Imagine a friendly and efficient bookkeeping / accounting service that is cheaper than an in-house team and smarter than a one man band.
We could be your super efficient accounts department…
Imagine an accounting service that is more capable than most, less costly to run than a dedicated in-house team, and one that speaks the kind of plain English that you’ll readily understand.
…or we could rip through
your bookeeping a few times a year!
We’re equally happy interacting with corporate business systems and in-house accounts assistants, as we are sorting out jumbled piles of receipts and invoices and cutting through the paper trail of nastiness that the Tax and VAT people demand.
We are fully accredited by the AAT and we’ve been in business for over 20 years – so we must be doing something right!
The Team
We are currently eleven people: Ryan, Ashley, Kate, and Rick are the directors, and Helen, Lara, Rob, Leanne, Amanda, Phoebe, and Zoe complete the team.
Ryan Cotton-Shutt MAAT - Director
Ryan completed a degree in Business Management in 2012, enjoying a variety of retail management positions in London before settling down in Cornwall. Qualifying as an accountant in 2020 he joined us as director in 2021. His young family keeps him busy, but when he gets a breather, he enjoys playing basketball and golf… but not all at the same time.
Ashley Jayne FMAAT - Director
Ash is a Penzance lad! He started out working in a builder’s merchant before joining the Backroom in 2014. Since then he has smashed his way through AAT and ATT exams and is now one of our directors. Outside of work and family commitments he is passionate about old VW buses and runs the local VW club which, it would seem, mostly involves partying.
Helen Dallimore MAAT - Tax Manager
Helen was a tax inspector with HMRC for 36 years!!! What she doesn't know about tax isn't worth knowing! She's now developing her role at The Backroom as our tax returns manager. She enjoys coastal walks with her dogs, playing euchre, gardening, collects first edition books, and on a Saturday night she can be found in her local pub pulling pints.
Lara Fear - Accounting Technician
Lara joined us after moving, with her family, to the delights of West Cornwall. Previously, she had a varied career in retail, banking, training, and accounting, primarily based in the Midlands. She is studying towards achieving her final AAT level and when not doing this, her collection of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, biographical and historical reading continues to grow and grow!
Rob Miles-Thomas MAAT - Accountant
Following an apprenticeship with the Isles of Scilly Steamship company Rob joined us in 2021 as a fully qualified accountant. In his spare time he enjoys playing snooker and pool, going to the gym and lazing in the Cornish sunshine. Rob also considers himself a petrolhead and he spends an awful lot of time keeping his car clean!
Leanne Green - Accounting Technician
Leanne joined us in 2021 after moving to Cornwall from Hertfordshire. She is currently working her way through her AAT qualifications. She enjoys coastal walks, beachcombing and playing badminton. She also loves to travel, with Sweden being one of her favourite places to escape to, where she can indulge in lots of Kaffe & Fika!! Whatever that is.
Amanda Trevarthen - Accounting Technician
Amanda moved to sunny Penzance in 2004. She worked as a primary school teacher for many years before deciding on changing careers completing her AAT qualifications. She loves to read and go to the gym, but she spends most of her free time running a taxi service for her son who plays football for Penzance.
Phoebe Hughes MAAT - Accountant
Leaving university with a degree in Environmental Resource Management Phoebe chased the dream and travelled the world surfing, but in 2015 she settled down to develop a career in accounting. She has now completed her AAT and is a qualified accountant. She stills spends her free time chasing the sun and camping in her old VW with her partner and their two whippets at every opportunity.
Zoe Morris - Accounting Technician
Zoe joins us after hanging up her Thai boxing gloves and winning the title of European Champion! Since leaving school she has also earned a degree in Sports Performance and Coaching in 2010, and fully qualified as an accountant, and has somehow found time to get married and have three children, all boys! Despite her limited time she still enjoys a range of snacks and fitness activities.
Our Clients and Specialisms
Our clients typically work in the creative sector, although we have businesses of all shapes on our books. They vary in size from individual artists, and makers to London based businesses with up to thirty members of staff.
- Creative businesses
- Artists, actors and directors
- Holiday letting / Airbnb
- Small businesses & sole traders
Services
First and foremost we always communicate in plain English – there is no accountants technobabble here!
Along with the usual accounting and bookkeeping services, we do everything we can to help your business run smoothly.
General Bookkeeping including:
- Bank and credit card reconciliations
- Supplier bill processing and / or payment
- Sales invoicing and debtor management
- Project profitability and management reporting
- VAT Returns
- Payroll management
- Workplace Pension administration
- Preparation of books for 3rd Party Accountants
Accountancy Services including:
- Management accounts and business performance reporting
- Self Assessment, Partnership, and Corporation Tax Returns
- Annual Accounts
Other Services include:
- Project management systems
- Database systems development
- Marketing advice and business mentoring
- Training clients how to bookkeep and use software
Contact Us
Much of our work comes from London and the big cities, we also have a growing local client base in West Cornwall.
You’d be welcome to visit our offices in Penzance – just drop by and say ‘hello’.
Tel 01736 364 330
Feel free to give us a call, email us at office@backroom.biz, or fill out the form below.
Address and opening hours
31 & 32 Causewayhead, Penzance, Cornwall TR18 2SP
9am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday.