Welcome to our Autumn newsletter! This quarter we tell you how we said goodbye to expense claims and how you can do the same. We also interviewed local pet expert Carys Middleton from Mojo Pet Companies. She shares her tips and business advice with us. Plus we have weddings, engagements, and births to announce! We’ve had a busy quarter!
COS Crew News – Autumn 2019
What have our staff and members been up to? Find out here.
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A Geeky Summer Wedding

On the 23rd of July, Becky was married at the enchanting Peckforton Castle. The weather was fantastic and there were smiles all around. The wedding was an eclectic mix of geek, rock, and traditional rolled into one. From photos with lightsabers and smoke grenades to cutting the cake with a sword; everything had a unique twist. Becky and her new husband Lee would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who gave them cards and gifts. They had a brilliant honeymoon in New York that they will never forget.
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An Engagement

As one wedding is over another one is in the making. It’s been an exciting time in the COS office! In July Steph got engaged and we’d like to wish her and her fiance Joe, a huge congratulations. We look forward to hearing all about their plans. Steph has already found “the dress”. They plan to be married on the 5th September 2020.
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New Staff Members

It’s been an exciting year in the COS office and we’ve taken on a further 2 staff members. We’d like to welcome to the team: Margaret Dalton and Angel Blagoev. We wish them all the best in their journey with us and hope they enjoy our company as much as we enjoy theirs.
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Margaret is a Grandma…again!

Margaret has some exciting news! She’s just become a Grandma for the second time. Her daughter has had a baby boy and named him Ellis. We wish her daughter all the best with her new baby.
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Diane Adopts a Kitten

Diane recently adopted the adorable Freddie! Freddie was rescued by South Manchester Rehome and Rescue and Diane fell in love with the little guy.
Freddie was just 12 weeks old when he came to live with Diane and her family. They are all very excited to have a little kitten to play with.
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Karen and Becky announce their latest Pantomime

Karen’s next big project is producing a pantomime written by her husband Chris and daughter Becky. The show is called “The Tablet of Time”. It follows a group of 1920’s/30’s museum workers who are sent on a time travel adventure by an ancient Egyptian tablet. From dinosaurs to dragons, there’s something for all the family to enjoy.
The show will run from Tuesday 11th Feb – Saturday 15th Feb 2020.
Early bird deals available.
For more details visit the Facebook event by clicking here.
How we said Goodbye to expense claims with Pleo

Like many other businesses, we have expense claims that we have to process for our employees, which is time-consuming and frustrating for everyone. And then we signed up for Pleo, and it changed everything. Now, some of our staff members have a contactless Pleo card which is topped up by the Directors as and when it is needed. It has meant an end to the petty cash tin and expense claim form. It has made our lives a little easier and more efficient. We thought we’d share with you what we love about Pleo, maybe it could be just the ticket for your business?
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Cashflow Control

Many companies hand out company credit cards to their staff, but do you really want to give everyone cards with £10,000 limits? The cashflow control can become a bit of a nightmare to manage. With Pleo you can assign different amounts to different cards and you will always know exactly how much your staff have to spend. They won’t be aware of how much each other has so you could give £1,000 to the person that regularly buys larger items and say just £200 to someone who buys milk every week for the crew.
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Speedy Receipts

Pleo has an app that your employees can download on their phone. When they spend with their card, the Pleo app sends them a notification prompting them to take a photo of their receipt. It is quick and easy to do and asks them very few questions.
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Access all your cards in one place

Most people bank with multiple banks which usually involves having a multitude of apps on your phone that don’t connect with one another. With the Pleo portal you can login and see how much all your employees are spending in one place. You can see amounts, dates, receipts, and descriptions for all the transactions (so long as your employees have done their bit). You can even send them a message from the portal. For instance, “Please can you enter that receipt from Tuesday’s lunch”.
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Spend abroad with no fuss

Do you and your staff travel frequently? You can use your Pleo card in a whole host of different countries without hefty fees. Your currency will be converted using the exchange rate at the time of purchase. Like all banks, there is an FX charge but Pleo’s is only 2% instead of the usual 3%. Please note: The FX rate is included in the Pleo transaction.
If one of your employees needed emergency funds whilst away, you can simply top up the card from back home in your portal.
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Connect to your accounting software

Pleo has an integration with Xero which we use ourselves at COS. They also have an export to Sage available. They are constantly developing ways of working with different software to find innovative ways to help their customer.
Want to know more about how Pleo can work for you? Email pleo@cosbookkeeping.co.uk or call 0161 850 3355.
Local Pet Expert shares her tips and advice
Interview with Carys Middleton from Mojo Pet Companions
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Q: Tell us about your Business and how you can support our loving pets

Mojo Pets offers personalised care including dog walks, pop in visits, overnight sitting, and more. My aim is to give each client an individual service that suits the needs of them and their pet, and ensure that both the owner and the pet are 100% happy at all times. I want each animal in my care to feel as comfortable as they would with their own family.
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Q: What should people consider before getting a dog?

Owning a dog is a huge commitment, that requires time, patience, and an open mind. Each dog is an individual, and whether you choose to get a puppy or an older dog, you will need to spend time getting to know them and finding out what their specific needs are. My advice would be to spend time around dog owners and their dogs, research basic dog behaviour/any particular breed that you may be considering owning, make sure your lifestyle could allow for a dog. Also understand the financial costs of getting a dog and be prepared for unpredictable factors as well.
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Q: Have you any tips on to stop dogs from pulling their lead?

With any kind of training, it’s all about positive reinforcement. When it comes to lead pulling, stopping and standing still and firm whenever the dog tries to pull, and then only moving forward if they stop pulling, is the technique I use. If the dog is food motivated I reward with a treat each time they stop and wait to move forward. Also, lots of praise so they know when they’ve done the right thing!
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Q: Do you have a favourite pet you look after?

I’m not allowed to have favourites! I like all the pets I care for, for different reasons. I have a bond with each one which I do think is important, as without this, the experience wouldn’t be positive for the animal or myself. It also helps when it comes to training and behaviour when I know them well, as I know what they respond to and what they don’t, and what to look out for.
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Q: What would you say to someone wanting to start up a small business?

Do it! As long as you’re passionate about what you’re doing, have knowledge on the area you’re working in and are willing to learn something new every day, you can do it. Starting up Mojo Pets has been an amazing experience for me the past two years, and even now I’m still learning all the time. Every week there’s a new challenge and it keeps it interesting and fun.
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Carys Middleton of Mojo Pet Companions
Call: 07771656355 |Email: mojopetcompanions@gmail.com | Instagram: @mojopets | Facebook: facebook.com/mojopets/
Upcoming Events – Autumn 2019

New Xero Courses…
We have broken our level 3 and 4 Xero courses down to create fresh, new, cheaper and shorter courses. We have also made Xero payroll course. Our new half-day courses (10am-2pm) are:
- Xero Projects including tracking
- Xero Report Customisation
- Xero fixed assets; VAT returns and overall data health check
- Xero Chart of accounts and journals
- Xero Payroll
Plus we have new Bookkeeping Theory Courses (10am-2pm)…
- Double-entry bookkeeping theory (not software specific)
- Accruals and Prepayments (not software specific)
- Payroll Theory (not software specific)
- Excel Introduction
Book Below by clicking on the links…
~~Course~~ | ~~Date~~ |
Xero Level 1 Training Course | Tuesday 12th November |
COS Members’ Christmas Social | Saturday 16th November |
Xero Level 2 Training Course | Tuesday 19th November |
Double Entry Bookkeeping Theory (Not Software Specific) | Wednesday 4th December |
Accruals and Prepayments (Not Software Specific) | Tuesday 10th December |
Xero Report Customisation | Tuesday 14th January |
Double Entry Bookkeeping Theory (Not Software Specific) | Tuesday 21st January |
Xero Projects including tracking | Thursday 30th January |
Accruals and Prepayments (Not Software Specific) | Tuesday 4th February |
Xero fixed assets; VAT returns and data health check | Tuesday 18th February |
Xero Report Customisation | Thursday 12th March |
Xero Chart of Accounts and Journals | Tuesday 24th March |
Payroll Theory (Not Software Specific) | Tuesday 31st March |
Xero Payroll | Wednesday 8th April |
Excel Introduction | Wednesday 15th April |
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