This week leads us into the second half of the first month of this third decade in the 21st century. Wow! I would suggest that now is the time to identify and reflect on what worked and what didn't work for you in 2020 and what you want from 2021. This should
In this penultimate post of the year, I offer you a reminder of five of my most popular blog posts (out of the 50 posted, one each Tuesday) in 2020. I’ve included the links in case you missed them originally or want to take another look: Ten common tax mistakes that business
I like the 3 As - Acronyms, Acrostics and Alliteration. Here's a shorter than usual blog post to help you structure conversations with clients as we start to come out of lockdown: As with all your conversations with clients in recent months you obviously want to help them to sustain, rebuild and recover their
Almost every accountant I know will admit to having at least one client they wish they didn't have to deal with any more. Go on. Try it for yourself. If you knew there would be no repercussions and no financial loss, which of your clients would you prefer never to have to
With over 700 blog posts here I have revisited many topics and may well have repeated myself at times over the years. Today however I am revisiting a post that I shared just 2 months ago close to the start of the lockdown. At the time I had already seen a number
Did you attend networking events before the lockdown? I know loads of accountants don't like the concept. Others do it reluctantly and some actually enjoy it. The same is true for those online networking events that have replaced face to face events during the lockdown. In my experience you probably have one
Long ago I realised that "Hope is not a strategy". Even if it worked in the past it would be foolish to assume that we can simply 'hope' our way out of the current situation. That goes for me as regards my business activities, for you and your own practice and also
Over recent weeks I have been noting the challenges that I have heard about from accountants and others who have been forced to work from home for the first time. In the enforced rush to do this and with the extra pressure of helping clients struggling with the impact of the lockdown,
"When can I stop supporting clients that aren't going to make it?" This was the tough question I was asked last week by an accountant who has many clients whose businesses may not survive the COVID-19 crisis. Like many other accountants she has always been supportive in the past when the odd
I was asked this question by an accountant who runs their own practice: "Is it ok to try to win new clients at this time?" They had seen other people being criticised online for pitching for work. We've probably all seen the messages containing overt sales pitches. And others that include 'special
A number of accountants are asking similar questions: "How much work do I need to do for free during the virus crisis?" "Is it ok to charge clients for giving them advice at this difficult time?" "I want to help those clients that need advice, but I don't want my practice to
I think this is a question with which many of us will need to grapple in the near future. The alternative is to be selfish or to put others above ourselves for longer than our own businesses can sustain. By demonstrating your support in times of distress your relationships will no doubt be
