I have been writing about virtual assistants and virtual workers for quite some time, explaining the benefits of outsourcing to virtual assistants and workers for small business and start-up business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer-, Professional-, Personal businesses.

But I never really wrote something about what it means to have a virtual small business team, which is part of WinWeb’s Small Business Infrastructure approach - so here it goes, a virtual small business team is:

1. a collection of people working together in different locations, countries and time-zones
2. a “network” of people working together using advanced online technology
3. some teams my be project specific and/or limited in duration(time)

Not always do people only work virtually together, some times the meet - even if it is only socially. Under 1. many combinations are possible:

• different time in different locations
• same time in different locations
• same time in same location
• different time in the same location

This all really means one thing - anywhere at anytime! How virtual is your team or in other words how mobile and flexible is your small business. You should think about these issues in the planning phase of your business start-up.

Have you thought through all the possibilities for your small business outsourcing and bootstrapping or how much more green and eco-friendly your small business or start-up would be?

I usually complain about the Government not knowing what small business needs.

Here is an example of some good advice for small business, the Health & Safety Executive has a web-page called “Myth of the Month“, you should have a look at it .

One myth I would have believed is the myth of the month July 2007:

The myth: All office equipment must be tested by a qualified electrician every year.
The reality: No. The law requires employers to assess risks and take appropriate action.

HSE’s advice is that for most office electrical equipment, visual checks for obvious signs of damage and perhaps simple tests by a competent member of staff are quite sufficient.

There are more “Myth-Busters” on the web-site.

My first contribution to this blog has resulted from a recent experience had by a new client of my practice with someone who also used the title ‘accountant’.

Firstly, you need to understand in the UK there is no requirement to have any formal training or qualifications before calling yourself an accountant. This does not for one minute mean that someone without formal qualifications is going to be bad, not for one minute, so how do you chose your accountant?

As with anything, I would always say choose an accountant on the recommendations of a friend/colleague. If you know someone who uses an accountant, and they are happy with them, then this is a good starting point. Next, does the accountant have relevant experience in the industry you are in, or an allied industry, after all, it’s going to make life a lot easier if he actually knows a bit about the industry you’re in when offering advice.

But what if you don’t know anyone who can make a recommendation, what next? This is where I would definitely look for an accountant who belongs to a professional body, and holds a current and up to date practicing certificate, at least this way I would know this ‘stranger’ has gone through a certain standard of training and will have had to achieve a minimum level of experience before being admitted to membership.

The decisions don’t stop there though, unlike other countries where there is either one or a very small number of professional accounting bodies, the UK has many, as shown at the end of this post.

In summary, if you know someone who uses an accountant they are happy with meet them first, next find an accountant who understands your industry and finally if you have to make a selection on your own, then meet and interview at least three accountants before making your choice, remembering their membership of a professional body affords you some protection. Good luck!

Here is the list of accounting bodies:

The Association of Certified Accountants (ACCA)
The Association of International Accountants (AIA)
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Englandand Wales (ICAEW)
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI)
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)

Professional bodies whose members cannot act as company auditors:

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
Certified Public Accountants (Ireland) (CPA)
Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA)
Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT)

AAT, ACCA, Accounting, AIA, Bookkeeping, Business Development, Business Start Up, CIMA, CIPFA, CPA, CPAs, ICAEW, ICAI, ICAS, IFA, sme-blog

Stuart over at Business Matters mentioned a “must read” article for all business start-ups in the Sunday Times Small Business section last week, written by Rachel Bridge. She has a new great offering this week with “The secret to securing a start-up loan”.

Two things caught my attention, in section two she talks briefly about having a cash-flow forecast in preparation for the bank interview. In another section she says:” If you can get a bank loan instead of giving away equity, do so.” That is certainly not something I would agree with as general advice.

It seems to me if you have to prepare the cash-flow forecast to go to the bank to get money, you prepared it too late. Surely you should do the cash-flow first, check all other options, like looking at payment terms with your suppliers and also look at when you customers pay you.

And then I think you should look at other possibilities to raise capital, if you can find a partner then I think you should consider that very earnestly. You would have someone else thinking about the business and its best interests. Also consider what a personal guarantee will do to your private life if things go wrong?

My point here is: a bank loan or overdraft should be your last option. You should talk to a good accountant with a business advisor mentality. Our free AccountsOffice has a cash-flow tool that you can use with your accountant.

Business Development, Business Start Up, CPAs, Finance, SaaS, Software as a Service, WinWeb