Today’s post is going to be a bit different. Rather than giving you advice on all things tax, ecommerce and logistics, today we want to introduce you to a couple of members of our local team. We recently spoke to Danny, a senior member of the local team who deals with VAT accounts and PAYE services, and Livia, another senior member of the local team who deals with the submission of tax returns and internal operations. These two employees have a vast array of skills and experience in the domain of accounting, and we thought you might enjoy meeting them and benefitting from their expert opinions.
So, Danny and Livia, could you please give us a general overview of the services that the local team offers?
Danny: Certainly. For the most part, we at J&P offer the general services of an accountancy firm. This includes bookkeeping and the submission of our client’s accounts to HMRC and Company House. Occasionally, we also provide business plan support for businesses and their management accounts.
Livia: We also deal with VAT compliance checks. Since the outbreak of the pandemic the government have borrowed heavily and are keen to recoup some of this money. We are definitely expecting to see more and more tax investigations over the coming months!
How does this work with clients, do you talk to them directly?
Danny: Yes, we believe that talking directly to our clients is the best way to get a clear picture of what the client wants and this means we can solve any of their issues quickly. We communicate with clients in a variety of different ways. Of course via phone call is the most direct, but we are also happy to communicate to clients via WeChat if this is their preferred method.
Livia: Also, clients also come to see us directly in the office. Even if it is an unplanned visit, we always ensure we make time for our visitors and we will never turn a client away.
So would you say you have a good relationship with our clients then?
Livia: Definitely. We understand that trust is one of the most important factors when it comes to building relationships with clients and so we always ensure we are communicative and transparent with. We are always happy to offer them our expert advice.
Danny: Yes, I would have to agree. A lot of our new clients come to us from referrals from previous or existing clients so we must be doing something right!
That’s great to hear. The past 18 months must have been difficult for our clients; could you please tell us a little bit about some of the difficulties they’ve faced and how we’ve helped them?
Danny: Well yes, the last 18 months have definitely been difficult for clients due to Brexit and the pandemic. It is hard to give a blanket answer to this question as we support a wide range of clients and so they’ve all struggled differently. For example, the ecommerce sellers and importers have struggled with Brexit due to the need to register for VAT in more EU countries and obtaining EORI numbers. On top of this a lot of them sell on Amazon and Ebay so they’ve had to deal with the new regulations regarding online marketplaces.
As for our clients in hospitality the new paper work originally caused delays in shipments. We have followed the Brexit situation closely for years, and thus we have been able to guide or clients through the situation really well and have helped them get to grips with the new paperwork.
Thanks Danny, what about the issues that have faced from the pandemic Livia?
Livia: Just as Danny said with Brexit, we have had to accommodate all of our clients in different ways. In some cases, our clients in hospitality actually didn’t fair too badly due to the increase in deliveries and people ordering takeaways. However, our clients who own businesses such as hairdressers and beauty salons have struggled more due to the fact that they had to close for months on end.
Whilst the government offered a lot of support to businesses, we’ve found in some cases that our clients have struggled to pay back these loans on time. In these cases we’ve had to help our clients find ways to pay these back on time without incurring interest and informed them of all their available options, such as instalment schemes. We’ve been in constant contact with HMRC to ensure that our clients are able to find a way to pay back what they’ve borrowed in a way that suits them.
Thank you both, it’s really interesting to hear about how those two major issues have affected our clients so differently. Are there any upcoming issues that you think business owners or prospective clients should be wary of?
Danny: I think the two main ones are the increase in HMRC tax investigations. It looks like the government are really going to ramp these up, so business owners should make sure all of their accounts are compliant and should get in contact with us if they receive notice from HMRC that they are going to be under investigation.
Also, business owners and sellers should be checking when their repayments are due for any of the government support that they’ve received over the last 18 months. Late payments could result in penalties so make sure to check all your repayment dates!
That’s really good advice. That all but concludes are interview, before I let you go I just wanted to ask what you both enjoy most about working at J&P?
Livia: I think it’s the opportunity I have had to develop myself. Due to the wide spectrum of clients we support we have to deal with a variety of different issues and so we have to be innovative in our techniques for supporting them.
Danny: For me, it’s the satisfaction I get from helping clients. I talk regularly with our clients and it feels great when we are able to solve their problems. Also, I really like the working environment we have here. We have a really strong team who works well together which means we can provide the best service possible.
That’s great to hear. Thank you both for speaking with us today!
Hopefully this interview has given you an insight into how we do things here at J&P and the advice that our experts gave has been of some value to you!
If you are a UK business, we would be more than happy to provide you with accounting and taxation services, such as Company House registration, confirmation statements, and statutory financial reports. At J&P, helping small businesses is our passion, and we understand that companies across the UK are at risk now more than ever. We are here to support you through the end of the Coronavirus crisis and Brexit, so please do not hesitate to give us a call on 0161 637 1080 or send an e-mail to enquiries@jpaccountant.com.
