Big Red Cloud is delighted to announce the launch of Account-Ability, our free, five-part online video training series designed specifically for small business owners. Account-Ability is a short video tutorial series that aims to help busy small business owners to get to grips with and master the basics of bookkeeping.
Here at Big Red Cloud we believe that Ireland has always boasted a talented, driven and brave pool of entrepreneurs which is supported by the fact that the number of new companies formed in 2014 up 14% on the previous year to 17,923
Marc O’Dwyer, our CEO ,explained, “Last year was the best year for company start-ups since 2007 – there is no doubt Ireland has not lost its entrepreneurial spirit. We need to foster this and help those who take the plunge to run their own business. Because while there were 43,586 new companies and business start-ups registered in the last year, there were also 11,882 Irish companies dissolved in 2014.
Statistics have shown that 1 in 4 companies closed by year 4 in businesses. 40% failed by year 6. Once past year 6 the probability of failure fell substantially – it’s clear that helping businesses from the get-go is what needs to be done.
Study after study shows that cash flow is a major contributing factor to small business failure. There is no doubt that business owners that have a handle on cash flow are best placed to tackle any one of the other challenges that beset small businesses.
The Big Red Cloud Account- Ability learning initiative was borne on the back of feedback from clients who had just set up their business and were at a complete loss to what was required of them with regards bookkeeping and accounting. Setting up your own business, regardless of whether it’s a 1 or a 10 man operation, is an exciting but a daunting prospect. There are endless elements you need to consider and we felt that if we could alleviate the chaos that surrounds going out on your own – if even just by a small amount – then business owners and managers would really benefit from this.
One of the biggest areas of concern for those starting out on their own was how to take the first step in doing you own accounts and be ready to submit end-of-year returns. Nobody wants to get in trouble with the taxman after all! Our advice to people in this regard is to start as you mean to go on – don’t let things pile up – put a good bookkeeping system in place from Day 1 and it may save you a ton of time and financial heartache down the road”.
Account-Ability is the result of a 6 moth consultative process where experts in Big Red Cloud came up with the original concept and then worked with an accountant advisory panel to ensure they covered the essential topics. They then handed the project over to a digital specialist who delivered the finished product – a 5 part online eLearning programme on the basics of bookkeeping with bonus video that’s all delivered in less than 40 minutes.
Marc continued, “When designing the tutorials we were so conscious that time is a major issue for anyone setting up or running a small business – so we made a concerted effort to keep the tutorials as succinct as possible – there are 5 in the series – no longer than 6/7 minutes each”.
The easy to follow training series covers important accounting principles that are critical to the success of every small business. The series covers invoicing correctly, understanding VAT, managing the bank account, legal obligations, filing accounts and to cap it all off, a bonus video on the number one headache for small businesses – how to manage cash flow.
Marc concluded, “The delivery of Account-Ability marks a further evolution in the history of Big Red Cloud. Business owners that have a grounding in the basics of bookkeeping will derive most value from our accounting platform and ultimately are the businesses best geared up for the long run. It’s in all our interests to have business owners that are well versed in the basics of bookkeeping so I see Account-Ability as a near prerequisite to running a successful small business”.
It’s easy to sign up to. No credit card, just your name and email address and away you go. Click here for instant access to Account-Ability.
