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I worked with Sara-Jayne for over a year with a small charity with which I had been involved for over 6 years, to say she brought clarity and calmness to the mess they were in is a massive understatement. Sara-Jayne was always available to help and made sure everything made sense. Sara-Jayne implemented new ways to get important information in like invoices, she simplified a very outdated and time-consuming process that was in place before she set her genius to work on it. Sara-Jayne is one of the most professional and understanding people I have worked with. I have worked as a counsellor for over 13 years so I can recognise an empathetic and genuine person when I meet one and Sara-Jayne is certainly this and much more. I wholeheartedly recommend her work and I look forward to any future contact with Sara-Jayne, if I need her services in the future I will definitely be contacting her to put her particular brand of knowledge, understanding and empathy into action for me.

Amethyst Racoon has brought clarity and responsiveness to the financial workings of New Mills Festival. We can now see the current state of each project and event within the Festival as well as overall figures. Additionally by having immediate access and understanding of all our figures when she attends meetings Sara-Jayne is able to directly respond to any queries that arise on whatever aspect of our finances.

For the project that I was directly responsible for she ensured that it came in on budget and was able to follow through on all grant requirements, etc. Beyond that she is personally interested in how the various events are doing and can contribute informed suggestions on how to proceed.

I would happily recommend her services to any arts organisation or individual trader.

I’ve found this Basic Bookkeeping spreadsheet so useful, it’s a great resource especially for someone like me who is number phobic and beyond clueless with excel!

We have had the immense pleasure of working in a voluntary capacity with Sara-Jayne from Amethyst Raccoon for the last two years as bookkeeper for New Mills Festival CIC.

Prior to Sara-Jayne joining us the job of generating accounts and invoices, providing updates to the rest of the committee and the multitude of other day to day tasks had defaulted through a lack of volunteers to one of the existing volunteer directors and the additional workload was proving too much. We always seemed to be playing catch-up and preparing the books and making them balance for meetings especially the AGM was hugely stressful.

Since Sara-Jayne has joined us, she has expanded the role of bookkeeper way beyond our expectations. This has freed up other volunteers to think more strategically and to concentrate of the sustainability of the organisation. The directors are now always fully briefed on the finances and are confident that the bookkeeping and day to day financial tasks are in safe hands.

Although Sara-Jayne is a volunteer she treats the role with the utmost professionalism with exceptional attention to detail. A huge benefit has been transferring our accounting to an online and more automated system which has meant the end of large amounts of paper to be archived and a central point where directors can find information.

However, whilst we would highly recommend Sara-Jayne for her professionalism it is her personal touch and genuine interest and concern in our organisation and activities that has impressed us the most.

Thank you so much for being really generous with your time sorting out my computer problems and anxieties. You were so calm and patient and listened carefully to the difficulties I was experiencing. Then with amazing speed you created a system which I could use easily and with confidence. I am delighted, relieved and feel more in control. Thanks again.