Why you need to call time on the ‘shoebox’ client

How you can start improving your small client profit margins

“If I had the guts, I would get rid of all my sole trader clients. They are a real pain. But they still bring in significant revenue…” an accountant recently groaned to me. 

Sound familiar? 

Each year the 31st January Self Assessment deadline sees practices across the country filled with more shoeboxes than Clarks. Sole traders and self-employed clients typically appear at the last minute with a mess of unstructured invoices, receipts and personal bank statements. 

It’s frustrating and stressful when a quick check-and-file job ends up taking hours. Transforming disorganised data into a tax return quickly adds up to thousands of pounds in wasted time. 

This year, to alleviate the time and effort associated with processing Self Assessment clients, over one thousand practices decided to make a change. They adopted Countingup, the accounting software designed for practices with small clients. Uniquely, it provides cloud accounting software and a business current account in one product. The result? Higher profit margins. 

The beauty of a single ledger approach

The unusual offering of an accounting software and business account in one product means that for once, all of your client’s bookkeeping data is in one place. Countingup offers accountants access to our Accountant Hub, which provides access to this data in real time at any time. 

Practices no longer need to waste time chasing clients for missing information or re-authorisation of bank feeds. Countingup does not depend on bank feeds because the accounting software comes with an inbuilt business current account. Accountants are further saving time with the software’s trial balance and P&L reports that update when new transactions happen, automated bookkeeping and more.

“Our practice is more efficient and our clients are saving time and money with Countingup” said Chris Wade, Founder of Lealindis Accountants.

How does Countingup work for small clients?

By using the Countingup business current account, small business owners can effortlessly create organised and accurate bookkeeping records. They also receive live tax estimates, for a view into how much to set aside. 

“Countingup have been amazing. I could not have started and succeeded with my business without the help from Countingup. Their app also makes bookkeeping very easy. This makes linking in with my accountant much more worthwhile. I recommend Countingup to anyone wanting to start a small business” – TrustPilot review, November 2020

One of the best parts is that opening an account can take just a few minutes – from the comfort of home, with a phone and ID. Your small clients can easily receive their new contactless Mastercard in days. 

“In the past, we had to turn clients away because they were likely to have a problem with incomplete accounts and would have been too expensive for us to service. Now, we can get them to sign up to Countingup and the problem is effectively solved” said Jason Holden, founder and managing director of Holden Associates. 

“Clients can get an insight into whether the business is on track and what they need to do to get it there. It’s almost like having a bookkeeper in your pocket and that’s hugely powerful” Holden added. 

Learn more about Countingup, the accounting software for practices with small clients