Paul Donno & Co Ltd February 2011 Newsletter

February News from Paul Donno & Co Ltd Accountants and Business Advisors

Phew... who said tax doesn’t have to be taxing?
What a busy start to the year January has been.  This month the Paul Donno & Co Ltd team has prepared 144 tax returns!  The last two were sent at 8.45pm last night – taking it right to the line.

Our tax specialist Jackie Thompson worked on Saturday and Paul worked the whole weekend to ensure that none of our clients were faced with a £100 penalty from HMRC.

Whilst the whole team did a fantastic job and we delivered, as always, for our clients there really is no need for this last minute rush.  We all know right now what the deadline for Tax Returns is for 2012 so why leave it until the last minute?

It is far less stressful for everyone to submit their information early.  Clients benefit from knowing where they are with their tax and having time to plan for paying their tax bill and we have the benefit of not having to complete over 30% of client’s tax returns in just one month of the year!

Did you know you can pay for your accounts and your tax return on a monthly basis via direct debit on our fixed fee structure?  Everyone who is on this scheme really likes it as the pain of the annual accountancy bill is removed and people are encouraged to submit their returns in good time as they are already paying for the service.

If you would like to find out more about our fixed fee service please call Louise on 01787 281688.

Show your love
Paul Donno & Co Ltd is a member of thebestofhaverhill, an exclusive club that showcases the best independent, local and highly recommended businesses in the area. The bestof are running a national campaign, “The 14 days of love”, and as part of that campaign we are looking to our lovely clients to show us some love.

It’s quite simple – all you have to do is write a testimonial about why you like the service you receive from us.  The testimonial must be a minimum of 60 characters and a maximum of 1000 characters.

There are several ways you can show your love for us:

Follow the link, http://www.thebestof.co.uk/local/haverhill/recommend, which will take you onto the appropriate section of thebestofhaverhill website to leave a testimonial.

Ask us for one of our special 14 days of love postcards, write your testimonial on it and we will make sure it gets back to Elaine Carr of thebestof and she will update the website.

Send your testimonial as an email to louise@pauldonno.co.uk who will forward it onto thebestofhaverhill.

At the time of writing we are the second most loved accountancy practice in the country – so please show your love!!!

When you leave a testimonial you will be entered into a national prize draw for some brilliant prizes, there is a new prize for every day of the 14 days of love.  Check out the prizes here 
 

No world cruise just yet!
Last month Jade Donno, Paul’s shy and retiring sixteen year old daughter, took part in the final of the Open Mic UK 2010 competition. Jade competed in the under 18’s category against 27 acts and sang on the Indigo02 stage at the O2 arena in front of an audience of 2,500.

Despite singing her heart out and “owning the stage” Jade didn’t win the competition; she did however have an amazing time and loved the experience.

Jade was actually ill for over a week before the final – off school and in bed.  It was touch and go whether she would have a voice to sing with for the competition. On the big day the adrenalin kicked in and Jade did a fantastic job but her voice wasn’t quite right.  The judges commented that she had good stage presence, her performance was energetic and she used the stage well but her voice struggled to hit the high notes.  There is a video of Jade’s performance on the Paul Donno & Co Ltd Facebook page 

Unfortunately Jade had to have another week off school after the competition because she was so poorly, thankfully our little star is now back to good health and voice .. and school!

Onwards and upwards – Jade is in a band called Keep Em Keen who have entered Live and Unsigned a national singing competition for unsigned artists, watch this space!.

Thanks to everyone who supported Jade, your help and encouragement were much appreciated.

Look out the Spartans are coming!
Always in search of new challenges our intrepid team from Paul Donno & Co has signed up for the Spartan Race which is taking place near Cambridge on 24th July.

Paul, Michael and Louise will be joined by Louise’s husband Warren and client Rebecca Godfrey from FLP4Life.  The team will undertake the Spartan Sprint - a muddy 5 kilometre run with at least 10 challenging obstacles to overcome. The Spartan races are promoted as a “primal challenge” designed to test resilience, strength, stamina, and the ability to laugh in the face of adversity. (Should be a walk in the park after Tax Return Hell!)  According to the Spartan website the unique obstacle course will demand every ounce of strength, ingenuity, and animal instinct.  This has got to be a great spectator sport!

If you would like to join the team please contact Louise on 01787 281688, if you would like to come along and see them get covered in mud their heat starts at 11.30am on 24th July at Bassingbourn Barracks, Royston, SG8 5LX. You can find more information at www.spartanrace.com.

What do you have planned for 2011?
We have big plans for 2011 and are looking to increase our client base again this year. In January we gained nine new clients, despite this being an incredibly busy month with Tax Returns.  Keeping existing clients and winning new ones is the only way the business can move forward.  Marketing is fundamental to our growth and we invest heavily in many different marketing activities including:

• Regular emails and newsletters to clients and prospects
• Investment in our ACT database
• Our website – which contains a vast amount of valuable information for anyone in business
• Client recommendations – a lot of new business comes through clients who are happy to recommend us
• Networking – making time to get out and about is vital, this is the best way to meet new contacts
• Social media – we are using Jenni Donno’s Social Media services to promote Paul Donno and Co on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and we also have a blog.  Social media is a great way to engage with people
• Ads in well targeted publications with call tracking numbers to measure their effectiveness
• Press releases – we publicise everything we do, this really helps to raise our profile in the local area
• Sponsorship – we get involved with the local community through sponsorship of the Haverhill Rugby Club and the Haverhill Golf Club
• Coming soon ... our ad on thebestofhaverhill Mini.

For the majority of businesses growth doesn’t just happen, there has to be someone there making it happen.   Make 2011 the year you work on your business and not just in it.

If you would like to find out more about ACT! or social media or just marketing in general and how it can help your business to grow please call Paul Donno on 01787 281688.    

Dates for your diary
18th August 2011 – Black Tie Charity Casino Night
Following the success of our joint event with the bestofhaverhill in 2010 we are going to be holding the Charity Casino Night again this year – same date, same venue – the Purple Mango Indian Restaurant, Sturmer Road.

If you came along last year you will know what a great evening it was, if you missed out make sure you get the date in your diary for 2011.  This is a great excuse to get dressed up, have fun and raise funds for St Nicholas Hospice Care.  The last event was a sell out and this time, for the comfort of all our guests, we will be limiting tickets – there are only 80 places.  You will also be able to reserve tables.

Full details, including ticket prices and times, will be published in our March newsletter.  

If you are interested or would like to ensure you have a table please call Louise on 01787 281688.