We want to thank everyone who took time to fill out the Tyler Price client feedback survey. As first time surveyors we were a little nervous that (1) no-one would respond and (2) that all the feedback would be really negative.  However, we are delighted to report that we not only received a high level of response, but that the responses were overwhelmingly positive!  We received an overall score of 4.4 out of 5, which we feel shows that we are on the right track with a bit of room for improvement.

As you will be aware, the team has worked very hard over the past year to improve our services and we're pleased to see this acknowledged in many of your responses.  Here's a summary of the results:

THE STAFF AT TYLER PRICE ARE HELPFUL AND EFFICIENT

96% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with many commenting on the vast improvement in our servic e over the past year! We're delighted that so many of you are seeing the benefit of our efforts and promise to keep up the good work.

MY INVOICE IS FAIR AND REFLECTS THE SERVICES PROVIDED

Although 78% of people either agreed or strongly agreed (with 20% of you neutral), we did receive comments that it is not always clear what we are actually billing for.

We acknowledge that the quality of information provided on our invoices has traditionally been poor because we were using the standard MYOB Accountants Office invoice template.  We are pleased to advise that one of the biggest benefits of our June software upgrade was a significantly enhanced invoicing system and those of you that have received invoices since June will have noticed that more information is now feeding through onto our invoices.  It is a work in progress and further improvements are being made.

We are also now billing as we do significant work (e.g. GST returns) instead of just billing a year's work in one lump sum.  We believe that this is also providing transparency to our charges.

However we are also happy to provide detailed breakdowns when required.

TYLER PRICE KEEPS ME WELL INFORMED ON RELEVANT MATTERS

Although 92% of people either agreed or strongly agreed that we keep you well informed on relevant matters, we were asked for more clarity on what can and can't be claimed, some insight on ourselves, and additional 'know how' on how to make you get the most from your businesses.

We now have a website which has lots of useful information on it and is updated regularly by our team.  There's an "our people" page which gives  a bit of background on each member of the team and a "resources" page which includes a comprehensive list of claimable expenses.  We also have  a "welcome pack" for new clients which includes information about ourselves, our services, expenses, rental properties and accounting software options.  If you would like a welcome pack (even if you've been a client for some time) please let us know , otherwise log onto our website and have a browse!

In addition to our quarterly newsletter, in which we bring you up to date on recent developments, we now also have a blog on our website, on which we will post useful information as we receive it.  Please let us know if there are any aspects of business/finance which you would like us to cover in either of these forums.

We are currently conducting a review of ACC / Income Protection insurance with a view to (1) ensur ing you are all adequately covered in the case of an accident, and (2) not paying more than you need to (many of you are doubling up with both ACC and private insurance).  We are also developing Health & Safety M anual templates to help you comply with the new Health and Safety legislation coming in later this year.

We are keen to help to add value to your businesses beyond simple tax compliance so please let us know if there are other areas you would like our input on.

We have had some queries about apps and software – if you have any fancy gadgets or are wondering if there are any useful apps to help you keep organised, give us a call and we can look into it for you as it will depend on what phones/laptops you own.

We have also had clients offer to come and share their areas of expertise that may be relevant to other clients, so we will be looking at having the occasional information night. Watch this space!

MY MATTERS ARE DEALT WITH IN A TIMELY FASHION

96% of people agreed or strongly agreed that we are dealing with matters in a timely fashion – once again noting a noticeable improvement from previous years.

If your work is urgent, please do let us know and we will do our best to accommodate. 

I WOULD RECOMMEND TYLER PRICE'S SERVICES

98% of you said yes – thank you:  the best clients come through word of mouth and we are always happy to meet and help new people.

Just one client expressed dissatisfaction with service received from a now ex-employee.  Please be assured that we were aware that the noted employee was not providing service to the required standard and consequently has now left the business.  We've had fabulous feedback in relation to her replacement and therefore are confident that your issues will not be repeated.

Finally, we are pleased to announce the winner of our Christmas Hamper draw (which we resisted the urge to include our names in…) Congratulations to Colin and Pam Laker! We hope you enjoyed the goodies.