Franchise World Magazine Feature August/September 2015 - by Karl Sandall CEO of the TaxAssist Group
TaxAssist Accountants, the franchised accountancy and tax service for small businesses, is continuing its award-winning success by receiving Five Star Franchisee Satisfaction status at the annual Best Franchise Conference.
This was based on the quality of confidential feedback from its network of nearly 200 franchisees, who completed an independent franchise satisfaction survey managed by the research firm, Smith & Henderson.
Karl Sandall, is the CEO of The TaxAssist Group. He is placed 50th in the Financial Power List 2015 of Accountancy Age.
TaxAssist is this year celebrating its 20th Anniversary. It was founded in 1995 in the wake of self-assessment, with small businesses needing assistance with their tax and accounts. Additional services offered include year-end accounts, tax returns, bookkeeping, VAT returns, payroll and cash flow projections.
TaxAssist has grown to become the 24th largest network of accountants in the UK, servicing over 54,000 clients, from over 245 shops and offices and has consistently won awards in both the franchising and accountancy sectors.
The Five Star Award is another great vote of confidence. We not only maintained the Five Star rating we were awarded in the inaugural awards last year, we increased our score.
The survey asks our franchisees to rate our franchise system, the training and support we provide, our culture and relationship with them, stewardship and leadership and general satisfaction. We are delighted with the result and will continue to work hard to maintain and improve that level of satisfaction.
Steven Frost, of Smith & Henderson comments that: “Five Star Franchisee Satisfaction is only awarded to franchisors that receive better than average feedback in all the key areas of our survey. TaxAssist is part of an elite group of the UK’s best franchisors.”
This latest accolade follows hard on the heels of our franchisee-assisted management buyout – which saw more than half the network, including franchisees and their staff, investing in the business, with many more expressing an interest in buying shares in the future.
Year-on-year growth
The last few years have witnessed a number of global financial events which have challenged many businesses. However,TaxAssist is happy to report that it has continued to perform well in all areas, racking up double-digit growth year-on year, and most Key Performance Indicators, a growth rate, which has in fact outpaced many larger firms.
The TaxAssist franchise takes on both accountants and business/finance professionals and has found that they make equally good franchisees. Our franchisees can employ accountants while they concentrate on building the business, holding client meetings and networking. What is important is that candidates have plenty of energy, a friendly persona, are technically competent and have a desire to succeed and exceed their goals.
I’ve seen franchisees join us for a variety of reasons. Some are looking for a better work/life balance, some for less commuting, and others are just fed up of working for others and want to break free and work for themselves. All of them could see that by joining TaxAssist, they could work for themselves but not by themselves and while they are doing so, they are building a valuable asset. With our help and support, we can help you to achieve your personal goals, whether you’re working towards a 5 or 25 year contract. Tax and accountancy services are always in demand and with our retail style shop concept which is so convenient for the small business owner we know how successful you could be.”
Franchisee John Robinson comments:“We have just signed-up client number 2001 since we started as TaxAssist Accountants in 2001, an average sign-up of 154 a year. The TAA system works and the results are perfect evidence.”
'Franchisees at TaxAssist give a good account' By Karl Sandall - click here for Franchise World Article
August 2015
