I've created an alias for this post... I hope Kris doesn't throw me off before I've got some advice for a long winded /will I ever get to the point post!
I've worked in bookkeeping all my life. I love it. Ever since I first 'got' the idea of double entry with a manual Kalamazoo ledger (!) I was hooked.
I've worked in loads of different trades, but my curent job is an admin / accounts role.
I've been there for 9 years and the role changed a lot about 3 years ago due to company reconstruction which meant I was more of an admin person than accounts.
I would be 'doing' admin for about 6-7 hours a day, constant typing, jigging in my chair for a wee but 'just finishing this then I'll go' kinda stress.
It wasnt good.
I ended up with RSI and had to cut back my hours to a 4 day week, restructure my working day,work breaks from the computer etc etc.
It took over eighteen months and a lot of physio to recover.
Not good.
But it did give me time to think. I needed to change jobs and had lost a lot of confidence (you'll be suprised how RSI can affect your life - but thats for a different forum).
I decided to study to get qualified for the job I love. I had done AAt's about 20 years ago but never kept up with the membership.
I looked at re-doing them but saw how much it cost so decided to do ICB instead.
Got qualified in nine months.
V pleased with myself.
It was a great boost to the ego, just what I needed.
When my physio said it was time to 'go back to work full time' work had changed and not for the better. The work had dropped off completely (probably helped in curing the RSI tbh) and the company was making redundancies.
The boss said that the company couldnt afford me back full time. So I decided to get my practice licence, a web site and try to get a bit of work on the side.
Roll forward 3 months and I have had a few enquires but no actual work. I'm not that suprised. I havent advertised much and its very competitive where I live.
The boss talked to me about a month ago to say that he is selling the business. Its to our main client and will involve a relocation to somewhere that is too far for me to even consider commuting to and I'm not uping sticks and leaving my home.
He did say that our accountants are aware of the move. The accountants did ask what would I do & the boss said he doubted that I'd go and they said they would hire me.
My boss said what if you dont have any vacancies and they said there are always vacancies for people like me, if you (my boss) wasnt such a good client and personnal friend I would have poached her years ago.
I knew they were impressed with my work because they would always comment when they came in to audit but this was great to hear - especially as they are one of the most respected in the area.
So, two weeks ago i got an email enquiry through my website for payroll. I replied and it was just sent through a generic email address didnt think much more of it but I did point them to my website so they could find out more about me.
I didnt expect to hear back from them tbh. I did!
They explained that they were having a resuffle of their accounting practices and had just installed Xero.
It was still settling down who was going to do what but would I come in to see what I think they might need to keep their accounts running smoothly. They then said who they were.
Its an amazing local confrenece / wedding / hotel centre that is well respected in the area. So I went along. They really only need someone for one day a week.
Excellent. I also found out that they use the same accountants as my current firm (as they would, they are both very presitgious companies) I obviously made a good impression as they have pretty much signed me up.
They just needed a reference - either from a client or employer or even a professional company / accountants that I have worked with. So I called our accountants to ask for a reference (in confidence of course) and spoke to our contact there and explained the situation.
He was very interested in what I said and although the conference centre is not one of his clients, he was aware of the changes going on. Thats when he said ' our financial controller has just handed her two months notice. I thought of you straight away but am not sure what your boss is up to with regards to completing the sale.
I'll ping you over her job description and maybe you could come in next week to meet the other partners. I'd still be happy to write you a reference but would really like you to consider this position first.
I've seen the job description and there is nothing there I cant handle.
So, my question is this... If the pay at the accountants is what I'm expecting it to be (or similar to what I hope being self employed) do I go for employment, paid holidays, regular income or do I stick it out on my current route?
Looming redundancy (about 3 month wage payout) but a great client to help build a very good base to my practice (who's fees would pay my rent and major bills) flexible working, variety to my work, but having to build up the practice, I may not get any more 'good' clients, unreliability etc... I feel like I'm on the edge of a cliff and am completly unsure of what way to go.
Any advise would be greatfully received.
Post broken down into managable chunks by moderator... I lost the will to live by the third paragraph. The question is the last three paragraphs if readers want to just skip read the rest.
-- Edited by Shamus on Saturday 12th of April 2014 09:25:32 PM
I hope you don't take this the wrong way - but I can't read beyond the first line. It's just too big a chunk of writing. Can you not break it down into smaller paragraphs?
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
I'm with Peasie, i mean no offence and i can sort of get enough of the story to know that it's interesting but i have to keep going back and starting again lol.
I have read it all and I have had a similar position lately -I gave been in business 13 years, successful and busy but had a little lull lately giving me a day a week spare, I sent letters to accountants and one responded asking to meet up..... After a really good meeting he offered me a position with them
Weigh up the pros and cons -like you say -paid holidays, security (or you would like to hope so) etc but then would you have the flexibility of being your own boss -finishing early for doctors or just because it's Friday and sunny !!
I enjoy being my own boss and won't take up his offer but he is still prepared to meet up again to go through alternatives
Could you do both feasibly ? Some self employed and part time with the accountant ?
I hope Kris doesn't throw me off before I've got some advice
Fear not, Kris isn't a moderator
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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.
In answer to the question, I would take the job in practice.
You may think that you may be good at what you do but a job in practice would give you variety of work to build up your skills in all areas in order to gain more clients later when you set up on your own.
know that you love the work and you probably have a great deal of experience already... But... Practice!
Many people dream of getting that opportunity. Could you really pass that up for an immediate gain at the possible expense of long term gain.
Ultimately I'm in agreement with the eventual goal of work for yourself but I would consider this as taking a small step forward rather than a large one in order to whizz past where you would have been at a later stage.
Just my view and ultimately the decision is your own to make.
Good luck with whichever path that you take,
kind regards,
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.
TBH that's a great dilemma to be in, although I love being self-employed and have always enjoyed the flexibility with my kids, if I didn't have responsibilities like the kids then I may have done it differently. To that I mean I wouldn't have stayed in 'Sales' for so long just because it suited my circumstances and I had a great boss who let me choose my hours etc. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to work in an accounts practice and gone higher up the scale and maybe got qualified to ACCA or CIMA but unfortunately it didn't happen and probably will never happen now due to work and family commitments, so if I was you (I don't know how old you are or what your commitments are), then I would be tempted to go to the Accounts practice and give it a go.
The problem with self-employment is it can take a long time to build a really good income from it, and along the way you may end up with one or two bad payers, which will turn out to be a real pain. I am not trying to put you off or anything, but self-employment does have it's problems sometimes. I have had a lull patch in the past but thankfully I've built it back up now and the projection for this coming year is good (touch wood).
At the end of the day it is your choice, so choose wisely, like Sharon says shame you can't have it both?
Thanks all for your replies and thanks Shamus for splitting the post into paragraphs - not sure what happened there...
Thought I should say the job in the Practice isn't working in their 'accounting' department - its being their Financial Controller, so I wont be having a varied role & gaining more experiance. The Practice has said that there wouldn't be 'enough time' for me to do both jobs. I dont think they would want me to do private work as well.
Have you seen the price tags that can come with that job title!
If they advertised the role they would have ACCA and CIMA bods banging their door down.
Its a potential stepping stone from practice to corporate and the perfect role for if you wanted to study one of the higher qualifications before moving to from practice to industry.
Downside to being a financial controller is that you would end up a sad case like me getting all excited over playing with playing with clever Excel formulae all day.
Just something else to bear in mind there before making your decision.
kindest regards,
Shaun.
p.s. On the spacing issue I've seen similar results happen before on a smaller scale when people have used mobile phones
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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 think going self employed is tough and as Amanda says it takes a while to build up a decent income, it could be several years before you are earning say £30k profit and that will be without any holidays. Even now I rarely take more than a week or so holiday a year, perhaps a week off at one go and a few days here and there, but then it's flexible too. I would suggest taking the job if you think you would enjoy it and do a bit of self employed on the side (If your new boss doesn't mind) and enjoy the paid holidays and the pension contributions!
