After weeks of having a good old dig around this forum (which, is a-m-a-z-i-n-g by the way) I've decided that today I will take the plunge and become a member.
So there. I've plunged!
I'm not sure how it all works yet but I'm sure if I do something wrong (post in the wrong place) someone will holler and put me right. So, please bear with me while I find my feet.
A little bit about me: 16 years (off and on) experience in accounts, bookkeeping, office management and just returned to the bookkeeping fold after a 3-year time out to complete a totally unrelated degree. Now that I'm back in the fold, I started a new job in the new year and today feel very much like crying. I know Sage pretty much inside out, I know bookkeeping pretty much inside out, but today (and a couple of times over the last week or so) I'm being made to feel utterly stupid, not being listened to, being talked over and talked at, and not sure what to do about it.
I'm self-employed so could just leave but I really like the company and the general atmosphere...except today that is!
What do you do when you know what you're talking about when it comes to accounts but others don't and think they know better?
Thanks in advance for any hints and tips that may cheer me up.
well, when your self employed there is a lot to be said for the old adage of just smile and take the nice mans money... Thats in legitimate payments by the way. Not suggesting you go in one morning with a big bag with swag written accross it and then retire to a beach condo in somewhere that doesn't have an extradition treaty with the UK!
The closest that I've been to your scenario was in taking a job below me to pick up some new skills. It quickly became apparent that the people there didn't care about the customers so when customers called I took it upon myself to sort them out properly which on one occassion involved printing out their records and then finding a desk big enough to lie them out on to work out where things were going wrong.
Whilst doing this apparently the phone went on my desk. I sorted out the persons problem then on the way back some jumped up little nobody who thought that they ran the office called me over to say that the phones are not to ring more than three times before they are answered.
My response was that as they were not doing anything then feel free to answer my phone and they could give me my messages when I got back to my desk. lol
That amusing little anacdote aside, the key to handling permies is to realise that they have their own little empires and they feel threatened by people coming in who could wipe the floor with them.
Don't let it get you down. Let them have their day. tomorrow, or next week or next month you could be somewhere else but they will be stuck thinking that their little empire is important beyond the four walls of their office probably until the day that they retire.
Welcome to the forum. Sure that you'll fit in just fine. General rule is that any thread that ends on the same subject that it started on is considered a wasted thread.
Have fun,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I've learnt that people speak as they find in here but do not fear, ultimately they have good hearts And are passionate about what they do :)))))).
Interestingly I looked at a thread tonight and thought what would people think if this was the first thing they read. Buts that's what makes this forum interesting. We are all human (I think). :)))))
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Sounds like you are the victim of that old thing called office dynamics and dare I presume maybe a spot of jealously? I think what makes "PEOPLE" so unique is their own perspective of what a certain job entails and from my experience from my own working history that there are always colleagues who are watching and waiting for you to make that mistake or complain or put you down when you are doing a good job, my motto is always keep a smile on your face and without going into Monty Python mode always look on the bright side of life, and more importantly dont let the Bxxxxxds grind you down lol.
At least 1200 of them which he uses frequently and in all possible combinations....
Morning Neil.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
It sounds to me reading between the lines (Shaun will vouch I do get this wrong) that you have very low self-esteem. I should imagine that you are the kind of person who wants to help everyone with kindness but problem is sometimes kindness can be seen by the ruthless as weakness, the fact you are posting you have tears in your eyes tells me you are at a very low ebb, if someone regardless of if your boss is throwing things and shouting at you then you need to tell them NOOOOOOOO, nobody deserves to be treated that way and there are laws to prevent bullying in the workplace, I suggest that you look for different employment if things are really as bad as you are posting, which will kind of explain your anonymity by not telling us your name. I have to confess if I was going through that I would be dishing out a Glasgow Kiss and walking lol.
Never let anyone tell you what to do, if they cant ask you in a professional manner then frankly they dont deserve you. As I said earlier use humour to get through the bad days.
All the best and have a great weekend.
Dave
-- Edited by TRAINING LINK on Friday 1st of March 2013 07:52:45 PM
Aw thanks all. You've made me feel most welcome already even though I've spent most of today with tears in my eyes.
They asked me to start at 10am today to get the payroll done. So I did start at 10am...only to walk in to a very large black cloud of utter chaos. Owner and his manager shouting and screaming over the phone at all staff about timesheets, insulting everyone, barking a lot of 'get me this' and 'get me that' at me. This went on for 2 hours then they threw a spreadsheet at me showing 2 columns of 4 names with gross pay amounts next to each and said 'process that then get the kettle on.'
Very demoralising.
But...thanks to your lovely comments thus far, I feel a bit better knowing that some of you have been in similar positions. Probably not anywhere near mine but hey-ho...maybe I need to toughen up a bit :) (I realise I sound quite pathetic!)
I'm too scared to put my real name as I know they have Googled 'my name + Facebook, my name + Twitter, my name + bookkeeping, my name + forums/blogs etc' from the main computer in the office (thank you Google history) !! So I'm trying to keep under the radar but at the same time get some support from other bookkeepers so that I know I am not going crazy by thinking it's me who is at fault (hopefully not anyway). No, that's too negative, I'm NOT at fault. It's them, not me. See...getting better already!
We all go through tough times every now and then but ask yourself how would the people who pay your wages cope without you being there? Sounds to me like it would be utter chaos. Stand up for yourself, I love my boss to bits but my lord over the years we have had some right rows and I couldnt care less if he sacked me as I can brush myself off and start all over again, we all need money to survive but money pay the bills, dont be a slave to the green stuff lol
Try telling that to my two cats when they're trying to get into the bedroom and the airing cupboard and scratching up the carpet at 4am!
Hi Sonya....welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your first experiences at this company...sound like a right bunch of wallies. They've no right to talk to you like that....but I know how you feel..I often have moments of self-doubt, but usually get over it...lol What sort of company is it? How often do you have to go there? Do you really need them as a client? If it was me I'd probably be having a quiet word, giving it a few more days and if things didn't improve, giving them the "Glasgow kiss" as Dave said.
Trying not to say too much for fear of online 'exposure' but it's basically a one man band with lots of sub-contractors, recently gone from garden shed to new office with a new manager side-kick, recently gone from self-employed to Ltd company. The owner has done everything himself for years and on advice of the side-kick has taken on me to 'do' the books. Neither of them know anything about accounts or bookkeeping but like to give me the impression they do!
I'm there a couple of afternoons a week and they are my first client. I was hoping to slowly build up clients but working for these two has knocked my confidence completely.
On the 28th Feb they asked for management accounts to be given to them on the 1st March - I did say that was completely unrealistic considering a) I've had to set their accounts system up from scratch, b) I haven't got anything prior to 2013 to go on (no opening balances for anything, no director info, no depreciation or fixed asset info, no pay info, no CIS info, etc) c) bank statements I've got only go up to 14th Feb and I have to 'wait for them to be delivered' rather than being allowed access online, and worse d) no invoicing has been done since the start of the new year and they expect me to account for WIP despite there being no info on any of the jobs!!
I really wanted them as a client to start with as they were keen for me to really get stuck in and help get them set up and sorted out which is something I relish in a work environment but they don't listen to anything I say and today was just the pits.
Been thinking (and crying) about things a lot this evening, especially after the great supportive comments I've received, and I think what I'll do is build up a little client base of 'normals' and give these two herberts the heave-ho! They obviously don't appreciate me or the role a bookkeeper plays in a company so I may as well leave them to it :)
Sorry BN ditch them very quickly. Been there and got the t-shirt and never again!!!!!! I lasted over a year and each month had staff asking me 'are we getting paid this month' which is just rediculous. They never listened to any advice, the accountant was crap and you can imagine the rest. As far as I was concerned I gave it a good shot but I couldn't wait to go. Although getting the experience is good which is why I did it, towards the end I asked the professional advice of a colleague and he told me to get out quickly, I was lucky that I picked up something else to replace them immediately, but I can tell you I had a lucky escape.
So take it from me, tell them to bugger off and start advertising sharpish, it doesn't matter that they are your first there are plenty of good ones out there. Don't let them batter you down, pick yourself up and go for it, be brave.
HTH,
PS have a good weekend and enjoy it and forget about those idiots!
I agree wholeheartedly with what Amanda just said.
Even if they are your first client, nothing is worth that sort of treatment, especially if it makes you lose your self-esteem. They should be treating you with the respect you deserve, not bullying you. Did you present them with a Letter of Engagement? You could put a section in any future LOE that you will treat them in a professional manner and expect to be treated the same way!
You're right, of course in that it doens't hurt to emphasise things that are basic rights anyway but your line just made me think about what we need to include as opposed to what we stick in there but is enshrined in our human rights anyway.
And more to the point do clients believe that they do not have to adhere to things that are ommitted from the letter but enshrined in statute such as our human rights to work in a healthy and safe working environment?
In the case of the poster the issue I believe is that they have been dropped into office politics in one of those offices where everyone is vieing for power by belittleing others rather than upo the merit of their own work.
The management seem to have adopted a panic driven style of making their work seem important by running around like headless chickens and shouting a lot.
That combination is not a good one as the only way to cure the staff issue is to have a strong management who actively discourage in fighting and promote based on competence rather than who shouts the loudest.
The politics combined with poor management mean that this one should be knocked on the head.
On the bright side, listening to the description of the work environment I don't think that the business will be around for much longer than the poster at the client site so all that BN is really doing is giving themself a head start in th job market.
On the grounds that it is always easier to find a job when you are already in one, I would advise concentrating on the CV and interviews rather than getting upset about the day job.
As stated by Amanda, there are a lot of good employers out there.
Don't let them grind you down or question your own competence BN. Pick yourself up and updated CV in hand get thee off to better employers.
all the best,
Shaun.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
