Business Development Services - A Review

Transcription

1 BEING IN BUSINESS Accounts Creditors Equity MBO Taxation Profit PAYE Reputation Being in business IT Debtors Venture capital Valuation Payment terms Sales Loss Plant Processes Service Limited liability Dividend Success Infrastructure Family Payroll Assets depreciation Marketing Employment lawlease Procedures Customers Joint venture Action Partnership Forecasting Shareholders Pricing

2 LOVEWELL BLAKE It s a different way of working but one that works 2

3 BEING IN BUSINESS Introduction Business support, information and advice In supporting businesses of every size, type and age we know that each and every one is different. It s because of this that our support needs to be different too. Tailor made in fact. As a leading firm of accountants we give first class service and advice on your forecasts, accounts and tax. But you d expect that, we ve been doing the numbers for over 150 years. What you might not expect is a whole range of specialist services designed to help your business succeed. These include workforce development, business planning and strategy, sales and marketing, profitability enhancement and even business coaching. This booklet outlines those services and their benefits to you. See our services as a menu to help you succeed; you may know exactly what you want, or you may like us involved to help you create the perfect package. An overriding principle of Lovewell Blake is that success is a process not a one off event, and without action nothing changes. To this end all our support services will generate a written report detailing your thought processes and concluding with your action plan. 3

4 LOVEWELL BLAKE We believe in doing much more than just the numbers. Advice, insights and commercial savvy are just the start of a service that encompasses all aspects of the support modern businesses need in four key areas. Business Management 2 Services to optimise business performance 1 MONTHLY ACCOUNTING Management information Payroll services VAT returns 2 PERFORMANCE MONITORING Top ten customers Debtor days Supplier expenditure 3 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 1 Accountancy Services to help you meet your legal and regulatory requirements 4 FORECASTING Annual profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow Updating monthly forecasts 5 SPECIALIST SUPPORT Sage programs Human resources 4

5 BEING IN BUSINESS 3 Business Development Services to grow, change and develop 1 ESTABLISHING BUSINESS PRIORITIES 2 STRATEGIC PLANNING 3 BUSINESS COACHING 4 REVIEW OF FUTURE PROSPECTS Top line /sales growth Bottom line /profit improvement Risk assessment 5 THE HUMAN DIMENSION Developing the workforce Board/regular meetings 4 Wealth Management Financial Planning Services to support business owners and their teams 6 TAX PLANNING Ensuring the most efficient tax structure Capital tax planning What matters to you 7 WORKING WITH FAMILY BUSINESSES 5

6 LOVEWELL BLAKE AREA 1 Accountancy Services to help you meet your legal and regulatory requirements 6 Life is too complicated not to be orderly. - Martha Stewart

7 BEING IN BUSINESS We look after the complete needs of over 10,000 businesses from sole traders to large corporates At the heart of the services we provide are the things you d expect from your accountants year end accounts, tax returns, audit and the like. It s what we call compliance, in other words helping you comply with your financial legal requirements. As you d expect we offer slick, efficient and cost effective services that meet these key requirements on time, every time crucial support when the costs to a business for delay and error are high. Our compliance services can be purchased individually or as part of a cost effective package, and include: Year-end accounts Year-end business tax returns Personal tax returns P11Ds Company returns Payroll Auditing 7

8 LOVEWELL BLAKE AREA 2 Business Management Services to optimise business performance 8 let technology take the strain so you don t have to

9 BEING IN BUSINESS Monthly Accounting Management information To manage your business effectively your bookkeeping system needs to provide relevant end of month management information. Profit and loss and balance sheet information is just part of the picture. We recommend complementing the backward look with forward forecasts to give monthly and cumulative actual to budget comparisons with full variance analysis. In a nutshell it s about having relevant, accurate and timely information that allows you to consider both what you have done and more importantly what you need to do. While you may have the resources to generate monthly management information, you may welcome help and training to set up your system so that it produces just the information you need. VAT returns VAT is fast becoming one of the most complex taxes and simple errors are leading to costly mistakes. It s no surprise then that helping businesses get VAT right is a big part of what we do. The deadlines for filing must be strictly adhered to ignorance of the law is no defence for mistakes. The completion of your VAT return should be accompanied by a detailed review of all the control accounts, ensuring that they reconcile and that the information generated is accurate and timely. Our support for assisting with VAT returns ranges from taking practical responsibility for all processing and submission, right through to reviewing your current processes and advising on how they could be improved. Payroll services Payroll responsibilities have become increasingly onerous and complex, adding significantly to the responsibilities placed on employers. Real time filing of payroll information creates monthly time pressure with no room for error. Staff costs are often your largest expenditure and it s key to get the payroll right to ensure a happy workforce. There s some good technology to help, with comprehensive payroll software that can handle it all for you the challenge is knowing what you need to do and then setting up the systems to do it. We can offer whatever support you need to ensure that your payroll is efficiently run, from a fully outsourced service, setting up your systems or just providing support on an as needs basis. 9

10 LOVEWELL BLAKE Performance monitoring Top ten customers Monitoring the behaviour of your top customers is really important as they will represent a big proportion of your total sales/business. Are they buying more or less from you? Are your margins strengthening or weakening? Are they taking longer to pay than usual? Are there other products or services you could sell to them? All critical questions to help strengthen and develop customer relationships, and hopefully you can find answers to all of them and more besides, through the regular analysis of your sales ledger - let us show you how it s done. Debtor days Good credit control depends on a consistent approach. Much can be learned from regular detailed reviews of debtors; the sooner action is taken when a debtor steps outside their credit terms, the better the result. In a difficult economic climate, monitoring debtor days is even more important and many businesses are surprised to discover the length of their debtor days, often believing they are much shorter than they actually are. Good control on debtors adds to your bottom line. We can provide you with whatever level of credit control support you would like, to bring debtor days within your chosen limits. Supplier expenditure Another area of your business that benefits from being assessed. Are you getting the right level of discount? Can you reduce wastage? Have you adequately passed on any price increases? Where the credit terms being extended to you are short, could you negotiate advance payments from your customers and so reduce your risk and working capital requirements? Analysing this aspect of the business can provide some serious benefits to your profitability and cash flow. Insights to transform business performance 10

11 BEING IN BUSINESS Make money by managing debtors A business turning over 750,000 has debtors of 165,000 with an average of 80 debtor days. If the business reduced this to 60 days it would have an extra 41,000 of cash. Assuming an interest rate of 7% for borrowing, this would increase profits by just over 2,800. "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." - Albert Einstein 11

12 LOVEWELL BLAKE Key performance indicators What gets measured gets done an old saying but one we stand by. More businesses of all sizes are recognising the value of key performance indicators (KPIs). We can provide a detailed review to identify KPIs that need monitoring to ensure you meet your business objectives. Once the KPIs are established, we can advise on how best to extract these easily from your management information system. A tailored monthly KPI analysis provides a complete picture of how well your business is performing now and enables you to plan in advance for the impact of any changes in the KPIs. Once set up, this needn t take much of your time, allowing you to focus on your business and areas needing your particular attention. A typical KPI might be the number of phone calls received in a week asking for a quote, the hours worked by a particular department on a particular task, the units of electricity used in a week or the ordering of a disposable part for a particular machine. Forecasting Annual profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow This goes way beyond just doing enough to keep the bank happy and securing facilities. It s what we call the entrepreneur s crystal ball and is one of the most beneficial exercises a business can do. Forecasting the financial future of your business gives you the opportunity to change things before they happen. Robust forecasting allows you to see the impact of a whole range of scenarios and to consider what actions you would take under each of them. Crucially it gives you a comprehensive understanding of your business, its sensitivity and where best to channel your efforts. Sounds difficult and expensive? Not at all, using specialist software and trained staff we can easily take you through the process and provide meaningful forecasts for you to monitor your business. Updating monthly forecasts Where monthly accounts are produced, forecasts can be updated. You can replace the forecasted figures with the actual results for the period to date, modify assumptions where necessary for the period ahead and get revised profit and working capital requirements. Commercially savvy 12

13 BEING IN BUSINESS Specialist support Sage programs Our specialist Sage operators are both experts in using the software as well as being trained in accountancy. Their practical experience can help in advising you on set up, best practice and in tackling any problems. Sage is progressive software that is continually developing and adapting. To assist we can carry out a full system review and provide bespoke Sage training programs. Human resources People are the most valuable asset of any business and making sure you have the right people, right skills and that everyone is pulling together, is something everyone in business needs to care about. Often with a small business, issues involving people get overlooked, with employer and employee relationships becoming blurred. It s then difficult to address issues head-on and this can result in problems just not being tackled, with potentially serious repercussions. We have trained and experienced human resource specialists to help and support you through any problems. More importantly, they can advise on how to prevent similar problems arising again. Our business coaching facility, provided by a fully trained partner, can often resolve issues and help maximise performance to everyone s benefit. We d like to share... Sign up for free web membership and access a whole host of useful guides, templates and tools On the development side, in larger companies, we can provide strategic planning for teams or departments. This encourages corporate goals to be reaffirmed, provides valuable feedback and the opportunity to work together to achieve these goals. The team strategic plan is built up over four sessions, resulting in a new focus and vigour shared by the whole team. We can also offer a personal planning process designed for business owners or senior management. The planning session takes two hours and at the end of the session a high quality personal development plan is produced. The service offers ambitious and/or positive minded people an inspiring and highly focused experience. 13

14 LOVEWELL BLAKE AREA 3 Business Development Services to grow, change and develop So much of what we do is to help you to establish how well you are doing now, but more important, we think, is actually helping you to move forward into the future. We recommend Who moved my cheese? Dr Spencer Johnson One of the most successful books ever - Daily Telegraph Only takes about an hour to read. Are you seeking to expand into new markets or diversify? Are you looking to increase revenues, improve profitability? Are you looking to secure the future of a family business? Or are you perhaps seeking an exit route, looking to sell the business? This is where our specialist skills and experience in business can really help you, with an approach that is far removed from the traditional role of accountants that you might have expected, here s how we help Learn to anticipate, adapt, monitor and enjoy change. 14

15 BEING IN BUSINESS Businesses are dynamic, they evolve, change is all part of the process Establishing business priorities At the outset it s important to establish where you see your business heading and which aspects you want to prioritise and focus on. Sounds easy enough, but sometimes when you re in the thick of the business finding time, inspiration and focus can be a challenge. We can help and support you through a process, clarifying your options, agreeing your focus and direction, and then develop a plan, setting out the actions step-by-step. Our business priorities session will help you consider: A sailor without a destination cannot hope for a favourable wind - Leon Tec Your corporate goals Success and how you define success Positioning Values and people Risk to your business Foundations business structures Key areas of the business, and charting their importance Exploring the way forward 15

16 LOVEWELL BLAKE We have always worked hard in the business but we knew we needed to work harder on the business. By using this disciplined process with us in control, but being carefully guided, we explored areas of our business which we hadn t considered in depth. As a result we ended up with a strategic plan which reflected what we wanted and where we wanted to go - D & F McCarthy Ltd 16

17 You read a book from beginning to end. You run a business the opposite way. You start with the end, and then you do everything you must to reach it. - Harold Geneen BEING IN BUSINESS Strategic planning Strategy always sounds so complex but it s really just a process for helping you get your business to where you want it to be. We re really experienced in helping to develop strategy. In doing so we undertake a process where you make the decisions it is not an advisory service. It s all about what you, as the owners and drivers of the business, want to achieve from your business. The first part of the process takes a day and can be divided into four sections: Setting business objectives you will express your aspirations and what is important to you both personally and from a business perspective, so that an agreed set of business objectives can be drawn up. Creating the plan based on where the business is now, deciding what changes are needed to achieve the business objectives, and considering: o Products and services, both current and potential o Sales and marketing o Key performance indicators o Management structures and roles o Location Strategic financial modelling a financial model is built based on the plan, and then we fine tune it together to ensure that it meets the strategic objectives. The end result is a five-year profit and loss forecast with graphs for key data. Agreeing on focus, action and review the key step, agreeing who does what by when and deciding how progress will be reviewed. 17

18 LOVEWELL BLAKE Business coaching There is no such thing as a new idea... - Mark Twain The idea that coaching has just been invented is not really true. The principle of coaching has been around since the stone age. What is new is the adaptation of these old tried and tested principles to the business world. The development of our coaching services is based on many years experience in working with owner-managed businesses as well as involvement in specialist coaching courses. We believe we are leading the way in offering this form of help for business owners. The term coaching is often misunderstood. Too often the business coach is perceived in the same light as the sports coach - someone who is more knowledgeable, giving advice and improving performance. Business people often believe that the coach becomes a virtual full-time adviser consulted on every matter. This is certainly not the way we see coaching. An internal report of the Personal Management Association showed that when training is combined with coaching, individuals increase their productivity by an average of 86% compared to 22% with training alone. Of the Future 500 companies 95% of the chief executives use coaches. 18

19 BEING IN BUSINESS The Lovewell Blake coach will not give advice, provide an opinion or ask leading questions. The principle objectives are to: Our coaching principles: We believe you are sufficiently resourceful to solve the problem yourself The coach s role is to develop your resourcefulness not to give advice Coaching addresses the whole person past, present and future You set the agenda You and the coach are equals Increase your effectiveness Improve decision making and performance Resolve issues which concern you We have based our coaching on these principles because we believe that ultimately it will be your own resourcefulness that will bring the success you seek. Business owners are by nature free spirits, driven by independence and the desire to have control of their lives. They are at the heart of the business and often everything revolves around them. This in itself produces pressures and challenges, which can result in poor decision making or even the failure to make decisions. In turn, this can lead to feeling not in control, or even loss of control. If you accept the concept that everyone is different and that often there s more than one way of doing something, the most effective method is for you to work out for yourself the best way to achieve the given goal. In this way you take ownership, not only of the issue in question but also of the actions needed to resolve it. Most importantly, you remain in control. Coaching is about change and action 19

20 LOVEWELL BLAKE Review of future prospects Change is inevitable, growth is intentional. - Glenda Cloud Top line The top line is the lifeline of any business. We have proven processes to help you develop your sales growth profitably. At its heart is a review of your sales and marketing activity, exploring opportunities for new revenue streams and identifying the key factors driving top line growth. The process stimulates you to think out of the box and to challenge your thinking and perceptions. Are your customers, for instance, sufficiently aware of the benefits, to them, of your products or services? What are your advantages over the competition? Is your pricing structure competitive? How effective are you at matching your current services and products to customers needs? And how well do you believe your current image, to the outside world, matches your desired brand? How effectively are you communicating your desired message with the market, using the best balance of traditional and online channels? How effective is your promotional spend? Is it at the right level to drive sales? How much are you exploiting the increasing opportunities provided by social media? How consistent with one another are all the messages you give out through all the various channels you use? Increasingly we are supporting clients on the use and application of social media, given this exciting channel s influence on many aspects of business, from risk and reputation management to driving top line growth. Bottom line Our profit improvement review is designed to help you explore profit opportunities. This involves taking a fresh approach, standing back from day-to-day activities, reviewing key profit drivers and challenging what is possible. During the session you will take a structured look at nine key aspects: Strategic profit matters Sales Cost of sales Employment costs Property costs All other costs Other income Cash flow Project plans Supporting our own experienced insights we work closely with a wide range of specialists from web and graphic designers to sales and marketing consultants, to give our services to you added value. 20

21 BEING IN BUSINESS Risk assessment Risk is an inevitable part of business life. Every successful business strategy needs to include the management of risk, positively addressing the issues as well as fulfilling regulatory requirements. The process involves identifying your tolerance to risk, and should: Define areas of potential risk Assess the level of risk Assess the options available Plan your appropriate actions You will consider in a structured way: Markets including customers, competitors and products/services People key management and employees Location Systems and processes Customer delivery Financial performance What would you do if you weren t afraid? - Dr Spencer Johnson from Who Moved My Cheese 21

22 LOVEWELL BLAKE Fully engaged workforces are proven to provide on average 17% more effectiveness and profitability The human dimension Developing the workforce Our human resources team, together with our coaching services, can help ensure your workforce is fully engaged in the success of your business. We provide structured programmes to involve your team in strategic objectives, strengthening the effectiveness of the business. Unlike the traditional method of team building, our approach starts with the business objectives and feeds down. This ensures connection between business, team and personal objectives. It s no coincidence that where a workforce is highly motivated working as a team towards a common objective the business significantly increases the chances of achieving its goals. The working environment becomes a much more enjoyable place, which in turn increases performance. By creating a business which can function when key employees are removed from the structure, you are increasing the value of the business. This is particularly important when incorporating exit strategies for owners within the strategic objectives. Our team building programmes are designed to incorporate all of these objectives and are tailored to the specific needs of each business. Board/regular meetings We often assist clients with meetings whether formally or informally. It can be helpful to hold board meetings away from your main premises. Where appropriate, we can make meeting rooms available to enable you to get away from any heat of battle and encourage objective thinking. We can also be present for part, or all, of any meetings to help shape, focus and manage the meeting if you don t think your board meetings are adding enough value, we d be happy to assist. For those wanting more structure we can offer agendas, which can be tailored to you, covering: Strategic management Financial Key performance Key areas Action 22

23 BEING IN BUSINESS Tax planning A crucial aspect of the services we provide. Just like any other aspect of your business you ll want its tax affairs to be well structured, efficient and accurate. Ensuring the most efficient tax structure The very way that your business is set up has a fundamental impact on its tax status. Because of this, achieving tax efficiency is inextricably linked to your business model and your personal and business objectives. We can help you consider how your business is best structured: Limited company Partnership/sole trader Limited liability partnership (LLP) Corporate partners Capital tax planning A small amount of tax planning and advice early on can save very significant amounts of tax at a later date, whether capital gains tax, stamp duty or inheritance tax. Lovewell Blake has one of the region s leading teams of tax experts widely experienced in corporate and personal tax issues to help you and your business. What matters to you A structured review which covers: You and tax Your personal position Your business position Your priorities Your action plan 23

24 LOVEWELL BLAKE Working with family businesses Around three-fifths of all businesses in the UK with turnover up to 5 million are family firms Family businesses tend to be older than their non-family counterparts Family businesses tend to be driven more by an instinct to survive than by profit or expansion Family businesses do express more of a concern about their ability to react rapidly to changing market conditions than non-family firms Family business owners often struggle with separating life at work from home life Succession planning tends to be the biggest concern for family business owners and many are not prepared to pass the business on to the next generation, nor have they adequately planned for financial independence from the business 24

25 BEING IN BUSINESS "The normal strains on a commercial relationship can be considerable but when family relationships are added they can be intolerable" Working with families is key The more we work with families the more we appreciate that family business consulting is more about family than it might seem at first. Problems in a family business are often rooted in relationship issues between family members and are less about the commerciality of the business. A number of our partners have gained post graduate certificates in Family Business Advice from the University of Gloucestershire and are Fellows of the International Centre for Families in Business. This enables us to understand more about the relationship issues in order to be able to offer sound, professional advice to you. The family business needs to be honest and accept when there are issues and deal with them appropriately. 25

26 LOVEWELL BLAKE AREA 4 Wealth Management Financial Planning Services to support business owners and their teams 26

27 BEING IN BUSINESS A vital consideration for every entrepreneur. Having created wealth, it s just as important that it is tracked, monitored and reviewed to ensure it is working for you. We will highlight where you are now and identify any gaps to where you want to be. Again, emphasis is placed on what you want not what someone else thinks you should want. This service forms the perfect bridge to our dedicated financial planning team. Financial Planning Our role is to help you make the right financial decisions, not only so your investments work better for you but to help you achieve your overall financial objectives. Our advice is totally impartial and anchored in the knowledge that we have of you and your business. This involves identifying your short and longer term objectives, understanding your investment motives and ensuring all advice is consistent with your own goals. Our key services include: Investments Pensions Mortgages Trusts Retirement planning Security in retirement Protecting your family 27

28 BEING IN BUSINESS From accounts, tax and all the things you d expect, to strategy development and all the things you wouldn t 28