From cost-cutting to great advice, a good accountant can save your business big bucks. They also help with cash flow and the dreaded bookkeeping. One lady that knows this all too well is Emily Coltman, FreeAgent’s Chief Accountant. She’s been working with small businesses since 2000 and is passionate about helping their owners lose their fear of "the numbers" and the taxman. Here she shares her story and pearls of wisdom with egg.
Why did you become an accountant?
I kind of drifted into accountancy. My degree subject was music! After leaving the University of Cambridge I wanted to be near my then-boyfriend and landed a place on a blue-chip finance training programme. My relationship broke down pretty quickly but - especially after changing jobs from a big business to a small accounting practice working with micro business clients - I discovered I actually really enjoyed accounting and working with business owners. And the rest is history!
According to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), 46% of all accountants in the UK are women. Do you think it’s hard to enter a male-dominated sector?
I may have been lucky with roles I've landed and men I've worked with but none of them ever made me feel "less" because I'm a woman. What I'd say to other women looking to break down barriers is not to be intimidated by patriarchy and remember the skills and experience you have to offer. We all have something unique to bring to the table.
Talk us through a typical working day?
I have a very mixed role! I work with FreeAgent’s support team helping them help customers with tricky queries about accounts, tax and so forth. I also work with our communications team helping them produce technical accounting-related content for our customers. I work with the product team when they’re building more complex accounting and tax parts of the FreeAgent software, to help make sure we’re complying with tax rules.
How can FreeAgent help a small business owner?
We help them keep control of their cash, stay on top of the daily admin of their business finances, and relax about tax. It’s a very simple yet super-comprehensive online small business bookkeeping software package. Our customers can use FreeAgent to issue invoices to their customers, track payment coming in, automatically chase any slow payers and so much more.
Your top tips for running a business well?
Start with a business plan, but don’t get too bogged down in the tiny details. A business never goes exactly in the direction you think it will. Make your plan but be prepared to flex.
In terms of the finances, I would strongly advise having a system in place to keep track of everything you spend on your business. I mean everything, even before you’ve started selling. Many of the costs you incur setting up your new business can be included in your first set of accounts, often helping you save tax, because, in simple terms, businesses pay tax on the profit they make (profit being income less day-to-day running costs), so if you forget to track costs then that could be costing you tax.
The most common mistake small business owners make?
It would have to be hesitancy around pricing and invoicing. Many small business owners struggle to charge what they’re worth and then feel reticent about collecting what they’re due, thinking that if they charge too much, or chase too often, then customers will go elsewhere. As a small business owner, you are providing a worthwhile service and you deserve to be paid for it so always remember than.
Biggest pet hate?
When the taxman changes the rules or brings in a new scheme (flashback to Covid support schemes!), and we have to drop everything, change the software, teach the support team and quickly alert customers.
Fun fact
My middle name, Josephine, is after Joseph Manton - my dad’s preferred maker of antique shotguns.
Career highlight?
Having my first book published, ‘Refreshingly Simple Finance for Small Business’.
Advice for ladies looking to run their own business?
Start tracking your costs as soon as you start spending any money on your business. If you forget to include costs then your business’s profit will be too high, which means that not only will you think your business is doing better than it is, you’ll pay too much tax!
FreeAgent is an award-winning online accounting software designed specifically for UK small businesses. Find out more about our egg partner and 30-day free trial, plus 50% off the first six months and 10% off for life here
