Last week was one of those weeks used mainly for catching up on "stuff" that needs doing but doesn't feel very productive, the main example being getting the accounts up to date - an exciting process if ever there was one. This has also involved the related topics of "arguing with my accountant" as they've got it wrong again, and "where did I put that invoice" that I've already paid.
I shall keep mum regarding the identity of our accountants but when I was self-employed, tax returns seemed to involve them choosing a random number and then waiting for HMRC to adjust later which either meant a large and unexpected payment from me at short notice or, very occasionally, a nice rebate.
So far since we became a limited company they have only run payroll and VAT. VAT has been great, I keep my accounts using Sage Instant and run the VAT routine so I know how much we need to pay. I then send the Sage back-up file to the accountants who run the same routine on their version, generate the same report and then charge me for it. Payroll too has been OK except for the end of year P35 where my accountants have me down as paying less than they told me to pay during the year which is the actual amount I had paid. They also didn't tell me about the employer NI break I was entitled to and only found out via a fellow business owner and we applied it after paying out initially.
If I ran my business as haphazardly as they do I'd have few customers (I now expect a series of replies along the lines "What do you mean IF?"). Nearly as bad as solicitors, don't get me started on them!!
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Google Adwords in Our Good Books
The bank holiday weekend is over and it was a nice little break to relax for a few days, even if I did work all of Good Friday to meet some deadlines. So relaxing done it's back to work even if the week is a little shorter.
Last week saw us largely concentrating on SEO work and Google Adwords for a number of clients. We've had a bit of a problem with Google regarding some new Adwords accounts using vouchers Google sent us. We use these for clients who are considering delving into the world of pay-per-click advertising on Google so we can see what we can achieve for their proposed budgets. Apparently we have "violated advertising policy" on a couple of accounts but after an exchange of emails over a week or so the Google Adwords bods seem to have changed their minds and reinstated accounts with an apology. Fair play to Google, whilst it has been a bit of a pain they have listened and acted rather than simply fobbing us off - so they are back in my good books for dealing with the issues in a professional and courteous manner which, in my experience, is fairly rare for huge corporations.
We've also been developing the prototype designs for a garden temples website that should be launched shortly and a landscape gardening company in East Anglia. Our interns, Matthieu and Guillaume, have been working hard on their projects and marketing assistant Matt has been doing some market research for a directory site. Also we have been chasing up a few sales leads and getting our accounts up to date before that becomes too big a job!
Finally, a big get well to young Will G in the ICU at James Cook University Hospital - an inspirational young fella who has been seriously ill and we wish him the speediest of recoveries.
Last week saw us largely concentrating on SEO work and Google Adwords for a number of clients. We've had a bit of a problem with Google regarding some new Adwords accounts using vouchers Google sent us. We use these for clients who are considering delving into the world of pay-per-click advertising on Google so we can see what we can achieve for their proposed budgets. Apparently we have "violated advertising policy" on a couple of accounts but after an exchange of emails over a week or so the Google Adwords bods seem to have changed their minds and reinstated accounts with an apology. Fair play to Google, whilst it has been a bit of a pain they have listened and acted rather than simply fobbing us off - so they are back in my good books for dealing with the issues in a professional and courteous manner which, in my experience, is fairly rare for huge corporations.
We've also been developing the prototype designs for a garden temples website that should be launched shortly and a landscape gardening company in East Anglia. Our interns, Matthieu and Guillaume, have been working hard on their projects and marketing assistant Matt has been doing some market research for a directory site. Also we have been chasing up a few sales leads and getting our accounts up to date before that becomes too big a job!
Finally, a big get well to young Will G in the ICU at James Cook University Hospital - an inspirational young fella who has been seriously ill and we wish him the speediest of recoveries.
Monday, 2 April 2012
A Proud Father
I'm going to give droning on about what the business is up to a miss for a week and talk about rugby, and specifically Middlesbrough RUFC under-16s and York under-16s.
Yesterday, the aforementioned teams, with Boro captained by my son and part-time staff member Matt, played in their third Yorkshire Cup final against each other in three years. York, had been beaten by us in the two previous finals and Boro had also won the final against Sandal at under-13, so were aiming to make it 4 in a row. This year York turned the tables on us with a fantastic attacking performance running out deserved winners 32-21.
I watched 70 mins of skilled and committed young men in an immense physical battle that will have left most of them aching somewhat today. What I also saw was respect for each other and the officials, tears from the losers and joy from the winners. The losers were honourable in defeat and the victors humble in victory. There were joint team photos after the presentation, parents and coaches from the losing team congratulating those from the winning team and a pride in the performance and the conduct of both sets of players.
We often hear stories of how bad the youth of today are supposed to be - well if I could be half the man that those young men of Middlesbrough and York are I would be very proud of myself.
If only footballers could act in the same way.
Yesterday, the aforementioned teams, with Boro captained by my son and part-time staff member Matt, played in their third Yorkshire Cup final against each other in three years. York, had been beaten by us in the two previous finals and Boro had also won the final against Sandal at under-13, so were aiming to make it 4 in a row. This year York turned the tables on us with a fantastic attacking performance running out deserved winners 32-21.
I watched 70 mins of skilled and committed young men in an immense physical battle that will have left most of them aching somewhat today. What I also saw was respect for each other and the officials, tears from the losers and joy from the winners. The losers were honourable in defeat and the victors humble in victory. There were joint team photos after the presentation, parents and coaches from the losing team congratulating those from the winning team and a pride in the performance and the conduct of both sets of players.
We often hear stories of how bad the youth of today are supposed to be - well if I could be half the man that those young men of Middlesbrough and York are I would be very proud of myself.
If only footballers could act in the same way.
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