Fighting the crunch like the big boys
“I joined TLBK as a franchisee because I believed in its ethos of providing professional, hard-working management accountancy services to smaller businesses." - Yvonne Newman, TLBK Solihull
As Credit-Crunched SMEs Seek Greater Transparency, The Local Bookkeeper Sees Business Boom
As the grip of the credit crunch tightens on the smaller business, The Local Bookkeeper (TLBK) has seen increased demand for its services; a strong indication that SMEs’ financial information requirements are undergoing a sea change.
The Local Bookkeeper is a franchised financial management company, founded by franchise specialist accountancy firm Franaccounts, to supply SMEs with the range of management accounting services usually only available to larger companies.
TLBK director Alex King explains:
“When times are good and the money is rolling in, many SMEs are happy to employ the skills of an accountant only for the end of year accounts, required for compliance with HMRC or Companies House.”
“However,” he continues: “as they find their cash drying up and credit harder to access, many smaller business owners are realising that there are some hard decisions to be made. Increasingly, they are recognising that they need consistent access to financial intelligence if they are to weather the storms and make educated and informed business decisions.”
TLBK recruits its franchisees from a variety of backgrounds including Top 50 accountancy firms, chartered management accountants and fellow chartered accountants as well as qualified bookkeepers.
Existing franchisees report that the package provided by TLBK allows them to establish a professionally marketed and technologically supported business, whilst focussing their own efforts on providing clients with an unparalleled level of service.
New TLBK franchisee Yvonne Newman, who has recently established TLBK’s Solihull office, is a highly qualified chartered accountant and qualified bookkeeper with extensive experienced gained with such leading accountancy firms as KPMG, Baker Tilley, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Mazars.
She will now provide smaller businesses with comprehensive financial management services, including full sales and purchase ledger management, VAT returns, fully customised management accounts, credit control and payroll.
Yvonne too has noticed the changing needs of SMEs, observing:
“I joined TLBK as a franchisee because I believed in its ethos of providing professional, hard-working management accountancy services to smaller businesses. The last few months have certainly underlined that there is a genuine market need for a service that equips these businesses with up-to-date analysis of their financial situation, allowing them to base their business decisions on fact, not on data that is anything up to 18 months old.”
“Certainly, I’m finding that my clients are seeking answers to pressing questions - primarily, where can they most effectively make cost savings? How can they improve cash flow and how much funding do they really need from external sources?”
“I’m getting lots of new enquiries from business owners who are discovering that a traditional bookkeeper just isn’t providing the financial transparency they need in such a challenging economic environment.”
TKBK franchises are available at an initial investment of £13,995 + VAT, which includes; comprehensive, ongoing training; a locally tailored brand identity, (i.e. ‘The Local Bookkeeper, Solihull’); a bespoke website and a guaranteed number of qualified new business leads generated through telemarketing, direct mail and the national marketing campaign.
If you are looking to start your own white collar franchise and would like to find out more about a franchise with The Local Bookkeeper, click the "Request Information" button below.
