First client at last! - The Book-keepers Forum (UK)

Denise · Senior Member

First client at last!

TraceyAnn · Veteran Member

Well done and good luck.

Have just found this website www.oanda.com/convert/fxhistory hope it helps.

Tracey

AccountantsCircle · Senior Member

Congratulations on the first client!

And... look at the good side... it's plenty of work to start with.

Just take it a step at a time. I'd probably split it into the years in which they occurred, and then the types of transactions and tackle it that way.

As for reconciling the bank statements - same deal. Wait and see how it looks once you have the papers you have sorted. I take it this is a business bank account you are referring to?

chellawson · Senior Member

Congratulation, sounds like you have plenty to get you started. Cant wait to start up myself.

Michelle

Alison · Senior Member

Hi Denise

Congratulations on getting your first client.

Have you remembered to register for MLR at HM Customs or one of the relevant bodies accounting or bookkeeping institutes? Also did you manage to get the ID from your client for MLR.

One thing that I was advised when I first started up (and still follow now) is don't let the hours of work build up too much before you invoice until you can trust customer is going to pay on time. All my new clients are invoiced weekly (or less) and have to pay within 7 days. All my trusted clients are invoiced monthly and have 7 days to pay. Even the trusted clients seem to be paying past the deadlines now.

Alison

Denise · Senior Member

Hello than you all for your support, its great to know there is somewhere to go for advice.

Tracy, that's brilliant the website is just what I need thank you for finding it.

John thanks for the advice, yes it is a business bank account and after actually getting started it does not seem so daunting now.

Thank you Michelle hope you get a client soon.

Thanks Alison, yes I have registered for MLR and I have ID from him too. I think the thing that worries me is taking too long to get up to date and the client thinking I am charging him too many hours but its amazing where the time goes when there is a great pile to get through. Just sorting them into some form of order takes long enough.

Thanks again everyone

Denise

chellawson · Senior Member

Hi Denise,

When you say ID from the client what sort of ID do you mean? Is it just passport or driving licence? Sorry may sound silly but just wanted to make sure I knew what the client needed to provide.

Another question what is the procedure with starting up on your own with regards to all the legal stuff?

Im thinking register as self employed & NI, register for MLR.
Is there anything else I need to have in place before I start advertising etc

I cant come up with a business name at the mo so I can get business cards or anything printed......so im really at the starting block so to speak.

Michelle

Denise · Senior Member

Hi Michelle,

Yes I photocopied his driving licence, I have pretty much all other info about him from all the papers he has given me so I am going to make a file and keep as much info about him as I can in it. If anyone knows what else I should be doing ref MLR please could you let me know.

You do have to register as self employed and register for MLR but if you are a member of ICB or IAB or any other governing body, you are automatically covered by your membership. You also need professional idemnity insurance (I am not sure if this is compulsory).

You will have to get your thinking cap on for a name, there is nothing wrong with Lawsons Bookkeeping Services. Good luck in your venture!

Denise

Marky65 · Guru

Hi Michelle

Following on from Denises' post Professional Indemnity Insurance is not compulsory but very, very advisable. You would not want to have a client try to sue you for a mistake no matter how small the mistake might be.
Regards

Mark

Alison · Senior Member

If you are registed for MLR with ICB you must have professinal indemnity insurance to get a practising certificate (you actually have to send in copy of your insurance certificate) with your practising certificate application form.

Alison

Terri · Senior Member

Your clients accounts sound a lot like my first clients Denise, he gave me a huge box with "stuff" in it from April 2007, some from before that and I could have sat and cried when I got home lol I kept thinking what have I done but once I got started things got better. Sounds like you are getting ontop of things. Congratulations on getting your first client - I know from experience that it is hard.

Denise · Senior Member

Hi Terri,

Yes when I first saw it all piled up in front of me I wanted to set fire to it lol, but when I got stuck in I realised it wasn't that bad after all.
I am taking the level 2 manual on Wednesday, like you, and I thought I would never find time to get in some last minute revision, but fortunately I will. See you there.

Denise

Terri · Senior Member

How are you revising Denise? I have three papers and I keep redoing them. I'm mainly practising the Trading and Profit and Loss Account, the Balance Sheet, Vat Returns and the double entry accounts ans ledgers, Hopefully I will pass, its definately going to be a long month after that waiting for the result. Plus the result date is on my wedding anniversary so Im going to either have a fab day or an ok one depending on whether I have extra reason to celebrate :)

Alison · Senior Member

Hi Terri, Denise and everyone else taking the exam on Wednesday good luck.

I took the level 2 exam February 2008, I did not take any courses, I only went to one revision seminar and unfortunately bad planning and me not thinking booking exam in February when I had no time to revise at all because of client deadlines.

I had not taken exams for over 14 years and went to pieces just walking into the room. I was convinced I had failed and was already trying to work out when to put in for another attempt. That month was horrible waiting for the results. Surprisingly I got a pass (not as high as it would have been if I had managed to revise) 70%, so would say that all of you who has done the course, revised should have no problems. Terri don't worry about the result date being on your wedding anniversary, I have found that if you look online that sometimes the results are on there quicker then they tell you.

Alison

Terri · Senior Member

Well done Alison for passing with hardly any revision, 70% is a pass and I would be happy to get 61% at this stage. I have to travel from Sheffield to Leeds on the train and I know that I am going to be really nervous about the train being late so I hope I'm not in too much of a nervous wreck by the time that I get to the exam. I'm hoping to get there around 9am nice and early, then if the train is 30 minutes or so late then I should still be ok.

Thanks for the tip about the possibility of an earlier result date, I will keep my eye on the site

Terri

Alison · Senior Member

Hi Terri

When I travelled I had to travel from Baildon to Dewsbury had to change a couple of times, I left very early but got to the college 45 minutes early. They had a reception waiting area where could sit, and luckily I had a very good book I was reading so sat reading this so relaxed a bit then.

Do find that the ICB always end up making people travel far which can be stressful especially if you are needing to go to somewhere you have never been before.

Alison

Terri · Senior Member

It is a shame that we have to travel so far isn't it because I know that I will be stressed before I get there, I've only caught a train twice before so I've asked my husband to take me to the station and put me on the right train - the one and only time that I tried to catch a train on my own, I was supposed to be going to Birmingham and ended up in Wakefield (I think - it was about 7 seven years ago) lol I just remember that it was in completely the wrong direction and I missed my training course :)

Alison · Senior Member

I was used to trains as always travelled by train when I was younger as my Mum is not a driver and used to travel from Kent to Devon every year to visit friends.

I once got on a train wrong, I was living and working in Kent and was having a short break at my parents in Shropshire, left work after 5pm and was supposed to be getting to parents just after 10pm. The change in train was at a welsh station and announcements in Welsh first, train was delayed and had hardly anytime to change, went to the right platform but they had 2 trains leaving from same platform at same time one going to my parents town, the other of Cardiff. It was an error on the rail companys fault as they should not have had 2 trains from same platform so they put me in a taxi at their expense, not so great because the taxi driver did not speak any english, did not know the way so kept stopping on narrow country lanes to look at a map he stopped to buy. Got there nearly 1am in the morning.

Alison

Terri · Senior Member

Poor you Alison! That is like something that would happen to me. I'm glad that you got there in the end

Denise · Senior Member

Terri, I am just revising the same way as you. I have only 2 past papers though, but I have a course book that has some revision exercises in too. I am lucky in that I live in Leeds and it is just one 20 min bus journey into the town centre, so I won't have the added travelling stress that you will have. But I have not taken any exams like this since I left school in 1977-unless you count the driving test which took me 5 attempts through nerves!!!!

I am still waiting for the results of level 2 computerised- which as you know you take at home so not much stress involved with that. I sent it in 5 weeks ago and have been looking on the website nearly everyday. It says estimated result day 5th June and its still not there. I got the results of the level 1 within 2 weeks so I don't know what takes them so long - Too many people wanting to be bookkeepers probably lol.

Good Luck to all taking exams on Wednesday.

Denise