Taking Care Of Business
I apologise in advance but this is the boring page of the website!
Since closing down my signage business I have reverted back to being a finance manager / book keeper / office manager for small businesses.
I’m knocking on the door of 60 but with 7 years until state pension age is reached and bills to pay I still need to work. More importantly I still want to work!
I have 40+ years top to bottom experience working in a variety of accounting functions, for companies large and small, as well as my own.
Qualified by experience and generally being the sole member of the accounts team, the roles have allowed me to become much more than a bookkeeper, getting involved with many of the day-to-day business tasks.
I thrive on a challenge so if your accounts are in a mess or you are struggling to recruit or retain someone I’m probably the person you need, temporary, permanent, fractional or full-time.
May 2022 to Present: Finance & Office Manager
for a local group of 3 family owned businesses in the property, drainage and construction industries.
On the finance side, as well as maintaining the Xero accounts system, I run monthly, weekly and CIS payrolls, prepare the VAT returns, prepare records for and liaise with the company’s firm of accountants for year end submissions.
On the non-finance side I maintain the company’s websites, take and schedule telephone bookings, prepare quotations, draft drainage reports and site plans as well as a whole host of ad-hoc tasks and challenges the business owner presents on a regular basis.
2001 to 2025: Business Owner
TCOB Ltd – Wokingham
For 20+ years, alongside the “day job” I was the owner and sole employee of TCOB Ltd. Through this business I provided e-commerce and website marketing services, book-keeping and administration services, and predominantly the supply of safety signs.
As such, I was responsible for every single aspect of the business, from the creation and maintenance of the website, to processing all sales orders, purchasing, distribution and of course all finance functions and requirements.
However, as of July 2024 I decided the time had come to start sun-setting the business and as of today the company is dormant.
2001 to 2025: Business Owner
CBD Health Foods Ltd – Wokingham
I joined the company in May 2018 fundamentally as the “accounts department”. I left the company in May 2022 as Finance Director.
My initial task was to re-construct the company’s accounting records for its first 2 trading years (1/4/16 – 31/3/18) onto Sage 50 from a combination of an abandoned Xero subscription, the Freshbooks Invoicing system, Woo Commerce exports, various incomplete spreadsheets, bank statements and card merchant accounts.
I was responsible for all of the day to day, monthly and annual accounting tasks – processing orders received, generating invoices, maintaining the Sales & Purchase Ledgers, Bank Reconciliations, merchant & PayPal transaction reconciliations, currency transactions.
I ran the payroll for 25 staff on Xero, maintained NEST records and filed the VAT returns.
I introduced stock recording, cashflow forecasting and credit control processes, and produced monthly Management Accounts which I presented to the board.
It was my responsibility to liaise with and provide all necessary records and reconciliations for the company’s firm of accounts to generate and submit year end accounts.
In 2020 I was invited to join the Board of Directors of this family owned business which meant I became more involved in budgeting, forecasting and strategy planning. I continued to remain solely responsible for all of the other accounting functions.
1993 to 2017: Finance Director
PTR Associates Ltd – Wokingham
PTR Associates Ltd is a family owned Wokingham based IT training company.
I joined the company in 1993 as the “accounts department”, becoming the Finance Director and Company Secretary in 1995, both positions I held until my departure in May 2017.
1990 to 1993: Assistant Accountant
Oasis Group plc – Maidenhead
1987 to 1989: Assistant Cost Accountant
Racal – Reading
1985 to 1987: Accounts Assistant
Kopex Untiubes – Slough