After years of preparation we have finally completed our first live MTD submissions. We’ve also helped several clients to do their bookkeeping and MTD for the first time.
As accountants this is the sort of thing that we do all the time but many business owners are scarred by school maths lessons, or are just too busy to know all the rules that we just seem to absorb by osmosis (and years of slogging through exams!). Not to mention a fear of authority in the form of HMRC (they’re usually quite nice individuals, honest)
Our lovely clients are always very appreciative when we help them out with things in our world but it’s because I try to put myself in their shoes.
I find doctors and dentists terrifying as it’s all unknown. And potentially painful. Lawyers may feel at home standing in court but I would need to be on my best behaviour, fearful that I might have broken some law that I didn’t know about. And, amongst tradespeople, I am completely inept without my laptop and would have no hope of plastering the perfectly smooth surfaces that I see in my home and elsewhere. I couldn’t even manage a render that looked halfway decent.
We may not be able to save our small client millions in tax, but we can take away their fears and hassles.
Our role as accountants isn’t just filling in forms. We are what my kids call a ‘safe space’. A safe space for clients to ask all those questions about tax, money, and business generally. A safe space where they can feel at ease discussing their business, their ambitions, and even their fears.