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Meades means business! Cutting-edge accountancy delivers
complete
financial control and enhanced business planning
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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
bookkeepingGet a Smart Accountant: Intelligent support, business
planning and fast returns
Get up to Speed: Real-time reporting, forecasting and bank
reconciliationGet a Great Team: A personal, professional and
supportive accountancy teamGet 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
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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.
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 BUSINESSMATURE
BUSINESS POWERHOUSE
TEAM 1 2-8 5-20 17+ 50+
ANNUALREVENUE
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Recommended Services
SOLO
PREN
EUR
LEAN BU
SINESS
GR
OW
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
Dedicated Client Manager
Personal tax returns
Personal tax planning
Business tax planning
Tax-efficient remuneration planning
Company vehicle tax planning
PAYE & NI health check
VAT health check
Pre year-end tax planning review
Board meetings per year
Management accounts per year
Dedicated Client Partner
Budgets & forecasts
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4
12
4
12
12
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months so you can plan your finances in advance, to make sure
you
don’t pay HMRC a penny more than you have to.
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.
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).
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.
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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.
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
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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.
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Services Completion of
monthly CIS300, online submission to HMRC and
provision of subcontractor statements every month.
Dedicated Client ManagerThis 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.
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.
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
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.
P11DsIf you provide benefits to your employees – cars, private
medical
insurance, gym membership, etc. – we will prepare and file
the
annual P11D forms to HMRC for each employee who receives
these
types of benefits.
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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.
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.
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.
Bookkeeping ServicesOur bookkeeping services are designed to
save you time and money whilst taking the pain out of getting
everything together.
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Paying Team Salaries and 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 WagesJournalIn 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.
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 Bank FeedsBank account transactional data automatically
uploaded to Xero
every day.
Taxation ServicesOur tax planning services will ensure you pay
the least amount of tax legally possible.
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.
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.
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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.
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PAYE and NI Health CheckWe will review your PAYE 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.
Personal Tax PlanningWe will carry out a personal tax planning
review to ensure you are
aware of any opportunities to minimise your personal tax
liabilities.
Action taken here will allow us to proactively plan for your
wealth
creation strategies, utilising your retained after tax
profits.
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.
Tax-efficient Remuneration PlanningWe will advise you on the
most tax-efficient remuneration packages.
Action taken here will allow us to plan your wealth creation
strategies, utilising your company profits and extracting them
from
your business efficiently for your personal use.
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.
Dedicated Client PartnerYour 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.
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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.
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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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
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.
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HR Director ServicesOur HR Director services allow you to make
better decisions about your people.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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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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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.
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.)
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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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.
5
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Property Experts
20
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”
22
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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]
