:00:27 - 00:04:24:15
Mike
Yeah. So what I what we like to do is say after after nine months of your year maybe three returns in is pick up the figures, have a look at them. We'll do that internally first. And it may then be just a, an email that gets sent out to say everything's on track from where our previous conversations are, or maybe taking a bit too much money out for the profits you got.
00:04:24:16 - 00:04:38:11
Mike
So we're going to if we end up getting to the end of the year in that situation, we might have a bit of a problem with the loan account. Yeah. Or with it. Maybe the tax bill is too high or at the moment you've got access. Perhaps we'll go through and work out you've actually got some excess profits.
00:04:38:11 - 00:04:54:26
Mike
So maybe that enable you to make some pension contributions to save some tax bill. I'm kind of giving you some options, some clients. It's literally a two line email that goes everything's on track to what it has been for the last few years. And it might be just a reminder to get in contact with us if they want to discuss it further.
00:04:54:27 - 00:05:17:06
Mike
Others are a lot more in depth that lead to a meeting, and a proper sort of running through the business and the future plan. So everyone's different and it's working out what one what works for each client. Yeah. But that review is always different for each client. And like I say, I've got one that's always about how much money they can put in their pension before the year out.
00:05:17:09 - 00:05:21:11
Mike
And another is to make sure that they haven't spent too much money on their own account.
00:05:21:13 - 00:05:24:24
Chris
Yeah. No comment.
00:05:24:29 - 00:05:26:14
Mike
Okay.
00:05:26:16 - 00:05:48:18
Chris
As I'm scaling up, that's my constant challenge. And I have to say that that is a prime example is that I went into this and I'm sure to some people will be screaming at the screen now, but I thought cash was king. It isn't at all. Bizarrely, I was like, yeah, but the cash is there and it's like, no, if the profit is not there, it now means you're racking up this director's loan.
00:05:48:20 - 00:05:51:15
Chris
And I've kind of learned that because of working with you guys.
00:05:51:15 - 00:06:11:12
Mike
Yeah, and Cash King if you're not paying people as well. And that's the thing is some tax, some bills that come along, you're incurring the cost of so your profits going down, but you might not have paid it out for so corporation tax bills and it's nine months after the year. So at the point of pay say in your first year, you go through to 12 months and then you pay it nine months later.
00:06:11:13 - 00:06:22:18
Mike
Well, actually, at the point of paying your tax bill, you got 21 months. And then after 31 months of tax money in your bank account, so you got the money that sat there going to spend me. Spend me.
00:06:22:18 - 00:06:23:13
Chris
Yeah. Yeah.
00:06:23:15 - 00:06:42:00
Mike
When actually you can't because that's tax money. And that again, those are all traps before all in. So that's so there's a lot with new businesses that we do, we talked about and other shows where we'll hold that hand. So there might be ones they want to know every month what their tax bill is. So they don't overspend until they got confidence with the numbers themselves.
00:06:42:02 - 00:07:06:25
Mike
But the idea that we want to get towards is not spoon feed in every client. Exactly. The everything they need to think about is giving them the confidence that they can talk to us, and they know when to ask us questions. Were provoking their thoughts in their head to ask us questions. Likewise, we're going through and we're going to do a quick we're going to do a review of every client and check things when we're doing the accounts and the tax planning and stuff.
00:07:06:25 - 00:07:26:28
Mike
But the the sweet spot is to get clients to ask us the questions, but have that confidence to know that their question is going to be answered. Yes. Well, yeah. So whether that's, a little WhatsApp group between a couple of us and the client so that so quite often an email is becoming a bit like a letter and there's a bit of a barrier because they want to do a bit of formality.
00:07:26:29 - 00:07:42:21
Mike
Hi Chris, hope you're doing well. But, and actually then it gets lost in the email account when maybe you want something quicker. So, it's not perfect world, but I try and use WhatsApp so that you can get maybe take a picture and go, oh, I'm just looking at this. What does this mean? Or oh, it's just, concern.
00:07:42:21 - 00:07:54:12
Mike
Is there any chance you can send me a quick update? And if there's a couple of us on that group, it just enables a quick, maybe informal reply that just enables that information to come back and the clients get that bit of confidence to carry on.
00:07:54:15 - 00:07:55:27
Chris
Which could trigger a meeting.
00:07:56:00 - 00:08:18:05
Mike
Yeah. Oh, absolutely. That when there's never a time where a client can ask for me and we send a yeah, right. We always want to meet with a client, okay. Because we'll talk about it later. But face to face stuff you get a better outcome for everyone. But in the meantime, if we can, see bits along the way, and ask easily and get the results back, then.
00:08:18:08 - 00:08:18:17
Mike
Yeah.
00:08:18:23 - 00:08:49:09
Chris
And the key one that is jumping out of me again, there was the that as a client, we're able to be confident that you're not just giving computer says answers. You know, you use the phrase one size fits all that it isn't that. Yep. Is that you, take in your knowledge, your experience, your skills, your the those numbers talk to you all the time kind of thing that you're able to interpret them relevant to our business yesterday, today and tomorrow.
00:08:49:11 - 00:09:12:03
Mike
That's the business will change exactly. Business changes all the time. And I would say what, what your prime example, what you were doing last year was different two years ago. And what you're going to be doing next year. We joked about where where we come, where you come from with a studio, from you, from your office over at Nexus, downstairs in our meeting rooms as a mobile sort of video studio to know what we've got here.
00:09:12:05 - 00:09:27:23
Mike
And that's in the space of, what, three years? Yeah, that's been changed and like moved around and, and and that's just one section of your business. You've got staff here. Other clients could be grown, could have doubled in size, could have just one of the partners, one of the partners or directors might have had a, other family.
00:09:27:23 - 00:09:37:25
Mike
So actually, the business has changed because they need some more time. String. They might have been doing six years or four. Now they might be doing something. So they want to go into that no matter. But it's just like.
00:09:38:02 - 00:09:39:21
Chris
Voice of experience.
00:09:39:23 - 00:09:58:03
Mike
Well, I'm sorry, the phone's like I'm still on the phone. I'm still on new. It's that change of that meeting. Those requirements are changing all the time. So if you're not keeping in touch, how do I know what's going on? And. But also, if you're not communicating with me to let me know what's happening, how am I supposed to know what the best thing is?
00:09:58:08 - 00:10:23:18
Mike
And so again, it's not a well, you didn't tell me. So therefore it's not. But yeah, I also feel like I've got a bit of a responsibility to get that information from you, which then comes from these meetings and bits like that, an a bit of a check in and stuff. And the more that our team is growing, the more that we can, can introduce more, more members of the team that you can just go actually, you know, just give them a ring or just just drop them a message and say, oh, I was just thinking of doing this.
00:10:23:18 - 00:10:40:23
Mike
Or a prime example comes from, I'm buying a new van, which what should I do? Lease of this. And so we'll just go through and just give like give the example the benefits pros and cons for each one cash purchase, whether for a higher purchase arrangement or a lease or something like that and go right. These are the benefits.
00:10:40:23 - 00:10:57:20
Mike
These are the pros and cons. I can't make the decision for you of which ones. Right. Because but your interpretation of cash might be different to the person over here. Yeah, but these are the information. So you can make a judgment. You can make a decision on good information. Yeah. Rather. And good that one. That's one on.
00:10:57:21 - 00:11:25:00
Chris
One. Exactly that. And and what's worse is that we we're here in stuff in news or even worse online. And it's just to sort of have that objective view with the knowledge of us and our business and our traits and everything else is it just means that, no, it isn't always going to be the answer, but it is the information I need to make my educated decision.
00:11:25:00 - 00:11:32:03
Mike
There's an email from a client essay saying I've read such and such. It doesn't seem like it's worth now with electric car in the business because the tax rates are going up.
00:11:32:03 - 00:11:32:22
Chris
Yeah, yeah.
00:11:32:24 - 00:11:51:21
Mike
And it's like an easier thing would been to say that it's probably not just leave it all right. However, the right thing to do is to go back and go, oh, hang on, let me just check again. What are you looking to get a what vehicle. What? I'm new second hand. Like, let's find out some facts for us and then we can go actually for you in your circumstance.
00:11:51:21 - 00:12:12:13
Mike
Actually it is or. No, no, you're right. First decision was right. We know we can go along that way. And we got hindsight. Yeah. Because I think with a lot of business owners you look back and go, oh, I've only I've done something back then that was a better thing. But if you did at the time. So if you did that, the making that decision made the best decision based on the information you had at the time.
00:12:12:16 - 00:12:31:25
Mike
That's fine. If you look back and go, it was based on that. But I didn't ask. So actually, I didn't get some easy information to make a better decision then. Yeah, you can get yourself and gone. That was the wrong thing. But I think more you can just kind of like, gather up information and make sure you're just making a good call on gone good info.
00:12:31:27 - 00:12:57:16
Chris
Which, and I am going to sort of like slightly tweak the, the order here because I think there's a logical flow to this where we were talking about those face to face meetings. And I know, I'm always mindful that, that you might not be able to share all the details, but an example where it was a face to face meeting, discussing things, and something suddenly could come out right at the end of a meeting.
00:12:57:16 - 00:13:18:08
Mike
Exactly that. And there's there's been several circumstances where I'd just like to some people, they feel that just in having a coffee morning, perhaps with the accountant. Okay, but I can say 100% from my side. I'm always gathering information about just their situation, their plans for the future and bits like that rather wouldn't be in any question. So yeah, sure.
00:13:18:08 - 00:13:49:04
Mike
What do you plan to. What's this? All right. That's not involving anyone. No one's no one's by an insider approach. But if we're going through that process and asking that information and it's the same, then we talked about it on a new client meeting and stuff where we're going along, filling out, our idea of what the situation is going on just by having a conversation just like this, but with these other examples as one, you didn't think it was part of the, you made a decision that was part of his personal finances, didn't think it had any interaction with the business because we deal with the business and it's tax term.
00:13:49:04 - 00:14:08:23
Mike
But it was more he was focused in writing this bit and he just we were just talking about different things, a future and planning. And he dropped out this one little bit about a pension payment. He made. And if he hadn't had mentioned it, I would never have known and I could never have protected him from it. But he was actually walking down a path that was going to cost him a lot of money in tax.
00:14:08:23 - 00:14:39:10
Mike
Wow. And and he did what he thought was the best thing. But if I hadn't had that meeting, we would never have known. Now, the the rare ones where you get a golden nugget for going, oh, that's the one. And you tell the story about it, but there's been several times where the bits have come out from those meetings right towards the end, or just in a most secure, obscure way, but finding it out because you pick up the phone, deal with what the problem was or the what the question was, and put the phone down, was when you sat together and you got to finish a cup of tea together, you end up
00:14:39:10 - 00:14:56:09
Mike
chatting about all sorts of stuff and I'll aim to do that. I'll aim to go off down tangents because you never know where it goes. That feeds all the way back to so what we want from the business. Oh, now you said that you want to go by and a another example is the client that was making really good money was taking very little out.
00:14:56:12 - 00:15:11:20
Mike
So I just kept chopping up dividends because they could because I knew they talked about at some point they're going to do some work to the House and they trusted me, went along. I explain what we're doing, but they weren't too worried. They had the money for the tax bills that I was making, pay a little bit more for each year than what they took.
00:15:11:23 - 00:15:31:22
Mike
They just trust me. Then they came to me and said, right, we're going to go spend 20 grand on the extension. I said, that's fine. I said, the money's already there to take out from the company or any tax. But had we not been understanding that future journey for them, and they took two in the granddad and one year that would have been lost of personal allowance, 40% tax virtually.
00:15:31:22 - 00:15:32:16
Chris
Yeah.
00:15:32:19 - 00:15:48:19
Mike
Massive massive tax bill. We're in a build up. They pay very little tax each year. I didn't even really kind of understand fully. But we knew that we were explaining it, doing what was right for them, doing what I would have done as well if I was in that circumstance. And then they put the extension in and all of a sudden it's all the caches there.
00:15:48:19 - 00:16:03:03
Mike
It's all pay for was all done. And then everyone's family and and again, it's just those things of just having that conversation go and maybe go and see the client at their house. And like, I like to go and see a business because you know, what's going on there. Yeah. You can have a walk around, you get to get a feel of what's going on.
00:16:03:05 - 00:16:20:00
Mike
You might see something go on. At some point they might have to do some repair where it's like the trees at the back or something. You just gather in things all the time and you go, okay, we got a plan that and we've got a plan that, I knew clients a couple of weeks ago. Go out, see them, see the new place they built is amazing.
00:16:20:03 - 00:16:32:03
Mike
But having a conversation with them going, oh, yeah, I know it. You clear some trees? Oh, yeah. We're going to put three more buildings in. Okay. So that's something for the future to be involved in. And it's just making sure we're part of the journey.
00:16:32:05 - 00:16:53:17
Chris
I agree. And I'm and, you know, I'm a huge advocate of that in general, which is what my company, visual PR productions is based on, is if we did video content with a script, you will get exactly this. Whereas that whole scrap the script, we've got points that I know we need to cover. Yeah, this is an example of it.
00:16:53:20 - 00:17:14:21
Chris
But allow the conversation to breathe. And every time, whether it's podcast style episodes or whether it's, you know, short feature videos or promo videos or whatever, by allowing it to breathe, you get nuggets that will come out in the conversation that never crossed my mind. Yeah, and it wouldn't have been in there if it was this rigid script.
00:17:14:21 - 00:17:37:02
Chris
Now I'm listening to you going, that's exactly what you're doing. You're letting the relationship and the conversations flourish. And you're always listening. You're always taking it on board of what that could mean. 90% of it could be irrelevant. But suddenly a little bit that's going to help us now that you know it. Yeah.
00:17:37:09 - 00:17:48:12
Mike
And the 90% that might seem irrelevant, as well as building out the relationship that builds up the confidence that we're we're humans, we're in business the same as you're in business, and we can help each other out.
00:17:48:15 - 00:18:09:00
Chris
Which is why carrying on the whole face to face meetings, you know? Yes. It's cool where, something that just suddenly comes up in that conversation, but other examples that I had was that it gives me as a client that chance to go. I don't quite understand what you mean by that. And we can actually go into the details of it.
00:18:09:03 - 00:18:29:22
Mike
Yeah. And it's I think those face to face meetings, I said, it's a new client and I think they took it the right way. So I can see the whites of your eyes. I can see whether you understand something. Yeah, yeah. From a reaction. You you talk to someone and they glaze over a little bit, or they start just being a bit, disinterested in the conversation of either talking about something they really don't know, not worried about.
00:18:29:24 - 00:18:45:01
Mike
Okay. So let's change it. Let's make it relevant to them. It might be I'm talking about turnover and gross profit margin or something. Someone's going to compare. But so find the thing that actually makes them relevant and find the thing that makes them come to an accountant. You, you.
00:18:45:03 - 00:18:45:17
Chris
Yes.
00:18:45:21 - 00:18:59:13
Mike
Right. Because some of them turn up just because they think they have to. Some of them turn up because they go, chill. I would like to know that bit, but I'm a bit too nervous to tell them that. I don't know what that means. That's for me to find out sometimes or to build up the confidence to.
00:18:59:13 - 00:19:14:29
Mike
Then there might be for me to find out the first 2 or 3 meetings, but then after that you go, actually, this is fine, and I'll ask the questions. And again, the confidence goes, yeah, accountants quite often are seen as that sort of, they're one stage away from the tax man on, nervousness. I know we're working together.
00:19:14:29 - 00:19:15:26
Mike
We're trying to find the right.
00:19:15:26 - 00:19:17:18
Chris
Solution because you're on our side.
00:19:17:20 - 00:19:25:23
Mike
Yeah, we're trying to protect you from from them by doing it right. And we're trying to help you pay the right amount. A tax. Not too much or too little.
00:19:25:25 - 00:19:36:21
Chris
Yeah. No, I mean, that that makes sense. Also picked up that, those face to face conversations that that could be very.
00:19:36:23 - 00:19:46:07
Chris
Limited in the fact that, okay, we just need to cover this, this and this. However, the ability for that to flourish can actually form, next year's plans.
00:19:46:09 - 00:19:47:00
Mike
Or.
00:19:47:00 - 00:19:59:21
Chris
Or inspire next year's plans, potentially even. And any necessities that might sort of go look, yeah, okay. You need to be mindful that that's kind of going in the wrong direction or something.
00:19:59:21 - 00:20:18:26
Mike
It's that looking forward. So if we've done the year end review nine months through when we go on. Right, carry on like this, this is what your 12 months number is going to be. This is what you touchstone is going to look like. Tax bills are going to look like right now in theory if we got it fairly right and there's no anomalies that happen in that final two three months, you can't predict when we have the meeting.
00:20:18:26 - 00:20:35:29
Mike
It should be right. We predicted a 20 grand tax bill. We got a 20 19,500. Right. So that's fine. So everything we talked about before has happened. Yeah. So now where you go in. So we've done the looking back bit tickle box yet we've matched it understand it. Go through those numbers but look forward. Where are we going.
00:20:35:29 - 00:20:47:27
Mike
Where are we taking it to. What do you want to do with the business. And that might be I want to grow more revenue. I want to put money in the pensions, I want to I need to be out of how am I going to finance that machine when it falls over? I think it's got about 12 months.
00:20:47:27 - 00:20:51:02
Chris
Left on new staff. I want new premises.
00:20:51:04 - 00:21:09:02
Mike
All the grants, all the grown in like for a different plan. So that leads into some quarterly meetings that we do with some clients again, but which we'll do after like maybe in a bit. But it's understanding what like the future bits are. What what what what hurdles might you come up with with the journey you're going to go along.
00:21:09:02 - 00:21:30:06
Mike
So if the account is always looking backwards, literally turning their back to the future, you're going to you're going to walk into something. Go on. Arches it. Heads up. You could have helped me spot this. I was if we're looking forward together with open eyes. Good. Well, actually, with the tax, with the National Insurance rates going up, with the wages going up, if you don't change this now, you're going to run out of money.
00:21:30:09 - 00:21:39:12
Mike
Yeah. What? You're going to make losses. You're not going to cover enough money to take home for the mortgage or you're going to. And it's making sure that we're like, we're looking forward with open eyes.
00:21:39:14 - 00:22:04:10
Chris
Yeah. It I don't think I'm saying anything wrong in this is that equally, I've heard stories where it can impact, let's say, capital purchases, not just in terms of planning can I can't. But interestingly, occasionally it can be, you know what, you're actually going to make too much profit. And I know you mentioned pensions being a great one, but you can actually turn around and go, right.
00:22:04:10 - 00:22:09:07
Chris
You've been thinking about doing that. Absolutely. Do it. Because that then.
00:22:09:12 - 00:22:09:29
Mike
Yeah. Exactly.
00:22:10:04 - 00:22:15:21
Chris
Because what's what's the joke? The joke statement that the business owners make has to break in even.
00:22:15:23 - 00:22:22:24
Mike
Yeah. Yeah. Well, and a lot of them focus around trying to kill a tax bill and go and they'll spend a pound to say 25 pay a tax.
00:22:22:24 - 00:22:23:11
Chris
Right. Yeah.
00:22:23:11 - 00:22:25:06
Mike
And you're like, be a 75 pocket.
00:22:25:06 - 00:22:29:23
Chris
What we used to what was Rich's. Rich Matthews used to say don't chase the dragon. If you if.
00:22:29:23 - 00:22:48:07
Mike
You go tax payer we got tax will pay. You need there's a and I'm trying to explain to some clients. So there's a baseline level of tax that you really need to pay to be able to pay for the mortgage over here. Yeah. And that's part of the journey of understanding that. So you go if you get a change of come and go right to pay your mortgage and your lifestyle, you have to have a ten grand tax bill that becomes a new break even point.
00:22:48:07 - 00:22:52:18
Mike
Yes. And go from there because you've accepted it right? Begrudgingly. But yeah.
00:22:52:18 - 00:22:53:19
Chris
Yeah.
00:22:53:21 - 00:23:07:01
Mike
But like with equipment and stuff, like part of like this mid-year review and stuff, or maybe like bigger bits of equipment. Aren't we done a premium review? Right. Because you've got a month or six weeks before the year end to buy it, right.
00:23:07:04 - 00:23:08:00
Chris
See, it's a bit tight.
00:23:08:00 - 00:23:30:28
Mike
You're going to make a rash decision. You're going to buy something quickly. But maybe was the wrong thing. Yes. However, if we started to have that discussion with the annual accounts, which maybe 3 or 4 months after the year ends, you're actually six months towards the next set. So whilst you're looking backwards, take that one off. It's another point that looking forward and going right, if you're going like so, say you wanted to buy some new media equipment, stuff like that and it was ten grand, right?
00:23:31:00 - 00:23:46:16
Mike
You're not going to make it off the cuff of a no where because a year ends coming up, right? You want a bit of time, you want to plan it. You want to research the right care. It's the right one. It's the right time for the finance, the cash flow and this and that. So that I would say that's being more down on the next meeting.
00:23:46:24 - 00:23:57:27
Mike
Okay. Unless someone goes, I'm going to buy a piece of I'm going to buy I want to at the nine year review, they might go, I want to buy a piece of kit, I want to buy a new van. Right. Vans are a bit easier because they're like all the have them all the same.
00:23:58:03 - 00:23:58:22
Chris
Yeah, yeah.
00:23:58:24 - 00:24:05:14
Mike
And you go, well that's fine. They've already got it in their mind. They want to do it. I'm just reaffirming that if they do it before the year and they're going to save the tax quicker.
00:24:05:14 - 00:24:05:28
Chris
Yes.
00:24:06:04 - 00:24:22:25
Mike
All right. So that happens quite a lot on that one. But if you're if you're manufacturing and you're buying big kit. Yeah that that's time to build it. And that's not a that's not like just going down a pub and buying a pint. It's more it's a, it's a bigger planned event. So those are I would say is a longer process.
00:24:22:25 - 00:24:34:10
Mike
So like again, my friend's a joiner. He would talk about like he, he would, he would buy a piece machine maybe in the last month of the financial year. But he knew that nine months ago. So that was probably.
00:24:34:10 - 00:24:58:26
Chris
Going, which is where I would envisage I would be in the fact that, yeah, as you know, I'm constantly sort of evolving our equipment and setups and etc. and I'm kind of largely all over that knowing. Yeah, okay. I know that as soon as I can, this is what I want to get. But I agree is that if it's this big piece of plot, I mean, even down to basics and getting there in in that short period of time, you probably won't be an invoice until it's delivered.
00:24:58:26 - 00:25:00:22
Chris
So it's like, well, actually that won't matter.
00:25:00:22 - 00:25:20:26
Mike
Being and it's also like you talk we've met talked about over the Christmas that musings. I think it was a that's right. But it's it's at that point. So whether it's formally written down, whether it's in the back of your mind, you've had the thought of like there might be some equipment to buy that there. And the, the premium review might be enough to say, actually you'll save the tax quicker if you do it now.
00:25:21:01 - 00:25:38:25
Mike
So cash flow in the short term be better. Or it might be part of the like the fit like annual accounts kind of meeting that's happening. Yeah. And so again it's all different for each client. And it's just keeping that touchpoint to go. Hopefully a client will have the confidence to go in month 3 or 4 before we've even one of the meetings to go.
00:25:39:02 - 00:25:54:28
Mike
I think of this piece of kit. Can you just let us know what we're thinking and then actually coming to us with the questions most, most clients do now? I don't find many that, have gone oh, by the way, I spent a hundred grand on some kit. If it's all I like those days usually go in night where they go, and I'll just check it quickly even.
00:25:54:29 - 00:26:02:11
Mike
It's just like a thumbs up on WhatsApp. No, but yeah, you're right, I like that. I'd rather than just good. Yeah. Yeah it is.
00:26:02:13 - 00:26:38:28
Chris
Yeah, yeah, it's a little too late now. It's not good. It's not good. I think I made this point, and I'm hoping that you're aware of it as well. Is that by having those meetings, we're absorbing that information after every meeting. So there's we're becoming a little bit more empowered ourselves as the as the business owners. But one other is that you're providing that confidence for us to ask more questions.
00:26:38:28 - 00:27:01:21
Chris
And of course, further down the line, those questions are probably even deeper and more technical than they would have been here, because we've absorb this. And so there's this, even that those meetings must be evolving, not just because the business is evolving, but because of of what you're doing to us as the business owners in terms of that empowerment, that enrichment, that understanding, and the confidence.
00:27:01:21 - 00:27:12:28
Mike
So you take the startup as an example at the very first, conversation you're having with them, you're talking about sort of tax, how the tax system works, corporation tax, VAT to pay.
00:27:13:05 - 00:27:14:07
Chris
The basics in advance.
00:27:14:10 - 00:27:25:22
Mike
How much they need to earn, getting them through there, and all the questions. So can I claim this expense? Yes you can. No. You can put the dog through the. Yeah. Whatever. I mean I have the dog on the side of that.
00:27:25:23 - 00:27:29:13
Chris
So, as obvious as you might think. So that's really useful.
00:27:29:13 - 00:27:46:12
Mike
And it's ones with use of home allowances and stuff. It's different for every person depending on circumstances. So again, it's going through those and giving information. And then the start ups is quite an important one. When you get to kind of get over the limit, don't go. Don't go too long without talking to us. Let us keep an eye.
00:27:46:19 - 00:28:04:08
Mike
Right. But then you go, I've got some of those clients. So I did all that work with at the start. Lots of questions, lots of e-mails, maybe weekly, fortnightly emails. What about this? What about that? But neither in year two and three. And it's like, so now how do I expand into a new territory? How do I fund the growth of three more staff?
00:28:04:08 - 00:28:27:08
Mike
How's that? Because the business has gone on a different journey. They've nailed all the first bits and listen, they've taken on and now they're asking the next stage question because the businesses are completely different place. Yeah, yeah. And it's great we grow with you and, provide more services or more support, or maybe we help you get some people in, like different bookkeepers or something, or finance or like, it can evolve any direction.
00:28:27:08 - 00:28:29:09
Mike
Yeah, depending on the business.
00:28:29:12 - 00:28:47:20
Chris
On a on a personal note, off script. In a way, this even more is that it must be really rewarding for you. I feel there's not all of them are, good news stories at all times, but generally speaking, it must be terrifically rewarding to be part of that journey.
00:28:47:22 - 00:28:58:23
Mike
Oh, absolutely. It's why it's so enjoyable, because you're dealing with different clients and different industries and different stage of their journey. Yeah, it might be. I had one client retire.
00:28:58:25 - 00:29:00:01
Chris
Just remember that one just.
00:29:00:01 - 00:29:18:27
Mike
Getting out of the business. And that was like the like just to see him get where we needed to get to. That was brilliant, right? Yeah. And then and another one might be he's made his first underground profit or something like that. Or he hired his first person. He opened up his second cafe. Yeah. All sorts of different like thing.
00:29:18:27 - 00:29:36:27
Mike
Yeah, absolutely. I'm they said talk about it downstairs when I come out of a meet and they can tell we're like, what's that how it's got, really? Because I can come out and I'll be, like, fluttering along and like, all happy and stuff, I flow flowing. Maybe not flat, but like, just happily, he's like, coming out of me in, like, high as a kite because I helped the client.
00:29:36:28 - 00:29:37:17
Chris
Yeah.
00:29:37:19 - 00:29:42:20
Mike
And I've seen, I've seen him progress and I've seen him happy, and they're like, that's what. That's the bit I love.
00:29:42:22 - 00:30:18:08
Chris
Well, because a lot of of us are that be our business might not be because we're great business people. Definitely not good accountants, but we are good at something that we've built a business around. And we might be amazing at that, but we've got to evolve and and to watch that happen. But equally, you must get the opportunity and again, don't necessarily name any names, but the opportunity to work with some business people that you kind of go, wow, they're good and be you.
00:30:18:08 - 00:30:20:29
Chris
Be inspired by the people that you work with as well.
00:30:21:00 - 00:30:41:07
Mike
You look at some of the journeys who share in a journey of someone, just before this, and you go, actually, I want more people. I want to help that person tell more people about their journey. And they're the business offering and of what they can help. Yeah. And if you could be. And that's why. So we try and help clients internally within my client base so they can go, oh, I need such and such person.
00:30:41:07 - 00:30:55:10
Mike
Tell me why you got this business over here. I can help them. So therefore that's two clients being helped out because one that's got a problem solving, one who's got another client or customer. Yeah. And always looking to just try and help help people and help them get on their journey.
00:30:55:13 - 00:31:10:22
Chris
I just, I just think that's so cool because. I'm not going to lie, accountancy could very easily be very mundane and boring if you literally just not disrespectful, but crunch numbers.
00:31:10:22 - 00:31:11:23
Mike
Yeah, I try to.
00:31:12:00 - 00:31:41:14
Chris
Add all of this element to it and I obviously I came into this taking it from the angle as a client that it is incredibly beneficial to have somebody that I can have these conversations with, on an ongoing basis through the course of a year, yada, yada, yada. But for you to have that go and know this, this is what we're doing, we're bringing it to life, we're advising, but we're also, you know, you must be learning from stories that haven't go, oh, do you know what that's useful for?
00:31:41:16 - 00:31:45:04
Mike
Yeah. And there's, there's there's always things you don't know.
00:31:45:07 - 00:31:45:26
Chris
Exactly.
00:31:46:01 - 00:31:55:04
Mike
The things I knew five years ago. If I knew it and I. Or if I knew five years ago, what I know now, I would have helped me out loads. But then. Yeah, but everything's evolving. Everything's changing. The world is changing at a fast pace.
00:31:55:04 - 00:32:00:09
Chris
People come up with new ideas and you kind of go, oh my God. Yeah, that would have actually helped over here.
00:32:00:09 - 00:32:16:11
Mike
Why didn't they care? And if you can help them out on the journey is great. You're new to the journey. It sounds like very cliche and stuff, but it is. It is. So there's and it every client is different. Yeah. Got a different outcome, a different objective. And at different stages of life they'll change.
00:32:16:17 - 00:32:29:06
Chris
And people forget your business optimum if it's not services is a business and that you're having to still be having those thoughts and decisions and conversations that you have to have.
00:32:29:06 - 00:32:30:16
Mike
That's at 2:00 in the morning. Jobs.
00:32:30:17 - 00:32:54:02
Chris
Yeah. Well, but I know because you guys as the, as the partners, a sort of like constantly have these the meetings where you need to because you're having to manage and grow and survive and everything else. So it's like going that means you are speaking from a position of, of experience as well on that one. Other things that I know that, that you guys do payroll review.
00:32:54:04 - 00:33:21:00
Mike
Yeah. And so some of this happens maybe what I even clients realize. And so where and this is more for directors. So this is director salary one more so than like reviewing your staff or something like that. It's more about like looking at our client as a director, making sure that getting the right salary. So it used to be very, very simple because the National Insurance for employers rates threshold and employee's threshold was the same.
00:33:21:03 - 00:33:48:15
Mike
Yeah. So you could just do one. It's all very easy. Everyone got some state pension. Everyone paid the right amount of tax. Whereas now we got different levels for employers where over 5,000 pounds, you pay National Insurance as an employer site, but less, but a higher threshold for employee. So you've got a different level. You've got state pension, you earn, just under seven grand that you need a salary for to trigger a qualifying salary stamp.
00:33:48:18 - 00:34:09:15
Mike
You also another thing that factors into it that people wouldn't necessarily realize that happens is if you've got childcare, if you've got children in childcare, you need to have a certain amount of earnings to be able to get the tax free. The that either the tax free childcare or the free some of the free hours. Yep. So if you're not, with a qualifying salary that's over a certain amount, that means.
00:34:09:15 - 00:34:26:06
Mike
So therefore those clients might have to pay National Insurance monthly. Some of them might do it at the end of year. So there's a whole different sort of mechanism that's happening. And we've got to go through and review and try. And so from those conversations we had so I might know that clients got a couple of kids in childcare.
00:34:26:06 - 00:34:41:03
Mike
So I might be going. Right. Actually, we know we got to do a higher one monthly because of that. And if we're not having those conversations, I can't feed this this discussion a bit. So that tends to happen behind because we don't want to send out payslips to a director who's getting the same amount of money, who's taking one thing.
00:34:41:03 - 00:35:06:05
Mike
Salary is going for a different cause. It just confuses. Yeah. So it just happened. One of those tends to happen in the background. Liz runs that, and it just, and it's, but it's being monitored me in chat. But again, a point on that that's possibly I mentioned it to, to a couple of grandparents tonight to mention to their kids in the, some people don't know that whilst they're paying for the childcare.
00:35:06:08 - 00:35:22:16
Mike
If it's like an Ofsted register place, you can actually get tax free childcare where it's. And you pay if you earn in the right amount, you put money into your into the government pot. They add the tax money on like your pension money gets topped up. Yeah. So if you put pound in they'll put 25 pay in okay.
00:35:22:16 - 00:35:40:27
Mike
So you pay 80% of it. And then you can pay your child care provider direct. And it's such a passing comment that I, I've mentioned it once to a client just offhand because I've been like 4 or 500 pounds a month for childcare fees. And I was like, oh, you know, you could do that. Didn't know that saving them under £125 a month.
00:35:40:29 - 00:35:55:24
Mike
Wow. Just just one bit like that. Okay. So it's so I kind of just pass it is going and then if they go and look it up and go, I don't think we do like, what does it mean. They can then come back to me and I'll give them all the details I haven't gone. Here's all the detail.
00:35:55:24 - 00:36:13:01
Mike
It might or might not like it. It's just again, send a little bit, provoke a thought, ask a question. They come back if it's relevant. Yeah. And they were the the grandparents weren't sure if the kids actually, did that. Or not. So they took a note. I mentioned it to a I might not hear again because they go get that or whatever.
00:36:13:01 - 00:36:15:25
Chris
Yeah, yeah. Oh, I know, I'll do it.
00:36:15:26 - 00:36:35:13
Mike
Or they'll go, no, what the hell does that mean? Yeah. So, again, it's little bits like that. Now that's for an employee side of things. So hopefully like reason I've mentioned it. Anyone who's got employees could think, oh, actually I just mentioned whether they're getting that again, if as an employer, they can let them know something that they didn't know before.
00:36:35:13 - 00:36:56:20
Mike
Pat on the back to employees helping your staff out, okay. And trying to help out this whole navigate this world together, but also more for directors that if they're doing it and we're not getting the right salaries in for whatever reason, they won't get that opportunity. Yeah, yeah. And then so and they talk about, on the for high earners between 100 and 125.
00:36:56:20 - 00:37:18:23
Mike
Okay. You've got this where you lose a personal allowance and you pay a higher rate tax, but you also lose some of these childcare hours. So you could be paying if everything's in the wrong point. If we did, attached to, what I understand this one circumstance that you could be paying a ridiculous amount of tax on that level of income because it's all the knock on effects like childcare, and that isn't really an accountant's thing.
00:37:18:25 - 00:37:40:06
Mike
It's just like most accounts would assume. But however us have a we have a direct consequence of another action like that. Yeah. So it's to again understand client's person like circumstances situation. And that's all the way down to the kids. So a common of going had the kids I mean you've got what ages are they might seem like I am.
00:37:40:08 - 00:37:41:02
Chris
Just seeing those.
00:37:41:02 - 00:37:55:06
Mike
Yeah I am I am intrigued I do like I like when for me, when the grandparents and the grandkids are already in range. So that's cool. They're all part like that's that's all part of life now. It's not very much. So the kids get no, no, this is a business meeting. And like those days are long gone, which is great, right?
00:37:55:07 - 00:38:13:23
Mike
Yeah. But actually it's understanding it. Where is it? What is it like? What ages are the kids know? What is it? What ages are the kids and stuff? Are they in childcare? Are they not? Are they in, are they a school now? That's fine. Do they do Breakfast Club? Oh, if it's an offset breakfast club, maybe the tax you're paying for it.
00:38:13:23 - 00:38:26:22
Mike
The tax free childcare might be able to help. Yeah. And so it's all those little bits that we're again mainly will provoke a thought on or question we might we won't know everyone's circumstances and all staff or anything like that. Absolutely not though.
00:38:26:23 - 00:38:48:21
Chris
That's because we don't know what we might be missing out on. Plus, you guys of course, have the unenviable task of being all over the all the things that change. Yeah. You know, relatively regularly in some cases. And it's like, well, what does that mean now? And we just carry on blissfully, especially being British. We never go and take what we're rightfully owed.
00:38:48:21 - 00:38:55:21
Chris
Invariably, we don't ask, should you know, yeah, I shouldn't I have this, it's like, well actually yes. Go and get your work in your you're putting it in.
00:38:55:24 - 00:38:56:12
Mike
You will start.
00:38:56:13 - 00:38:57:14
Chris
Going get it.
00:38:57:17 - 00:39:05:21
Mike
And for some people it might just be that bit to help them not take as much at the business. If there's something that is some allowance a bit to enable the business to grow.
00:39:05:21 - 00:39:23:12
Chris
Well, I've talked about from where you're saying like that 100, 120,000 pounds is that we all kind of go, well, I want to earn more, I want to earn more. But there might be that point that says, well, unless you're going to jump to there, you're actually better off staying below this threshold. And those are the equations that we they're going, oh no, I couldn't do it.
00:39:23:12 - 00:39:41:18
Mike
No. And it's and some of it's a tick box, some of it's a bit more thought, some of it's a how are we going to make it work. And it's all it's again keep saying it's all different every client is different. Yeah. Every circumstance, every personality, every every desire of where they want to go in the next 2 or 3 years is different.
00:39:41:21 - 00:40:07:26
Chris
And I would imagine that has an impact in it, because if they're I don't know if it's just a lifestyle company or whatever, then that's got to be treated very different to someone who's who's building something here. Yeah. And that's got to come into it. And so you need to be aware of all those things. So that helps you for some instances you have, ad hoc advice and support over the course of the year as well.
00:40:07:26 - 00:40:29:24
Mike
And that's it. And that that should stem from the conference having to send an email to the bookkeepers if it's a bookkeeping query or so. But like sometimes when we introduce different members of the team. So we've got the bookkeeping team, the accounts team, tax payroll, me right. And some clients get oh who do I contact right. If whoever comes to mind first, sometimes I don't go.
00:40:29:24 - 00:40:46:11
Mike
I'm not sure who to send it to. I'm not going to send it that that that makes me like really upset because I want whoever you email in the team, they'll go, oh, that's not for me, but leave it with me, I'll find out. Or Clare, this is your client. Could you just go back to them on this matter?
00:40:46:12 - 00:40:52:24
Mike
I they're not going to go. Oh, it's not me. Deleted. No, that's not, not that.
00:40:52:24 - 00:40:55:23
Chris
Not because they might do, but they'd only do it once.
00:40:55:25 - 00:41:12:29
Mike
And they better. How are you doing exactly. Yeah. No, I do like we're all there. All. All of them right there. They want to help a client. No one's there just for a paycheck. No one's here. Just. They want their help because they want to be here. They enjoy being here. They enjoy looking after the clients. So if a client comes through and it's not their client or their.
00:41:12:29 - 00:41:29:23
Mike
It's not their area of expertise, they'll either go and find the answer or they pass it to the person it is to make sure that that client gets the answer right. So for a client, if any clients watching it going, yeah, I know, but they introduce me to a few people here, it's like, yeah, it's because we've got the areas of their niches there.
00:41:29:23 - 00:41:40:25
Mike
I was expecting to sign, so we got someone on tax team on accounts, team on bookkeeping and software team on payroll because it's that's their area. That's what they know.
00:41:41:03 - 00:41:48:03
Chris
That's that's why you recruit them is that you're sort of adding that expertise into the company rather than someone trying to be a jack of all.
00:41:48:09 - 00:42:02:07
Mike
Exactly. So and then and that's the thing. If we're all approachable, then you can just ask at some time. I did have a client had a bad run on a Friday, email one out of office email. No, I'm office in it. And then luckily knocks on the door. I was like, oh yeah.
00:42:02:09 - 00:42:03:06
Chris
Yeah.
00:42:03:09 - 00:42:07:00
Mike
So I mean I'm not on holiday.
00:42:07:03 - 00:42:10:19
Chris
You suitcase in the car because you're about to go. Yeah, yeah.
00:42:10:22 - 00:42:27:29
Mike
But but that's why we had it. But again even if someone's not there like makes a time things are being monitored. There's, there's enough people like if. Know what if someone's sending emails and won't get responding phone at the line. Yeah. Cool through get through to us. But I've always said to any of my clients, if you didn't, if you didn't happen to get hold of me, phone Debbie.
00:42:28:03 - 00:42:29:23
Mike
I'll make sure she'll make sure I come back.
00:42:29:23 - 00:42:30:00
Chris
Yeah.
00:42:30:01 - 00:42:45:17
Mike
She goes and she likes you organizing it because we. Yeah we do. We look after a lot of clients and there will be times where as humans, we we miss something. And we miss an email. We miss a phone call. But again, I've no I've said a client if you if I, if you think I've missed it, drop me a message.
00:42:45:19 - 00:42:45:25
Mike
Yeah.
00:42:45:25 - 00:42:47:22
Chris
Because if I have, it will be innocent. Yeah.
00:42:47:26 - 00:42:49:12
Mike
If it is, it's purely because I.
00:42:49:13 - 00:42:58:07
Chris
Because I've seen how swamped you guys are. There's no getting away from that. Which is, you know what was it a victim of your own success kind of thing. And so therefore it will be.
00:42:58:09 - 00:43:02:07
Mike
And some of that is because we do this. The most of that is because we do this extra stuff.
00:43:02:07 - 00:43:02:21
Chris
Yeah, yeah.
00:43:02:24 - 00:43:21:08
Mike
And so is that victim range that where we want clients to ask us questions. But then some mornings I'll wake up and go, oh, they've asked a lot of questions overnight from those thoughts and stuff like that. Right. But that's fine. I've rather that half of them, because the more questions that I ask, the more then that we can help out and we can make.
00:43:21:10 - 00:43:24:18
Chris
Those Christmas music as we covered in the previous.
00:43:24:20 - 00:43:28:00
Mike
We joke right last, the Christmas just got loads.
00:43:28:00 - 00:43:28:24
Chris
Really more.
00:43:28:24 - 00:43:51:06
Mike
Than I've ever had. And it wasn't like I'm going to say it's because of the video, because I'm stuck with you. But I think it's the time, the time that we're in, people who are a little bit more cautious, conscious, maybe a bit more scared. Right. So I had a lot of questions in and I still like go back to them to deal with them because I never want to see a client stressed over numbers right where it can be avoided.
00:43:51:09 - 00:43:59:04
Chris
I was, especially as most of the stress is is down to, I don't know what word I should use. So I'll go with naivety.
00:43:59:06 - 00:43:59:29
Mike
Uncertainty.
00:44:00:03 - 00:44:20:13
Chris
Yeah, because we kind of go that doesn't look good. I don't quite know what that means. That just paints a bad picture. And yes, of course it could be. Yes, it is, but this is how we get out of it. And and this is where you guys with just with your expertise, you know, that you can do things with numbers and or interpret the numbers.
00:44:20:15 - 00:44:30:25
Mike
And with any of it, we should be looking ahead as well. Yeah. So yeah. Fine. That yeah it's going to be rubbish. But we've got 12 months or nine months. We've got six months to plan for it.
00:44:30:25 - 00:44:31:15
Chris
So let's get it.
00:44:31:17 - 00:44:37:18
Mike
So let's, let's start getting ahead of it. And it is just a constant battle.
00:44:37:21 - 00:44:53:09
Chris
And that's why I think it is important, you know. Yes. That's could get rocky or actually this is going so well, we need you we need to manage this as well, you know, where's this going? Don't just end up with this whopping great tax bill because of, well done for your success. I'm going to take my loads of it.
00:44:53:09 - 00:45:09:29
Chris
Yeah. Which is what it feels like, isn't it? It's planning because that could be the next step of your growth and all of that. And then, of course, the final piece, I took it out and put it right to the end. This is that then that final year end account that is put together. Yeah.
00:45:10:01 - 00:45:13:28
Chris
That determines things like tax returns for the company and everything.
00:45:13:28 - 00:45:34:12
Mike
And that's so. Yeah. And that becomes part of that means that face to face meeting where it kind of pulls together everything that we thought was going to happen has happened and done. And we expect that there's no shops, there's a tax bill coming up. But we already knew about it. The final thing might be produced a few months before the deadline, but it's based on something we've already discussed before, so there should be no shockers come in.
00:45:34:12 - 00:45:56:19
Mike
It's just the formality of that being done. I feel the emphasis of the year end accounts function is changing, and that is becoming a bit of the formality. It's all the advice around it. Right? Because if you got your tax return in, I don't know, November for filing in January. Right. That on the face it wouldn't look very good because it's not short notice.
00:45:56:19 - 00:46:00:08
Mike
However, we should have already known what the tax bills were back nine months ago.
00:46:00:14 - 00:46:00:25
Chris
And.
00:46:00:26 - 00:46:07:02
Mike
12 months ago or 18 months ago. Because we know your journey you're on well, what you take in. And that's just becomes the formality.
00:46:07:06 - 00:46:29:19
Chris
And I had an example where I was like those that will want they being filed now like really early. You know, my financial year ended at the end of March. We we met, I don't know, let's say April, May, whatever it happened to be. But we've had an instance where actually the directors loan account had gone up a bit and it was like, right, you know, because you get, a period of grace after that.
00:46:29:19 - 00:46:30:28
Mike
To that nine month window.
00:46:30:29 - 00:46:48:15
Chris
Yeah, that you can bring it down. And now they'll take that into consideration and it's like, if you can go and do this, and that might have done things like, okay, in which case I'm not going to buying all these, these things that I'll have to wait because I need to really focus on getting the profit margin up for nine months by this value.
00:46:48:19 - 00:46:58:07
Chris
And so therefore the accounts were actually, you know, revisited until, say, November. And then you get the final definitive view.
00:46:58:07 - 00:47:14:03
Mike
And the one thing that will always say is your accounts, every client is on the system is on the tracker. So when it comes to the month, start of the month. And so like this month, first of Feb, Tracy, you know, if I round all the partners just let you know these are the ones that got to be done by this month.
00:47:14:03 - 00:47:14:21
Chris
Right.
00:47:14:21 - 00:47:34:03
Mike
And then next week. Right. These have been done. This is what's left. So there is always a radar. So with that again part of the risk is that we follow the accounts early when we're thinking of maybe changing your loan account. It comes off the list. Whereas if we don't file it it's always on the list that makes you go, we still got that conversation, Chris.
00:47:34:03 - 00:47:51:16
Mike
Yeah, yeah. And it might be November. We still have that conversation, right? It's still on the radar. It comes off the radar because it's filed. Then you you kind of potentially miss the opportunity to go back. So again, it's it's one that from one side it looks like oh they've forgotten about us. But the other side is that there is always a deadline.
00:47:51:18 - 00:48:01:24
Mike
You should see them go round. Why is this who's dealing with this? And it's like yeah that's me. So I've got that one I got you haven't updated it. And we're always checking internally going round making sure that we there's.
00:48:01:24 - 00:48:04:25
Chris
A full project management going on as well. Then for me.
00:48:04:25 - 00:48:24:05
Mike
I'd hate for a set of accounts or attached sent to be filed late because that's just amateur because we have systems. Everyone has systems, right. You know, when it's our next monthly meeting here for the for this the same as I know when your accounts tax confirmation statement is all due, all the deadlines. And we got we got the trackers that flash up when it's coming junior and that.
00:48:24:08 - 00:48:44:18
Mike
So sometimes it may look like oh it's been left a last minute. It's everyone is all under control and done. It might be just waiting for oh you did approve it over phone, but I just. Can I get a signed copy back? Yeah, of course, but it might just be there just to make sure that we get that back, just to make sure that it happens on file and it's not missed.
00:48:44:18 - 00:48:48:22
Mike
And then another year goes by and oh actually three years we I'm at like that.
00:48:48:22 - 00:48:49:08
Chris
Yeah.
00:48:49:08 - 00:48:53:29
Mike
It's making it. So it's always on the list. There's a thing on the tracker.
00:48:54:04 - 00:48:58:12
Chris
It all makes sense. I think that sort of takes us if I missed anything out on a typical journey.
00:48:58:13 - 00:49:22:04
Mike
No. So that's the typical journey for, for most clients who do sort of like a standard optimum service, it then branches into all different things after that if you need it. To which we talked about on other shows of like a quarterly me in the plan, in the forecast management accounts and stuff. And that depends on a client's budget, a client's, appetite for that sort of information.
00:49:22:04 - 00:49:37:15
Mike
Some want it, some don't. Some start with or we'll just stick with the two meetings, because that's one more than I've had before with a previous a previous set up. And then others, I go, well, actually now you're on this one, you're getting value. We just drop two more in and all sudden we're meeting four times a year.
00:49:37:15 - 00:50:06:11
Chris
And that's the evolution. Because I said to you that I think that I might be getting close to that point that goes, look, I'm growing and I need to manage that growth and achieve that growth. Therefore, I think that we need some more. And but that's because we've naturally turned into that. Also picking up on another one is that, I know we did an episode on audit, but one of the big ones that I can see in my head that is beneficial with you guys is that let's say I wanted to acquire merge, whatever.
00:50:06:13 - 00:50:13:21
Chris
Yep. There is all sorts of financial advice and auditing that needs to be done in that, and you guys can get involved in that process.
00:50:13:21 - 00:50:45:25
Mike
And I did that in January. So I helped the client buy a business, help to, well, help in one business break up, but another, sort of split up as well and just be involved and help in that. And, and going through these scenarios. But yeah, on the business acquisition, we were part of it doing the due diligence, doing the checks, talking it through, making sure that some of it was just that sense check of going, okay, there's all the excitement cause everyone gets excited to new bits like, so buy a new piece kit, get a new client all the excitement, something new is that sort of stopping check.
00:50:45:25 - 00:51:02:06
Mike
So with a client, typically what I'll do is slow it down for a moment and just go right. So these are the basic points we're looking at. This is how much this is what it's going to do. This is how long on paper it's looking to pay back. Is that not take that sort of the adrenaline out from that.
00:51:02:09 - 00:51:19:14
Mike
Is that you still happy with that? That's the outcome you're expecting because it's the same like if you go and sell someone selling to you, you're wrapped up in the journey. He's telling you all the thing, or she's telling you all the things that's really excited. And you go, yes, this is brilliant. This is perfect for me. But we try and come along and just be that sort of checks go.
00:51:19:16 - 00:51:46:13
Mike
The exactly what you want is in that, that, that. And then sometimes they go, oh, I actually know what I was getting. I was getting wrapped up in this just the moment I know this is like, yeah, this is perfect. We are on this. And yeah. So we'll do all that and that and that, that level is anything from just checking that the account balance to all the way through to checking contracts and stuff for them and and that so and again it was different.
00:51:46:13 - 00:51:59:08
Mike
This client we worked with evolved through the actual purchase of what they wanted on how much and what it was. And then you again understand where the concern was. Okay, let's check that area a bit more because the rest of it wasn't a concern. It was just that area.
00:51:59:08 - 00:52:18:05
Chris
Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. So plenty. On whether it's a straightforward yearly journey all the way up to a zig zag all the way through that year. Yep. But in essence, the key one is communication support. Yeah. Evolve together. Yeah. That's kind of the key points I get from that.
00:52:18:06 - 00:52:23:29
Mike
Yeah. Brilliant Dan don't don't expect the same thing. Keep changing and moving forward. Well.
00:52:24:01 - 00:52:44:16
Chris
Absolutely. For ourselves is that, you know, my requirements have changed. My, my, journey is constantly evolving and, and roll with the punches you guys do. And I'm definitely have those conversations. Nothing's a daft question. I know you guys have always.
00:52:44:19 - 00:52:46:02
Mike
Yeah, that's fine.
00:52:46:05 - 00:52:49:23
Chris
And that's a big one. Brilliant. Listen, Mike, thank you for that. Mike.
00:52:49:26 - 00:52:50:18
Mike
You could talk it through.
00:52:50:18 - 00:53:15:08
Chris
I hope you've enjoyed that. I hope it makes sense if it's if it sort of conjured up. Any thoughts, any questions. Please reach out to the guys. Opt co.uk for the website. Get in touch. Ask those questions and see whether you're an existing client and you still sort of think, actually, I could do with a bit more or I have not taken full advantage whether you're not and that you want to sort of have conversations with the guys, do it.
00:53:15:08 - 00:53:21:22
Chris
I definitely be an advocate of that one. So thank you, Mike. Another episode of Optum Alive. We'll see you next time.