MY SERVICES

We wanted to work with Helen to help with our understanding of the financials and managing growth to maximise our potential.

We have quickly gained knowledge of how our business functions and its marketplace and developed an understanding of the human personalities within the business and the goals they had. Helen has helped to deliver a structure to where we are now and a path to where we want to go.

I think as a family run business, we are familiar with 'doing what we do and what will be will be'. It's nice to have someone out of that loop not to judge but to support, encourage and challenge you from time to time.

I can't speak highly enough of the difference it has made to understand our position and have a plan moving forward. We had growth before Helen's involvement and that felt 'exciting, daunting, a little scary on the tax front, stressful'. Now our growth feels' planned, controlled, maximised, costed'. Still exciting though!!

It's also reassuring to know that we aren't paying more tax than we need to.

Finally, I love the humour and friendliness. That's essential for me and Dave.

Before working with Helen I did all of my finance stuff myself. I understood the basics, but never really thought about things like cash flow and credit control apart from wanting to have money in the bank. Her knowledge and support with strategy have helped us be better but also helped me to be more strategic myself.

I read a lot of books and try to constantly improve my financial understanding and planning but having Helen on hand to explain what I have read and give it a practical application has been so valuable.

Helen is great to work with. I feel like she has made an invaluable contribution to how we operate as a business and to my personal knowledge. Nothing is ever off the table or too complicated and she loves Corrie! What more could you want from an FD.

Before we started to work together our biggest issues was an overall lack of clear vision and understanding of our current performance and more importantly how to project ourselves and the business in the future. We know what the meaning of today's performance means for our growth and as such take important decisions based on this. Helen has a simple and clear approach which is refreshing.

Helen has helped us by keeping things simple. By no longer looking at the past performance and focusing on the future and what one can achieve rather than what cannot change.

In terms of the greatest benefit of working together I have A-ha moments most of the time we speak! Helen has a quiet and unwavering confidence in the financial advice she gives and vision for the company which always feels like sound impartial advice.

Helen & Andy make accounting & financial management enjoyable, and they have the patience of saints.

Before we worked together I spent a lot of time trying to track our accounts, forecast expenditure and then time again undertaking reviews to ensure I had budgeted as I thought.

Now this service is provided for our organisation in a more detailed way but it's much easier to understand.

There is also an online platform I can go back for reminders, if we're unsure you get back to us which offers reassurance about the queries.

The time I used for budgeting and planning can be used in a more productive way, the detail Helen provides to me is far more than I could have budgeted for, I have a greater peace of mind.

I look forward to Helen's visits to share any progress, to work out what'd next even if this is a problem we look to solution, Helen is a part of our team!

We began working with AJ Fleet in August 2018 following an introduction from a mutual contact.

We discussed our need for a supportive Accountant as our previous Accountant produced our year end accounts, told us what we had been doing wrong during the previous year, and asked us what our plans were for the following year. He offered no support or advice.

I spoke to Helen and this and she confirmed that she could, and indeed has, helped us in so many ways. She produces quarterly management accounts that enable us to look at the figures and highlight and areas of concern quickly and look at ways to rectify them.

She has helped with planning and working out our financial needs now and in the future. We discuss all aspects of the financial side of the business and she has helped us have a greater understanding of our accounts and tax issues.

Helen is always positive when we have our meeting, even if things are not going as well as we hoped. She is calm and is always available if I need to 'run anything by her'. Helen has been a hugely positive influence on our business but also on me personally, and she is a pleasure to work with.

Prior to working with Helen, I felt as though I needed guidance with financial & business planning, project planning, future outlook and target setting.

Helen has provided on going advice and support and clearly demonstrates where the business needs to invest and suitable times when to do this. Helen clearly understands our business model, therefore speaking with her is always easy and she will provide alternative ways to achieve our goals and targets if required. Helen always provides information that is presented clearly in text, verbally and figures, in an easy understandable format.

During the 4 years I have been working with Helen, I feel not only has she become someone who I meet quarterly to discuss the businesses financial outlook and strategies, she is someone you can rely on and trust, like you would with a friend. Helen understands our business and it's clients and recognises there are times we need instant support and advice. Helen is just a phone call or email away and will promptly give you the time and support you need, this type of advice support is just what we need which reduces pressures and contributes to an effectively run business.

When it comes to financial strategy and reporting, the key for me was finding a partner that would help embed consistency and accountability into that area of the business, but it was also crucial for us to work with someone we liked and shared our values and ambitions.

We've achieved this through our quarterly meetings and timely management of the day-to-day. This gives me a clear picture of how we're performing and allows us to make decisions and plan for future growth. We've grown successfully year-on-year, and have had our three most successful years in the period we've worked with Helen.