Taking on a TaxAssist Accountants franchise gives you the ability to take an income, build an asset close to home and spend more time with family. Win win!
One of the main reasons people look to franchising is to benefit from a successful, proven model. Another increasingly popular reason, is to create a better work-life balance, allowing a franchisee to spend more time with family, working closer to home with less commuting time.
This was one of the key drivers for Kent based franchisees Gary & Tina Richards, a successful couple who haven’t looked back since joining TaxAssist. Gary had a wealth of business and financial experience prior to joining TaxAssist having been a Finance Director, Technology Director and Operations Director for 15 years with major companies. Tina owned a management consulting business for several years, and then trained as a surveyor and owned a successful business providing HIPs. After the market for HIPs collapsed overnight, Tina joined Gary in TaxAssist running one of the couple’s two shops.
Gary decided to join the franchise for three main reasons, “so that he wasn’t dependent on the whim of others, the ability to build a saleable asset and so that he had substantially less commuting time.” The couple joined the franchise in 2008 and have been trading successfully since then, with a current fee bank of £504,000, seeing their sales grow by 23% in the last year. “The marketing manual and brand of TaxAssist keep us focussed. Following the road map seems to bring a never ending stream of new clients” comments Gary.
TaxAssist Accountants is an innovative and award winning franchise servicing small businesses and the self-employed. The franchise which is this year celebrating its 20th Anniversary, was established when the founder figured out that small businesses would need help with their tax and accounts in the wake of self-assessment. Services offered include year-end accounts, tax returns, bookkeeping, VAT returns, payroll and cash flow projections. After consistently winning awards in both the franchising and accountancy sectors, TaxAssist has grown to become the 25th largest network of accountants in the UK servicing over 53,000 clients from over 245 shops and offices.
Traditionally, accountancy practices lack visibility, commonly positioned behind a door with a brass plaque. TaxAssist has broken with tradition and convention, and has provided a breath of fresh air in the accountancy world with their retail shop front concept. This was developed to appeal specifically to the small business target market, in terms of accessibility and visibility encouraging walk in trade. The shop front concept has proven to be extremely successful, with over three quarters of the network now operating from these impressive premises.
Gary and Tina operate two successful shop front premises in Kent, the first in Larkfield which opened in 2008, and the second which opened in Paddock Wood in 2012. Both shops have performed well, drawing in a high percentage of new clients. A typical day for them might involve “2-3 new client interviews, a few hours on reviewing, a couple of hours on business issues – especially staff issues and the occasional bit of client accounting or tax work”. Gary and Tina both recognise that the key to running the business successfully is to manage staff and client expectations, with the aim of working on the business not in it. The best thing about running the franchise for Gary “is being able to help people solve their tax problems. We give a lot of free advice, and have a lot of clients who would be unable to fulfil their obligations by themselves. The minor business coaching we provide for the high percentage of our clients who are start-ups is also very satisfying. “
In May 2014 the couple’s hard work was recognised when Gary was named Accountant of the Year at the International Association of Bookkeepers Finance and Small Business Awards 2014. This was a notable achievement for Gary who won the award for his “refreshing approach, broad in-depth knowledge of accounting and dedication to his clients”. Gary has also twice been a finalist for Franchisee of the Year at the TaxAssist Annual Conference.
Gary and Tina are both enthused about the business and are ambitious to see it grow even further, Gary states “We have just hired our eighth employee for our two shops, and are interviewing for a junior. We will need to get a third shop going this year if we can find the time. This will probably involve buying an existing business.” Gary admits that taking on a franchise has been stressful at times, but ultimately it has given him more time to devote to his end goal which is to “build a capital asset, which would be easily saleable.“
The last few years have witnessed a number of global financial events which have challenged many businesses. However, TaxAssist is happy to report that it has continued to perform well in all areas, racking up double digit growth year on year, and most Key Performance Indicators, a growth rate which has in fact outpaced many larger firms. In 2014 a Franchisee Assisted Management Buyout was successfully completed, with franchisees happy to back the Directors and invest in the franchise, which continues to grow both nationally and internationally.
The TaxAssist franchise takes on both accountants and business/finance professionals and has found that they make equally good franchisees. Franchisees can employ accountants while they concentrate on building the business, holding client meetings and networking. What is important is that candidates have plenty of energy, a friendly persona, are technically competent and have a desire to succeed and exceed their goals.
The Franchise Fee to join TaxAssist Accountants is £34,950 + VAT and allows franchisees to work from a commercial office and then move to a shop front by the end of their third year. Alternatively franchisees can open up a shop front from day one, allowing their business to grow faster. Full support and advice is available to help with business planning and finance raising and TaxAssist work closely with you to help you to achieve your goals and aspirations.
Over the last 20 years the support on offer has grown and evolved, providing first rate, unparalleled initial and ongoing training and support packages for franchisees and their staff. This includes help lines providing comprehensive support on accounting and tax issues, lead generation, marketing campaigns, localised and national PR and a raft of additional services providers for franchisees to offer an enhanced service to their clients as well as commission.
Each franchisee operates in an exclusive territory, and there are still many territories and resale opportunities available across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. If you would like to find out more, please ring Jody Fiveash or Clare Alexander for an informal chat. The next step would then be to attend a Discovery Day at the Support Centre in Norwich, where you will be provided with more details and will get to meet with one or more of the Directors of the franchise. You will also be provided with a full list of franchisees for you to speak with as part of the research process, as well as research guides and business plan templates.
A link to the Making Money Magazine article can be found here and here.
June 2015
