So take a look at and see what the prime entry staff have to say about the business they work in…

Gail Lloyd – Bookkeeping and Payroll Expert

gail@primeentry.com

We are a friendly, approachable and professional, local company with a team of staff whose experience covers a wide range of business activities, not just accountancy, bookkeeping and payroll.

Between us, we have backgrounds that also encompass self-employment and business ownership/management that enables us to see a wider view of the running of many types of project.

We have developed and supported our own bookkeeping software, as well as having the capability and access to operate other proprietary software.

We offer fixed fee quotations for whatever we are requested to undertake, so that the client and ourselves are fully aware of the expected costs at the outset.

We are conveniently located in pleasant, light and modern, ground floor offices, with ample free parking close by.

John Edwards – Tax Expert

john@primeentry.com

Why choose Prime Entry?

Why would you not choose Prime Entry?

Well, you might not think that you need an accountant at all.

You think you can keep books yourself, a few mistakes and one figure not tying up with another won’t matter, and anyway it’s all too complicated.  Everybody thinks the same don’t they? Trouble is, the tax-man and the VAT-man (OK, OK, half of them are women) know people think like that, and when they come for a helpful little visit it’s your books they’ll attack. That’s why Prime Entry began at the beginning with its own bookkeeping system designed to keep it simple. We can implement it for you, support you with it, or do it all for you, it’s your choice. Don’t all accountants do that? Well, no, they don’t. Increasingly they’re only interested in you if your books are perfect!

But your books are perfect! Well done!

So you might think you can do your own income tax; surely it’s not called self-assessment for nothing? Perhaps you can, but what about the effect on your Capital Gains position and your Inheritance Tax planning? You don’t think about that? At Prime Entry we do, because you can’t afford not to.

But aren’t those the things that all accountant’s just think of so they can charge for them?  Of course, but at Prime Entry we’ll always tell you first what we’ll charge, so you can assess our cost effectiveness yourself.

And if you think all accountants are boring you really do need come and meet the Prime Entry team.

Ottilia Rose – Computer Programmer

ottilia@primeentry.com

Founded in 1991, Prime Entry is a well-established accountancy practice, an accountancy practice with a difference.  We pride ourselves to be efficient professionals with a WE CAN HELP (or if we cannot, we find someone who can) attitude.  Whatever you or your business need, we are happy to assist you on your way to achieve your goal.  We will work alongside you and you will always find a listening ear at the other end of the phone (01747 826989) or a friendly face in our office (Unit 20, Kingsmead Business Park, Gillingham, Dorset).  With a one-to-one relationship with each client we are able to offer individual advice on how to improve your business or personal finances.

As a significant number of clients have been with us for many years and much of our new work is received from their referrals, proves, that we are trusted and yes, WE CAN HELP.

Stephanie Newham – Bookkeeping and Payroll Expert

stephanie@primeentry.com

When you hear the word accountant, what do you picture???

A fat, old, sweaty man sat behind a desk with an overflowing Ash Tray and piles and piles of paperwork piled up!!! A dark Dingy office, with a suspect smell from the over flowing bins that you can’t wait to get away from!!!  Someone spieling jargon at you that you don’t understand, so you switch off and pray for the meeting to be over!!!

Let us prove that not all accountants are like that.  Here at Prime Entry we’re all about you!!!! Come and experience a different kind of way of life. Let us nurture you and your vision for the future. Let us hold your hand and guide you in the early stages, then let you sore to become the greatness that you want to be.. We’ll always be there to catch you if you fall but you won’t fall!!! We will empower you to be great.

And just for the record, we don’t have a dingy office, it’s quite the opposite and there are no nasty smells. We also talk your language.  What makes us happy???? Seeing you achieve your goals and the happiness it brings.  Prime Entry = Positively Empowered!!

Cathy Milligan – Accountant

cathy@primeentry.com

We are different – no suits or dusty old files here!  We are a strong, enthusiastic team who work with you, to help you get the best from your business.

Not only do we offer a professional and comprehensive service, complying with all that the Revenue demand; we also produce some great dynamic ideas to encourage a bit of lateral thinking to do things differently; we embrace the challenges of new technology and as a team, we have the knowhow to solve any problem that comes your way.

We offer a fixed fee service, so no nasty surprises there, and if the financial side is confidently covered, you can get on and enjoy the rewards of your business.  So why not pop in to see us…..

Tim Donell – Accountant

tim@primeentry.com

You should choose prime entry because we talk to you, care about you and want to help you….why?  Because the more of you we can help, the better we become!

So do you think that small businesses who just want a cheaper service, i.e. year end accounts, tax returns and then a quick summary of key points and areas for consideration, all over the internet and for a fixed fee would be open to this option? Although less customer focussed for someone just needing the basics and very cost concious this could be good.

We are interested in offering something different to the market – feedback greatly appreciated

Thanks

In our experience poor bookkeeping leads to a poor bank account… If you need advice with your bookkeeping or know someone struggling, simply call us for a free quotation, you will be surprised that the cost of service can often pay for itself many tines over!

Please carry out the following steps:

1.    Make certain that you have backed up properly (Main screen: Utilities/backup account folder)

2.    Download Prime Entry version 5.09 and Prime Invoicing version 1.03

3.    Follow the instructions in this article regarding the “Alternative Rates”

Once you have downloaded the software you will need to check your

“ALTERNATIVE RATES”.

When you open one of your data files for the first time, you will be presented with the following screen

Your alternative rates for the earlier years will still be displayed if you have used them.  Please check and then click on the alternative rates for 2011 and “Next” to change the rates that you may need for the future.

Press F12 to save your changes and exit.  You can now continue working on your bookkeeping.

Should you need to access this screen again – from the Welcome Screen, choose Set up Books then Set up VAT

If you are in any doubt about any of these procedures, please do not hesitate to call us.

By downloading the setup file, either as a new installation or an upgrade the procedure is the same.  For new installation, obviously the download installs all the files needed to create a full working version, but for those users upgrading the software the installation system knows that you have a previous version and although updates all the system files, it does not overwrite any files that contain your data or personal settings.

On the right hand side of all our web pages you will see the download buttons for both prime entry and prime invoicing:

Click the appropriate button, and it will take you to a page as follows:

You will need to enter your email address, this helps us track who is using the software and from time to time we will send out information using this email address

then click:

At the thank you screen, simply click anywhere on the line that says

“Please click HERE to continue the download.”

Depending on which web browser you prefer to use will depend on the next instructions, but you should either have the option to save the file, or run the file.

Follow the on screen instructions, but essentially your goal is to “run the file”, you do not have to save it to your computer, particularly if you have a good internet connection.

If this is an upgrade you should be notified that you already have a previous version of the software and you should select “Yes” to continue.

First time installations will simply install the software

You are then presented with the installation screen, follow the simple instructions and once finished, your software will be updated to the latest version.

Which version are you using?

If you need to check that you are on the latest version, the download buttons within our web site displays the latest version number and when you open your application on your computer the version number is displayed at the top of the screen and also on the menu option Help and About.

A.        To save you time and money.  If you lose your data you or someone you pay will have to do the work again…

Before you start to upgrade your version of the software or after you have entered data, please take a moment to back up your data.  In the event you misunderstand any instructions, or there is some form of technical problem, if you have a backup of your data, we can easily return you back to the start point and start again.

“Use multiple backups -

it is far better to have 10 copies of the same data than no copies at all…”

You will be surprised, to learn that we know many people, who despite us continually reminding them, still do not back up their data regularly…

If you do not have a proper back up procedure for all your important data on all your computers, and we cannot stress enough how important this is, you should seek advice from your local computer retailer, or we will be more than happy to recommend our good friends at www.prodigypc.co.uk

To back up your primeentry data:

Note: This function can only be accessed from the Welcome screen.

This feature lets you back up all the files from a selected account folder.  The files are stored on a drive chosen by the user, which can include internal and external hard drives, USB memory sticks, or even floppy disks (only if the account folder’s size is less than that of the floppy disk’s capacity). The backup will be stored as

X:\Prime Entry\Backup

where X: is the letter of the drive you have selected.  The backup name will match that of your account folder, with the backup date appended. For example, if you were to back up a folder called Books on 12 May 2008, the backup would be stored as Books120508.

To back up an account folder:

1. From the Welcome screen, click Utilities on the menu bar, then select Back up account folder.

2. The file selection dialogue box will appear:

Note: Selecting a folder before clicking the OK button will back up all files within that folder (excluding any subfolders).

3. After clicking OK, the Back up selected account folder dialogue box will appear:

4. From here, you can select a drive on which to store the backup, then click OK or press Enter.

5. The system will inform you when the backup is complete, and will report the number of files that were backed up.

Note: The system will remind you to back up your data every 7 days.

The Bad News?

Whilst the press and media would like us all to believe that the world is going to end…  I say just stop for a few seconds and just picture in your mind right now how many transactions are going on around the world right now, that’s everything from people in shops paying for goods, credit card transactions, online purchases right the way through to manufacturing, and not forgetting necessities like fuel and food.

It’s obvious that the world has not run out of money, and in my opinion neither have the banks or other financial institutions.   They have simply had their fingers burnt by being too greedy and very sloppy with their past decisions to lend.

If you made a mistake in your business, I would hope you change the way you do things to prevent it from happening again, so the banks have had to change the way they do things also.

The Good news?

I have recently been working with two clients, the first is a start up and we needed to borrow £80,000 to buy an existing business.  the client has no security to offer, they have personal debts with credit cards and a loan, but they do have some experience within the industry.  A full business plan was prepared, we worked to a tight budget and guided them in writing their own plan, whilst we helped put the numbers together.  The lack of security was a big worry and so one of their parents offered a personal guarantee to support the borrowings.

Case #1

The FIRST bank turned down the idea

The SECOND bank said yes but in addition to the security, wanted a further debenture over the debts and equipment

The THIRD bank, not only said yes, but also suggested that rather than take the security of a retired parent, they would offer the scheme through the “Enterprise Guarantee Scheme”, which basically means the Government offer the guarantee (Further details can be found on the business link page here)  In addition to the funding we asked for, the bank manager could see that in the initial period cash flow would still be a little tight, so he offered an unsecured overdraft and is further working to see if the initial finance commitments of credit cards and loans can not be refinanced to make more manageable payments.

Case #2

The second client has been established for about 10 years and the business has been growing steadily since it started.  We were not engaged to raise money, but our task was to create a full business plan, financial budget and cash flow and marketing plan.  All of which took about 6 months to complete.  As a result of this exercise it was clear to both the client and ourselves that the business was primed ready to grow.  The budget and cash flow demonstrated the need to borrow £35,000 to invest in staffing, some re-developing of the factory and some cash to generally take the pressure off with the day to to day cash flow.

We presented to the bank:

• three years full accounts to 31 March 2010
• three months management accounts to June 2010
• a full business plan and a three year budget and cash flow to 31 March 2013

Not only did the bank approve the funding, but they also made some very positive comments about the way the pack of infomation was presented, saying things such as “this made my job easy, I just had to read it and send it for approval” and “I wish all my customers presented a full comprehensive plan like this”

What have we learnt?

• There is plenty of money out there…
• You can borrow some of it from the banks…
  

• If you put together a full business plan
• If you put together a full financial pack showing the past, current and future

Feel free to leave your comments below…

If you feel this way about your business books then you must act fast and employ the services of a good bookkeeper, at prime entry we offer a fixed price bureau service, just contact us for a free quotation..

On the other hand if you have a keen interest in keeping the books of your business, then you must follow some basic principles.

• Firstly you have a statutory obligation and responsibility to do this job well, the penalties for not doing so include:  (and we genuinely see this happen to people every year!)
  • Not knowing how your business is performing, and thus potential failure and bankruptcy
  • Being investigated by the Inland Revenue and fined
  • Being struck off and banned as a director
• Bookkeeping is the recording of transactions as they occur, these transactions are recorded in the books of “prime entry”.  You need to identify the type of mechanism to record your Sales and Purchase Invoices, Money in and Money out.
  • This can be a traditional hand written ledger or cashbook
  • A spreadsheet
  • A computerised bookkeeping system
    • The most popular in the market place is Sage and many others like it, but in the hands of a poorly trained operator it can prove useless
    • We obviously recommend our own software, so please click on the link to the right for a 30 day trial
• Whatever system you choose you must get the correct training to record the data correctly and then perform the key reconciliations
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Cash reconciliation
  • Debtors control
  • Creditors control
• If you are registerd for VAT you must take the time to study and identify places where you can keep up to date with knowledge on your specific industry, www.businesslink.gov.uk or www.direct.gov are 2 very useful sites.  Failure to do this could cost you hard cash, by not declaring the correct figures.  Make sure you understand the importance of Cash Accounting schemes and if they apply to you or not.
• From your bookkeeping records you will start to build up some good data about the past, from sales analysis to overheads, using this data can help you prepare a budget and plan for the future
• If you are thinking about raising finance now or in the future, the recent banking crisis now means that you will not even get past the first hurdle with any lender unless you have up to date accounts, management accounts and a detailed business plan, cash flow and budget.

Why not add your tips and comments here below:

Are you or do you know someone who is a member of “the late-night bookkeeping club“?

The problem

It’s been a busy week running the business. Perhaps there are feelings of being under pressure. Everyone is fed up with the weather, and moaning about the recession. Suddenly there’s the realisation that the VAT return is not due next week, but this week! The only time left to do it is in the next few evenings.

The rush

So, the records have been gathered together, along with bills, invoices, bank statements, and cheque stubs, and they are whisked home and set up in the “home office”. Sitting on the sofa, a glass of wine in one hand, the TV remote in the other, the task is started. You’re convinced that “this is what true business people do” and “it’s great that I can work and interact with the family at the same time.”

The result

Aside from the whole family being fed up with having no quality time, and the fact that it will take at least three times longer to get the work done late at night, because you are tired, and the home office sometimes just doesn’t function as well as it should, the real problem is that of errors and poor bookkeeping.

A VAT inspection

I was speaking with a VAT inspector recently while he was conducting a routine visit on one of our clients. He was explaining how the VAT and HM Revenue and Customs inspectors are all now working together, and that many of the limits for genuine errors and mistakes have been raised, taking away some of the red tape in dealing with relatively small errors.

He then went on to say that where he finds a business with good quality bookkeeping, his confidence level is lifted, and it enables him to complete his review more efficiently and leave the premises within just a few hours. However, his duty, should the record keeping be poor, was to dig deeper until he was satisfied that what was being declared was accurate. Simply put, he said that poor bookkeeping gives HM Revenue and Customs even greater reason to look much more closely at the business owners, with obvious links to not just VAT, but PAYE, income, and the corporation tax departments.

“We don’t want problems, we want solutions…”

At Prime Entry we have several solutions on offer:

• Use our bookkeeping bureau service, offering fixed-price bookkeeping
• Try our easy-to-use bookkeeping software, with full support and training available
• Speak to us, and see if we can help to train you to improve the use of your existing systems
• Improve your time management – maybe help is needed to identify a strategic business plan
• Perhaps you need some help just getting life organised and gain some better focus. If you play sport, you need coaching, so why not invest in a coach for your business and life in general?

So the message is…

If you are in business, or know someone who is, remember that bookkeeping is very important, and that the penalties for getting it wrong are about to get tougher.

At Prime Entry we specialise in bookkeeping, so why not call us to see if we can work with you, or if you know someone who you think may need our help, please feel free to recommend them to us.

For more information, contact us.

Kind regards,

Kevin Whitehouse
01747 826989
kevin@primeentry.com