Are you making this mistake? - The Friendly Accountants

I popped into our local Tesco Express the other day (I do all the cooking in our house - Lesley has many fine qualities but her cooking ability isn't one of them!). Anyway, I only wanted a few items so no point visiting the big store.

Our local Tesco Express is only small and has two traditional tills and one self-service.

There were about 6 people queuing for the one traditional till which was open - but no-one at the self-service.

Now I love the convenience of the self-service - and I always use the scan as you shop at our main Tescos.

So I nipped to the self-service till and was finished before the first person in the queue.

What was interesting was that most of the people in the queue were in their 30's and 40's - so not exactly the 'technophobe' generation (apologies if I've offended any senior citizens).

Though what was even more intriguing was that after I used the self-service a few others followed suit.

So what mistake am I talking about, apart from queing at the wrong checkout?

Well, all too often we assume that others think like us - and will happily see the benefits of doing things differently and in new ways. Whereas the reality is often they need convincing - normally by the advantages being demonstrated to them.

So if you're trying to sell something new and different to your customer, make sure you can spell out the benefits - something we work very hard to do with our clients.

Everything we do for our clients is done online from the bookkeeping software to signing off accounts. This means it saves them hours of time and makes their life so much easier - no more boring paper and envelopes stuffed with receipts!

However whilst some clients embrace our use of modern technology, some still need to be convinced - fortunately our only failure so far is our oldest client who is 84 - and she's allowed to prefer paper and pen!

So if you're interested in discovering how a switched on, technology savvy accountant can help your business and make life easier, drop me an email at [email protected] or phone me on 01202 048696.

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About the author

Richard Baldwyn ATT CTA

Richard is Co-Founder of The Friendly Accountants and has more than 30 years' experience in tax, including 3 years spent inside HMRC before moving into private practice. He advises individuals and owner-managed businesses on a wide range of UK tax issues, including the tax challenges created by digital platforms and online business models.

Richard has specialised in UK crypto taxation since 2016 and was one of the first UK tax advisers to write publicly about the taxation of cryptoassets. His work includes advising individuals, investors, founders and owner-managed businesses on complex crypto transactions, HMRC disclosures and enquiries, DeFi, NFTs and the tax issues facing businesses operating with digital assets.

He also has first-hand experience of cryptoassets and Web3 projects, combining practical knowledge of how crypto is used with wider UK tax experience.

He particularly enjoys making complex tax transactions easier to understand and helping clients apply tax rules to transactions and technologies that do not always fit neatly within traditional tax categories. More about Richard and the TFA team