Raza Syed looks back on his highly successful time with TaxAssist Accountants.
FCCA-qualified Raza had only been operating his practice for three months when the first lockdown began. He is full of praise for the support provided to him and his clients by TaxAssist Accountants.
“I can safely say that the support and guidance received from TaxAssist in the rollercoaster environment of the covid years was incomparable, both as an accountant and a franchisee. It was fantastic," said Raza.
“The daily updates and assistance which were provided, proved the strength of the franchise and being a part of the successful, established network has been invaluable to both myself and my clients in terms of the depth and quality of resources available."
One of the reasons for joining TaxAssist Accountants was because Raza was aware of how to obtain the best results from a franchise structure, having worked in a practice that specialised in the industry.
"Before joining TaxAssist Accountants I worked in London for six years assisting franchisees in the fast food, retail and health care sectors, providing accountancy and consultancy services, formulating business plans and carrying out due-diligence on business purchases and sales, so I have a wealth of experience and expertise”.
Working for himself had always been a goal for Raza, who joined TaxAssist Accountants in October 2019. He explains: “I started my journey in February 2019 by attending a Discovery Day which highlighted three invaluable areas which made the decision to join TaxAssist an easy one:
- The strength of the technical team and the support that was on offer
- The brand and marketing support
- Access to enhanced services which can really benefit me and my clients
“I found extreme transparency with TaxAssist’s approach to their franchisees with the directors creating a culture of inspiring professionalism, honesty and a nurturing environment that is essential when building a business.
“I have been able to tap into TaxAssist’s expertise to help me with:
- My business plan
- Organising a great finance deal
- Finding the right location
- Shop visits
- Sorting out a lease
- Shop refurbishment
- Marketing
- Internal support systems i.e. software, IT providers, telephone systems etc.
- Technical support
- New business leads leading to regular business growth
“After just one year of trading I was servicing an ever-growing portfolio of clients and couldn’t have been more pleased. The technical support was invaluable and enabled me to confidently sign some key clients with good value.
“The first year was great and the second year was tremendous. We grew our practice by 40%, and by the end of year two, we achieved what we set out to achieve at the end of year three – and that was with a very ambitious business plan! I cannot be more thankful to the TaxAssist team.
“Going forward, business conditions seem favourable, with a lot of new start-ups. You are always under pressure by clients to reduce fees, however, with the quality of service we provide, we have maintained our fees and indeed raised them and did not have a single client leave due to the increase.
“We had a slower growth in year three compared to year one and two, because with the practice the size it was, I needed to ensure that we carried on with the same high service standards.
“From the end of year 3, most of our business has grown through referrals. In year 4 and 5 we achieved business turnovers of £410k and £430k respectively. Now in the 6th year, we are still growing and at present we are servicing over 360 clients.
"Our projection for this year is £500k, which I sincerely believe we should be able to achieve.
"A lot of hard work and support from TaxAssist has made this possible. I would also recommend new and younger franchisees joining TaxAssist to have a work life balance so they can enjoy their success fruitfully with their families!
“I’ve invested in starting a new business, opened a shop and have a growing client portfolio. Without TaxAssist, this would never have been possible. My friends and relatives who share the same profession and who have seen me grow as an individual, are already enquiring about TaxAssist and I have been extremely excited to tell them my story.
“The support model at TaxAssist has enabled me to grow at this pace and I am very pleased with where I am and look forward to another great year with TaxAssist Accountants.”
February 2025
