D for Determination and Decisions

A-Z of my Bookkeeping Journey  - D for determination and decisions

I have decided that my determination is going to be my UPS as I have really had to use it this week.

I have been going in circles with HMRC on behalf of a client -

Set up Government Gateway Account and received UTR in post all good - registered for Self Assessment and waited for letter with activation code - nothing appeared.
Was going to try again but I thought I would give the personal touch a go.  

Has heard horror stories about telephoning HMRC but they were really helpful.  Got it sorted in ten minutes.  Letter on way to my client and hopefully Self Assessment Tax Return will be completed in two weeks.



Sometimes things are not as bad as we imagine.

Next stop HSBC to finalise a Community Account set-up for a local group of which I am Treasurer.
Again going around in circles and spending ten minutes listening to music before I gave up - I had a meeting to get to.

Deep breath and tried again this afternoon - still music to listen to on the telephone number I was asked to call so I tried another one - low and behold the same music!

Decided to complain and as I was on the screen a Chat box popped up - nothing to lose so logged on and said I was having problems - was asked for my telephone number, they called me back and again sorted in ten minutes.

I was on a role so here I am sharing it with you all.

Have you had similar experiences with government agencies and banks?
I would love to hear your stories.



The second topic - Decisions, Decisions

We all have them and make hundreds every day - from simple things like what to eat for breakfast to difficult ones such as 'is this the best way to spend my Marketing Budget?'

I have been to so many Networking events and met some amazing people but I am never sure if they are all working in the right way for me.  It takes time and energy and so I am trying to be more targeted in my approach.

Being a bookkeeper is a very special role all about building trust between me and my clients. It can take time to build that trust and sometimes take months or even years before referrals or leads become regular clients.

I have been really lucky this week to meet two new Accountants who both want to work with me.  How lovely is that!

They tell me that 'good bookkeepers are hard to find' - I  had to ask what a bad one was as I was bemused?? I was told it is not me as I ask lots of questions and want to know about everything they can share with me.

I was lucky to meet an amazing guy called Darren Clark of Spotless Group and he feels that printed media is the way to go again. We so rarely get anything but bills through our letter box and there seems to be a shift back to wanting something tactile to read rather than emails.

I know it is working for him in a big way and so I have taken the plunge to advertise in a local magazine that is put through letterboxes of many local residents.
If you see a lady in Calne with a hat and sunglasses on it may be me as they wanted a picture!! Will let you know how it goes!


What difficult decisions do you have to take in your business?
How have you decided to spend your marketing budget?
Are you thinking about printed media again?

Have you seen a strange lady in a hat and sunglasses in Calne?

Well that's it for me - catch you next time I hope.

Maggie

www.purplebookkeeping.com





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