The Dun Horse Inn, Horsham
Stuart & Maurice took over The Dun Horse Inn five years ago, at 24 hours notice (the previous owners had gone bust). They choose to concentrate on running the pub, designing the menus and drinks, and looking after their customers.

Brainwaves filled their initial GAP by setting up their Limited Company, designing the accounting system and setting up the till and stock control system. We’ve put in staff appointment processes, staff contracts and advised on staff rotas since then.  We have also mentored them during negotiations for their new lease.

All of their bookkeeping is done by Brainwaves and we produce a management pack for them every month which their Business Manager goes through with them.

In the early days we recommended a designer for their stationery and web site to get them up and running. We continue to work with them on their marketing, as and when they require some external input to their plans.

“We simply couldn’t have turned the pub round without Nick and the team at Brainwaves. The last 5 years have been a huge learning curve and they’ve been there every step of the way to give us the advice and confidence we needed. Nick knows that we like to focus on the customer side of things and he makes sure all the boring stuff is taken care of, like the bookkeeping and accounts.

We’re in the process of reviewing our plans for 2009 and the monthly pack we get from Brainwaves of facts and figures is vital for that”

Buy-to-Let Investor, Shoreham
Lisa & Henry started investing in residential property 7 years ago. They are both self employed and wanted to start their own “pension pot” by building a buy-to-let portfolio alongside their day-to-day businesses. They are very keen to run their small Buy-to-Let business professionally and legally, and see it as a long-term investment. They initially asked Brainwaves to prepare and file their annual accounts and look after their Company Secretarial duties. We now also do their bookkeeping and complete their personal tax returns, as part of the total support package we give them.

“Brainwaves knew we were building the number of properties up quite quickly and were straight on the phone to us when a change in tax rules potentially affected our tax liability. As a result, we purchased our next few properties in our own names rather than through our Limited Company. What we really liked was that they came to us with this information as soon as the new rules came out, because we haven’t time to be on top of all these changes ourselves.”

JK Computer Training, Worthing
Julie set up her computer training business 3 years ago. She initially approached Brainwaves to fill the GAP in her Sole Trader accounting system, end of year accounts and personal tax return.

In the 3 years since start-up, Julie’s client base has grown to nearly 200 clients and her product range has expanded to adapt to the changing needs of her customers. Her students range from 3 years old to 93 years old!  Brainwaves has supported Julie in defining different markets and developing marketing plans to attract new business.

She does her own bookkeeping using a system designed by Brainwaves that makes her year-end accounting much simpler. We then prepare her annual accounts and tax return, minimising her tax bill wherever we can.

“I’m the first to admit that I can’t stand anything to do with accountancy or tax! I am a stickler for the rules though and it’s really important to me to know that the advice I get from Brainwaves is spot on. My Business Manager is great. She keeps me up-to-date with any changes that affect me so I don’t need to worry. She helps me with my marketing plans too. I tend to bounce most of my new ideas off her over the phone.