January 2019 - WCS Devon Somerset Accountants

Xero accountants and advisors

info@wessexcommercial.com

Fireworks image with text Shape up your business 2019

2nd January 2019

Margin improvement and more for 2019

We think 2019 will be a challenging year for growing businesses, however some will shine. Here’s what we believe it takes to succeed. Read More >

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Many business owners often feel conflicted - shoul

Many business owners often feel conflicted - should they trust their gut and base their next decision on gut instinct or base it instead solely on robust data from their accounts?

At Wessex Commercial, we're firm believers that when it comes to making decisions, it's not an either-or process. You need a 'feel' for your business (supported by high quality data) to make progress.

For instance, data can't tell you:

❌ why you started your business
❌ what your short, medium and long term goals are
❌ what matters to you as a person
❌ why you've generated the sales you have so far
❌ how much scope you have to increase sales

It can tell you about:

✅ sales trends
✅ margins
✅ utilisation
✅ productivity

As well as:

✅ provide a cashflow-forecast predicting future sales
✅ predict cash available
✅ take account of recurring costs

Ready to improve your business? Book a Business & Xero Review.

Our team will look at the data in your Xero account, find the key issues facing your business and work with you to come up with an action plan - this way, you'll know how to improve results!

We know you can't grow your business purely by number-crunching, but with a secure understanding of where it is now, it's easier to plan ahead.

Read more on our blog: wessexcommercial.com/improve-your-business-with-data-or-feel

#WCSnotjustaccountants #Somersetbusiness #Devonbusiness #Exeter #Taunton #Yeovil #madeintheUK #shoponline #shoplocal #shopindependent #retail #xero

Even 5 years ago, outsourcing your accounts wasn’t really the done thing.

Most likely businesses would employ an administrator. They would do what they could to keep purchase and sales ledgers up to date until they handed them over to an accountant at year end.

Other than keeping an eye on cash in the bank, the most you could do was hope the accountant reported there were year-end profits. The worst case scenario was an unexpected tax bill!

When we look back over those last few years, it’s clear that small and medium businesses now have access to tools which were the preserve of big business.

You can send paperwork to your accounts system by hitting forward on an email, or snapping a paper bill with an app, and a plethora of reports will be available to you online.

Often though, the challenge is how to make sense of it all - which is where we can help!

By outsourcing, our clients get access to a fully trained team. Within our team, we take care of:

✅ Strategy
✅ Compliance
✅ Technology

We’ll also take care to support clients in addressing the issues we identify. We know from their feedback that clients really value this. They say we talk their language and that they are more confident about their accounts and Xero, with the changes we suggest resulting in bigger profits and better cash flow.

If you have a nagging feeling that your business is under-performing, or ‘could do better’, book a Business & Xero today.

#WCSnotjustaccountants #Somersetbusiness #Devonbusiness #Exeter #Taunton #Yeovil #madeintheUK #shoponline #shoplocal #shopindependent #retail #xero

Feeling worried about the effect inflation might h

Feeling worried about the effect inflation might have on your business?

Don't panic!

On our blog, we've taken a look at 7 things we suggest you do to make sure your business is ready for any situation.

Read it by following the link in our stories.

#WCSnotjustaccountants #Somersetbusiness #Devonbusiness #Exeter #Taunton #Yeovil #madeintheUK #shoponline #shoplocal #shopindependent #retail #xero

With the rise of technology, the world of retail a

With the rise of technology, the world of retail and e-commerce has changed completely.

Here at Wessex for instance, single channel retailing looks like a thing of the past for our clients! They work from their shops, pop-up shops and events, besides having their own websites and third party platforms.

In fact, many of our clients find it easier than ever to develop a presence and reach a wider range of customers.

How do they manage this?

They do business in a number of ways thanks in part to retail and e-commerce apps such as DEXT, Shopify and Stripe which we train our clients to use!

We’re recognised as Xero Retail and eCommerce specialists so we use all of these platforms in house - don’t fret, we’ll never recommend you anything that we don’t like ourselves.

Could your systems be better integrated? Are there manual tasks you could automate? Book a Business & Xero Review to see how our team can help ensure that you have up-to-date data and software, giving you a clear picture of how each part of your business is performing, whatever their set-up.

Link here: wessexcommercial.com/services/business-xero-review

#WCSnotjustaccountants #Somersetbusiness #Devonbusiness #Exeter #Taunton #Yeovil #madeintheUK #shoponline #shoplocal #shopindependent #retail #xero

Have you ever thought about what you could do if y

Have you ever thought about what you could do if you find out that your children don't want to 'inherit' your business?

Here at Wessex, we think the best bet for business owners, regardless of what their exit plans are, is to prepare for sale as there's huge overlap in the necessary steps to take when selling or handing over a business.

This way you'll have all your bases covered, no matter what happens. You'll need to make sure you:

❗Understand the value of your business

❗Check the asset values reflect current market conditions and all liabilities are included

❗Check how each part of the business is performing

❗Understand your contribution to the business and how/when this is being taken over

❗If selling to a third party, know what intangible benefit you bring to them

❗Check that the time family members spend in the business is reflected in your analysis of performance

❗Take good tax planning advice

❗Take good legal advice

All of which can be difficult without professsional guidance - which is where we come in!

Book a Business & Xero Review today and we'll help you get everything in place by working with you to come up with an action plan, giving you clear steps to take and peace of mind.

We also explored this topic on our blog which you can read by following the link in our stories.

#WCSnotjustaccountants #Somersetbusiness #Devonbusiness #Exeter #Taunton #Yeovil #madeintheUK #shoponline #shoplocal #shopindependent #retail #xero

Decision-making: it's certainly not easy! In busi

Decision-making: it's certainly not easy!

In business it often turns out to be the case that you have a hunch that something needs to change, but you're not always sure exactly what that is.

If you do know what you need to change, it's often difficult to step out of your comfort zone and take a risk (even if you know it would benefit your business in the long run).

At Wessex Commercial, our Business & Xero Review can help you set out a clear action plan for your business. We'll look at key areas of your business that may be stunting growth including:

☑️ inadequate staff
☑️ overpromising to clients
☑️ underperforming product lines
☑️ unclear expectations
☑️ over-reliance on one sales platform

Get your business back on track and book a Business & Xero Review today.

#WCSnotjustaccountants
#Somersetbusiness #Devonbusiness #Exeter #Taunton #Yeovil #madeintheUK #shoponline #shoplocal #shopindependent #retail

At Wessex, we believe that outsourcing could be th

At Wessex, we believe that outsourcing could be the best way forward for your business, but what are the benefits?

We get that it feels like a big risk to put such an important part of your business into the hands of an external team, but we're convinced that the pros outweigh any potential cons:

🟢 No need to provide desks, IT, training or holidays
🟢 Broad and deep skill-sets to work with
🟢 No need to 'project manage' your finance function.
🟢 Better quality information and fresh perspectives
🟢 Time to focus on what you do best

To learn more about outsourcing, send us a message and we'll answer your questions!

#WCSnotjustaccountants #Somersetbusiness #Devonbusiness #Exeter #Taunton #Yeovil #madeintheUK #shoponline #shoplocal #shopindependent #retail #xero

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