Henman Dunn Case Study - Sibbalds Chartered Accountants

Henman Dunn Limited is a plumbing and heating business based in Derbyshire.

They employ 5 members of staff and the two directors Ashley and Kieren. Ashley was an old school friend of David’s, and had come to help with a boiler problem at David’s house after being recommended by a mutual friend. When Ash visited, Henman Dunn had just started that week as a partnership and they were using an accountant that some of their subcontractor friends had used.

Whilst Ash was fixing David’s boiler (which by the way was something 2 other plumbers had tried to do, charged for and subsequently failed to do) he began to discuss the business with David and it became apparent that there were a number of things they hadn’t been told.

Firstly, they would have to register for VAT at some point and needed to keep a track of their sales to ensure they did this at the appropriate time
Secondly, they had been given no advice on how to keep their books and records, so they didn’t really have an idea about how well they were doing
Thirdly, they hadn’t been given any advice about tax – what they would likely have to pay based on how they were hoping to do, when is was due for payment, what they could do to save tax etc

“Ash was concerned that he’d learned more from an informal chat with David whilst he fixed his boiler, than he did from all the meetings he had with their accountant”

Ash was concerned that he’d learned more from an informal chat with David whilst he fixed his boiler, than he did from all the meetings he had with their accountant, and shared this with Kieren.

After a few months of thinking it over, they decided to appoint David and his team at Sibbalds as their accountants.

After just over a year of working with Sibbalds, Henman Dunn Limited has grown from two directors to employ two apprentice plumbers, a qualified and experienced plumber, a senior administrator who has previously worked in banking and other large institutions and an administration apprentice.

How we helped

Limited Company Set up

The partnership was transferred into a limited company, which saved around £4,000 in tax in the first year and will save many tens of thousands of pounds in future years for the company and the two directors

VAT Registered

Sibbalds organised for the company to become VAT registered, and took over all the bookkeeping
from Ash and Kieren so they could concentrate on growing the business

Set up PAYE

Sibbalds helped set up a PAYE scheme for the directors and directed them towards government support to help fund two apprentices

Set up Accounting System

Sibbalds helped to set up Xero – a cloud based book-keeping package – that allowed Ash and Kieren to both access the software from anywhere they liked on their phones, ipads or computers, to raise sales invoices and see how they were doing but also allowed Sibbalds to process all their purchase invoices, reconcile their bank account and process their VAT return

Quarterly Management Accounts

Sibbalds produce quarterly management accounts and present these at a regular board meeting where Ash and Kieren are challenged to think strategically about the business. The outcome of these meetings is a list of actions for either Ash, Kieren or David which are then completed during the next quarter. Each of these actions, when completed, help to drive the company forward and can be related to anything – marketing to attract new customers, dealing with a challenging staff member, tax planning, managing cash-flow. All of this is delivered in a structured way and facilitated by David who offers advice and guidance on all topics business related,

Visit The Henman Dunn Website

We will help you by …

Provide you with FREE telephone and email support whenever you need it
Communicate with you in plain English – jargon is banned in our client communications
Listen to what you are saying at all times
Help you find the advice and support you need from our large network of professional connections through our SignPosting service – one call to us is all it takes and we do the rest

Never surprise you with unexpected bills
Constantly review the services we can provide so we grow and prosper together
Do everything we say we are going to do on or ahead of schedule
Guarantee all of our work – we’ll never treat a piece of work as completed until you’ve confirmed you are happy with what we have done

Our role as accountants

The role of the accountant is far broader these days than simply “doing the accounts” on an annual basis, and more of our clients maintain that regular relationship – to ensure that throughout the year, they have the clarity of understanding and assistance they require. This doesn’t mean effectively working the business, but more an understanding of opportunities and helping in some cases with hands on solutions.