A few weeks ago, we received some lovely feedback from a client. Although it seems self-congratulatory to share it, I want to do so because it carries a very interesting point. This client commented that working with us was so different to any experience he’d had with past specialist dental accountants that he didn’t know how any other accountant would survive going forward.

Hive works so well because we’re always open to change. In truth, the role of an accountant is continually evolving. Before the age of “tax doesn’t have to be taxing,” the responsibility of calculating tax liability fell with HMRC. However, in 1996 this changed when HMRC passed on the baton (and, in a stroke of genius, the cost) to taxpayers and their accountants.

Sadly, a lot of accountants haven’t moved on from this role and continue to see it as their main purpose. The problem with this is that the old-fashioned accountancy role is naturally backward facing: you look back at the past year, fill out the forms, and present a tax bill (often a hefty one).

At Hive, we take a very different approach. Yes, we still calculate your taxes, but this is really a by-product of all the other work we do. This is because we’ve turned things on their head by looking forwards, not back. Instead of recording past events, we work with clients to change what hasn’t yet happened, and work with them to get a better outcome. This ultimately means that your tax bill is smaller and contains no nasty surprises.

So, how do we do this?

We embrace software

As time goes by, software evolves too. We choose to harness the change that this represents, rather than shrinking from it, as software offloads some of the tasks that used to take us hours. We were one of the first teams to implement cloud-based software 15 years ago, and fully embrace the efficiency. Saving time on manual tasks gives us more time to build relationships and add value for our clients; for instance, mapping future tax plans, rather than populating spreadsheets.

We speak to you

We know that in any practice things are likely to change, so we don’t want to simply be reactive. We proactively become a part of your world, speaking regularly so that we’re up to date with whatever plans you have on the horizon. Just keeping us informed – whether you’re buying your first practice, investing in property, or even choosing to sell – can mean that we’re able to make your dreams a reality while saving you thousands of pounds.

We have great people

If you only come to Hive for one service, such as accountancy, you might not realise what a diverse and multi-skilled team we have here – from marketing consultants to experts in practice management. We share our collective knowledge across the whole team, meaning we’re able to put the right person in the right place to get the best result for you.

We’re restructuring our business

We operate with our clients’ needs and goals at the forefront, so we regularly review what we do and how we do it to be sure we’re set up for your success. For this reason, we’ve recently chosen to restructure our team. The change we’ve made ensures there’s dedicated extra attention when coordinating and quality-reviewing our clients’ Xero data. This means that when the time comes, you’ll get the best outcome if you need to borrow funds, interrogate the profitability of your business, prepare for sale, tax plan, or see to any other important requirements for running your business.

Sounds like a breath of fresh air? We’re different from your current accountant, and we’d love to hear from you.