Answer:  Either the General Manager John Primett or the Managing Director Anthony Pilkington will meet a prospective client, we establish all the problem areas and determine requirements. We then send a detailed formal proposal offering our solutions.

 Answer:  Largely networking, especially from firms of accountants? Also from this website!

 Answer:  Largely Gloucestershire, Bristol and adjacent counties but we are developing rapidly with national clients using either our postal system or BookCheck Online.

 Answer:  It may sound arrogant but we doubt there is much competition at our skill level however we recognise that not all businesses require quality management accounts. Most UK bookkeeping is handled by employees or small scale self-employed book-keepers. When that is not good enough then BookCheck is in the frame.

 Answer:  No. The minimum frequency is quarterly, most of our clients are monthly. Our role is to keep control of the bookkeeping system throughout the year and hence provide the basis for quality management information.

 Answer:  No. Our role is as outsourced bookkeepers so we move this task from the client to our skilled staff.

 Answer:  Your cash flow improves and hence profits increase as we produce accurate debtor data. Sound monthly accounts allows you to manage your business more efficiently e.g. you can measure your overheads and monitor margins. We release management time to 'get on with the business' and you will feel better too!

 Answer:  Your VAT returns, Aged Debtors, Aged Creditors, month end Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, comparison with Prior Year and with Budget plus a wide range of tailored reports as required.

 Answer:  We never act as accountants, rather we are professional bookkeepers. We engage 5 qualified accountants to check thoroughly the work of every book-keeper and to sign off every set of management accounts.

 Answer:  Firstly see the Q&A above - this is a vital difference and is the key differentiator. Secondly we are exclusively Sage and third we are 48 staff, established in 1994 so have a wealth of experience and cover. We believe we have the greatest operational Sage experience and skill anywhere in the UK.

 Answer:  This is Sage, on a bank level secure system in London, accessed over the web and shared between the client and Bookcheck, live 24/7. We input and reconcile the purchase ledger, VAT, bank and month end entries whilst clients create sales invoices and usually input the sales receipts and hence control the sales ledger. See \ Services \ BookCheck Online for more information.

 Answer:  This is becoming progressively better known. It's brilliant when the requirement is to share Sage across different sites, even concurrently. Example 1 - staff at one office want to create sales invoice but the book-keeping is at another office. Example 2 - the company wants to continue handling sales invoicing, ordering or stock through Sage but would like the book-keeping to be handled offsite by BookCheck. Example 3 - the owner wants to access the Sage from offsite e.g. home.

 Answer:  We charge according to the time we require which we establish after checking details. On average we take 60% of the existing time as we are totally focussed on the task and don't get sidetracked.

 Answer:  Currently our smallest client turnover is £100,000 and our biggest is £14M if that answers the question.

 Answer:  We maintain only Sage systems so that we are really skilled and efficient. We will convert any system to Sage free of charge. Often such a change saves £'000s every year as the old system was very costly compared with Sage, not only in maintenance but in much greater staff time required to run the system. This is such a hidden cost that most businesses are not even aware that it exists. We have massive experience of this subject since 1994 so do check with us for a professional consideration. Finding staff to run a Sage system is a far easier task than for other systems, consequently there is far less disruption and retraining required with staff changes. Most accountants are more familiar with Sage and generally prefer this software, assuming that it is under control, of course, which is where BookCheck comes in!

 Answer:  Sage Line 50 (usually called Accountant Plus or Financial Controller) and Instant. We have converted clients from Sage Line 100, saving considerable costs in maintenance and processing time.

 Answer:  Purchase invoices and payments, sales receipts (usually), bank transactions, petty cash, credit cards, factoring etc.. Calculation of accruals & prepayments. Reconciliation of everything possible including bank, VAT, PAYE and suppliers' statements.

 Answer:  Like the Year End accounts but tailored to your business, usually monthly - the reports are Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Previous Year comparison and Budget comparison.

 Answer:  We appoint one of our four qualified accountants who will check the quality of your book-keeper each month, make any adjustments that are necessary and then issue management reports directly to you under their signature. They will liaise with you as required to ensure that you have all the management information you require.

 Answer:  We allocate a payroll specialist to you who you will keep. You build up a really close working relationship and will be assisted you in every aspect of running the payroll. All our payroll staff are exceptional and professional. To say that they are keen is somewhat of an understatement - we are very proud of our reputation. We settle you to a routine and email or post to you the payslips and reports. We handle all aspects of the payroll Year End including the online filing.

 Answer:  At the start we agree a timetable with you which produces a prompt turnaround. We will look individually at any particularly tight timing - usually we can help clients to find a way to reduce the pressure.