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Hum
"More work = more money"
Spare a thought for us poor salaried schmucks, more work = more money for my boss, not for me! ;)
But seriously, I'm dreading February. I'm a war time tax advisor, I enjoy January because there is more work than (it appears) I can do, so busy busy busy! But Feb will be dead, so what do I do then?
You could
"More work = more money"
Spare a thought for us poor salaried schmucks, more work = more money for my boss, not for me! ;)
But seriously, I'm dreading February. I'm a war time tax advisor, I enjoy January because there is more work than (it appears) I can do, so busy busy busy! But Feb will be dead, so what do I do then?
check tax codes! ;)
Maybe it's
more work = more money for my boss, not for me! ;)
Time to think about working for yourself ?
Many years agoi was in retail management, and learnt to hate Christmas. Ridiculously busy for no extra money (much as Constantly confused said above "Spare a thought for us poor salaried schmucks, more work = more money for my boss, not for me!")
But from a wider perspective it's a great money spinner.
Eight reasons to love tax season
Although the January season is great for the increased money flowing into our coffers, It does bring quite an element of stress hoping like mad that the staff all don't go down with a dreaded lurgies and be off for a spell - just when they are needed most. These symptoms always seem to happen just after Christmas and the New Year - I'm still trying to work out why.
I remember pre SA the long break over Christmas and the New Year - so nice like most working people. Oh! well stop maudling and better get back to that tax return before the time frame runs out
Yes guilt free treat
Trying to think of a plan for Feb1/Feb 2 but then Feb 13 off to Benin & Togo for two weeks. Land of voodoo. Next year I do not predict a problem with tax return season as all clients will have been as good as gold and provided all info and have all returns submitted by 30 Nov - otherwise they will be learning my newly found voodoo powers (-:
I predict a line of voodoo dolls and some painful clients (-:
Adrenalin
Stressed yes - high on nature's own amphetamine. I (almost) enjoy the rush, and certainly the cash. I will certainly need the February holiday though.
The Tax Season!
I shall respond, seriatim (as my old Latin Master might have quoth), or, if you prefer, in like kind.
The Guilt Free February Treat:
I wish!
What about the Corporation Tax end of year accounts and CT return filings? And struggling with iXBRL?
And sorting out all those provisional returns we were compelled to file since clients/HMRC? third parties failed to deliver corroborating paperwork to support the client's arcane suggestions?
A feeling of .........inner Peace?
As an accountant in practice? You jest?
Perhaps I might enjoy some inner peace if I could somehow Feng Shui HMRC's offices and re-orientate 'em so they don't sit on top of a bloody Dragon! Well, like Dawn Primarolo, for example!
More work = more money:
Same crap- different day. Either one enjoys enough work, or one well, plays golf!
What's golf? It is a nice bit of easy exercise, fresh air and a thoroughly pleasant method of idling away a sunny afternoon, I used to enjoy before I became busy!
Makes no difference whether or no clients react to our nine months reminders, six months reminders, or three months reminders: the sods still fail to deliver up their records until the very last minute and arrive one our door clutching six Tesco bags, full of variegated scraps of paper and Sage back up disks, which they claim is a year end analysis, when in point of fact, it is a mass of wrong entries, conflictions and capital items masquerading as revenue spending!
The gross annual fees will be the same, whether we spread the work over 52 weeks; or, thanks to our wondrous clients, cram it all into one manic, frenetic month!
Catching up with clients:
Hopefully, with a 12 Bore loaded for bear! In one hand and an outstanding fee account, in the other!
New business opportunities:
Well, these are there, in theory, 52 weeks a year. Why should January produce more?
Other than those clowns who have utterly ignored HMRC's nice little missives and suddenly panic when they realise how close Jan 31st actually is!
If that is how they run their "business", then do we really want them as a client, anyway?
It's too cold outside anyway:
Not in the sheer bloody Hell of Jan uary forlong suffering accountants in practice it aint!
Being busy feels good:
Being far too busy is bad: wives will tell you all about this, as will kids, mistresses, your dog and almost everyone else!
It's better than the old system, at least:
Nope! At least we had much more time: and a nice letter to a local tax Inspector we knew and had worked carefully with for ten years, worked wonders.
Letters to call centres seem to have lost their gravitas........
Commissioner's Hearings and Appeals??
Give me these any day over the new Lower and Upper Tax Chamber!
This is fine if you just happen to be a qualified accountant who also, strangely just happens to be a barrister!
"Under the old system there never was a break like this."
Yes there was!
One self-determined when one set a break.
And played golf, for example!
What's golf?????
The old system ...
It's better than the old system, at least:
Nope! At least we had much more time: and a nice letter to a local tax Inspector we knew and had worked carefully with for ten years, worked wonders.
Letters to call centres seem to have lost their gravitas........
... was most excellent, you could do ten years catch up on paper tax returns in miutes, just scrawl "per accounts" in the income box, "per schedule" in the interest box and PPP/RAR box and job done - and no interest or penalties for late filing either. Closing year rules were much better for the client too, so they could change year end without getting a sodding great tax bill.
Did you mean variagated? It does work, in a poetic kind of way ...
cartwheels...
Couldn't agree with M Feltham more... there speaks the voice of experience... at a guess thirty years plus like my self, yea I'm just as ecstatic.
The reality? A small provincial sole practitioner firm is barely a viable proposition.
Couldn't agree less
The reality? A small provincial sole practitioner firm is barely a viable proposition.
I'm a sole practitioner in the sticks (ish) and doing well thanks.
@ Michael C Feltham
Funny and very right - although you are clearly a bit of an old chauvinist (dinosaur) -
"Being far too busy is bad: wives will tell you all about this, as will kids, mistresses, your dog and almost everyone else!" ??!!
Re age - well you're old enough to have studied Latin. But then, so did I so I'm clearly no spring chicken - mind you I reckon I am in terms of attitude! I'm surprised you're managing with the computer, actually! Or have you a sympathetic grand child doing your typing for you?
(Ooo - its enough to make me dig out my dungarees and Doc Martens, really it is).
PMd You!
The same Michael Feltham, no doubt, with whom I suffered at the hands of the impenetrable Das Guptan regime, many years ago, whilst trying to make something meaningful happen amongst the non CCAB bodies.
I hope that you are well (as if there is any possibility of that at this time of the year)
David Cox (CoxE)
David:
I have PMd you.
MCF
RE-ACTION TO EIGHT REASONS NOT TO HATE....
I take co consolation from any of the points made, which largely revolve around it being good once it is over - like any pain, when it stops.
Notably the S A Season did not get a mention in Ian Dury's "Reasons to be cheerful (part 3).
@ Michael C Feltham ...
... we can be content in the fact at least we know what happens to the figures when we key them in to these new fangled computamabobs! :o) (and the best way to remedy it when we do it wrong).
I always wanted DM's, but could decide which - I wanted the steel toe caps, but you couldn't get them on 12 hole version - I did have a parker, but sans RAF roundel, after all, this is a modern world :o)
We can also be smug we had the ground breaking music and smile sagely when the modern youth's rant about this or that new band, knowing we heard it first!
Old? Never!
We can also be smug we had the ground breaking music and smile sagely when the modern youth's rant about this or that new band, knowing we heard it first!
I'll have you know I was Playing it way back when!
When a band was at least 20 people who actually owned and were capable of playing a musical instrument! Anything much smaller was called a Combo.
And furthermore, being so ancient and decrepit, as Ermintrude was so kind to point out to me, we "discovered" such as Big Bill Broonzy, Blues, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John lee Hooker and the rest.
Ahhhh ...
... so much better now, strolling round the town centre seeing the demure, polite young ladies on a Saturday night out, bringing much needed colour to the drab urban landscape!
New clients
January business development follows a predictable pattern and the following categories:
1. People who have been let down by their existing accountants.
2. People who have started new ventures, where other local accountants are too "snowed under".
3. I have 2 business networking events lined up this month, with up to 100 small business owners in each. In the rest of the year there will generally be between 5 and 10 accountants in the room. In January on average there is either just 1 - ME! - or at most 2.
Some of my best clients have signed up in January or February. Of my 121 current clients, 28 signed up in January or February compared to the 20 you'd expect just by a normal distribution. In my view this understates the January effect on my business, as some very good clients signed up in March or April, but my first interaction with them was in January events.