Opening Bookkkeeping Shop

[Wilma]

Hi

I am considering opening a shop to provide bookkeeping & accountancy services, sage training, etc.,. I work from home at the moment and thought opening a shop would bring more clients. Is their any bookkeeper running their own shop on the forum, and if so, did their business improve by doing so?

Wilma

[amanda1111]

Where abouts will you be based?

[Alison Jones]

HI Wilma

I too work from home but once I have expanded will be looking at offices (think shops not as suitable as landlords of retail property very particular of product that is sold and bookkeeping & accountancy service more office based.)

Alison

[Wilma]

Hi Amanda,

I have been looking for a while now and the one I have chosen is based on a very busy road, taking traffic direct into the City Centre and M8 motorway and clyde tunnel and major supermarkets.

[Wilma]

HI Wilma

I too work from home but once I have expanded will be looking at offices (think shops not as suitable as landlords of retail property very particular of product that is sold and bookkeeping & accountancy service more office based.)

Alison

Hi Alison,

I understand what you mean, I had this problem with some landlords. But not all of them are the same. As long as you can guarantee the rent. I feel the shops will make more of an impact. Offices tend to be hidden and off the main routes.

[amanda1111]

Sounds good. So there will be a lot of footflow past your shop which is always good. Will there be competition nearby? I would be careful not to tread on anyones toes if you can. I know business is business but you dont want other accountants taking a dim view on you being nearby. Have you looked into how many there are surrounding you. Some councils only allow for so many particular businesses being set up within a certain high street. It be worth checking out.

Hope all goes well for you :)

Amanda
BUSINESS FIRST
Freelance Business Administration Services

[Wilma]

Sounds good. So there will be a lot of footflow past your shop which is always good. Will there be competition nearby? I would be careful not to tread on anyones toes if you can. I know business is business but you dont want other accountants taking a dim view on you being nearby. Have you looked into how many there are surrounding you. Some councils only allow for so many particular businesses being set up within a certain high street. It be worth checking out.

Hope all goes well for you :)

Amanda
BUSINESS FIRST
Freelance Business Administration Services

Hi Amanda,

There is no competition nearby, and plenty of footflow. In Glasgow I'm surprised at how little open shop fronts house bookkeeping and accountancy services.

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

Wilma

Good luck with the shop. Can I ask:

Who are your major customers?
Is the shop located close to where they live, work, 'play' etc?
How will you get them into the shop e.g. signage (any planning permission issues?)

That's all I can think of at this point.

[accountancyextra]

A friend of mine runs their accountancy business through shop front premises. They tell me it's great for picking up walk by trade, but you have to weed out the timewasters who just want to pop in for free advice etc.

Overall I think it's a great (and differant) strategy to get your buisiness noticed.

[Fernhurst Solutions Ltd]

There is an accountant in Blackburn who trades through this method and seems to have done quite well out of it ..... he is a member on here I think, but used to talk a bit of twaddle about how many clients and officies he has etc, so now don't think he bothers :D

[accountancyextra]

There is an accountant in Blackburn who trades through this method and seems to have done quite well out of it ..... he is a member on here I think, but used to talk a bit of twaddle about how many clients and officies he has etc, so now don't think he bothers :D


Yeah I remember him, think someone sent him away with a flea in his ear cause of the twaddle.

[Jaydee]

Do you remember the racist rants that he signed his real name to on various newspaper websites....you couldn't make it up!

[Philip Hoyle]

If you are going to use a shop front, you need a "gatekeeper" or you'll never do any chargeable work. You need a receptionist at the front and you need to work in a back room. You wouldn't believe the amount of time-wasters who'll drop in wanting free advice or just a chat. I made this mistake - like you, I thought a shop front would be a good idea so I rented a shop front on a busy thoroughfare of our town centre, between the shopping area and the "professionals" area where the estate agents, solicitors, etc were located.

I lasted just a couple of weeks before I put up blinds, locked the door and put an "appointments only" notice up. This was a good move as I had the best of both worlds. There was a big sign over the shop window and the window itself was "lettered" so it acted as a good advertisement. The time wasters wouldn't bother phoning to make an appointment so I got rid of them but anyone seriously wanting an accountant would take the trouble to phone, so the "advert" was effective and I picked up several good quality clients.

So my advice would be to get a receptionist if you are keen on having a shop front and being open to the public, but otherwise, go ahead with the shop front, but get your blinds and lock the door.

[Wilma]

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice it was much appreciated. At the moment I am negotiating the lease with the letting agency and just awaiting the out come!

I am hoping everthing will go okay, I know it will be hard work, but it will be a challenge. I have managed to negotiate with an accountant to oursource the final accounts at a reduced rate, so far everything is going to plan I hope.

Wilma

[Zeno]

I would suspect that the overheads of renting of shop will outweigh any benefits from passing trade.

Office space would be far cheaper and usually comes with far better facilities such as parking (Important when clients bringing boxes of records).

[Officebird]

I would suspect that the overheads of renting of shop will outweigh any benefits from passing trade.

Office space would be far cheaper and usually comes with far better facilities such as parking (Important when clients bringing boxes of records).


I have to agree. I work from an office and it is in the town centre, it just doesn't have shop frontage.

When a client comes with a big box of unorganised paperwork they can park close by. What about confidentiality? You would have to ensure that all paperwork etc is away from the windows and not easily viewed by the timewasters calling in. Your PC's etc would need to face away from the windows meaning you are facing the window being distracted.

It is a nice idea in theory though and I hope you do well:)

[Jenni384]

Office space would be far cheaper and usually comes with far better facilities such as parking (Important when clients bringing boxes of records).

I agree, and with Officebird's comments, above.

A compromise is offices in town, maybe upstairs above a shop. That way you can have some visibility, but can better avoid the walk-ins, timewasters, extra overheads etc.

I'd really advise going down the serviced office route, at least for now.

Best of luck :)