It’s getting warmer, it’s no longer dark at 4 pm, and daffodils are blooming out of the wet earth – spring is well on the way.
Things are changing.
At HDUK we provide remote working solutions to businesses across the UK, and the accountancy sector is our key vertical. We look after hundreds of clients in the accountancy sector which, in turn, look after hundreds of thousands of small, medium and large companies across a myriad of industries around the UK.
The size of the accountancy sector is mind-blowing. In 2019 we had over 300,000 CCAB registered accountants in the UK.
We asked our clients in different regions of the UK how they have managed over the last 12 months, what lessons have been learnt and could they share any valuable advice for the next 12 months?
“The last 12 months have been busy! We look after a lot of micro-businesses, particularly in professional services.” Claire says.
“It has been a stressful time for clients and everybody wanted answers. We were the first-port-of-call, a lot of our clients have family members in their businesses. We needed to deliver the right advice, this allowed clients to take action.”
“HDUK’s remote working platform meant that for our team it was like sitting next to each other, even though we were many miles apart. We had to balance home-working and child-care, without HDUK it would have been a nightmare.”
Reflecting on her experience, Claire says: “My advice to anyone for the next 12 months would be, don’t overstretch yourself, stay on top of your numbers. If you need to make changes, do it. Also, pay attention to any terms of borrowing and avoid personal guarantees.”
“We have all been through a difficult period but stay positive, we are seeing some robust growth out there.”
“The last 12 months have been frantic” says Duncan. “The usual 9 to 5 has gone, we have been working all hours, as well as trying to look after each other.”
“Flexible working is working and we have all seen our productivity increase. We have all our communications in the cloud, and we outsource work to India – this meant we could remote work from home.”
“My advice for the next 12 months is cash is king. Innovate and adapt – we’re seeing new start-up clients achieving massive growth. And if you’re not using cloud-based technology I don’t believe you will survive, it makes working almost impossible.”
“But most importantly – have a positive attitude!”
Kevin explains how they had to react quickly when the news of the first lockdown broke.
“We had employees taking home PC’s, but not everyone has room at home for a bulky computer, so we purchased laptops for everyone.” Says Kevin.
“We have been using HDUK’s remote desktop for many years – it meant we could plug in and off we went, just like being in the office. It was easy and fast to set-up, which is important when you have non-technical staff at home.”
“From business as usual to suddenly being in lockdown, and all the associated uncertainty – the last thing anyone needed was more stress.”
“My advice for the next 12 months would be if you haven’t already, move to the cloud immediately. I’m always amazed when I talk to other firms who haven’t moved to HDUK or adopted any cloud-based services.”
“Well, the last 12 months have been nuts!” says John. “It was all hands-to-the-pumps! The hours and the commitment from the team has been incredible.”
“We have been cloud-based forever, so with HDUK we could access any machine, anywhere in the world. We had always encouraged home-working anyway so it was quite an easy pivot for us. Of course it wasn’t all plain sailing, we all had to balance homeschooling with work. People don’t consider accountants to be key-workers, but we are.”
“Despite lockdown, this has been our biggest ever growth year. We have taken on 3 new members of staff, so there are reasons to be optimistic. Our clients are telling us that they are also seeing growth.”
“Without HDUK none of this would have been possible. Not every accountancy firm will adapt, and I’m reminded of a quote by Jack Welch – “Change before you have to.””
“My advice for the next 12 months would be to set goals – for yourself and your team, write them down and watch the magic happen.”
So, that’s a quick round-up from some of our clients.
A big HDUK thank you to John Oddy, Kevin Salter, Claire Kennedy and Duncan Boxwell.
We hope you enjoyed reading this, please pass it on to anyone you think would be interested. We would love to hear your comments.
Would you like to learn more about how HDUK can revolutionise your remote working experience? Give our friendly team of Cloud IT experts a call today on 01883 333155, email contact@hduk.co.uk or talk to us via our online chat facility on our website www.hduk.co.uk.
Behind the technology and security that customers have come to know and trust with HDUK, it's our people that make the real difference. We take great pride in offering dedicated IT support for our customers by investing in specialists, that are experts in the tools you use every day. Our team are very important to us and we know that you feel the same way about your employees. It's why we put people at the heart of our business.
We are dedicated to providing reliable, secure, industry-leading IT solutions to elevate your business and maximise your potential. Working remotely has never been so important, so join the 15,000 users who already trust HDUK with their hosted services.
