MEET JILL – THE PERSON BEHIND SPRINGREACH
Self-Employed Bookkeeping and Tax Support
You don’t have to be good at maths to do your own bookkeeping.
Sometimes, all you need is someone to show you how.
About me – and why I do things differently
I’m Jill, a qualified accountant and bookkeeper with over 30 years’ experience helping small businesses with their bookkeeping, accounts and tax.
I help people learn how to keep their own bookkeeping records, find a system that works for their business, become more confident at managing it themselves, and assess whether doing their own bookkeeping and personal tax is actually the right decision for them.
How it all started
Arms full-stretch, I peered over the top of the box at my manager, lifting my knee to help balance it on the edge of his desk.
“What do you mean I haven’t got time?” I felt myself tense up.
“You’re overbudget already,” he said.
“But can’t you see how spending a little time now is going to make things easier next year?”
Silently, he shook his head. “You haven’t got time.”
It was the first year of my accountancy training contract, and I was working in the small business department. This wasn’t the only client that would deliver a mountain of loose receipts bundled into a supermarket carrier bag or cardboard box each year, expecting us to conjure up a set of accounts.
My inner detective loved the challenge of trying to piece everything together, but it was painstakingly slow. It felt like such a waste of time to keep doing things the way they’d always been done, when there was potentially an easier way.
Why couldn’t the firm see the bigger picture?
Craving innovation
Accountancy might seem like a strange choice for someone who wanted to be a teacher, but it felt like the next best choice when university wasn’t an option.
It didn’t have the creativity of teaching, but it was still a place I could use my problem-solving skills.
As I worked through each bookkeeping job, my brain would race ahead, coming up with simple things the client could do differently that would make things easier.
One day, just maybe, they’d let me proactively offer training and support.
That day never came.
The missing puzzle piece
A year later, I returned from holiday to find an envelope on the doormat.
“We’re really sorry … due to difficult economic circumstances …”
I sat on the bottom stair – staring at the letter but not really seeing it. I felt numb. It wasn’t just the loss of a job. It was potentially the loss of my career.
After four demoralising months of temp work, I reluctantly accepted a shipping company’s offer to sponsor the rest of my studies. Working in industry was very different to working in an accounting practice, but a job was better than no job.
I quickly realised the benefits of my new role.
For clients using software, I’d only been taught what happened at the end of the process: how to take a computerised Trial Balance and turn it into accounts and a tax return.
Working in shipping filled in the missing puzzle piece. For the first time, I was responsible for entering paperwork and transactions into the software and working upwards to produce the information the accountant needed.
I finally understood the whole journey, from the envelope on the doormat to the finished accounts.
From process to people
Although shipping gave me the chance to use my language skills, working with other companies wasn’t the same as working with individuals – and (sad I know!) I missed the personal tax work.
I finally settled in a small owner-managed accounting practice, where I had a portfolio of clients that I looked after from beginning to end – giving them a single point of contact. They were happier, I was happier. Best of all, I could start to build a relationship with the people, rather than thinking of each person’s accounts as a job.
As I got to know each client better, I got a sense of who might be open to changing the way they kept their records. I’d test the water and, if they were interested, offer a few suggestions as to how they could do things differently. Little by little, so they didn’t get overwhelmed.
One client started with a handwritten cash book. She’d never used computers much before and needed plenty of reassurance. We started with spreadsheets. A couple of years later, she felt ready to try software – and before long was using that confidently too.
That’s the sort of change I love to see. Sometimes a little knowledge and the right support can help something that once felt daunting feel manageable.
There were other clients who jumped at the offer of training and support, though budget constraints meant I still couldn’t offer them the level of support I would have liked.
Becoming self-employed
In 2008, I set up my own accountancy practice. I finally had the freedom to proactively offer training and support, rather than just completing each job as quickly as possible and moving on to the next.
Gradually I realised that it was the training aspect I enjoyed the most. I loved working alongside the business owner, finding ways to make their bookkeeping simpler and more manageable, and seeing their confidence grow as they became more comfortable doing it themselves. My inner teacher had found her way into accountancy.
Springreach Training & Coaching has grown from that realisation, bringing my accountancy career full-circle back to that original dream to teach.
The inspiration for Springreach
I spent years seeing the problem from the accountant’s side. Then I saw how bookkeeping worked from the business’ side.
Some people don’t want their accountant to do their bookkeeping or Making Tax Digital quarterly updates for them – they just want someone to show them how to do it, and the reassurance of knowing there’s someone they can ask if they get stuck.
When you know what’s involved, it’s easier to decide how much to do yourself – and to recognise when you might need the help of a bookkeeper or accountant.
How I work
With you, not for you
I’m not looking to do your bookkeeping for you. My aim is to support you to do as much as you want to yourself. Get support for your bookkeeping, software and tax questions through membership of the Springreach Bookkeeping and Tax Community; or book a done-with-you software setup and training package.
One-size doesn’t fit all
Every business is different. I’ll help you find a bookkeeping system and process that suits you, the way your business works, HM Revenue & Customs and your accountant (if you have one).
Clear, calm approach
You’ll learn what to do, how to do it, and discover simple checks you can carry out to make sure your bookkeeping is correct. I’ll explain it all in straightforward language. Questions will always be welcome.
A bit about my experience
I’m a qualified accountant and bookkeeper, with more than 30 years’ experience working with small businesses across a wide range of industries.
My work in accountancy practices, industry and my own practice gives me experience of the whole bookkeeping and tax journey – from entering the transactions into software to producing accounts and a tax return at the end.
I’ve spent many years training and mentoring business owners and their in-house finance and admin teams, helping them understand not just what to do, but why it matters.
• AAT-licensed accountant and bookkeeper
• 30+ years’ small business experience (self-employed, partnership and limited company)
• Bookkeeping systems and software
• Self Assessment and personal tax (including Making Tax Digital)
• Training and mentoring
• Coaching skills
What I believe My aim isn’t to persuade everyone that they can do their own bookkeeping and tax. It’s to make sure people have the knowledge and support to choose what works best for them.
Whether they want to do all their own bookkeeping, some of it, or simply understand enough to know when they need help, I aim to give them the understanding and confidence to make that decision.
Sometimes, all you need is someone to show you how.
