Wood and Disney - just what the doctor ordered to ease your Business headaches

Small business owners often struggle with managing their finances effectively. Accountants can help by developing budgets, tracking expenses, and providing financial reporting. This can help businesses make informed decisions about their finances and improve their bottom line.



Wood and Disney are professionally Qualified Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors - Experts in Financial Management

Wood and Disney provide our clients with proactive financial support and business advice to ensure their long term success and give them the time, confidence and freedom to enjoy their business and family life.

Wood and Disney passionately believe (yes, Accountants with passion) that a successful business owner needs:

• “Real Time Financial Information” that is dependable and accurate, so you know the impact of yesterday's decisions, can make better decisions today and can plan for tomorrow AND

• Strong and close support and business advice to help you manage your finances and understand the true impact of your numbers on your business. Wood and Disney guide you with strategic decisions, keep you out of trouble and are there when you need someone who understands your business and the pressures you face.

Wood and Disney put in place:

• Protection: to identify potential threats to you and your business's financial security today and in the future.

• Advice: we give you the knowledge to collect, analyse and understand your business numbers with confidence and show you how small changes can play a huge role in your company’s momentum.

• Control: Wood and Disney put in place the right planning and control in your business gives reliable cash flows and healthy profits.

Wood and Disney ensure that our clients understand their accounts and our advice. We will never ask you to sign paperwork that you have not read and understood.

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and small businesses are particularly susceptible to cash flow problems. Accountants can help by analysing cash flow statements, identifying potential problems, and developing strategies to improve cash flow.

Wood and Disney's Cash Flow strategies and solutions get you back on track.

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. However, many businesses, regardless of size or industry, often encounter cash flow problems that can threaten their survival. To get a better understanding of the causes read our page on >> Cash Flow Problems. A business can on paper, be profitable with a full and growing orders book, but still fail due to cash flow problems. If your business is constantly under pressure and struggling to balance the cash coming in against the demands for payment to your creditors, staff, suppliers etc.., then the amount of profit you are making and the orders you are receiving, become irrelevant if you don't have and can't raise the money you need to run your business day to day.

Fortunately, Wood and Disney are expert at sorting out your cash flow problems to keep your business afloat in the short term with immediate cash flow solutions, strategies to get you back on track today. Once we have your "working" cash flow under control, we then help you build a stronger business with long term cash flow solutions. We use our Strategic Cash Retention Programme® to build your business a cash reserve, to make your business resilient to turbulent economic conditions in the future and enable you to grow your business without the fear of running out of cash. You can read on our dedicated web page, more about our short term and long term >> Cash Flow Solutions.

We have also written a number of blogs which go into more more details about cash flow management and building resilience into your business.

Accurate bookkeeping is essential for any business, but small business owners often don't have the time or expertise to do it themselves. Accountants can help by providing bookkeeping services, including recording transactions, preparing financial statements, and reconciling accounts.

With Wood and Disney Bookkeeping doesn't have to be a headache!

Bookkeeping is the first step in the accounting process and arguably the most important one as it is the foundation of everything else regarding business finances. Accurate and timely bookkeeping will keep you out of trouble with HMRC. You will know exactly who to pay and when ensuring that your remain on good terms with suppliers. You will know which customers owe you money and help you chase them efficiently ensuring that cash flow remains positive, stress levels are kept to a minimum and you can focus on generating more sales and profits.

At Wood and Disney our meticulous attention to detail ensures that your bookkeeping is accurate and up to date, minimising costly errors. In fact, when new members of staff have joined our accounts team, they have frequently been amazed at the level of detail and drilling down we go into.

Wood and Disney's bookkeeping solutions will enable you to 

• pay less tax because you will not lose any receipts and bills
• make more profit because you can focus on sales rather than spend time on low value admin work 
• feel less stressed because of deadlines or simply not knowing where you are
• have more family time because you don’t have to work on your books on evenings or weekends.

You can read more about how Wood and Disney can take the stress out of bookkeeping on our dedicated web page

>> Accountancy Solutions > Bookkeeping

Payroll can be a complex and time-consuming task, especially for small businesses. Accountants can help by calculating payroll taxes, withholding taxes from employees' payments, and preparing and filing payroll reports.

Wood and Disney's Payroll Services frees up your time to focus on your business!

On the surface payroll seems easy with so many cheap tools available to help you but in reality there are many potential issues to trip you up. Get it wrong and you have some seriously upset employees. Dealing with their questions and concerns is time consuming and if relying just on a piece of software you can sometimes have difficulty in answering their questions to a level which they understand.

Wood and Disney's Payroll solutions ensure that you get payroll right and the benefits are massive:

• Run the payroll accurately and your happy employees will waste less time and make more profit for you. 
• Run your payroll on time rather than leaving it until the last moment will cause both you and your employees less stress and you will all be more effective. 
• Free up time perhaps better used to focus on more sales and more profit. 

Finally Wood and Disney's payroll solution is fully GDPR compliant ensuring that you do not accidentally disclose embarrassing salary details followed by the inevitable penalties which can amount to 4% of turnover.

You can read more about how Wood and Disney can take the stress out of payroll management on our dedicated web page

 >> Accounting Solutions > Payroll

Accountants can help small business owners develop business plans, create financial forecasts, and make informed decisions about their businesses. This can help businesses grow and succeed in the long run.

Planning is central to the success of any business

Often business owners feel like headless chickens, running around putting out fires not having any sense of direction or targets to aim for. Knowing where you are going and how you are going to get there can take an awful lot of the stress of running a business away.

Business planning and forecasting is not straight forward. This is where Wood and Disney can make a real difference to you and your business.

• We put you back in control, firmly in the driver's seat, driving your business forward.
• We help you set your destination and develop a road map with you to guide your course.
• We are with you on the journey, with regular meetings to make sure you stay on course. We meet most of our clients at least quarterly and often monthly and are always available in between if you need additional help, advice or support.
• We give you targets to monitor your progress to keep you on track. Wood and Disney set up systems and structures to monitor the key areas of your business, including customer service metrics, clearly defined sales and marketing targets, key performance indicators for each area of your business and check that you are getting real time, accurate and reliable data.
• We give you the controls to to get you back on course when you hit the inevitable bumps in the road that can derail even the best thought out plans. Planning gives you predictability, it gives you choices ~ Control makes those choices become reality, it gives you stability.

Accountants can help small business owners obtain financing by preparing financial statements, conducting business valuations, and writing loan applications. This can help businesses raise the capital they need to grow and expand.

Most entrepreneurs say that one of the most difficult parts of being in business is raising money

Raising finance for your business can be fraught with problems and can be difficult. Sometimes you need funding to support the growth of you business - an exciting time - you can see the opportunity and the rosy future ahead. You now just need to convince lenders of your vision and your ability to make it a reality. At other times you may need emergency cash to see you through a bad debt or an unexpected cost that can threaten the survival of your business. You need that loan now so it's vital that your books and accounts are in good order so that you don't have to waste time getting your paperwork in order to demonstrate that your business is solvent and a low risk investment.

Fortunately Wood and Disney are expert at providing raising finance solutions. We have successfully supported many clients over the years raise finance to fund their business growth, see them through difficult times. We help you adopt best practice in managing your business so that you are in the best possible position to approach lenders if the need arises. Wood and Disney's raising finance solutions help you provide easy-to-understand information that’s attractive to lenders. Our team are highly experienced in helping our clients raising finance and will support you through all stages of the process. Our raising finance solutions will make sure we position your business in the best possible light, giving you every chance to secure funding.

You can read more about how Wood and Disney can take the stress out of raising finance on our dedicated web page >> Raising Finance Solutions

Accountants can provide valuable advice to small business owners who are considering merging with or acquiring another business. This can help businesses make informed decisions about these complex transactions.

Wood and Disney have extensive experience of helping our clients buy businesses, merge or sell their businesses. We want you to understand and have access to, as much information on your future choices and the consequences of these as possible before any decision is made, as getting this right is critical to your future.

You can find out more about how Wood and Disney help advise and guide our clients through the myriad of decisions that need to be made when buying, selling or merging businesses in our blog:

>> Buying, Selling or Merging a Business

Accountants can help small business owners develop exit strategies for when they are ready to sell their businesses. This can help businesses maximize their value and achieve their financial goals.

There comes a time when we all want to step back from our business and enjoy the fruits of our labour or pass the reins over to the next generation. At Wood and Disney, we have a team of experts experienced in retirement and succession planning. We help our clients navigate the complex processes involved. Ensuring optimal tax strategies, accurate business valuation, compliance with all legal requirements, and comprehensive retirement planning.

• Wood and Disney help you achieve your goals by giving you as much information on your choices and the consequences of these as possible before you make any decisions. For example, you may wish to sell and exit. If so, how does that work? What’s the best approach? What about timing? How will any deal be funded and does this have an impact on any tax due? What about tax relief? Can you claim any? When you sell the business, what about the cash you’ll have? How will this affect your estate and Inheritance tax? Will you get any reliefs on this or do you need to plan how to invest the funds? Wood and Disney ensure any sale is carefully planned so you can sleep soundly knowing any questions HMRC may have can be answered thoroughly. 

• Wood and Disney revisit your personal goals. What are your priorities now? Do you want more free time to relax or travel, have fun with your family? Are you driven to focus more on your business and take it in new directions or start a new business? Would you like to spend more time on charitable work?

• What about if you want to pass the business to your children? As well as the tax planning for you and the business, how will it affect them? What about when they come to sell? Wood and Disney plan and put in place strategies early giving them choices too. When you are ready to handover the reins, we will be there for the next generation with advice and support, so you know that they and your business are in safe hands.

Most importantly, Wood and Disney make your transition smooth and worry-free. Allowing you to focus on the next chapter of your life while knowing your business is in good hands.

You can read more about how Wood and Disney can take the stress out of raising finance on our dedicated web page:

>> Business Solutions > Transforming your business > Destiny

>> Retirement or succession planning

Notice that these are very black and white. Very logical and very unemotional. Not necessarily very helpful when a business owner is struggling with stress and pressure.

The Wood and Disney Difference

Wood and Disney understand what it’s like to face the pressures of running a business, the worry, the sleepless nights, the feeling of being alone and not sure of the best course of action, working all hours. Working to provide a better future for yourself and those that are important to you. We’ve been there and done it. We’ve made mistakes and learnt from them. We’ve survived through the early 1990’s recession (inflation peaked at 9.5% in 1990, with interest rates hitting a high of 14.8% on Black Wednesday), the 2008 recession (the deepest UK recession since WWII) and the Covid-19 pandemic. We use our experience of running our own businesses and helping our clients through the good times and bad, to make sure that the advice we give you is practical and works so that your business is resilient and thrives.

That's why at Wood and Disney we look at these same technical problems but view them rather differently. Wood and Disney play a crucial role in alleviating the mental and emotional pain experienced by our clients by providing guidance, support, and expertise to help them navigate the complexities of running a business informed by our own experiences running businesses and our many years of experience advising our clients.

Here are some specific ways in which we can help:

1. Financial clarity:

Wood and Disney specialise in helping small business owners gain a clear understanding of their finances, which can reduce uncertainty and alleviate anxiety. By developing budgets, tracking expenses, and preparing financial reports, we can help business owners make informed decisions about their financial health and identify potential problems early on.

2. Stress reduction:

Wood and Disney can help reduce the stress associated with tax preparation and compliance by taking on the burden of these tasks. By ensuring that businesses are compliant with all applicable tax laws, we can free up business owners' time and energy to focus on other aspects of their operations.

3. Confidence building:

Wood and Disney can provide valuable insights and expertise that can help business owners make sound decisions. This can boost their confidence in their abilities to run their businesses effectively and achieve their goals.

4. Goal setting and tracking:

Wood and Disney can help business owners set realistic goals and develop strategies to achieve them. By providing regular financial reports and analysis, we can help business owners track their progress and make adjustments as needed to remain on track.

5. Emotional support:

Wood and Disney can provide a listening ear and offer emotional support to small business owners who may be struggling with stress, anxiety, or burnout. They can also connect business owners with resources that can provide additional support, such as mental health professionals or business counselling organisations.

By addressing the mental and emotional pain faced by small business owners, Wood and Disney can play a vital role in their overall success. By providing guidance, support, and expertise, we can help business owners navigate the challenges they face and build a stronger, more resilient business.