What is life like as a Rosemary Bookkeeping franchisee?

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Nirmal Thakkar, owner of Rosemary Bookkeeping Garden City, shares her experience as a Rosemary Bookkeeping Franchisee.

Rosemary Bookkeeping is one of the UK’s only bookkeeping franchises.

Our business owners work for themselves but not by themselves to deliver personalised and expert bookkeeping services to commercial clients and small business owners nationwide.

Nirmal Thakkar opened her Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise, Rosemary Bookkeeping Garden City, in July 2022 after the brand was recommended by a friend who is a CIMA-qualified accountant.

Upon having a brand intro call with ServiceMaster Brands UK Franchise Sales Manager Emma Chappell, Nirmal was sure she and Rosemary were a perfect match.

“When I met people at Rosemary, I felt that I could be a part of the family, and I will never feel left out.”

“I feel proud to be a part of the Rosemary Franchise,” she says.

Who is Nirmal Thakkar?

With a Master’s in Business Administration and having worked in the financial industry for about 15 years, and as part of a family of accountants, Nirmal supports her clients with years of knowledge and experience.

“My husband is a Financial Director of his property-based company in the UK. He is an accountant. All the men in my family are accountants.”

“Bookkeeping runs in my blood,” she says.

As a mum in a family of four, Nirmal balances her responsibilities as a Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise owner, mother, and committee member of her local Indian Cultural Association, which includes planning events and cultural activities throughout the year like Holi, Diwali and Navratri.

Why Rosemary Bookkeeping?

As a busy, family-oriented businesswoman who is entrenched in her local community, Nirmal chose Rosemary Bookkeeping to “work for [herself] and have control of [her] work-life balance.”

Franchisees like Nirmal also benefit from being part of a trusted brand, a nationwide network of bookkeepers, and a centralised and dedicated franchisor support team that helps with queries, best practices, sales, marketing, and operations.

The tried and tested Rosemary Bookkeeping model ensures they are on track to succeed in all they do – with the unique opportunity to achieve a turnover of £135,000 in just five years, based on an average commercial job value of £2,100 pa.

The Rosemary Bookkeeping Experience

Nirmal says the fundamentals of running a successful Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise have been to take small steps and work to her strengths.

“My people skills have [seen] me achieve success,” she says. Having also received esteem for her interpersonal skills, Nirmal knows that she can use this to her advantage when faced with the things she finds harder – like aspects of marketing.

“Face-to-face marketing helps a lot, as it shows your confidence and commitment in what you do, and the business owners can feel the same,” she says.

Words of advice

She says this commitment is what will enable your success as a franchisee.

“No matter who you are and what you have done, your commitment will make you successful.”

“If you are ready to work for yourselves and are passionate about your business, you will always succeed.”

Need a bookkeeper? 

To contact Nirmal and receive her expert help with your bookkeeping, call 01462 41944.

For those elsewhere in the UK, find your nearest Rosemary Bookkeeping business today to book a free quote from one of our experts.

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All aboard for the Rosemary Franchise Forum

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Over 50’s are the new business start up generation

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Steve Brown, winner of the BFA’s Olderpreneus Award, was featured in an article in the FT Money section on Saturday 17th February.

Read the article here:

https://www.ft.com/content/183a52a6-d9b6-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e

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Qualified Accountant is won over by being part of a team

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Neeta Patel attended a BFA sponsored  franchise exhibition and was curious when the name Rosemary Bookkeeping kept being mentioned. Being a qualified Management Accountant she was initially researching Accountancy franchises but her curiosity won and she looked the Rosemary Franchise website and booked in for a Discovery Event.

Having worked in industry for all of her working life, Neeta was seeking to find the ideal work/life balance following the birth of her son. She wanted to work – working with numbers was something that always interested her – but she also wanted to spend quality time with her son. A traditional 9-5 role didn’t fit this bill so when she was made redundant in November 2015 this was the ideal opportunity to search for the right position for her, hence her visiting a franchise exhibition.

“In 12 months’ time I want to have established myself as a reputable bookkeeper in my area of Northampton and to have built up a sizeable business whereby I can begin to employ staff and turn my role into a more management position”.

The Rosemary BookkeepingTM franchise responds to the increasing need in the UK for an affordable, professional bookkeeping service that supports both the client and the accountant. Neeta will be working in harmony with her clients’ accountants, providing them with exactly what they need in the format they want saving his clients’ time and money.

The franchise is based on a business concept that has been established and refined since 2002, providing a unique bookkeeping system within a fully supported franchise package. Neeta will be able to obtain great flexibility and the potential for a superb work-life balance, that will allow her to juggle her new business whilst looking after the family home with her husband and child.

The Founding Partners have over 60 years of business and bookkeeping experience between them in the essential business disciplines of accounting, operations, sales and marketing.  As an Associate Member of the bfa, Rosemary Bookkeeping has a proven ability to sustain a franchise network successfully.

Rosemary Bookkeeping has recently opened up more territory opportunities in the Midlands, North of England and South East. For more information please call 0345 8620072 or visit our website www.rosemaryfranchise.co.uk.

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Winner at the bfa franchisee awards for Rosemary Bookkeeping

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A  former IT specialist, who now runs a bookkeeping business in Newbury, was named  Olderpreneur Franchisee Of The Year, at the British  Franchise Association’s 2016 BFA HSBC Franchisee of the Year Awards ceremony, held at Town Hall Birmingham last night (September 29th).

Steve Brown said: “I am proud, delighted and a little shocked – it’s great to be recognised for your success – as well as having a sustainable business which I can pass on to my family in years to come.”

Pip Wilkins, bfa chief executive, said: “Steve’s shown the ability and resilience to overcome many challenges. From leaving a corporate environment and starting his own business, to managing that business while caring for his wife, his calm head and steadfast approach has translated into a fast-growing business – and now a national award as well.”

Andrew Brattesani, UK head of franchising for HSBC, commented: “While running his business and helping his daughter with hers, Steve’s still found time to put new ideas into the wider network for the benefit of his fellow Rosemary Bookkeeping franchisees. He’s a brilliant example of how in franchising, experience is highly valued and no age limit applies.”

Steve took over the Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise six years ago, and since then he has seen turnover increase by 37% per annum; client numbers have almost doubled since 2012 and one client is a company with a turnover of £5m.

“We are so proud of the success Steve and his daughter TJ have achieved and we will continue to support and guide them in growing their business even further” says Lisa Curteis, Recruitment Director Rosemary Bookkeeping Ltd.

Rosemary Bookkeeping has released more territories in the UK so please contact us on 0345 862 0072 to find out more information.

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Staying ahead in a digital bookkeeping world

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How do Rosemary  Bookkeeping support franchisees during times of technological change?

Just like any business in any sector, Rosemary Bookkeeping  have to keep innovating and changing the way they work in order to keep up with  changes in technology. While HMRC aim for a fully digital system by 2020 so it is essential that bookkeepers remain up-to-date with advancing technologies to avoid going out of business. With such a massive shift in the way that bookkeeping is conducted, how do Rosemary  Bookkeeping support their franchisees in this changing world?

Rosemary Bookkeeping support to deliver their bookkeeping services as well as marketing their business in a digital world. By keeping up to date with the latest technology and software, franchisees ensure that they stay ahead in a highly competitive market. They are trained in new ways of working to win and retain business – working smarter and faster whilst maintaining a high level of customer service.

The Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise has over 20 nationwide franchised offices with a potential market size of approximately 6 million individual businesses. The franchise is based on a business concept that has been established and refined since 2002 providing a unique bookkeeping system within a fully-supported franchise package. Franchisees obtain huge flexibility with superb work-life balance – they work the hours they want, around their own commitments.

With so many businesses now operating online and using third party software to integrate into their businesses to complete sales activity it is vital that bookkeepers understand how this impacts their clients’ business so that they don’t get left in the dark ages whilst everyone else flies into the digital world and this is where Rosemary Head Office can offer support to their franchisees.

“One of our key customers is an online retailer. The biggest difference between an online client and a regular client is the lack of paperwork. We exchange all of the documents we need online and then upload them into our own online software in order to generate an invoice for each transaction. It’s a very simplistic system. There can be VAT issues depending on where their customer is and foreign currency can be a bit more complex. Rosemary Head Office support us in the technical aspects of the work and if we ever have any queries they’re our first port of call. We structured our online system along the lines of the Rosemary system which gives us guidelines for our own business,” explain Tony and Rosie, Rosemary Bookkeeping franchisees in Cheshunt.

“At Rosemary Bookkeeping, we provide our franchisees with a knowledge bank called ‘Herbal Essences’. This helps our franchisees to differentiate between different types of client and a guide on how to provide the best service for each one. As the bookkeeping world evolves, at Rosemary Bookkeeping, we keep on top of changes and make sure that everything we do is in line with the changes. Technology changes what we do for clients and how we do it,” explains Lisa Curteis, Franchise Director at Rosemary Bookkeeping.

Rosemary Bookkeeping ensure that they stay ahead of the competition and keep their franchisees successful and thriving in the bookkeeping sector.

If you would like to find out if the Rosemary franchise would suit you please take a look at our website www.rosemaryfranchise.co.uk and contact our Franchise Team on 0345 862 0072 for an introductory chat.

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The best time of year to start a new business is…

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When you speak to the  experts on this topic the replies are varied. Some say in January, some say after the school summer holidays. The truth is, it really depends on the industry, the potential clients and with the biggest differentiator being the new business owner themselves.

It’s been a successful Q1 for Rosemary Bookkeeping Franchisees with more satisfied new clients than ever! The number of small businesses operating in the UK has been steadily increasing. In the last 24 months alone there’s been 146,000 new businesses formed, taking the total number of SMEs to around 6 million. That’s a huge market! It’s no wonder Rosemary Bookkeeping are seeing even more small business clients coming to them to keep their books tidy and up-to-date.

The how, what and when to business!

With business ownership being such a fashionable and attractive route to earning a living, many people turn their thoughts towards how they will make good money and in what sector to start in. The beauty with franchising is the greatly reduced risk in using someone else’s tried, tested and proven business model. Let them make the mistakes, so you can avoid them and fast track your own success – it’s a no brainer really. That’s why franchising has an over 97% success rate (according to the bfa/NatWest annual survey). Plus, there’s already a market need established – vital if you want to get ahead.

So, we go back to timing – the when. If you are considering a service based business, then the first rule of thumb is to make sure you have a good, solid target market. We’ve already explained that business ownership is on the increase (check out recent stats on the FSB website too). Rosemary Bookkeeping is so successful because their franchisees help small firms to intelligently process and keep financial records. Yawn yawn ,boring boring some might say, but hang on a minute! Having clear and meaningful accounts isn’t just something the banks like to see when considering lending. If you’re serious about growing, you’ll need to look weekly and monthly at meaningful management accounts: profit levels and payment schedules alone help clients understand what is happening in their business so they can make decisions about how to grow, what support they need or when to get finance.

What a client says:

“I’ve always been interested in how businesses make decisions to grow and what information they use. Our Rosemary Bookkeeping franchisee provides super tailored reports before our board meetings so we can really see what is happening,” Sarah Carlile, Director at Coconut Creatives Ltd.

The Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise has over 20 nationwide franchised offices with a potential market size of approx. 6 million individual businesses. The franchise is based on a solid business concept established in 2002 with a unique charge-by-transaction bookkeeping service. It’s clear to clients exactly what they’re paying for which offers complete transparency for new sole traders or Ltd companies. Franchisees obtain huge flexibility with superb work-life balance – they work the hours they want, around their own commitments.

If you would like to find out if the Rosemary franchise would suit you please take a look at our website www.rosemaryfranchise.co.uk and contact our Franchise Team on 0845 862 0072 for an introductory chat.

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A Lifestyle checklist for 2016

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We’re looking for more Franchise Partners  to join our growing network. Why not take the Rosemary Bookkeeping Franchise Partner quiz to see if you’ve got what it takes.

  • Do you want to choose the hours you work?
  • Are you ambitious?
  • Do you want to be your own boss?
  • Do you have drive and determination?
  • Can you delegate and manage people?
  • Can you follow a proven system?
  • Are you looking for a business with growth potential?

If you answered yes to 5 or more of the above, then Rosemary Bookkeeping could be the franchise opportunity you’ve been looking for.

Rosemary Bookkeeping delivers intelligent bookkeeping services to SMEs, accountants and franchisors ensuring consistency of delivery and high-quality work. We enable clients to make decisions on their businesses and give peace of mind that HMRC will be happy. With a market of over four million businesses in the UK, we know that our services are in demand and valued by business owners who are looking to spend time building their businesses. Our franchise is based on a unique business concept that has been established and refined since 2002 providing a bookkeeping system within a fully supported franchise package.

Shape your future

Not only will we support you in setting up and running your business, we offer three entry levels to reflect the added training and support we provide at the higher entry levels. We know that everyone has different goals and skillsets which is why our entry levels vary depending on your goals, aspirations and experience.

  • Associate Franchise Partner – £8,970
  • Franchise Partner – £16,970
  • Managing Franchise Partner – £21,970

In the progression from Franchise Partner to Managing Franchise Partner you will receive even more training and expert advice on growing your team to help you develop your business even further.

By offering these entry levels, we give you a process of managed progression to allow qualified professionals a lower entry level with vast opportunities to grow at your own pace and when the time is right within our extensive support structure.

Please contact us today if you’re ready to become a Rosemary Bookkeeping franchisee.

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