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Our purpose is to help our clients
Make Money, Save Money, Look Good & Feel Good
The business landscape of today is significantly different to what it was fifteen
or twenty years ago. Recent and ongoing advances in technology have touched
every industry, changed others completely and even created new ones. Those who
embrace these changes grow and prosper: those who dabble or ignore them will
fall behind.
Retro accountancy can’t help you:
If you were buying a laptop, television, digital watch or mobile phone (for your
daily use), would you choose a model from the 1990s or today’s latest model?
Especially if there was no difference in the cost.
Most accountants today still rely on antiquated systems and apply a twentieth-
century, grey-suited accountancy mindset to their customers’ businesses. Our
customers take their businesses more seriously and choose services which add
value, embrace innovation and help them to realise their goals.
Get Into the Cloud: Modern systems with cloud accounting and bookkeeping
Get a Smart Accountant: Intelligent support, business planning and fast
returns
Get up to Speed: Real-time reporting, forecasting and bank reconciliation
Get a Great Team: A personal, professional and supportive accountancy team
Get Promises Delivered: Service guarantees and a positive impact on your
bottom line‘Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster’Elon Musk, founder, CEO, and CTO of SpaceX and product architect of Tesla Motors
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Get Into the Cloud:
Cloud accounting makes profits soarMeades Group are proud to be Watford’s only Xero Gold Partner accountancy team.
That means that we don’t just ‘use’ the world’s most powerful cloud accounting
software, we partner with Xero and help direct its ongoing development. Some of
Xero’s key features include:
Automated bank feeds: Easy, instant and automated reconciliation
Online invoicing: Faster payments, automatic recurring invoices and
scheduled payments
Mobile access: Access your account from anywhere for balances,
receipts and invoices
Free updates: Automatic software updates with innovative
developments and extras
Unlimited users: Your whole team, accountant and bookkeeper can
work together online
Smart reports: A whole range of powerful real-time and forecast
reporting at your fingertips
Unlimited email support: Xero and Meades’ experts are always on
hand to help
In Meades’ hands, that means your money works harder, faster and smarter for
your business. Your finances will take on new meaning and relevance, giving you
greater control and more time, with efficient processes and increased profitability.
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Old-fashioned accountancy doesn’t add up A 2015 survey on mobile phone usage revealed that ‘making calls’ ranked as the 6th
most popular use of a smartphone, behind texting, browsing, email, photography,
social media and alarm clock. This is reflected in business evolution too, and is
particularly relevant to accountancy.
Filing your returns (long after those numbers serve any useful purpose) and
keeping you legal is way down the list of what your accountant could and should
be doing for you today! Just like your smartphone, Meades can put so many
powerful benefits at your fingertips to help manage and grow your business. You
don’t even need to understand ‘how’ we do it, you just get access to the business-
critical information you need in an instant.
This is APPsolutely essential
The world is still changing and, whether you like technology or loathe it, the reality
is that you need smart business information to stay ahead. Apps, tablets, smart
TVs and the like are designed to be fast, user-friendly, and deliver the information
you need, hassle-free. Meades Group has been designed to do the same.
Get a Smart Accountant
With 500+ time-saving apps, Xero is infinitely flexible
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FUTRLI
Get Up to Speed
You can’t plan tomorrow unless you can clearly see today The most important part of any plan is knowing where you are now. For decades,
accountants’ standard service meant that your returns, management figures and
company accounts were calculated long after your year end – and that was if you
had a good accountant. In reality, this has always been too late to be of any use to
a business, but today it doesn’t need to be. The technology is at our fingertips to
be get 24/7, real-time information about where your numbers are today and how
best to plan for your future.
Meades make your numbers work for you
Working with Meades Group means all of your key financial information is
available to you in the present. Much more than that, though: we will tell you
exactly what your numbers mean:
The amount you need to plan and put aside for tax
How to reduce your tax bill and decrease other costs
The hidden secrets to increasing your profit
Benchmarking your performance against your competitors
Which products and services are making you the most profit
Where to focus your investment and improvement resources
Accurately forecast just how exciting next year could be for your
business
And many other valuable and clarity-driven business planning insights
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All the tech in the world can’t replace great peopleWe believe it is our responsibility to add value to your business by providing
innovative, workable solutions to problems. That is our promise to all of our
customers.
As a company, we believe in embracing technology to increase the efficiency,
value and management information that we provide to our customers. With this
comes the even greater benefit of being able to give you more of our personal
attention: working with you, getting to know your business, and bringing out the
best in your numbers.
Investing in a new office in the Philippines was a great move for us, and our
clients. A shortage of qualified accountants in the UK created a challenge in
growing our team quickly. Cloud technology has enabled us to recruit overseas
to protect our guaranteed service level promises. You can read more about our
unique guarantees on page 7.
Process and technology can make a business run well, but it is the people involved
who turn a good business into a great one. Our aim is to be involved in making
your business great.
Get a Great Team
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Get Promises Delivered
Unique guarantees and service level promises We have all come to rely on technology today. When you turn on your tablet,
sat-nav or smartphone you expect it to give you the information you need in that
instant. The years of development, expertise, testing and gathering data which
lead to the instant result are not your concern: you simply engage and the device
delivers exactly what you need. Nine times out of ten we are happy with the result,
and so we take it for granted!
The only real difference between Meades Group and your all-singing, all-dancing
smartphone is that we are guaranteed to deliver every time. We never need a
recharge, we update automatically, we are always current, always friendly, and
always listening to our customers’ needs. In short, we always deliver the results
you need: hassle-free.
Our 100% service guarantee
If you are ever unhappy with any aspect of our work, we will – without question
– respect your right to pay whatever amount you feel is more appropriate for
that month. In other words, if at the end of any month you are not completely
delighted with the work we have done for you in that month, simply let us know
and we will raise a credit note against the most recent monthly payment to reduce
it to whatever amount you believe is fair, based upon your judgement of the value
you have received.
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Start by choosing the service package that best fits your needs. Each package is
a fixed price and the cost can be spread across equal monthly payments, meaning
you can budget effectively.
A simple fixed fee is agreed in advance for each project: so you can
budget effectively.
Overruns are our problem: if we have to work harder, you only pay the fixed
fee.
All fees are paid by monthly Direct Debit: helping you to budget and spread
the cost.
This ensures you get fast, accurate accounts and returns, avoiding penalties and
enabling smarter, more strategic financial decisions to be taken for your business.
Unlimited free ad hoc advice
Our fixed fees include unlimited access to our entire team for advice on ad hoc
matters, so you can call at any time without worrying about the cost. Only if we
need to start an Extra Work Order (EWO) will we agree another fixed fee with you
for the work to be completed. That means you can rest assured that we will never
charge you for work without having agreed a fixed fee with you first.
Tailored Services and a ‘No Surprises Fixed Fee Policy’
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How We Will Work Together to Achieve Success
To be effective, we believe that professional relationships need to be based on
mutual trust, mutual support, mutual respect and mutual integrity. As a result
we only work with clients who share our belief in the importance of these four
factors. In practice, that means that we make a commitment to each other:
Our commitment to youWe will always do everything in our power to:
Keep you fully informed about what’s happening with your business, and
complete every task on or ahead of time – so that you never have to chase us
Operate on the principle that a problem isn’t solved, or a piece of work
finished, until you are 100% delighted
Reply to every telephone message or email within 24 hours
Reply to every letter within 48 hours of the day we receive it
Maintain the high standards of integrity, honesty, openness, professionalism
and confidentiality that you rightly expect from us
Refer our contacts to you where we believe they could benefit from your
products and services
Always be on the lookout for new ideas that could help you to build an even
more successful business and achieve your business goals
Do what we say we are going to do, when we say we are going to do it
Your commitment to usYou will always do everything in your power to:
Maintain the high standards of integrity, honesty and openness that we
rightly expect from each other
Tell us immediately if we do anything that you are in any way unhappy with
Provide us with all the information and answers we need to carry out our
work – within the mutually agreed timescales
Reply to our requests for information or work approval in a timely manner
Refer your contacts to us where you believe they could benefit from our help
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Every business is different and is best helped by a service designed for its specific
needs. Speed, efficiency, accuracy, care and attention come as standard for all
our customers, and we can tailor everything else around your individual stage of
growth.
Traditional accounting often misses opportunities to make a genuine difference
to a business, so we have designed a service that proactively looks to highlight
areas where we can help maximise the benefits available to you. From compliance
services to strategic business advice and HR support, working with Meades Group
you will have all the support you need, when you need it.
To help get you started, over the next few pages we will show you the typical
services required by businesses at different stages of growth. All our service
packages can be tailored to your needs – so if we have included something you
don’t need, we can take that out; likewise, if there are additional services you
would benefit from, we can add those in.
Start now: which of the 5 Stages of Success does your business best fit? Now
have a read of the services we recommend for your stage of growth: will these be
a good fit for you?
To build the ideal package for you and your business we recommend speaking to
one of our team; they can answer any questions you may have and direct you to
the services that will deliver the biggest impact for your business.
Call us on 01923 800444.
Stages of Success for Growing Businesses
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STAGE SOLOPRENEUR LEAN BUSINESS GROWING BUSINESS
MATUREBUSINESS POWERHOUSE
TEAM 1 2-8 5-20 17+ 50+
ANNUALREVENUE <£100k £100k-£500k £500k-£2m £2m-£5m £5m+
YEARS INBUSINESS 0-1 2-4 3-6 7-10 10+
MONTHLYINVESTMENT
LEVEL£175 £175-£625 £625-£2,500 £2,500-£6,250 £6,250+
POSITIVES &CHALLENGES
• Profitable
• Independent
• Spinning lots
of plates
• Tight team
• No money
• No time
• Stressful
• Revenue good
• Cash flow bad
• Scalability challenges
• Growing pains
• Firefighting
• Systems challenges
• HR challenges
• Revenue good
• Cash flow bad
• Scalability challenges
• Firefighting
• Systems challenges
• HR challenges
• Management challenges
• Staying ahead
• Money is good
• Scalable
• Strategic thinking
• FD support essential
• Structural challenges
• Exit strategies
GOALS
“I feel like I have a job, not
a business, and need help to manage my
finances”
“We need to increase our revenue and
think more like a larger business”
“We need to improve our cash
flow so I can sleep at night”
“We need to scale our
business, but we need to do it
profitably”
“For our business to thrive we need broader expertise than an internal FD can provide”
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Recommended Services
SOLO
PREN
EUR
LEAN BU
SINESS
GR
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ING
BUSIN
ESS
MATU
RE BU
SINESS
POW
ERH
OU
SE
Annual accounts & Corporation Tax Returns
Use of our address for your registered office
Company secretarial services
Tax investigation protection service
Client Manager Support
Personal tax returns
Personal tax planning
Business tax planning
Tax-efficient remuneration planning
Company vehicle tax planning
Payroll health check
VAT health check
Pre year-end tax planning review
Board meetings per year
Management accounts per year
Partner Support
Budgets & forecasts
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Partnerships - Annual Accounts & Partnership Tax ReturnsAs a business owner, you are required to prepare statutory accounts
and submit these to HMRC annually. This is all included within your
quote and you will have peace of mind knowing that this is all taken
care of for you by Meades Group.
We’ll also estimate what your tax bills are going to be for the next 12
months so you can plan your finances in advance, to make sure you
don’t pay HMRC a penny more than you have to.
This service also includes preparation and online submission of your
partnership tax return.
Sole Trader - Annual AccountsAs a business owner, you are required to prepare statutory accounts
and submit these to HMRC annually. This is all included within your
quote and you will have peace of mind knowing that this is all taken
care of for you by Meades Group.
We’ll also estimate what your tax bills are going to be for the next 12
months so you can plan your finances in advance, to make sure you
don’t pay HMRC a penny more than you have to.
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Customise Your Package With Any Additional Services
Financial Controller ServicesOur Financial Controller services ensure that you are fully compliant and that everything’s in order.
Limited Companies - Annual Accounts & Corporation Tax ReturnsAs a limited company, you are required to prepare statutory accounts
and submit these to Companies House annually. This is all included
within your quote and you will have peace of mind knowing that this
is all taken care of for you by Meades Group.
You are also required to file a Corporation Tax Return annually with
HMRC. We’ll take care of everything that HMRC requires and inform
you of the Corporation Tax payment required in plenty of time.
Limited Liability Partnerships -Annual Accounts & Partnership Tax ReturnsAs a limited liability partnership, you are required to prepare
statutory accounts and submit these to Companies House annually.
This is all included within your quote and you will have peace of mind
knowing that this is all taken care of for you by Meades Group.
You are also required to file a Partnership Tax Return annually with
HMRC. We’ll take care of everything that HMRC requires and inform
you of your Personal Tax bills in plenty of time.
Company Secretarial ServiceDealing with all Company/LLP secretarial work, including writing
up and maintaining the Register and the Share Register, preparing
dividend vouchers where applicable and all statutory forms
for filing at Companies House; for example, appointment and
resignation of directors/members.
Tax Investigation Protection Service In the event of any enquiry from HMRC or the VAT man, we will
be able to deal directly with the officers concerned, use our
premises to meet with them (so you won’t have to), and answer all
of their questions on your behalf – and our fees will be paid by our
insurance policy.
Business Legal HelplineA legal expert is only a phone call away and most importantly, the
advice is free with unlimited calls, in plain English and they are open
24/7 365 days a year. Don’t put your business at risk - the law changes
constantly and the helpline ensures you have the right support,
when you need it most.
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Services Completion of monthly CIS300, online submission to HMRC and
provision of subcontractor statements every month.
Client Manager SupportThis gives you access to a dedicated Client Manager as your single
point of contact for all emails, telephone calls, letters, meetings and
general day-to-day queries.
Use of Our Address for Your Registered OfficeBy using our address as your company’s registered office, we will
receive all of the formal and legal correspondence from HMRC and
Companies House, which we will deal with for you and only contact
you if there is something that needs your attention.
Property Investment Companies - Annual Accounts & Corporation Tax ReturnsAs a property investment company, you are required to prepare
statutory accounts and submit these to Companies House annually.
This is all included within your quote and you will have peace of mind
knowing that this is all taken care of for you by Meades Group.
You are also required to file a Corporation Tax Return annually with
HMRC. We’ll take care of everything that HMRC requires and inform
you of the Corporation Tax payment required in plenty of time.
It is also vitally important that you select the correct accounting
treatment for the preparation of these accounts as there are two
accounting standards that are applicable and these are called section
105 or 102. Section 105 is a much simpler method of preparing
your accounts as all properties are accounted for on a cost basis.
Section 102 accounts for properties on a current valuation basis and
therefore takes much longer to complete but will be looked far more
favourably upon by investors and lenders.
Confirmation Statement ServicePreparation and online submission of the Confirmation Statement
to Companies House every year, giving details of the business
name, registered office, company/LLP number, names of Directors/
Members, Shareholders/Shareholding details, and notification
details of persons of significant control (PSC).
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Reconciling Your Sales InvoicesIn order to ensure you have up-to-date lists of money owing to you
so you can keep on top of your cash flow, we’ll log in to your Xero
accounting system every month and reconcile your sales invoices.
We’ll need copies of any remittance advices your customers have
supplied you with so send them over to us too and we’ll do the rest.
Running Your Credit ControlGetting paid on time is critical for successful cash flow. You need
to invoice sales promptly and ensure debts are chased and resolved
quickly. This is something we know our clients find frustrating and
time-consuming.
Let our team take care of this for you. Your sales invoices will be
issued on time with full and accurate details – leading to fewer
queries and speedier payments. We will also actively chase unpaid
invoices, or better still we can help you implement payment systems
that eliminate late payments altogether; just ask us for the details.
Processing Scanned Purchase InvoicesWe’ll set up a unique email address and arrange for all of your
suppliers to send their invoices there. We’ll log in monthly and post
those invoices into your Xero accounting system so your payables
list is always up to date, and we’re ensuring up-to-date reporting.
Reconciling Your Business Bank AccountsIn order to ensure you have up-to-date lists of receivables and
payables, and up-to-date financial reporting, we’ll log in to your Xero
accounting system every month and reconcile your business bank
accounts.
*Please note that these fees are based on Xero receiving data via a
direct bank feed from your bank account. Other charges may apply
if this is not possible.
Reconciling Your InvoiceDiscounting or Factoring AccountIn order to ensure that you comply with the reporting requirements
of your finance provider, we will reconcile your invoice discounting
or factoring account in Xero and report to the finance provider
accordingly. This will mean that you won’t have to worry that
your finance facility will be withdrawn by the provider for non-
compliance.
Raising and Sending Your SalesInvoicesMost clients raise their own sales invoices because they want to get
them to their customers as soon as possible, but if that’s too much
for you, then we can process them for you each month.
Bookkeeping ServicesOur bookkeeping services are designed to save you time and money whilst taking the pain outof getting everything together. We will show you the benefits of real time accounting and the positive impact it will have on your business. Choose to have your bookkeeping updated monthly, weekly or daily, according to your business needs and aspirations.
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Scanning Paper Purchase InvoicesIf you want to bring your paper invoices to us to process we’ll use
our scanners to scan them and then send them to a unique email
address. We’ll log in monthly and post those invoices into your Xero
accounting system so your payables list is always up to date, and
we’re ensuring up-to-date reporting.
Making Supplier Payments and Reconciling Supplier StatementsOnce your supplier invoices are in Xero, they need paying. We’ll use
our experience to manage suppliers to get you the best possible
payment terms and then log in to your online banking to make the
payments, ensuring that we have a legitimate receipt for every
payment.
Posting Your Stock JournalIn order to ensure you have up-to-date financial reporting so
you know how profitable your business is, we’ll log in to your
Xero accounting system as often as you want and post the stock
adjustment journal from your stock control system.
Preparing and Submitting VAT ReturnsWe will be preparing and submitting your quarterly VAT returns
ongoing, meaning that you will be well aware of your VAT liabilities
and able to keep the VAT man happy! We’re not just filing a bunch
of numbers, though, we take a five step approach to our VAT returns
service:
1. Create a recurring quarterly job in our job management
system so we NEVER miss a deadline and begin work on the
VAT return a week after the quarter end.
2. Carry out an audit of ALL transactions for the period –
check that purchase VAT has been claimed on every
transaction that it should have been and, conversely, that it
hasn’t been claimed where it shouldn’t have been.
3. Ensure that you are on the best scheme to maximise your
cash flow – cash or accruals. Also keep an eye on going over
the threshold at which you HAVE to move to accruals by
obligation.
4. Send you notification of the amount due within 4 weeks of
the quarter end, giving you 10 days’ notice of the amount to
be taken automatically via Direct Debit.
5. File the VAT return on time, every time.
Posting Your Year End JournalsIn order to ensure you have up-to-date financial reporting so you
know how profitable your business is, we’ll log in to your Xero
accounting system once your year-end accounts are finalised and
post any year-end adjustments so that the accounts in Xero match
your statutory financial statements.
Xero (Beautiful Accounting Software)Xero charge a monthly subscription for using their software. Rather
than paying multiple invoices for Xero and accountancy, this allows
you to consolidate everything into one monthly fee so you have just
one payment coming out of your account each month.
Xero PayrollXero applies additional charges for employees over and above
the 5 that are included within their Standard plus Payroll option.
Xero Bank FeedsBank account transactional data automatically uploaded to Xero
every day.
Fluidly SubscriptionFluidly is an intelligent cash flow management tool that produces a
forecast in minutes and gives you a powerful look into the financial
future of any organisation.
It will save you hours every month chasing late payments with its
intelligent credit control software that also updates your forecast
in real time, giving you a true insight into the cash position of your
business.
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annual P11D forms to HMRC for each employee who receives these
types of benefits.
PAYE Settlement AgreementCalculation and completion of your annual PSA for the entertainment
expenses, etc., that you provide for your team in the most tax-
efficient way possible.
Paying Team Salaries & PAYEWe’ll make the monthly pay run to pay all of your staff salaries and
expenses so you don’t need to worry about finding the time to make
sure this vital process is carried out on time. We’ll also arrange for
your PAYE payment to HMRC to be processed on time to avoid any
penalties or interest charges for late payment.
Posting Your Monthly Wages JournalIn order to ensure you have up-to-date financial reporting, we’ll log
in to your Xero accounting system every month and post the wages
journal from your payroll summary report.
Monthly Payroll ServicesPayroll these days can be a minefield and take up a lot of your time.
We can take care of your payroll and ensure you comply with all
statutory regulations and deadlines.
Monthly Auto Enrolment ServicesFor customers using our payroll services, we are also able to provide
an auto enrolment solution to keep you compliant by dealing with
all of the paperwork required to operate an occupational pension
scheme for your team.
Monthly Annual Leave CalculationsDo you have team members who work irregular hours? If so,
calculating their accrued annual leave entitlement can be extremely
complicated and time consuming - let us take the responsibility for
this.
P11DsIf you provide benefits to your employees – cars, private medical
insurance, gym membership, etc. – we will prepare and file the
Payroll ServicesOur Payroll services ensure that your team get paid properly, on time, every month and ensures that your business is fully compliant with HMRC and the Pensions Regulator.
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Company Vehicle Tax PlanningWe will carry out a planning exercise each time you consider buying a
new vehicle to ensure you are aware of the most appropriate method
of finance and the minimisation of tax liabilities.
Payroll Health CheckWe will review your payroll records to ensure that you are complying
with all the requirements. This will minimise the risk of penalties and
interest from any subsequent visit from HMRC.
VAT Health CheckWe will review your VAT records to ensure that you are complying
with the VAT requirements. This will minimise the risk of penalties
and interest from any subsequent visit from HMRC.
Pre Year-end Tax Planning ReviewA lot of accountants will wait until the end of the year, when they
typically tell you to make any purchases before your year end, so
you can make savings on your tax. This is the most basic form of tax
planning and, at that stage, is too late. We implement our Pre-Year
End Tax Planning Review 3 months before your year end so we can
start making a real impact and minimise the tax you have to pay.
Advanced Tax Planning Pre Year endWe will advise you on the range of advanced tax planning
opportunities available to you that have already completed our due
diligence process.
Taxation ServicesOur tax planning services will ensure you pay the least amount of tax legally possible.
Personal Tax ReturnsPreparation and online submission of your personal tax return[s],
calculating your tax liabilities and advising on the payments of tax.
This includes a 25% discount for providing us with all information by
31 October; otherwise additional charges will apply.
Accounts for Rental PropertiesCompletion of statements of rental income for all properties owned
for year ended 5th April for inclusion in Self-Assessment tax return
Personal Tax and RemunerationPlanningWe will carry out a personal tax planning review to ensure you are
aware of any opportunities to minimise your personal tax liabilities.
We will also review your remuneration strategy to ensure that you are
extracting any profits from your business in the most tax-efficient
manner possible. Action taken here will allow us to proactively plan
for your wealth creation strategies and personal tax bills so that
there are no surprise bills from HMRC.
Business Tax PlanningWe will carry out a detailed tax planning review two months
before your accounting year end to ensure you are aware of any
opportunities to minimise your tax liabilities. Action taken here
will allow us to proactively plan for your wealth creation strategies,
utilising your retained after tax profits.
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Partner SupportYour investment gives you access to a dedicated partner-level
Client Manager. This means you have access to the highest level of
experience.
Budgets and ForecastsWe believe that every business should have a 3-year financial
budget to plan where you want to be heading. This gives direction
to the board and the entire team as to what the business is trying to
achieve, so you are all working in sync.
We’ll create, manage and update a rolling 12 month 3-way forecast
of profit and loss, cash flow and balance sheet, so you always know
what the future financial performance and position of the business
looks like, based on what we already know today (committed sales
and costs). This is about bringing the future into the present, so you
can do something about it. We’ll also enter that budget in to Xero so
that you will have 24/7 access to your numbers and can review your
budgets anytime.
Board MeetingsWe will attend selected key business meetings as an objective and
experienced resource, to help you make more of your meetings.
You choose what you need from us, from silent observer to chairing
the meeting, technical advisor to independent sounding board, or
as a facilitator for brainstorming sessions. You have the option to
choose a Client Manager, Partner or Senior Partner to support you
during your board meetings.
Management AccountsRather than a set of accounts just once a year, you receive a fully
reconciled set of accounts with a report pack containing your profit
and loss account, balance sheet and variance analysis to either
a prior year or budget. We also include a full ratio analysis with
graphical representations of the key performance indicators of your
business and their trends over the last year. We also offer a Premium
Management Accounts package, whereby we can include bespoke
reports on any aspect of your business that you may wish to monitor
from one period to the next, such as team happiness, covenant tests,
customer average spend, customer spend frequency, team costs,
turnover analysis, etc.
Finance Director ServicesOur Finance Director services allow you to make better decisions about the future.
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Record and authorise expenses
Build cases when things go wrong
Set company-wide holidays
We can manage your system for you and keep it up to date or you are
free to do this yourself.
People HR software set upLet us set up your People HR software for you - this includes;
Company account set up
Annual leave entitlements
Reporting hierarchy
Absence types
User set ups (inc. appropriate permission levels)
Adding in employee details
Adding in employee documents
We would also give you a demonstration on the basic functionality
of the software to get you started.
Review of employment contracts / statements of main termsWe will conduct a detailed review of your existing employment
contracts / statements of main terms and highlight any areas
that should be amended in order for them to comply with current
employment legislation and fully reflect the main terms of the
employment.
Preparation of employment contracts / statements of main termsWe will meet with you to discuss the items that must be included
in your bespoke employment contracts / statements of main terms,
provide you with a first draft for discussion and prepare final versions
for each of your employees. Crucially, they will be prepared using the
most current employment legislation.
Review of Employee / Staff HandbookIf you employ a team of 5 or more, it is advisable to use individual
Statements of Main Terms (statutory conditions) alongside a
company-wide Employee / Staff Handbook (which would contain
non-statutory company policies) which can be constantly reviewed,
updated and enforced.
We will carry out a comprehensive review of your existing Employee
/ Staff Handbook and highlight any areas where we believe
amendments should be made to ensure they comply with best
practice and incorporate your organisation’s policies.
HR DirectorMost small business can’t afford an HR department – so let us be
yours! We’ll be on hand to give you any day-to-day guidance and
advice you may need, as and when routine HR issues crop up. This
includes, but is not limited to;
Recruiting employees
New employee on-boarding (including Statements of Main
Terms, Employee Handbooks and job specs)
Apprenticeships
Absenteeism
Working hours
Annual leave
Disciplinary matters
Grievance matters
Changes in responsibilities
Notifications of pay increases
Maternity/paternity advice
Leavers
Exit interviews
References
Essentially, we’ll act as a line of HR support for you and your entire
team via meetings, phone calls and email advice.
This will leave you free to get on with what you do best – running
your business.
People HR software accessThis software will store all of your HR records in the cloud so that
they are accessible by you and your team 24/7, from wherever you
are.
There is also an app that your team can download onto their
smartphones, enabling them to access their records (and claim
expenses) on the go.
Approve annual leave, record absences and store salary histories - all
in one place. People HR does much more than that too;
Store company-wide documents accessible to all of your team
(i.e. staff handbooks)
Store employee’s personal documents under their individual
logins
Get team members to electronically approve documents (i.e.
policy updates, pay reviews)
Maintain training records
Set up repeating or one-off tasks for you or your team
Record key employee information and history
Monitor sickness records (including sickness ‘hot spots’ and
Bradford Factor scores)
Report on multiple factors via bespoke or ‘off-the-shelf’ reports
‘Thank’ fellow team members for outstanding performance
HR Director ServicesOur HR Director services allow you to make better decisions about your people.
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Preparation of an Employee / Staff HandbookIf you employ a team of 5 or more, it is advisable to use individual
Statements of Main Terms (statutory conditions) alongside a
company-wide Employee Handbook (which would contain non-
statutory company policies) which can be constantly reviewed,
updated and enforced.
We will carry out a comprehensive assessment of the policies that
not only would you ‘like’ to appear in your Employee Handbook but
also advise on the policies that ‘should’ be included. Based on your
specific requirements, we will draft a first version for discussion
and then make any amendments necessary before preparing a final
version for your team’s reference.
Anonymous team surveysWe will visit your premises and conduct a confidential team survey
of as many of your team as you wish. We will report our findings
to you and provide an action plan that will help you develop your
business based on the results obtained from the survey.
Team appraisals and Career Development Reviews (CDRs)If your team are performing well, your business is more likely to
succeed. We would recommend that CDRs are carried out at least
every six months for all members of your team. The advantages
would be;
Linking individual efforts to your business objectives
Improve motivation and team performance
Identify training and development requirements
Provide a basis for linking rewards to performance
Give you more information about your team members and their
needs
We would design bespoke CDR forms for you for distribution to each
team member. They would complete these prior to their individual
meeting with you and us. During these meetings, we would discuss
the contents of the forms and anything else that needs to be brought
up and set objectives going forward.
Review and revision of roles and responsibilities / job descriptionsWe will carry out a full review of all the roles and responsibilities
/ job descriptions within your organisation – this will include a
review of your organisational chart. After discussions with you, we
will make any amendments necessary, collate all of your roles and
responsibilities / job descriptions into one document and distribute
this amongst your entire team.
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Measuring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with a One-Page PlanMeasure all the key things that really matter. We can produce a
quarterly One-Page Plan for you. A One-Page Plan describes all the
key factors behind your business’s success, maps them out in a
logical way and links your goals, success drivers and eventual results.
It acts as an early warning system, highlighting the gaps between
your actual performance and your targets, and helps you create an
action plan for closing those gaps. And it will do all of this on a single
A4 sheet of paper.
Accounting Systems ManagementWe will attend your business premises and complete a comprehensive
review of your accounting systems, update your numbers, and
ensure that your financial accounts are accurate and fully up to date.
Annual Key ImprovementPossibility ReportEvery year we will carry out a diagnostic review of your business and
personal affairs to identify additional strategies that could add a
significant amount of money to your business and/or personal bank
accounts. We will present our findings and recommendations in a
Key Improvement Possibilities report, so you will be able to refer
back to, and take action on, our key advice whenever the time is
right for you.
Advisory Support to ScaleTo complement the support of your Meades accounting team, you
will have access to an advisory specialist with knowledge, expertise
and a proven track record in your marketplace. We will match you
to experts who can guide you through the typical step-change and
management issues faced by businesses who are actively growing.
Benchmarking Your Business Against Your Local CompetitionWe will carry out a detailed benchmarking review to measure the
performance of your business against other businesses within your
industry and geographical market. Our detailed report will highlight
those areas where improvements can be made to your profitability
and cash flow position. We will have a meeting to discuss our
findings and help you create an action plan to focus your efforts on
the areas in which you could make those improvements that would
have the most significant effect on your profits.
Financial Performance ReportA detailed review of the performance of your business over the
last 5 years. This detailed report will include graphs and charts to
illustrate how you have performed and ratio analysis to highlight
your strengths and weaknesses. The report also contains a
sensitivity analysis to calculate how much more successful and
profitable your business could be.
Business Performance ServicesOur business performance services are designed to help you measure the performance of your business and identify areas for improvement.
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Business Potential In-depthMeetingUp to a 3 hour meeting to work through our Business Potential
software for your company. Using sensitivity analysis we will discuss
the 6 key profit drivers in your business, calculate the potential
profit improvements in each driver, calculate the potential profit
improvements for all the drivers combined, and create an action plan
for you to implement.
Creating a More Valuable Business With SystemsWritten systems are the key to building a business which is more
valuable and more saleable. Not only that, they enable the business
to run smoothly, freeing up the business owners and giving you
a better work/life balance. We have co-funded System Builder,
an online tool enabling you to keep all your systems in one place
and accessible by anybody in your team (subject to your preferred
access rights), from anywhere and from any mobile device. You get
completely free access to this software, together with free training
in how to use the software. (Note: some of our clients choose to
engage us to help with creating and writing systems … please talk
to us if you would like us to help you fully systemise your business.)
Value Added Services You Will Not Get Anywhere ElseWe go further to help you get the most from your personal and business finances. We leverage our professional network to bring you exclusive deals and opportunities. These are just some of the ways we are currently helping our clients.
Advertising in our Business Builder Forum magazine
Private invitation only investment opportunities
Exclusive deals from trusted partners
Your Prosper² MembershipProsper² delivers unique business benefits designed to grow business, generate loyalty and drive efficiencies. You are rewarded with a wealth of specialist business services and membership perks, all through a monthly subscription fee. Through the Prosper² Rewards Programme, you can reward and incentivise your own customers and partners.
How Prosper² will benefit your business
INTRODUCING ...
As a Prosper² Member, you will benefit from the Prosper² Rewards Card. This prepaid MasterCard (no credit check required) allows you to accumulate points, works just like any other reward card such as Avios or Nectar, but with a key and revolutionary difference.
The Prosper² Rewards ProgrammeThe Prosper² business-to-business rewards programme is a benefit tailored to all members, and is delivered via a points-based system, similar to popular and lucrative consumer loyalty card programmes. Instead of simply providing a system that accumulates points for redemption in the form of vouchers, discounts and other subsidiary products, the Prosper² Rewards Card is a valuable, flexible and rewarding spending tool for many customers.
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Systemisation SupportOur systems champion will work with you to systemise your business.
We will help you to identify the key areas that would benefit from
systemisation, create an action plan for you and your team to
follow, and regularly review this action plan with you to ensure that
systems are being written, reviewed and followed and that your
whole company is benefitting from the systemisation process. We
suggest that you work with us in weekly sessions as we know that
this regular input from us will ensure that things happen ... but you
can choose for how many weeks you want us to be involved.
Accounting Records Quality ReportWe want to help you get the most out of your accounting systems,
so we will prepare a report setting out any weaknesses, the
consequences, and our suggestions on how to improve them.
Personal Balance SheetThe Personal Balance Sheet is a key document showing your net
worth. This calculation can be used when applying for finance. It also
makes it easier for your family/executor/attorney to identify and
deal with your estate should you either die or become incapacitated
– greatly reducing the stress you cause your family at such a difficult
time.
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Issue 1, 2019
Business Builder
FORUM
Swapping grey suits for conference suites
For some businesses, however, it is not just the way that they operate that has changed – but also the very services that they provide. I believe that this is very much the case for accountants. And it is not just that modern accountants are fed up with the age-old stuffy image that the profession has traditionally created for itself, but more the case that our clients are demanding something different. Instead of box-tickers and number-crunchers, businesses owners want creative
Business Is Changing and So Should YouI cannot think of too many businesses that are run the same today as they were ten years ago, or even two to three years ago, in most cases. The fact is that technology, culture, global economics, environmental issues, trends, tastes and competition are forcing change faster than ever before. And the harsh reality of change is that companies that do not respond and adapt will eventually get left behind by their marketplace and potentially go out of business.
I’m not necessarily talking about seismic shifts that transform a company from one entity into another, but rather those things that speed up a process, create an additional product range, generate a new marketing idea, open a door or add profit to the bottom line. Change is an inevitable feature of the modern business, and there is no longer anywhere to hide for those people who fear it or are determined to resist its perpetual flow.
My encouragement and advice to business owners is to embrace change as a friend and look forward to all of the adventures and open doors that it represents. The fact is that many of your competitors will …
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Continued on page 2 ...
Business Is Changing ... 1Successful Business Owners Are ... 2Publishing with Purpose ... 3Propiteer 6Example Investment Project 7It’s Far Too Easy to Pay the Conman 8Watford General Hospital Donations 9How About £50 ... 10Featured Add-On 10Classifieds 11Book Review 12
Property Experts
Whether you own one buy-to-let property or you are planning a portfolio of three to
three hundred, the landscape for landlords is changing. Stamp duty adjustments,
tightening legislation and gradually reducing mortgage tax relief leading up to
2020 will affect everyone who owns more than one property. There is no escaping
the changes that are coming for landlords!
There are, however, better ways to manage, build and reduce the cost of growing
your property empire. The key to negotiating the legislation, avoiding the traps
and maximising your income is PLANNING: and to plan well you need to know the
terrain ahead. That’s where Meades Group can help.
Some obstacles to tackle:
We have already guided hundreds of property investors to safety and success,
and we can do the same for you. Here are some of the obstacles we can help you
overcome:
Capital Gains Tax: avoid or reduce the bill
Inheritance Tax Planning: ensure you don’t pay to pass your property on …
What sort of mortgage: commercial or buy-to-let?
Stamp Duty: do you really want to pay this for each property?
Individual or Limited Company: work out which is best for you
Investment or trading business: which are you? Why it matters …
Managing your property in the cloud!
As a Xero Gold Partner, we show our customers how to use cloud accounting
software to autonomously manage and control all of their property costs and
income. If new legislation is making the business of property investment more
complex, then cloud accounting is giving it the clarity of a new horizon.
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Company Profiles
Paul Meades, FCPAPaul has been the driving force of Meades Group since 1997. He has developed the
business from a traditional accountancy practice to a company that understands
the needs of business owners and provides essential services to ensure their long-
term health and prosperity.
If you choose to work with Meades Group, this means in addition to your accounts
being fully managed, you will have experts on hand to advise you on business
strategy, tax planning and personal wealth.
Paul’s enthusiasm for time-saving, profit-improving technology is limitless. He has
ensured the team at Meades Group are at the cutting edge of cloud accounting
and actively contributes to its ongoing improvement.
‘By embracing change and technology business owners can improve their
efficiency and spend more time doing the things that they want to do,
rather than the things they feel they have to do.’
Louise Williamson, FCCALouise has extensive accounting experience, both within private enterprises and
working as a Client Manager within accountancy practices.
Her knowledge and expertise has shaped the systems and processes that underpin
the work we do. Efficiency and accuracy are essential to providing the first-class
service Meades Group clients deserve; Louise makes this happen.
She manages internal procedures and provides ongoing training for the team. She
also conducts quality control reviews to ensure consistent service delivery.
Louise can also support you – as a Meades Group client – with system development
and training for your business, if required.
‘Improvement is never finished – we actively look for ways to improve our
systems and service delivery, and develop our team to be the very best in
the industry – I’m proud to be part of that team.’
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Case Study
Xero. Now I manage my bank, invoices and client details all in one
place and they have a running view of my business. I was blown
away – it was so much easier to manage – and I never did have to
take anyone on for the bookkeeping.
Q: What has it meant for your business?A: Having the trust in them means I don’t have to waste time
learning things that I don’t want to learn and that will distract me
from what I do. I just get to do the exciting things like checking the
balance. I can concentrate on running a successful business.
Q: What led to you choosing Meades Group?A: I’ve been in business since 2007 – I specialise in building websites
for small to medium-sized businesses. I knew of Meades Group
because Paul did my father’s accounts.
Q: What do you like about working with them?A: I like the fact that they’re always happy to answer the phone
and talk about anything. I have an annual meeting with them and
they’re always eager to help when I ask for advice. I tell them about
my long-term plans and they always help me make my business
work towards those.
The cloud accounting software [called Xero] has made my
bookkeeping amazingly simple. Also, Stephanie is fabulous when
I’ve forgotten which button to press, so the IT support is great too.
I pay my monthly fee and I know I’ve got all the support I need. I had
a VAT audit and they dealt with it all.
Q: How do you find the service?A: Basically, it’s brilliant – I only have a small business but I don’t
feel like a burden ringing them. I reel from the thought of doing all
the things that Meades do for me – what I like is that it’s all sorted.
Q: What are the main benefits for you of working with Meades Group?A: I have a lot of trust in them and I can just let them get on with
sorting my accounts in the way I want them. I was just about to
take on someone to do my bookkeeping and then they introduced
Q&A with Matt McAuliffe of Nuwave Design Ltd
“I never did have to take anyone on for the bookkeeping”
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Case Study
Q&A with Bill Pamplin of Julian Thwaites & Co Ltd
“It’s transformed our business and how we do our accounts.”
Q: How do you find the service?A: I’m guaranteed to speak to someone there and then, or get a call
back within ten minutes with an answer or to say they’re on the
case. All the people we speak to are brilliant.
Q: What are the main benefits for you of working with Meades Group?A: Where Paul excels is that he doesn’t just work as an accountant.
He’s always been really encouraging with good advice and ideas on
what we should be doing to grow our business. He’s been absolutely
fabulous in helping us on the responsibilities that we have to take
on as directors. The advice goes beyond accounting and it has been
really important to us.
Q: What has it meant for your business?A: It’s taken us from a situation where we wouldn’t know the state
of our accounts until eight months and three weeks after our year-
end. Now, with Meades, I know at any time what our business is
doing. I’m confident now to be the boss of a business. We had a
vision to expand the business and Meades have given us the tools
to do so.
Q: What is your business?A: I’m a Director of Julian Thwaites & Co. We buy, sell and restore
stringed instruments, including violins, cellos and double basses.
It’s a family business, established by my father, and it has been
going for over 40 years.
Q: What led to you choosing Meades Group?A: It was a recommendation from our bank manager. We had plans
to improve and increase the business, and even at the first meeting,
Paul appeared to be someone who was very interested in what we
were doing and where we wanted to go.
I got the impression that we would get what we needed from him
as we transitioned to a modern company. And we have – without a
shadow of a doubt.
Q: What do you like about working with them?A: Paul and his team were very, very encouraging. It’s transformed
our business and how we do our accounts. I know where my
business is at any particular time through cloud accounting. We
used to work it out with pen and paper – and then they were often
approximate figures. Now [for example] I can see on any day of the
month what our VAT liability will be. I’m also starting to work on
forecasting.
I had a client in yesterday from Scandinavia who was interested in
an instrument. The transaction was complicated so I rang Paul and
within the space of the conversation, I had the answers I needed
to make the transaction happen in a fabulously tax efficient way.
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Meades Group Limited39 The Metro CentreTolpits Lane, WatfordHerts WD18 9SB
01923 80044401923 [email protected]
