Filling financial gaps in your bookkeeping: The three big mistakes that might be costing you thousands of pounds

Jodie Loveday is an accountant with over 38 years of experience. She now works with Hesketh Healthcare Consultancy, where her eye for detail has helped uncover significant accounting errors in 100% of new dental clients. These errors can often cost practices tens of thousands of pounds and lead to poor business decisions.

In this stimulating interview, Ashley and Chris speak to Jodie about three common mistakes she frequently discovers when taking on new dental clients.

The three key areas discussed are:

1. Income recognition

Jodie explains how income is posted to the accounts and why recording income in the wrong month can distort profits, affect decision-making and potentially lead to unnecessary tax payments.

2. Cost allocations

Costs are often posted directly from bank statements without invoices being properly checked. Jodie shares an example where a purchase was incorrectly allocated, meaning the client missed out on a 130% super allowance claim.

3. Directors’ loan accounts

Strict rules apply to limited companies, and overdrawn directors’ loan accounts can trigger unnecessary 37.5% tax bills, often with very short notice. Jodie shares another real-world example of how this can happen.

Jodie may be humble, but her no-nonsense approach will inspire you to examine how you run your own practice, review your numbers more closely and make sure your accounts are truly working for you.

Listen via your favourite podcast streaming service or the player below.