What My Clients Say

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.

The information Sara-Jayne provided my members helped them to gain so much clarity and confidence around their book keeping, they were all very grateful!

The mini-mastermind is a safe and mutually understanding place to come together with other creatives and business owners, to chat over any doubts, problems, or dilemmas.

Sara-Jayne is a warm and friendly facilitator with a knack for asking the right questions! And of course the other participants bring with them their own personal strengths, expertise, and insights.

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!

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.

I worked with Sara-Jayne for several months on a project for a charity, and I was extremely impressed both by her technical skills, and by her ability to understand the issues behind a question. Several times, I asked her if A or B might be possible, and I always received really helpful, insightful responses, which often went beyond the original question and showed deep understanding of what was actually needed. I have absolutely no reservations in recommending Sara-Jayne – she is brilliant.

Before I worked with you, I would do my books on the dreaded January. It was the only time I would look at money. I would get very stressed. Obviously you don’t know how you’re doing, do you? You don’t know how profitable you are. You don’t know about any of your products: are they making money?

For someone like me who completely buries their head, it was a really big thing to get my head around. It was quite monumental to realise I’m actually earning money because I don’t feel like I’m earning money. Actually looking at the books, I’m actually earning quite a bit of money.

Having you there to encourage me to face it led was just incredible.

The experience was transformational. Purely because it has completely transformed my business. Every aspect. I get a lot of copycats. Now, when they’re undercutting me, I know they’re making a loss. So it’s given me a lot of confidence to let people copy me. At the end of the day, I know the figures because we’ve been through it together. I want a business that’s going to last and not put me in debt. That’s not what business is about; it’s an energy exchange. I have so much confidence now.

I know what I can afford to do now. I can actually sit there like a businessperson and say, ‘That was not a financially safe thing to do. Don’t do it again!’

Going out and doing talks knowing that I can help other business owners, knowing that I am profitable. Knowing the figures so I can grow the profit.

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.

I really appreciate the practical approach to discussing business expenses in this workshop. The pace and focus adjusted with my specific situation because of the nature of my business, and this was very reassuring as we went along. The notes are definitive and clearly outlined, downloadable and very useful for referring to later on. A very wonderful start for me as I tackle my self-assessment for the current financial year.

I have worked with Sara-Jayne for a few years & she is an amazing supportive person who supported me so patiently in our previous roles. I continually contacted Sara-Jayne requesting support and she was very efficient and effective in her support and an amazing personality. Sara-Jayne is very approachable and nothing was too much of a problem. Thanks for everything, Wayne