AHBS Limited Accountants & Payroll Bureau

22/07/2026

Not your dream.

Your goal.

There's a difference.

A dream sounds like this:
"I'd love the business to be more profitable."

A goal sounds like this:
"I want to increase my profit by £20,000 over the next 12 months."

One is a wish.

The other gives you something to work towards.

The same applies to almost every area of business.

"I want more customers."
Or...
"I want to gain 10 new customers by the end of the year."

"I want better cash flow."
Or...
"I want to build a cash reserve that covers three months of business expenses."

The more specific your goal, the easier it becomes to make decisions that move you towards it.

Without a destination, it's impossible to know whether you're on the right road.

💬 Question of the Day

If you could achieve just ONE business goal before the end of this year, what would it be?

One goal.

One focus.

What's yours?

Build Better Habits. Build Better Businesses.

21/07/2026

🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨

Funded by scrapping the digital ID scheme, new PM Burnham has announced that with effect from 1st October, VAT on electricity bills will be removed

Andy Burnham has begun his first full day as prime minister with an announcement on electricity bills. He will chair his first cabinet meeting today. Follow the latest.

20/07/2026

Not every business decision changes your business overnight.

But one good decision...

Repeated consistently...

Can completely change where your business is in five years' time.

Think about it.

One better pricing decision.

One better employee.

One better customer.

One unnecessary expense you stop paying.

One process that saves you an hour every week.

On their own...

They don't seem like much.

But together they build a better business.

Too many business owners wait for a breakthrough moment.

In reality, successful businesses are usually built on hundreds of small, sensible decisions made consistently over time.

You don't have to get every decision right.

You just have to make slightly better decisions than you did yesterday.

💬 Question of the Day

What's one business decision you've made that had a bigger impact than you expected?

It could be:
Increasing your prices.
Buying a piece of equipment.
Saying no to a customer.
Changing software.
Employing someone.

I'd love to hear your experiences.

Build Better Habits. Build Better Businesses.

17/07/2026

⏳ When was the last time you stopped to work on your business instead of in it?

Running a business is busy.

There are customers to look after.

Emails to answer.

Quotes to send.

Problems to solve.

It's easy to spend every day working in the business.

But the businesses that improve over time usually have one thing in common...

Their owners regularly step back and look at the bigger picture.

Not for hours.

Not for an entire day.

Sometimes just 15 minutes is enough.

Fifteen minutes to ask yourself:
What's gone well this week?
What hasn't?
What should I do differently next week?

Those 15 minutes could save you hours of firefighting later.

📝 Friday Reflection

Before you finish today, take 15 uninterrupted minutes.

Put your phone on silent.

Close your emails.

Then ask yourself:

"What's one thing I could improve next week?"

Don't overthink it.

One improvement.

One better habit.

One step forward.

Because successful businesses aren't built through huge changes overnight.

They're built through small improvements made consistently.

💬 Question of the Day

Do you set aside time every week to work on your business, or do you find yourself constantly working in it?

Build Better Habits. Build Better Businesses.

16/07/2026

Glow Music & Art Festival will be back on 30th August, Ilkeston Market Place

This fantastic annual community music event has an eclectic mix of music

Please share and spread the word

At last we have arrived with this year’s Glow Music And Art Festival line up 👀!
We are back again this August, this time on August 30th 2026☀️!
We’re bring your favourite local bands 🎸 and new to the heart of Ilkeston once again in the Ilkeston Market Place.
We apologise for any confusion caused by the wrong date being added in the Ilkeston Life Newspaper this month. The correct date is the 30th August 2026.

Bring your family and friends for a day you will never forget🕶!

We cannot wait to see you there🎉!

15/07/2026

Here's a simple question...

What gets your attention every week?

For many business owners it's things like:

📞 The phone ringing.
📧 Emails coming in.
💷 Money arriving in the bank.

But are those the things that really tell you whether your business is improving?

Imagine trying to lose weight.....but only measuring how many times you visited the gym.

You might feel busy.

You might even feel healthier.

But without stepping on the scales occasionally, how would you know if you're making progress?

Running a business is no different.

If you don't measure what matters, it's difficult to know whether you're actually moving in the right direction.

The most successful business owners don't try to measure everything.

They simply measure the things that help them make better decisions.

💬 Question of the Day

If you could only track ONE business number every week, what would it be?

There's no right or wrong answer.

I'm genuinely interested to hear what you'd choose.

Build Better Habits. Build Better Businesses.

15/07/2026

⏰ Busy doesn't mean profitable.

Being busy feels productive.

Your diary is full.

Your phone won't stop ringing.

You've worked late every night this week.

Surely that's a good thing?

Not always.

A business can be incredibly busy.....and still make very little profit.

In fact, being busy can sometimes hide problems.

Maybe you're undercharging.

Maybe you're spending too much time on work that doesn't generate much profit.

Maybe you're saying "yes" to every opportunity because you're afraid to say "no".

The businesses that grow aren't usually the busiest.

They're the ones that understand where their profit comes from and focus more of their time there.

Being busy is easy.

Being profitable takes intention.

📝 Friday Reflection

This Friday, ask yourself one question:

"Which job this week made me the most profit?"

Not...

"Which job took the most time?"

If those are two different answers, you've learnt something valuable about your business.

💬 Question of the Day

Have you ever finished a really busy week and wondered where the profit actually went?

Build Better Habits. Build Better Businesses.

14/07/2026

“I wish I’d moved sooner… you made the transition so easy.”

That’s one of the nicest pieces of feedback we receive from new clients.

One of the biggest reasons business owners stay with an accountant they’re no longer happy with is because they think changing will be difficult.

In reality, it rarely is.

We work professionally with your previous accountant, transfer the information that’s’s needed, get your software moved across where appropriate, and guide you through each step.

We take care of the transition, so you can focus on running your business.

You don’t need to become an expert in the process.

You just need to decide it’s time for a change.

If you’ve been putting it off because it feels like too much hassle, don’t. Sometimes the hardest part is simply making that first enquiry.

📩 Send us a message if you’d like to see how straightforward switching accountants can be.

13/07/2026

Most business owners answer this question with the name of their biggest customer.

But that's not always the right answer.

A customer who spends £20,000 a year with you...
..might actually be less profitable than one who spends £5,000.

Why?

Because profit isn't just about what someone buys.

It's also about:
The time they take up.
How often they contact you.
Whether they pay on time.
The amount of rework involved.
The discounts you've agreed.
The stress they create.

Sometimes your biggest customer is your most profitable.

Sometimes they're not.

Understanding the difference can completely change the way you grow your business.

Growth isn't always about finding more customers.

Sometimes it's about finding more of the right customers.

💬 Question of the Day

Without naming them...

What makes a great customer in your business?

Is it someone who:
Pays on time?
Values your work?
Gives repeat business?
Refers other customers?
Something else?

Build Better Habits. Build Better Businesses.

10/07/2026

It's not a pleasant question.

But it's one every business owner should ask themselves.

Imagine your biggest customer delayed paying by 30 days.

Or enquiries suddenly slowed down.

Would you feel...

😌 Calm?
Or...
😟 Stressed?

Most businesses don't fail because they have one quiet month.

They struggle because they weren't prepared for one.

Having a financial buffer isn't about expecting the worst.

It's about giving yourself time to make good decisions instead of rushed ones.

When you're constantly under pressure, every decision becomes reactive.

When you've planned ahead, you have choices.

That's where confidence comes from.

📝 Friday Reflection

This week we've talked about:
✔ Looking beyond your bank balance.
✔ Knowing your key numbers.
✔ Understanding that being busy doesn't always mean being profitable.

So before you finish for the weekend, ask yourself one question:

"If next month was quieter than this one... how confident would I feel?"

Whatever your answer...

Don't judge it.

Use it.

Because recognising a weakness is the first step towards improving it.

💬 Question of the Day

What gives you the biggest confidence in your business?

A healthy bank balance?
Regular customers?
Forward bookings?
Something else?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Build Better Habits. Build Better Businesses.