We have a team of more than 100 highly skilled individuals, who are employed to support our network to enable them to achieve their ambitions. The feedback we receive from our franchisees had led us to being awarded 5-Star Franchisee Satisfaction Award for eleven consecutive years (one of only four franchisors in the UK to achieve this).
The Norwich based Support Centre offers a complete range of professional, experienced and qualified personnel to provide full training, technical, marketing and business development support. Our initial training course is delivered by in-house experts, working alongside selected third party specialist training partners. 'The TaxAssist Practice Engine' drives best practice via our leadership teams, plus the input from franchisees and their staff to ever evolving systems.
All functions of a successful accountancy business are covered so you will be supported throughout your business life cycle with us.
Operational and onboarding support
Your contact initially will be with the recruitment team who can expertly guide you through our business model and answer all of your questions to help you to evaluate if becoming a TaxAssist Accountant is right for you. You will also be in contact with our Group Legal Manager, our Finance Team and the TaxAssist Training Academy team once you have signed up to join us, assisting with onboarding as a TaxAssist Accountants franchisee.
Marketing and business development
We understand that many new TaxAssist Accountants won’t have any experience of marketing themselves or a business. That is why we have a large and highly experienced team of marketing and communications professionals on hand to provide extensive training, support and advice.
Our proven client lead generation service delivers the right prospects to help grow TaxAssist practices, with each lead qualified before being transferred to the office in the relevant territory.
Read more about our Marketing and Business Development support here.
Technical support
For many TaxAssist Accountants, one of the key reasons for joining the network is the extensive training, support and back up provided by the highly qualified and experienced Technical Team.
The team provides a helpline for franchisees and their staff to use, covering queries related to bookkeeping, accounts, tax, VAT, payroll, National Insurance, tax investigation and software and a mentoring service in the early stages following the launch of the practice.
Read more about our Technical support here.
Technology and software
The IT and Software teams ensure the smooth and efficient running of the Norwich-based Support Centre IT systems and provide support and training to TaxAssist franchisees and their staff, alongside recommended outsourced partners and software providers: Acora One, Dext, TaxCalc, Ignition, Xero and QuickBooks.
They build and maintain the TaxAssist websites, internal support website and ticket systems for the helpdesks, and are responsible for the relationship management with our recommended IT, telephone and printing partners, as well as the continuing development of our web-based systems.
They deliver bespoke training and support to help with the adoption and integration of software, as well as suggesting and sharing best practice use of the software estate to gain efficiencies where possible.
Read more about our technology and software here.
TaxAssist Academy
Our TaxAssist Academy is responsible for the Initial Training Course and ongoing CPD training requirements. The team works closely with the Technical and Business Development Teams to ensure timely and relevant courses are provided throughout the year, in the best format, to continually upskill the network and their staff. Delivery is via face-to-face and online courses and webinars, supported by First Intuition, Kaplan UK, BPP and 2020 Innovation Training Limited.
Read more about our Initial Training here.
Peer support
A key motivation for franchisees joining us is to be a part of a large and experienced network.
We provide many opportunities to benefit from peer support and we regularly host events where we bring franchisees together to share best practice and collaborate for the benefit of the whole network. This includes Regional Meetings, Masterclasses, Franchisee Forums and, of course, our National Conference.
Read more about our Peer support here.
In-house Tax Consulting by TaxAssist and Payroll by TaxAssist
We continue to research, evaluate and roll-out services which are beneficial to both TaxAssist clients and our franchisees. The Tax Consulting team works alongside our network to deliver more complex tax services, to help franchisees earn more fees, retain clients and win new business. The Payroll team also works alongside our franchisees to deliver end to end payroll services for their clients. Using the latest technology, the payroll service is run through a leading cloud-based portal, providing enhanced functionality and by introducing an in-house payroll solution, this frees up time for franchisees and also helps to achieve better profit margins and win new business.
In-house financial planning offering to clients
Our franchisees benefit from a fully TaxAssist-branded financial planning offering. TaxAssist Financial Planning has been set up to make TaxAssist Accountants a one-stop-shop for all our clients’ financial needs. As clients look for more rounded and joined up advice on connected topics, our network is ideally placed, with visible shops, knowledge of clients’ financial affairs and existing client trust, to offer a range of financial services. This means we can help clients with their financial planning needs aligned to their goals and circumstances. Franchisees benefit from shared fees and commissions generated for the lifetime of a client's involvement with TaxAssist Financial Planning. This annual income stream will increase profits and make the practice more valuable. Comprehensive training and support is provided in this area.
