Few things about the barefoot accountant are typical. For a start, it’s a highly unconventional name for an accountancy firm. “I’d worked in industry for 20 years and qualified as an accountant in 2006, but I just never fitted the ‘traditional accountant’ mould,” remembers founder Ele Stevens.
“In my professional life, I never encountered the things I love – music, the arts, creativity – and I didn’t feel I was doing good things in the world. So I founded the barefoot accountant in 2015. One day I was working away with my laptop in a cafe, with my shoes off, which is how I like to work and who I am. So, I suddenly thought – ‘the barefoot accountant’ – that would be the perfect name for my new business. It had to be authentically ‘me’.”
Ele also realised that thinking differently and not being a “typical accountant” gave her a strong USP. She also decided to specialise in working for creative-sector businesses. “Most of my friends and family are creative, plus, if you’re going to set up your own business, do something that you love, right?”.
Ele Stevens – founder of barefoot accounting
“Most of my friends and family are creative, plus, if you’re going to set up your own business, do something that you love, right?”
Typically untypical
HQ for the barefoot accountant five-strong team is a former shop on Redbourn High Street in Hertfordshire. In typically untypical fashion, they’re not your usual accountancy firm offices. Venture inside and you’ll see fake grass covering the floors, plants, art and quirky objects everywhere, with beautiful bespoke meeting chairs made by a local designer. “No one actually thinks we’re accountants,” Ele laughs.
The business now has more than 400 clients, explains another team member, Joanna Roe, who provides accountancy services to self-employed clients. “They include musicians, yoga teachers, artists, photographers, authors, screenwriters and actors,” she reveals. They sign up to an annual package that includes tax advice and having the barefoot accountant take care of their Self Assessment tax return.
Simple but effective
The barefoot accountant’s sole trader clients use Coconut accounting software, which is also available in handy app form. “It benefits them in many ways, but especially when it comes to managing their expenses, which may otherwise be chaotic,” Joanna says. “We started using Coconut three years ago. We viewed it as a simple but effective way to get sole trader clients ready for Making Tax Digital requirements.
“The last thing creative people and other sole traders want is overly complicated accounting software. We considered other options, but Coconut offered everything we needed. We tried it with a few clients and they really liked it. A lot of other accounting software comes with features that sole traders don’t need and would never use.”
The barefoot accountant’s sole traders clients get Coconut as part of their onboarding. “Most particularly like being able to see how much tax they owe, so they can better prepare for paying their tax bill. This provides peace of mind,” says Ele. “Coconut is half the price of some other options, which is a big saving. Our clients genuinely love Coconut – we’ve actually had some rave about it. I’ve never heard that about software before,” she laughs.
Joanna Roe of the barefoot accountant
“We do love to see our clients, but people turning up with shoe boxes or bags full of expense receipts doesn’t happen, thanks to Coconut,”
Hellish January
Coconut also greatly benefits the barefoot accountant. It’s certainly helped to create a much less stressful working environment. “Before we started using Coconut, we had a hellish January a few years ago,” Ele recalls. “It was a nightmare and we were all very nearly broken, because it was such a struggle to get the information we needed to complete some client tax returns. We couldn’t let that happen again.”
Joanna adds: “Coconut provided the perfect readymade solution. It saves us time when completing Self Assessment tax returns, because the information we need is much more immediate. This has enabled us to process more tax returns and help more clients, which has helped us to grow as a business. Coconut does make it easier for sole traders to do their own tax returns, but our clients like the peace of mind and added expertise that we offer.”
Saving time and effort
The barefoot accountant uses other accounting software for its limited company and VAT-registered clients, but Ele says it’s not suitable for sole traders. “Coconut offers everything they need. It also saves us time, because if we’re advising a client and need to find out about their income, we can quickly and easily get that information, we don’t have to wait for clients to come back to us with it.
“Sole traders can learn how to use Coconut very quickly, because it’s very intuitive. We don’t find that we have to spend much time teaching clients how to use it, although we do offer an introductory session as part of our service, but often our clients don’t find that they need to take us up on it. Coconut also has a great chat option that clients can use to speak directly to someone at Coconut to solve any software issues.
“Coconut is so easy to use that our clients don’t need to be local for us to provide them with a fantastic service. We have sole trader clients up and down the country. We do love to see our clients, but people turning up with shoe boxes or bags full of expense receipts doesn’t happen, thanks to Coconut,” she smiles.
• Blog produced originally for Coconut Accounting Software/Accounting Web.
