MIP Wannabee!!

Hallj999
Hallj999 Registered Posts: 8 Regular contributor ⭐
in General accounting discussion
Hi Everyone!

I wonder if you could help me?

I am currently employed as an accountant but am looking at the possibility of joining the MIP scheme and going it alone, I wonder if I could pick all of your brains a little?

Firstly Can anyone advise on the software needed? Is a basic £100 sage package enough to start off or do I need the full Sage 50 which costs around £500?

How much do you roughly spend on local advertising?

How long did it take to get a steady income? I need to manage the transaition from full time employed to MIP while still paying the mortgage!

What is the average client base for an MIP? Is a target of around 50 too little or much.

How much work is the CPD?

I hope these questions are not too intrusive?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Joe
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Comments

  • deanshepherd
    deanshepherd Registered Posts: 1,809 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    Hallj999 wrote: »
    I wonder if you could help me?

    Yes.
    I wonder if I could pick all of your brains a little?

    Yes.
    Firstly Can anyone advise on the software needed?

    Depends what you are going to be doing. Excel is a must (or OpenOffice is free).
    I would also recommend VT for accounts production, MoneySoft for payroll, TaxCalc for all types of tax return.
    Is a basic £100 sage package enough to start off or do I need the full Sage 50 which costs around £500?

    I only buy Sage because some clients already use Sage and want me to have the ability to view their data. Otherwise I would happily burn every last CD.
    How much do you roughly spend on local advertising?

    £0 (roughly..)
    How long did it take to get a steady income?

    Circa 6 months to get enough clients to cover the mortgage.
    What is the average client base for an MIP? Is a target of around 50 too little or much.

    50 is a nice number to aim for. If average fee is, say, £750 per annum then that is good base to build upon. You can then decide whether you want to go for volume or higher value clients.
    How much work is the CPD?

    I probably attend 10 to 12 half day courses a year plus read lots of emails, newsletters, twitter feeds, forum posts, magazine articles.. it just becomes part of the job.
    I hope these questions are not too intrusive?

    No.
  • PGM
    PGM Registered Posts: 1,954 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    deanshepherd wrote: »

    I only buy Sage because some clients already use Sage and want me to have the ability to view their data. Otherwise I would happily burn every last CD.


    You do write some good replies :D
  • Hallj999
    Hallj999 Registered Posts: 8 Regular contributor ⭐
    Thanks for the answers, I imagine to buy the 4 diff types of software will cost be around a £1000.

    If you dont mind me asking how do you advertise if you dont use local media type stuff? I have read a few posts on here that suggest local ads is a good way to attract clients in the area.
  • paulstafford
    paulstafford Registered Posts: 126 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    I budget around £100 per month for attending local networking events and a localised google ad campaign.
  • PGM
    PGM Registered Posts: 1,954 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    paulstafford wrote: »
    I budget around £100 per month for attending local networking events and a localised google ad campaign.

    Do you find that once you're becoming established you're relying less on advertising and more on word of mouth?
  • Monsoon
    Monsoon Registered Posts: 4,071 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    PGM wrote: »
    Do you find that once you're becoming established you're relying less on advertising and more on word of mouth?

    Yes, definitely.

    And I echo Dean's sentiments on Sage.
  • PGM
    PGM Registered Posts: 1,954 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    Monsoon wrote: »
    Yes, definitely.

    And I echo Dean's sentiments on Sage.

    Oh I echo both your sentiments on Sage, I have to use it all the time.

    How long did it take you to get established enough for word of mouth to take over from conventional advertising?
  • burg
    burg Registered, Moderator Posts: 1,441 mod
    I also echo the Sage comments. I use differnt software though, VTT+ fror bookkeeping, Digita for accounts production and tax - this costs a little more c £2k but I find it saves time.

    I currently spend a few hundred on localised Google adwords campaigns and get roughly 80% of new clients from Google and 20% from word of mouth. I very very rarely fail to cover my costs.

    Took a while to get a steady income but tax credits helped for us for a bit to get by. Am now 2 1/2 years into it and all is fine now.

    As for number of clients you can manage that will vary from person to person and the type of clients you choose. Managing 50 large limited companies on your own may be difficult but 50 small sole traders would be quite easy.
    Regards,

    Burg
  • Hallj999
    Hallj999 Registered Posts: 8 Regular contributor ⭐
    so its looks like my main initial outlay will be software then! Tax, Payroll and accounts software - I doubt I will be able to spend 2k straight off on software mind, Can anyone suggest any good start-up software to get me going? Will be looking more at sole traders and SME's to start with.
  • deanshepherd
    deanshepherd Registered Posts: 1,809 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    VT Final Accounts: £199 (Free alternative: Excel or open office templates)
    Tax Calc Pro Suite: £400 (Free alternative: HMRC website - Good luck!)
    Moneysoft Payroll: £110 (Free alternative: HMRC CD?)

    If you want to try out a new online cloud bookkeeping solution for your clients Wave Accounting is totally free.
  • JodieR
    JodieR Registered Posts: 1,002 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    I use quickbooks for general bookkeeping, VAT, payroll and producing P&Ls & Balance Sheets. (about £400 a year for the pro-advisor scheme and that includes a copy to sell which you can usually get about £100 for)
    Ftax for personal tax returns and partnership returns
    HMRC's own free software for corporation tax returns (although it's actually horrible, will have to fork out for VT soon!)
  • Hallj999
    Hallj999 Registered Posts: 8 Regular contributor ⭐
    Ok thanks for the info, like the idea of the cloud version mind but not sure every client would gofor that if I were to tell them there accounts were held on a 'virtual' server! Will look into it though. Does VT Final accounts handle everything from book keeping to final accounts?

    Thanks everyone for the help.
  • JodieR
    JodieR Registered Posts: 1,002 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    The online accounts systems I've 'dabbled with' are always way more cumbersome than they make out to be on the websites - If you are considering using one on a regular basis I'd reccomend giving it a thorough test-drive before commiting to use it for any clients!
  • deanshepherd
    deanshepherd Registered Posts: 1,809 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    One final tip: DONT USE KASHFLOW!!

    Hideous bit of kit that is ruining my weekend right now.
  • Hallj999
    Hallj999 Registered Posts: 8 Regular contributor ⭐
    haha thanks for the tip! Thanks for all the info, is there anything else you think I should know before I start buying my software!?
  • Monsoon
    Monsoon Registered Posts: 4,071 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    deanshepherd wrote: »
    One final tip: DONT USE KASHFLOW!!

    Hideous bit of kit that is ruining my weekend right now.

    I hate Kashflow too. I do so like it when I see other accountants hating it. Some accountants think it's great and I honestly can't see how. ARGH I have been procrastinating a KF job and I'm not looking forward to it.
  • Monsoon
    Monsoon Registered Posts: 4,071 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    Also,

    VT software - integrated bookkeeping and final accounts - produce final accounts in statutory format at the click of a button from bookkeeping. Beautiful.

    If TaxCalc at £400 is too much, look at FTax, which starts at £100 I think for agent versions, and scales up depending on how many clients you have.
  • Dcollins
    Dcollins Registered Posts: 179 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    Hallj999 wrote: »
    haha thanks for the tip! Thanks for all the info, is there anything else you think I should know before I start buying my software!?

    Get a few on trial before parting with any money. Only use what you're comfortable with. Don't get stuck into any contract that might last more than 12 months. Try HMRC's free software for VAT, SATRs and short CT600s, but avoid using it for Ltd co accounts - cos is pain in neck.

    If something goes wrong with HMRC software check their systems issues webpage before spending half a day phoning the online helpdesk or trying to fix it yourself.
  • JamesB
    JamesB Registered Posts: 51 Epic contributor 🐘
    Very interesting and helpful thread (as always).

    I am a similar wannabe fresh out of accountancy school, all fresh faced but with soooo much to learn!

    When I worked for a small practice we used Sage Accounts Production Advanced (SAPA) for accounts, Sage 50 for
    book-keeping/VAT and CCH for personal tax, time sheets and invoicing.

    I was just going to stick with these purely as I know the systems well but haven't looked deep enough into the costs yet.

    One of the questions I was surprised hasn't been asked yet is the initial PC/Server costs and on-going technical
    costs needed from an IT firm.

    Does anyone here use them or are they needed? Also what size server do you recommend and how much are they roughly?

    Thanks in advance and I look forward to getting to know everyone and hopefully being helpful myself instead of being the one asking all the questions!!
  • burg
    burg Registered, Moderator Posts: 1,441 mod
    SAPA is seriously expensive (I was quoted £6k!!! including tax modules) plus it seemed rubbish.

    PC Costs for me were minimal as both my step-dad and brother are IT peeps. They built my server so cost me nothing. Ongoing IT, although I have the options there of family I very rarely need it. I then have a PC and two laptops but you can get by with a basic PC/laptop and printer so a few hundred quid.
    Regards,

    Burg
  • Dcollins
    Dcollins Registered Posts: 179 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    I work on my own, so don't use a server, just a laptop. I don't pay anyone for IT support, but I'm fairly confident with that myself. Budget for replacing your PC or laptop every 2-3 years (from £400 depending on spec), use decent security software, keep records of all passwords, software bought, installed and used and BACK UP all documents and emails regularly.

    Backing up stuff is important. I've just been through a potential disaster, but had sufficient backups to rescue just about everything.

    When you see the price of CCH you'll probably look elsewhere.
  • Monsoon
    Monsoon Registered Posts: 4,071 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    burg wrote: »
    PC Costs for me were minimal as both my step-dad and brother are IT peeps. They built my server so cost me nothing. Ongoing IT, although I have the options there of family I very rarely need it. I then have a PC and two laptops but you can get by with a basic PC/laptop and printer so a few hundred quid.

    Agreed, and I also have family who set up my Server.

    You don't have to have a Server. If you get an office with staff then it might be helful to have an exchange server and a centralised location, but we worked here for a couple of years without out - I used my PC as the "server" on the network and other staff accessed central files from my PC.

    If you're gonig to be a sole practitioner then just your own PC/ laptop would be fine - just make sure you have a robust backup solution, preferably offsite. Mine is £10 a month.

    I've spent maybe £200 over 4 years on IT maintenance that my friends/family couldn't/wouldn't fix. You don't need an ongoing contract.
  • GinnyBee
    GinnyBee Registered, Tutor Posts: 131 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    Monsoon wrote: »
    If you're gonig to be a sole practitioner then just your own PC/ laptop would be fine - just make sure you have a robust backup solution, preferably offsite. Mine is £10 a month.

    What do you get for the £10 per month Monsoon? Would you recommend the company?
  • Monsoon
    Monsoon Registered Posts: 4,071 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    GinnyBee wrote: »
    What do you get for the £10 per month Monsoon? Would you recommend the company?

    They are fab, yes, recommended :)

    http://www.considerit.co.uk/services/remote-online-backup/
  • Rachel
    Rachel Registered Posts: 348 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    I use Dell Data safe which was free for the first year I had my computer about about £10 per annum for 10gb of space. 100gb for £30 for 9 months.

    It is extremely important. I was burgled and thought I had lost everything but Dell was a life saver
  • PGM
    PGM Registered Posts: 1,954 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    Rachel wrote: »
    I use Dell Data safe which was free for the first year I had my computer about about £10 per annum for 10gb of space. 100gb for £30 for 9 months.

    It is extremely important. I was burgled and thought I had lost everything but Dell was a life saver

    How does that work? Does it constantly back up changes made to folders you set it up to protect?

    Myself and my colleague are just installing £33k of new fileservers, added worry that it all goes smoothly, I can see the benefits of buying in a cloud solution!
  • Rachel
    Rachel Registered Posts: 348 Dedicated contributor 🦉
    It is auto every morning but you can run it at anytime. Only takes a couple of minutes.

    I am all for off site backup 1) my burglary and 2) One of my clients have just lost everything in a fire
  • PGM
    PGM Registered Posts: 1,954 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    Rachel wrote: »
    It is auto every morning but you can run it at anytime. Only takes a couple of minutes.

    I am all for off site backup 1) my burglary and 2) One of my clients have just lost everything in a fire

    Sounds like a really good service, especially for the money. Well sorted Rachel, I know the value of peace of mind for a well sorted system. I take back up tapes off site, so theres always a few off each day just in case.
  • JamesB
    JamesB Registered Posts: 51 Epic contributor 🐘
    Thanks guys,

    Would all the software fit comfortably onto a standard PC?

    I assumed with all the data for say 40/50 clients would mean you would need a server?

    Apologies if that is a stupud question, IT was never a strong subject!

    James.
  • PGM
    PGM Registered Posts: 1,954 Beyond epic contributor 🧙‍♂️
    JamesB wrote: »
    Thanks guys,

    Would all the software fit comfortably onto a standard PC?

    I assumed with all the data for say 40/50 clients would mean you would need a server?

    Apologies if that is a stupud question, IT was never a strong subject!

    James.

    Yes it should all fit easily on one PC, as long as its not too old. Data files are generally small compared to media files.

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