Our Customers

‘Batoko are rubbish.

Literally.’

The company are a successful swimwear brand from the North West of England. They specialise in the design and production of eco-friendly swimwear. Batoko’s clothing is made from 100% recycled plastic waste. To date, they’ve recycled the equivalent weight of an incredible 220,000 plastic bottles into swimwear. We’ve been associated with them for over four years now, and it’s so rewarding for us to be able to help an organisation who carry out such vital work on behalf of our oceans.

We put 10 questions to Batoko’s Director, Mark Bonsor, to find out more about how Danbro have been able to help them.

WHAT CHALLENGES OR COMPLICATIONS WERE BATOKO HAVING BEFORE JOINING DANBRO?

“We were having issues with our previous accountants. For instance, if we didn’t remind them to submit VAT returns or send our monthly payrolls, they wouldn’t get done. Having to remember to chase-up the accountants was a huge headache for us. On a few occasions we’d even receive reminders from HMRC. This was extremely stressful.”

HAVE DANBRO BEEN ABLE TO HELP RESOLVE THOSE ISSUES?

“Yes. Since switching to Danbro, they’ve taken care of our payrolls & VAT returns on time, without the need for us to prompt them – taking away any unnecessary stress. As an online business, customers expect answers, fast. Our previous accountants had a significantly slow response time. This became a problem when we needed advice before responding to customers. We’ve found that there’s always somebody available at Danbro to provide answers. That’s invaluable to us.”

HAS DANBRO BEEN ABLE TO HELP BATOKO ‘GROW’? IF SO, HOW?

“We have full trust in Danbro to take care of our payroll, VAT and accounts correctly and on time. This has freed us to focus on the areas of our business we’re best at – allowing us to grow significantly.”

WHAT’S THE MOST ‘MEASURABLE IMPACT’ THAT WE’VE HAD ON YOUR BUSINESS?

“The positive relationship – and trust – that we have with Danbro has helped build our confidence in areas of the business that we previously lacked. With Danbro’s patience and guidance, we understand all manner of accounting and VAT much better. The whole process has become simplified and positive.”

HAVE WE BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE RELATING SPECIFICALLY TO YOUR INDUSTRY?

“The tech and internet-business sector is still relatively new. We’ve found that some accountants shy away from this ‘non-traditional’ business type, or are unable to provide the advice we need. Danbro is a modern company. They have a diverse client base and have been able to provide assistance where others have not.”

ARE THERE ANY ASPECTS OF OUR SERVICES THAT YOU FEEL YOUR COMPANY COULD NO LONGER DO WITHOUT?

“We like to work digitally, which Danbro are great at. Quickbooks is also helpful when submitting and agreeing to documents, making the process quicker and more efficient.”

IS THERE A PARTICULAR PERSON – OR TEAM OF PEOPLE – WHO’S HELPED YOU DURING YOUR TIME WITH DANBRO?

“Anita and Lara have always been available to answer any questions we may have. Leanne went above and beyond, hand-delivering a parcel to us that got sent to Danbro’s offices by mistake. Neil, too, has taken the time to understand our business from the get go.”

TRUSTING A THIRD-PARTY WITH THE OUTSOURCING OF YOUR FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT REQUIRES A GREAT DEAL OF FAITH ON YOUR PART. DID YOU HAVE ANY RESERVATIONS BEFORE MAKING THAT DECISION AND HOW WERE THEY ADDRESSED?

“We were confident in switching to Danbro after our initial meeting with Neil. He listened to our needs and addressed the concerns we had.”

IF YOU WERE TO RECOMMEND US TO ANOTHER COMPANY, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

“We would recommend Danbro to any company, big or small, traditional or not. You can have full trust in Danbro to take care of your accounts correctly and on time. They’re a highly professional and efficient company. Danbro are warm and approachable too, making it easy to ask questions and build a fantastic, long-term business relationship.”

FINALLY, IF YOU WERE TO DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH DANBRO IN THREE WORDS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

“Efficient.”

“Modern.”

“Friendly.”

So, to find out what Danbro can do for your business, click here. We’ll understand, we’ll deliver, and we’ll grow together.

SORTING OUT THE MESS & STRESS OF BUSINESS FINANCE MANAGEMENT

FreeAgent is an award-winning, online accountancy tool that provides instant, real-time access to your business’s finances. It was recently voted the UK’s number one for small business accounting software.

As we announced earlier this year, Danbro are now a FreeAgent Platinum Partner. We’re grateful to be able to provide regular feedback to the company’s key decision makers. It’s an association that continues to benefit our clients. FreeAgent’s unique, cloud-based software allows you to manage your money on the move. This includes free access to a whole host of innovative tools and applications.

“Danbro are one of the biggest companies we work with”

To find out more about the partnership between Danbro and FreeAgent, we caught up with Kevin McCallum, the company’s Chief Commercial Officer. He began by discussing the relationship and how it works in practice.

“We’ve been working with Danbro since 2016,” he said. “We help provide their contractor and small service franchise clients with award-winning accounting software that puts them in control of their day-to-day finances.

“Danbro are one of the biggest companies that we work with. So, this is an incredibly important and valuable partnership for FreeAgent.”

“Invaluable for our business”

“From the very start, we’ve been so impressed with how quick and easy it’s been to get the Danbro team up to a high level of expertise with our software,” Kevin said. “Not to mention how engaged they have continued to be with FreeAgent. This includes regular feedback from them about specific pieces of functionality and suggestions for how the software could be even better for accountants. This is invaluable for our business.

“We also really admire Danbro’s progressive business ethos and strong commitment to their local community. Both of which mirror our own company culture and principles. Being so closely aligned has made working together a very rewarding experience. We look forward to continuing our partnership for many years to come.”

The benefits of using FreeAgent are ample. You’ll get instant, real-time access to help you make key business decisions, as well as automated reminders. So, you won’t need to worry about chasing any pesky late-payers, for instance. The technology also includes an easy-to-use app. This means you can track your income and expenses straight from your smartphone. What’s more, you’ll be able to record business transactions on the go. Everything you input gets stored in the cloud and is available to your accountant.

To find out more, get in touch with our dedicated team today.

Building a relationship on trust

As a leading provider of manpower to the aviation and automotive industries, Aeropeople needs partners it can trust to deliver the same high quality services it prides itself on, and has now been working with Danbro for 12 years.

Aeropeople works with thousands of skilled contractors a year, helping them to secure temporary and permanent placements with major employers around the aviation sector.

With many of the candidates coming to self-employment for the first time and needing support in finding help they can trust, Aeropeople has trusted preferred suppliers for their contractors to choose from.

Compliance manager at Aeropeople, Julie Welford-Biggs, says: “We have a good, longstanding relationship with Danbro with whom we trust, which is very important to us. Any of our candidates can be referred to Danbro and it’s reassuring to know they will be well looked after.”

Danbro’s team has worked to build a trusted relationship and ensure Aeropeople receives expert support, advice and a service that protects both the agency and its candidates.

Julie says Danbro delivers a wealth of information to keep the Aeropeople team up to date, and adds that with compliance being a main concern, they can rely on Danbro to protect them.

She concludes: “They are efficient and most significantly they deliver a product and service that is compliant, fulfilling not only our requirements but that of our contractors.”

Access4Lofts are a nationwide franchise business. They’re the UK’s largest installer of loft storage solutions. The company specialise in helping people from across the country utilise wasted space by providing swift, simple and affordable loft access and storage solutions.

We started working with Access4Lofts back in January 2013. It’s a relationship that’s blossomed ever since. So much so that the company recently transferred their franchisee network to Danbro. We recently caught up with Lindsay Brown, Marketing Director at Access4Lofts, to find out more about how Danbro have helped the company become national leaders in their industry.

“DANBRO HAVE PROVED TO BE INVALUABLE”

“Setting up a franchise is challenging,” Lindsay began by saying. “So, we needed an accountant who would not only grow with us, but would ensure that we had a robust finance and accounting infrastructure.”

“Danbro have proved themselves to be invaluable to our business. For example, as we use our CRM system for invoicing, Danbro developed a process to crosscheck and reconcile our Quickbooks accounts to the CRM invoices. This ensures that all invoiced income is now captured in the Management Service Fee. It’s very attractive to potential franchisees to know that they’ll have a cloud-based accounting system that’s integrated into our admin system. Especially one that can handle VAT returns, annual accounts, tax returns and payroll.”

It’s all part of the reason why Access4Lofts have taken the decision to mandate the use of Danbro, as far as they can, across their network.

“We’ve recently moved our entire network of franchisees onto Danbro’s fully managed service,” Lindsay said. “This means our franchisees are now only required to take photos of receipts on their smartphones and swipe across for it to get posted onto their accounts. This has been well received by all our franchisees. It’s a big selling point for us as franchisors.”

“Additionally, we as franchisors have access to all our franchisees’ accounts. We get bespoke reports that show us how our franchisees are performing against an average of others. This is extremely useful when carrying out our review meetings. We also approached Danbro to ask for reports based on profitability across the franchisee product range. Once again, they amended the accounts structure to provide this information.”

‘WE’RE A BETTER FRANCHISE BECAUSE OF DANBRO’

It’s wonderful to hear Lindsay speaking so positively about the service her company receives. But which part of Danbro’s accountancy package does she feel Access4Lofts couldn’t do without?

“All of it!”

“We’d have a mutiny on our hands if we told our franchisees they’d have to handle their own VAT returns, annual accounts, tax returns and payroll!”

“Danbro understand what a franchise needs to grow. From day one, they’ve encouraged us to create the right finance and accounting infrastructure to avoid headaches in the future. Having all our franchisees using the same system has made critical information much more accessible. It’s also proved effective in helping us recruit new franchisees. We are a better franchise because of it.”

“A CONSTANT SOURCE OF HELP”

Furthermore, as part of our award-winning accountancy service, every business we work with gets assigned a personal accountant to take care of their financial affairs. With Access4Lofts, Accounting Partner, Lara Hodkinson, looks after their finance function.

“Lara and Neil Ormesher [Danbro Accountancy MD] have been a constant source of help and advice for us. During our training week, Lara delivers a half-day presentation on the accounts and practices in relation to the business.”

It’s down to that personal relationship, therefore, that Access4Lofts were able to trust us with the outsourcing of their finance department.

“Because of our relationship with the people at Danbro, the decision to outsource to them was much easier,” Lindsay explained. “The system we have in place means that all the hassle of preparing our payment run is vastly reduced. Danbro understood what we were trying to achieve very early on. They’ve built robust systems, reports and management controls to facilitate our plans.”

So, if Lindsay were to sum Danbro up in three words? They’d be: “specialist, structured, and supportive!”

To find out how Danbro can help you fast-track your franchise, click here. We’ll understand, we’ll deliver, and we’ll grow together.

Delivering bespoke solutions for businesses

London-based Error Agency needed a tailored package from an accountancy services provider that would meet the needs of their growing business.

Error specialises in human-centred interaction, building digital products and services for a range of major brands and smaller organisations. Their specialist skills have delivered substantial growth and the business needed expert support to help manage its finances.

Director of Error Agency, Ed Jones, says: “We were using an online accountancy service but it wasn’t suitable for our growing business and it just wasn’t flexible enough.

“We knew we needed something different and we found out about Danbro through accounting software provider FreeAgent. They said Danbro were great, so we got in touch.”

Danbro’s business team created a unique range of services for Error, ensuring all of their accounting needs were taken care of.

Ed adds: “Danbro is extremely flexible and responsive. They created solutions for our business rather than just pigeonholing us and delivering an off-the-shelf package.

“Their team and the service they deliver is fantastic. Danbro takes all the pain away and allows us to do what we do best. We trust Danbro to take care of us and get on with it, so we don’t have to worry about it.

“Everything is always dealt with quickly and professionally. They continue to be a great asset for our business.”

Launched back in 2014, EweMove is a multi-award-winning Sales and Lettings Agency. Their goal is simple, to provide a new kind of estate agency with local property experts and unparalleled customer service. In just four years, EweMove have developed into one of the country’s leading agencies. They’re ranked as the UK’s ‘most trusted agent’ according to Trustpilot reviews. They operate a hugely successful franchise network spanning the length and breadth of the nation.

Four years ago, MyMobileWorkers was a small business whose finance function was performed by management staff in their spare time. Since joining Danbro in the summer of 2014, the company has grown exponentially – their employee roster has doubled, as has their turnover; and their finance department? Well, ‘thanks to Danbro, that’s all taken care of.’

We recently caught up with Graham Whistance, Managing Director of MyMobileWorkers, at the company’s offices in Liverpool. He kicked off by discussing life before Danbro.

“Before we switched to Danbro, it was a combination of myself and other unqualified members of the management team who took care of the financial side of the business, week in, week out,” he said. “Finding the time to do things was a real struggle, and we needed someone to remove that burden and bring much more professionalism and support to the finance function.”

“Danbro took the time to come in and show what they could do for us. What they presented looked and sounded like exactly what we wanted, and it has been that way ever since,” he added. “The service Danbro provides includes things like processing payroll, managing accounts, weekly bank reconciliation, and weekly debtors and creditors’ runs. We’ve also been able to completely remove paper from our finance team, so no sending or receiving paper invoices, for example. Everything is automated and electronic now, and Danbro have really helped us move that process forward.”

As part of Danbro’s award-winning accountancy service, each company we work with is assigned a personal accountant to look after their financial affairs on a first-hand basis. With MyMobileWorkers, Accountant Wilfred Rhodes is the specialist who takes care of their finance function, as well as ‘chipping in’ with the occasional sporting success.

“The regular visits from Danbro make a huge difference. Wilf is our point of contact and, as far as we’re concerned, he’s one of the team.”

“Everyone here knows him well and he interacts as though he’s a full time member of staff. He’s a face in the business, not just a name, and our customers are familiar with him too, which helps. I think Wilf has grown into his position quite nicely from our point of view; he comes out on our Christmas do, and even won the golf tournament that we held last year!”

“That personal touch is really important to us.”

As Graham puts it, ‘we outsource our whole finance function to Danbro’; but what is his impression of the outsourcing process now?

“Outsourcing is always a concern, particularly with something as important as finance – if it doesn’t work, you’ve put all your eggs in one basket. But with Danbro, we get a high quality of people who understand our business and behave like our personal finance team. They effectively pay for themselves.”

“We’re comfortable with how they do things. They know what they’re doing, have a great approach and, what we’ve found is, if you like doing things a certain way, they’re more than happy to incorporate that too. By using Quickbooks, for example, following a recommendation by Danbro, we can see what’s going on and I can manage more by extension, rather than getting involved in the detail myself.”

“As our company has grown, so too have the services that Danbro provide. From a professional point of view, we no longer have to worry about the finance side of the business at all; it’s boxed off, up-to-date, and, if any new things happen, Wilf is more than qualified and he’s well supported by the team behind him.”

And, if Graham was to describe Danbro in three words?

“Knowledgeable.”

“Friendly.”

“Professional.”

We began working with EweMove – a multi-award-winning Sales and Lettings Agency – back in 2015. Four years on and we now provide specialist, cloud-based accounting services to the vast majority of the company’s franchisees. It’s a relationship that’s representative of our promise to understand, deliver, and grow together.

We recently caught up with Mark Holmes, Director of EweMove’s Basingstoke branch. Mark’s been working with us since the spring of 2017. His business receives services such as accountancy, payroll, and professional advice. All aspects which he agrees his business could now ‘not do without’. We started by asking him about his impression of Danbro, having worked with us for a few years.

“Really courteous,” he explained. “I find them to be quick to respond to any questions or queries, no matter how silly they may seem. Danbro were also very helpful with getting our business set up.”

‘NOTHING IS TOO MUCH TROUBLE’

As part of Danbro’s acclaimed accountancy service, each company we work with gets a personal accountant assigned to them. This is someone who looks after their financial affairs on a first-hand basis. With EweMove, our Accounting Partner, Lara Hodkinson, is the specialist who takes care of their finance function. She’s a regular visitor to their head office in Cleckheaton, where she conducts coaching and training sessions. Accountant, Scott Harrison – a key part of Lara’s team, looks after their Basingstoke branch.

“Scott has been so helpful,” said Mark. “He organises any payroll queries for the team and is always on hand to provide specialist tax advice. Both Scott and Lara are extremely helpful. They’re quick to respond to any questions we have. And they always give the impression that nothing is too much trouble.”

‘A MASSIVE IMPACT ON OUR BUSINESS’

One of the main issues the company had before using Danbro was getting things right first time across their network. Franchisees’ books were being prepared in a different way, by different accountants. This made it more difficult for the franchisor to compare and improve areas like performance. As Managing Director, Nick Neill, acknowledged in an interview last year, Danbro have had a “massive impact” on the franchise.

“By working with Danbro,” Nick said, “EweMove are now able to work with our franchisees on a completely consistent basis. This helps us identify areas of high and low performance. It enables us to share best practice across the board. We couldn’t do without having all our franchisees working to the same processes with a UK wide operator.

“This is something that Danbro have particularly excelled at.”

You can watch Nick’s interview, in full, here.

Launched in 2014, EweMove is a multi-award-winning Sales and Lettings Agency. Their goal is to provide a new kind of estate agency with local property experts and unparalleled customer service. In five years, EweMove have developed into one of the country’s leading agencies. They’re ranked as the UK’s ‘most trusted agent’ on Trustpilot, with a growing national network.

EweMove now mandate – as much as they can – the use of Danbro for all their franchisees. At the start of 2019, 80% of their franchise network were working with us – including their branch in Basingstoke. And, as Nick confirmed, they’re also looking to pull across the rest of their franchisees.

‘WE TELL OUR ASSOCIATES TO USE DANBRO’

So, it’s been a success on a franchisor level. But would franchisee, Mark, recommend Danbro as well?

“Yes. We tell our associates to use Danbro,” he said. “They know our systems well and have the solutions to any issues we have.” And, if he were to describe Danbro in three words…

“I’d say ‘friendly’, helpful’, and ‘knowledgeable’”.

To find out how Danbro can help you fast-track your franchise, click here.

Delivering solid advice and service

Jenrick Engineering provides skilled engineers to industries around the UK, delivering candidates for short, medium and long-term contracts, and regularly refers its contractors to Danbro for expert advice and assistance.

The agency sources both permanent and temporary candidates and says because of a “ridiculous shortage” of skilled candidates – that results in five interviews within a day of walking in and a job less than 48 hours later – they always need skilled partners who can provide support with accountancy services.

Danbro is one of the preferred suppliers to Jenrick Engineering, delivering umbrella or limited company services to its clients, but adds that the accountancy services provider is “preferred by many”.

Managing director of Jenrick Engineering, Julie Alton, says: “Danbro provide solid advice, they deliver multiple options and our contractors have responded very well to what they have to offer.”

Julie says the business works with a wide number of suppliers if contractors already have their own accountancy support, but argues Danbro are in the top three of all the firms she deals with.

She adds: “Danbro have delivered the best service and we’ve had no complaints. Most importantly, they are trusted.

“They have taken the time to build a trusted relationship with us. These relationships need to be a two-way street and Danbro have really committed to that – that’s important.”

Delivering sound advice and service

We have been using Danbro since 2012 and have had nothing but a positive experience since working with them, says leading recruitment agency Optima.

Optima is a leading provider of recruitment services to a wide range of sectors, including manufacturing, engineering procurement and supply chain, senior executive appointments and their newest division of office services.

They work with both permanent and temporary candidates on fixed term and short term contracts.

Senior Consultant Iain Beason explains: “As an ever growing business, it’s crucial to give candidates a number of options on how to get paid and which accountancy service providers to use.

“A large proportion of our candidates choose to work with Danbro because they provide the options they need. The majority of our candidates are looking for support to run their own business and Danbro are focused on a clear understanding of their business requirements.

“As well as support for candidates, Danbro provides support for the Optima team which is crucial to ensuring we can provide an added value service to our candidates.

“We would have no hesitation in recommending using Danbro as a trusted accountancy provider.”

Adding value to agencies

“Danbro have been a trusted partner of Matchtech for a number of years and always supported our business with the utmost professionalism,” says Graham Day,  Manager of the Rail Divison at Matchtech.

“Their desire to add value to the agencies they work with was highlighted in recent months when they were appointed by Matchtech as our umbrella partner for IR35 assessments with a key public sector client.  I would not hesitate in recommending them to any contractor looking for an Umbrella Company.”

To find out how Danbro can help you with your Matchtech contract, click here.

A partner you can trust

While out on the road working as a trackman, Lytham-based Lendfield Rodgers needed someone who could manage his finances for him, take the stress of business management away and provide sound advice when needed.

After a string of bad experiences with other payroll services providers, Mr Rodgers’ recruitment agency recommended he tried using Danbro.

He says: “The other agencies I’d worked with in the past never had time for you and never got back to me when I needed advice. Danbro was totally different.

“I used their Employment Umbrella service and the key thing for me was the reassurance they provided. They are always happy to explain and provide advice, they break everything down for you and they always had time if there was anything I didn’t understand or wanted more information on.

“They took the stress away. The most important thing was trust. They were always there for me and I trusted them to deliver the best advice. Plus, Danbro always gets back to you.”

Getting it right amid global growth

“We are scientists, not accountants,” says PNR Consultancy’s Matthew Smith. “Danbro makes sure we don’t have to think about our accounts as we can trust them to get it right every time.”

PNR Consultancy works across the globe testing cosmetic products for clients and providing all of the regulatory documents they need to break into new markets.

The business has been working with Danbro for four years and, over that period, PNR Consultancy has grown across the globe. Matthew says: “In all that time, Danbro has never faltered once. If we need anything, they are always there and quick to respond.”

The consultancy takes a range of products from cosmetics & electricals to toys and textile items from manufacturers, retailers and brand owners .  Delivering the necessary tests and associated regulatory paperwork to help them export to new markets. They possess all of the in-house credentials and contacts to create the necessary technical files and act as the go-between for clients and approving bodies.

Despite the global nature of the work, Matthew says they have relatively simple billing systems but they still wanted an accountancy partner they could trust.

He concludes: “We vetted a few accountancy firms when we started out and Danbro just felt right. We wanted people who know what they are doing and who can keep it simple for us. Danbro’s team delivers on that.

“They make it extremely easy for us and tell us what we need to do and give us much needed peace of mind. We have been growing across the globe and our network is always expanding. Danbro can handle it all and we know we can trust them to get it right.”

Making your life easier

“Danbro has made my life easier in every way,” says Employment Umbrella client Stephanie Lawal. “I recommend them to everyone because they take care of everything you need.”

Ms Lawal works as a homeless officer in East London and provides her expert services in a number of areas around the city. She says that a previous accountancy services provider has “ caused a lot of issues and delays” and turned to Danbro after a friend recommended them.

She explains: “Danbro is always available, they are quick to explain the things you need to know and they always swiftly resolve any issues you face.

“They have been really great because they just do everything for you and you don’t have to worry about a thing, leaving you to get on with what you do best.”