Foreign.

And welcome to the PAT Accounting Podcast with me, your host, Vicki Clark.

I'm going to help you get to grips with your finances, save you lots of money and take the stress out of doing your tax return.

So let's get going.

Hello everyone and welcome to this week's live chat.

And today, as you can see, I've dragged on a couple of members of of the team and we're going to chat through talking about how to join us as an accountant and what the process is when we get you on board.

Introduce yourselves and who you are and what it is that you do.

Okay, so my name's Tegan and I'm the client manager for the Pet accountant.

So I basically do all the other bits, not the number stuff.

And if anybody ever wants to become a client of the Pet accountant, my job is just to talk through everything which we'll touch on in a minute and then below or wherever Emily is on the screen.

But me is the lovely Emily.

To be here.

She did, she did semi volunteer.

We didn't like force.

Semi volunteer.

Yeah, yeah.

So Emily's the person that you will speak to when you ring and when you ring the office.

So a lot of clients will know who she is.

But Emily, just give everyone a brief description of what it is that you do and then we'll go through it in more detail in a bit.

So I'm one of the administrators for the Pet Accountant in copio.

I do the onboarding.

I deal with client queries over the phone and via email.

So 9 times out of 10 you will get to speak to me.

Apologies for that.

And you jolly dulcet tones.

It depends it sometimes she does do a posh voice.

Yeah, this is, this is, this is.

Don't know if hanging at the posh voice.

Yeah, this is Emily's normal voice when she answers the pH.

Hello petty captains.

So yes, Emily is the person that you'll get nine times out of ten sometimes Nicola as well, but she is in sunny Mexico along with Lee getting the suntan which is why she's not on with these guys.

But yeah, nine times out of ten you will get Emily if we're dealing with your paperwork again, that's what Emily does.

But we will touch on that in a bit if you are new to the group or new to watching us or listening to us on the podcast.

My name is Vicki.

I'm one of the directors of the Pet Accountant and the founder of the Pet accountant.

Back in 2021, it is actually our four year anniversary.

I was kind of I just realized it is our four year anniversary this month.

I did start this back in 2021.

Usually these lives are with Lee, my handsome business partner.

But again, he's in Mexico, so we don't care about him because he's on holiday.

Do we add a pet account and annual pay off?

No, no, no, no.

Official holiday.

But we might have a few gins and tins on Friday to celebrate our four year anniversary.

But.

Right, so today, like we said, we're just going to chat through what happens when you join us.

I know some people find it daunting.

And Tegan will go again in more detail because she speaks to clients more than we do on a daily basis.

And the same with Emily.

So if you are new to having an accountant or you're thinking of having an accountant or you're thinking of calling us, then we will give you basically a step by step process of what happens, the things that we do in the background so that you guys know exactly what happens.

So if I was thinking, right, I'm a dog groomer, for example, or dog walker and I'm looking for an accountant, what is the first step?

Now before you even get on the phone, I would say you need to do your due diligence.

Due, that word that I can't say today to check who it is you're actually phoning.

Make sure you check the reviews, check if they're licensed, because being an accountant isn't a licensed thing.

You don't have to have qualifications or licenses, would you believe?

So just make sure that you do your various checks, ask around, see who's about, and just make sure that you know who you're dealing with.

Because we've had a few clients come to us who have had rogue accountants in the past.

So before you even call an accountant, just make sure you do your due diligence before you call them.

So then I'm like going to call Tegan now and then Tegan's going to tell you what happens.

Yeah.

So you can get in touch in many different ways.

We get people, Instagram, Facebook, message.

On the website, you can do two different type of forms.

You can, well, there's three actually.

You can either send like a request where you write information about yourself or you can do a callback request where you literally just put your name and your number.

Or the third one is you can actually book in on my diary.

So, so you can see the available slots that I have and pick a convenient time booking that.

Or you can pick up the phone and ring.

I'm out of breath sorry because I'm just front back.

So yeah, so you get in touch any of those ways, whatever you prefer.

Some people like to ring up on the phone straight away and if I'm busy because I can spend a lot of time on the phone, Emily will take a message or Nicola and I'll get back into it to be literally.

As soon as I can.

And if I miss you say you're out walking a dog, a grooming a dog.

I'll send you a text and just arrange a good time to speak.

So then the call will just be a nice friendly chat just to get some more information about you, what it is you do.

Just to warn you, I do like to chat as well so I wouldn't.

You've got to have at least 45 minutes spare, especially if you're a dog because Keegan will chew your ear off for a good 45 minutes before she even gets to the accountancy part.

So just be warned.

Yeah, okay, well yeah, so and then.

Emily looks like she's got a gun to her that no one can see.

She's not a statue everyone she does move.

I am Leela promise.

What you can't see is Sean stand next to her with a gun to her head.

But.

Yeah, so then we just have a chat really so I can get all the information about you like when you commence trading, whether you've got an accountant currently have you been doing your own tax returns?

Why are you looking for an accountant now?

And really just like an idea of how you keep your records and then from there we'll basically talk through everything as much as we need to.

You know we have a lot of different services that we provide so we can do as much or as little as you want us to do.

We can as a sole trader we can do your tax term once a year or we can do like everything like literally take all the number work off you do the bookkeeping, provide you with softwares.

So it's really just gauging like what you want and then going through that together to kind of commit what's what you like we're happy with and then passing over to Emily from there and.

It'S, it is like a laid back chat isn't it?

Because I know a lot of people find it quite daunting ringing an accountant because it's a bit like oh God, are they going to judge me?

They're going to ask me loads of questions.

Corporate accounting firm that's not going to talk my language.

That's what everyone says.

And then they get me on the phone, who used to be a dog groomer, who will start talking to you about clipper blades.

And if your dog walker, I'll be asking you all about dogs.

Sometimes I start talking about birds or sharks, so everyone laughs at me, but they'll be like, yeah, the thing is, it's.

It is daunting.

And I get that because with my background being dog grooming, the thought of me having to ring up an accountancy firm, I just wouldn't like.

Luckily I found Vicky because she was my mum's accountant, who's also a dog groomer.

But, yeah, it is a daunting thing.

So being able to, like, have that relaxed vibe and have somebody explain things to you in your language, I think that really works well for people.

Yeah.

Because you didn't have an accountant when you started.

Yeah, no, I didn't.

Yes.

And I'm very honest because I'll say, like, two clients.

I have so many people that ring up and say, well, I don't know where to start.

And that's.

Sometimes it's.

People feel like they have to admit that and they feel a bit ashamed.

And I'll go find.

Neither did I.

And I'm not just saying that because Vicky can vouch for the fact of how awful I was, you know, and.

Then when I did get her account, I looked at the previous years, which vouch me wrong.

Yeah, guidance from a professional who put drawings down as an expense, which we all know from listening to our lives that drawings do not cause an expense.

So, yeah, that's another story.

But, yeah, so, yeah, I didn't do things right.

And so I can talk from experience as well.

Like, I'll say, you know, get that separate bank account.

I didn't do it for the first few years.

And when I did, it makes your life easier.

And even just like talking through things like the tax years and how they work, the different softwares you can use, the different ways you can do record keeping, it's not just a call where you literally just pick up the phone.

I go, right, what do you want?

Okay, there you go.

That sign you up, like, as much as we need to talk you through and as much guidance as we need, like, I'm happy to do that.

So.

Because I think it comes back to.

I can relate to a lot of you.

Amazing team service.

Oh, Tegan, Love to chat.

And yes, very unjudged convo.

Don't forget the Crocs.

Crocs.

You meant to put the Crocs.

Oh, the Crocs.

I don't know where they are.

They're still the black ones.

I've not yet.

We are a fan of the Crocs in this office.

And my lesson, great dress sense, which has taken the mickey out of most days.

Yeah, me and Jess, we do talk.

To clients about the Crocs as well.

And yeah, so what, you know, it's not, you know, when you call us, you're not going to get just like bombarded with questions and, you know, you're not going to get sold to either.

We're not a selly type of business and we never have been.

Tegan's not going to sit there and pressure you into signing up and she'll give you all the information that you need, answer any questions.

You've got an email.

I never like people.

A lot of those will be like, yeah, you know what?

After talking, this is what I want to do and in that case we can send you in by.

But then I respect a lot of people want to have an email to follow up and be able to like read through it and then if you've got any questions.

That's why I always say, like, there is never any pressure on the call.

So, yeah, we don't need to feel like you're going to ring up, you're just going to get sold to and.

We'Ll never give you anything if you don't need it.

You know, we get a lot of clients that have rang up previous accountants and they've, you know, they've said, oh, I want to be a limited company.

And rather than the accountant saying, well, that's probably not best because of X, Y and Z, they've just gone, yeah, okay.

Because limit companies, you get more money, they're more expensive than sole traders.

We will not give you anything we don't think is absolutely necessary.

You know, if we don't think it's right, we say, don't get it.

Like we tell people not to buy things if we don't think it's going to help them on software.

You know, we're very open and honest and we're not a salesy person, like salesy people.

So when you do get Tegan on the phone, it'll be a very informal chat going through everything that you need.

Any questions, make sure that you're happy.

And sometimes, you know, we get people on the phone that we think actually we probably won't gel with you because we're not for everybody.

Our laid back approach might not be for everybody.

I occasionally let out the Odd swear word, which isn't for everybody.

So we understand that sometimes, you know, we might say to people on the phone, well, actually from speaking to you, I don't think we're the right accountant for you.

And we don't just take everyone that knocks on the door.

There has to be that relationship between us.

I think it's very rare that happens.

But like we do have people sometimes that on the phone.

Then we'll ask you to imply they want you to cross the line.

I always say, like, we'll walk the line, but we're not crossing the line.

And if that's the bike you get in, like, we can't risk the license.

But also I always mention to people, like having that call and that chat and getting to know you and your business is a really good way for me because then say that that client wants a bookkeeping service and they're a very introverted person or they could be really extroverted person.

I can then get an idea of who I think you'd be best suited with as a bookkeeper.

And that happens sometimes where we have certain clients that prefer different personalities within the business.

And we're a nice number.

We like.

It's not like it's a very small amount of colleagues where we're too busy to deal with you, but we're a nice number.

I always say that you're going to be able to get that support and deal with the same people month on month and we'll be able to put you with somebody who we think you're going to gel with best.

Yeah.

Lee has put where accepting donations to the Vicky and Lee retirement fund.

I don't know what it's not about.

It's obviously had a too few many sanguine.

I don't know what the time difference is on mask mules, the Moscow Mules and just saying silly things.

Hello, Kevin.

Kevin, I'd have to say, is one of my favorites.

And I'm gonna just give you a sneaky.

Not that you're allowed to pick favorites.

Not that I'm allowed.

But only because he does come armed with gifts when he comes to Crofts.

And here is one of them.

So there we go.

And we're hoping when he comes to the expo in November that he does bring another T shirt with my face on it.

Hint, hint, wink, wink.

I've already chatted to Kevin about.

Haven't we?

We've got a little, little plan.

I love Tracy.

I started not knowing a thing, by the way.

I still don't.

But the Team, do the work and give me the best individual advice.

Tracey, don't put yourself down and you best be coming to the expo.

I can't remember if you put your name down or not.

The only amount of people that say that, like, even my mate, like, she'll go, oh, do you know what, I don't want any of it.

I don't want to understand it.

So that's why I pay you to do it.

And so, and I get that.

And I think that's why, like accountants and bookkeepers exist, because there's so many business owners out there that are so busy and you do so much that you can just hand it over and not have to worry about it.

Abby, I love how all the staff clearly aren't working today.

Google says it's 6:20am in Mexico.

What?

He can't be drunk then.

Unless he's done an all nighter.

He's either gone.

Yeah, he hasn't been to bed yet.

I'm really early with one of those people that gets up at 4am to come put a towel down on the swipe.

Best not Blake in his little Speedos.

Right, so once you've had the conversation with Tegan, I have to get a bed around the pool.

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah, you're right.

Once you've had that conversation with Tegan and you decide to come on board for whichever service it is that you want to come on board with, your next transition is to our lovely mannequin at the bottom.

Emily does a lot of, well, does most of the onboarding process for new clients.

So you will have a lot of chats with her to start with.

But just tell us briefly, Emily, what sort of things that you ask for clients, what sort of things you do and if they've got an accountant.

Oh, so just quickly, if I send an invitation, can you just explain how that works, Emily?

So if the person, if I the happy when I speak to them from like the proposal invite, can you just explain what that is?

And then what happens from Tiga will.

Send out a proposal email and then once they have accepted that and signed all their terms and conditions and they're happy with everything, the email will always also request that they upload some ID and proof of address.

I'll then take that and run the checks that I need to do to be able to verify you are who you say you are and get you on board.

So then once that's all done, I'll probably send over emails requesting anything additional that I need from you.

If your ID or proof of address isn't something that I can accept.

I'll harass you for that.

Emails welcome in you to the team.

Explain your services and if you have any queries, I'm there to answer the best I can.

At that time I started not knowing absolutely anything about accounting.

I always joke to clients and say I married an accountant so I didn't.

Have to do anything like this.

And now look at this.

So Emily's wife is self in the foot there, not for the pet accountant.

But she isn't allowed.

No, she didn't work for the pet count.

Now we'll try, we'll try.

But also now I'm learning bits and bobs so I'm a bit more better equipped to answer clients queries and help them out without having to pass them on to Vicky or the rest of the accountant team.

But yeah, that's pretty much.

And what happens if someone comes on board that's already got an accountant?

What do we do on that?

So then we have to contact your previous accountant with your permission to get them to release any of your old documents and your old tax returns so that we know where you're sitting at the minute and kind of what, what situation you're in.

So we know what we need to do to get you fully compliant with HMRC and get your tax returns done properly.

Fab.

So basically what we do is we send them what's called a professional clearance letter which Emily will send just basically asking like if you're self assessment client to basically give us all your past self assessments and any calculations and if they don't send them, Emily does chase them and then hound them uh, until they do send.

Some accountants will send the stuff pretty straight, like pretty straight away.

Some don't and some are just crap and they never send it.

But we do try.

It's not that we can't bring you on board if we don't get the stuff.

It just makes our jobs a lot harder if we don't have what's being done in the past.

But we do hang them just in case.

I was just going to say because I get asked that question quite a lot from those that have an accountant, is that how does that work?

And I think that's always a little bit of a worry for people and it is like a really like friendly professional exchange and I think people love that because that we deal with it because sometimes those don't, they don't want that awkwardness of like, oh, having to tell the accountant I'm leaving some People go, you know, I've been with this accountant many years and I owe it to them to tell them that I'm leaving.

And we won't ever send over that claims request without getting your authorization to do so.

Because sometimes people join with us where they've got multiple different services and they're currently, it might be running the month end payroll.

So we'll wait until you're happy for us to send it.

But I think that that works really well for those that are a bit like, oh, I find it a bit.

Awkward because we find it awkward.

Or they don't really know how it works and they think it's like a massive ball ach.

Where really all it is is just an email with a letter attached, which is a sustained thing between accountants.

And you know, it's just one of those, it's always nice to tell your accountant that you leave and.

But I get some people don't have the best relationship with their previous accounts, which is why they're leaving in the first place.

I literally speak to them once a year.

It's crazy.

Like I speak to people that say I've got a bookkeeper, I don't know what software they use in.

And I literally talk to them once a year.

I had one lady say, tegan, I've spoken to more in this phone call than I've ever spoken to my bookkeeper in two years.

And sometimes people don't have that relationship and that's fine.

So we, we are Chatty Cathy's, all of us.

So we do like to have a little chat on the phone when you join us.

I know Tegan says this when she speaks to people, but I always try and reiterate it.

You know, we're here on the other end of the phone if you need us.

Please, please pick up the phone.

If you've got any questions, drop us an email.

Emily can, can answer all of basic, your basic queries herself anyway.

And even if it was just a quick phone call, if she can't, she'll pass you through one of the accountants if we're free.

So please, please just pick up the phone.

We will keep you updated with everything.

We are a lover of an email and a text.

A lot of things our clients know, but we like to keep you up to date with things.

Watch your spam, your junk.

Cuz yeah, it is.

Sometimes they can see a spam and then, yeah, so just check your spam if you're in a, if you're a client to make sure that they haven't Snuck into there and we will keep you updated with any changes in the tax side of things.

Making Tax Digital, you know, we like I think I said this in a live before, there's an accountant that we follow because our social media is really good and she charges her own clients 100 pound to do a check in call which is just madness.

All of our check in calls are free.

We charge clients again this morning.

The check in calls just, it's literally like a few times a year.

We like to be able to call the clients and we appreciate a lot of you are going to be busy with the dogs doing what you're doing.

So we'll leave a voicemail, drop you an email, but it's good for us to check in with you.

And I know what it was like when I was dog grooming and you do so much as a business owner that you've got your record keeping, your social media, everything else that comes with it.

But we speak to clients when we do these checking calls and even though they know themselves that they can email and ring those whenever they need you, life gets so busy that you often forget and you put things to the back of your mind.

So we'll contact you at least twice a year to check in and literally see is there anything we can help you with with your business, you know, do you want to have a chat with anyone?

So there is that support from our side as well.

And like Vicky says, we do send you updates throughout the year too.

So if you want an accountant that literally leaves you alone and isn't bothered, don't choose us.

Yes, it's that thing as well where you've got clients who, like you were saying before, they don't have the confidence to ring up and ask a question.

So us taking that and ringing the clients ourselves, it takes that away.

It takes that structure from them knowing that we want to hear their queries, we'll want them to understand things better.

And sometimes when people ring, I can tell they ask an Emily a question she doesn't know because she goes, yeah, I don't know Jackie, I haven't got clue.

And as well, some clients prefer phone calls, others prefer emails.

So like Emily will know a lot of clients that say, you know, I don't like phone calls, I've had a lot of like discovery, we call them.

The last two weeks I've had a couple on video chat because I've had a lot of people that have said, you know, I've got adhd.

I prefer that visual like communication rather than doing it over the phone.

Is that okay?

So I'm having more and more video chats with that initial, like, get to know each other, let's talk through how we can help you.

And that's fine.

So we always say to people, let us know how works best for you.

Because you're willing to work with us.

We'll work with you the best way possible as well.

Same with bookkeepers.

Like I always say, you know, if you work better on a video call, then just let your bookkeeper know and we'll just talk via video call.

Because I think sometimes people like that face to face.

Where maybe why people go to local accountants because they like that face to face element.

But we can always have that on zoom or teams and have that chat with you.

And again, it's just a case of letting us know.

We're always open to different methods.

Or I did meet a client in Wetherspoons the other week, so there we go.

If you're local to True A and.

An Audi and an Aldi.

She did wave at me in Aldi and I didn't recognize.

And I thought, why is this Mandal lady waving at me in Alzi?

And then I was like, okay, did I.

And then.

And then the next day when I went to see her in one of the spoons, obviously I recognized it instantly for some reason.

And she was like, I did wave at you yesterday, and then I clocked it who it was.

So, yes, if you are local to the northeast, then please let us know.

And we can always meet in Wetherspoons for a drink.

Old Tracy's.

But don't forget the bookkeepers.

Leighton.

Oh, Leighton.

I will let him know.

He's probably watching Tracy, so you can.

You can give Leighton a shout out.

Yeah, I imagine the package.

Tracy's worked well with Leighton the bookkeeper.

So there we go.

Right.

Just a short one today, folks.

We just wanted to give you a little insight into what happens when you join us, who we are if you haven't seen us before.

Obviously, I know you see my face.

And to be fair, you probably see Tegan's face a lot on social media.

It's because me and Lee hate the camera and we don't look as good on camera as Tegan does.

So we force her to do all of the photos and the videos.

And then Emily, who never gets to be in the limelight, I've kind of forced her to be on today so that everyone can see what she looks like, put a face to the name of the chirpy person that Answers the phone most of the week.

So there we go.

And if you do want to join us then I say head to our website, there's a few forms you can fill in.

We do put a post on every week of do you want an accountant with a little link and they can answer a few questions or just give us a a call on the telephone.

Like I said, if you go to the Pet account website there's three different ways you can make contact with us as well.

So whatever you prefer.

Some people like to write a description on like an email that will come through.

Others just want to put the name and number some want to book in my diary.

So there's loads of different ways.

Drop us a Facebook Instagram message, pick up the phone like we open to.

Do it with the technology systems, Instagram, Facebook, text website, wherever.

And if you do want to listen to our podcast then please subscribe and follow to the Pet account podcast.

We also have all of our live chats on YouTube so you can just search the pet account on YouTube because Facebook deletes these videos after a month.

So if you do want to watch any back then head over to the YouTube channel the Pet Accountant and you can watch the videos back.

If you haven't heard, we are hosting the Pet Pro Expo in November which is going to be in Birmingham.

It's the first business conference aimed at you guys.

To help you with all of the tricky business topics.

There is a Facebook page called the pet Pro Explore 2025.

Um, so if you want some more information on that then please head over to that page and grab yourself a ticket.

We are just under 3/4 full now.

I have contacted everybody off the wait list so I mean people have had text, emails, voicemails.

I also sent out an email to all clients but I know there's been a massive issue with the emails being received into the junk folder.

So as I'm doing checking calls and I'm just.

If I can't get through leaving a voicemail just to say it isn't there because we would prefer if a client wants a ticket to give it to you over a non client you get first dibs per could be if you.

Are on that list and you haven't heard from us, just check your span.

There are various links now on social media that you can go and get your ticket direct and you can still spread the cost over three months.

If whatever reason you need it spread over more months then please get in contact with us directly and we can do it that way.

But don't Dilly Dally because there's only just over 50 left.

We just finally released the sponsors this morning as well.

So I know Leighton Tug Enough and Paul Pal Lope and the Animal Focus alliance are supporting the event this year and we're very grateful to them.

Is the first event.

Hopefully it'll be one of many to come.

And yeah, just check out the page and grab your ticket.

It is an allowable business expense.

The day before and the day after Andy Burton and Christmas markets on so go and have done the business.

I've been saying to a few clients, I've been talking through all the different speakers and at the end I'll go and you know, you can come to the bar and have a cocktail with me.

Like if it goes as if it's the.

The main reason they'll do that Friday night and Saturday night it'd be nice.

Everyone's going to be there.

A lot of the speakers are staying overnight as well so you can chat to them and yeah, it's going to be a good day.

So make sure is she there on everyone else's camera?

Emily Wembley is going to be there.

Emily Wembley is going to be there.

I'm giving out your lanyards and goodie bags and we also are going to have a CPD certificate printed off for everyone as well so that you can have that towards your CPD points.

Right.

Other than that we are going to.

Is I like the bar and the.

Christmas markets and yes, please, please, please grab a ticket.

We're not going to be ringing anyone off the wait list anymore.

We've done it a couple of times and it's very time consuming.

So if you have missed our call or text then please just jump on social media and grab your ticket via the link and hopefully we'll see you all there.

There's been more things revealed who the online speakers are.

There's so much involved.

So like I said, check out the Pet Pro Expo page to get more up to date information and news.

Other than that, we will see you guys next Wednesday.

I hope you have a good week and if you do want to come on board then please get in touch and you'll speak to the lovely Tegan and Emily and yeah, that's it.

Really enjoy and we will see you next week.

Right, thanks for having us.

Back to work.

Back to work.

Every.

Thanks for listening.

If you've enjoyed my podcast, don't forget to subscribe for me and if you want to speak to me please visit my website@www.petaccountant.co.uk and if you'd like to join my Facebook group which is full of like minded pet professionals, then search Accounting for pet professionals in Facebook and I will see you there.

SA.