ACCOUNTING FOR TASTE
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Accountants are not always hauliers' favourite people. They have a reputation for being aloof, impractical and expensive, according to one accountancy firm which is run by a CPC holder.
• Approved Accounting of Waterlooville, Hampshire believes that small hauliers distrust "number-crunchers" and use them as little as possible, so it is overcoming this prejudice by offering a specialist knowledge of transport.
Transport-related services on offer include tachograph analysis and recovery of VAT for operators working abroad, and company owner Trevor Green holds a Certificate of Professional Competence.
"A lot of people come to us because they don't know how to choose an accountant or feel their present one doesn't know enough about their business," says Green, who set up the company three years ago.
Although he does not want to criticise accountants, he believes that some do deter hauliers with a "superior attitude and non-practical approach". As a result many operators find themselves in financial difficulties because they are reluctant to seek an accountant's advice. "We can identify problems before they become serious," says Green. "We will point hauliers in the right direction, rather than just bale them out, because we understand a haulier's operation."
Green, who spent five years as an accountant with a waste firm which ran
150 vehicles, claims that not all accountants know enough about aspects of a transport business such as trip costing, the price of fuel and vehicles and the effect that broken-down trucks have on cash flow.
Having a grasp of the haulage industry, however, will help an accountant plan with an operator his finances for the year I ahead, adds Green, who worked for Cleaning Service Group in Southampton.
CASH FLOW
Many of his clients are hauliers who have just set up on their own.
The services he offers them are a profits forecast — working out how much they will need to earn to make a living — and a cash flow forecast — showing how much they need to launch their firm and pay their bills, He will also claim back VAT for operators going abroad ("very few accountants would know how to do it"). prepares business plans for hauliers seeking loans and sorts out mortgages and finance packages.
Tachograph analysis is contracted out to a specialist firm which can work out a haulier's return on his loads, vehicle utilisation and fuel economy.
Green is also planning to publish a newsletter for customers detailing changes in tax law.
He does not claim to be cheaper than other accountants: "Accountants have a reputation for being expensive and, yes, we are expensive," he admits. Rut he says it pays off in the long run for a haulier to obtain advice.
He charges about SAO for an 11/2-hour session. Doing annual tax returns costs a flat £200. "But it won't cost anything to come in and chat to us for an hour to see if we're the right people."
Clients vary in the amount of help they want. Some are content with a basic service and a half-day's visit once a year. Others "need their hand held all the time," he says. "I've had customers from eight till one in the morning, but I don't want to do that too often."
One of the most unusual operations Green has had to cost with its owner was for a truck service collecting dead dogs from vets and taking them to a pets' crematorium. "We had to work out how many dogs we could fit into a Transit van, then calculate their volume and weight to work out his rate," he says.
Approved Accounting can be contacted on (0705) 256149.
by Murdo Morrison