RIBA Business supplier spotlight series with Butterworth Barlow
We spoke with Gavin Butterworth, partner at Butterworth Barlow and one of our professional accountancy partners as part of our Supplier Spotlight series. Gavin Butterworth together with his partner Barry Barlow and team has over 20 years experience in the accountancy profession. The company offers a wide range of financial advice, support and services for businesses and private clients.
Tell us about Butterworth Barlow?
We are an independent firm of Chartered Accountants, that deal with owner-managed businesses, and provide financial advice, payroll and other services to a number of architects. We take a proactive approach with our clients and provide a very high level of client service. Each client is allocated a client manager who looks after their queries.
We are based near Liverpool and have been partners with the RIBA for 18 months, although we have been working with architects for much longer, which is how the RIBA partnership came about. Some of our clients also use the RIBA Pension Solution.
How can Butterworth Barlow help architects?
We have worked with a number of architectural practices over the years and support them in a number of ways; with their business structure, business advice, help them set up systems, tax plans or R&D tax credit claims. Quite often architects come for advice about their pricing and about the terms for their clients. Often architects have worked for a practice previously and are setting up their own practice for the first time. They have been sheltered from the financial side, so they don’t have the commercial knowledge. We have seen a big rise in demand for R&D tax credit work.
Have architects come to you for advice more often in the last 2 years?
Definitely! The pandemic probably made people panic a little bit and a lot of our clients weren’t sure what was going to happen with their practice. The main queries from architects were around advice on cash flow. Where they could delay tax payment or get overdrafts so they could prepare for the unknown financial forecasts. It’s been important to explain their options especially with the different types of government support that has been available.
What is your process for finding the best solution for clients?
It’s very much an individual plan, which we discuss with the client. We need to know what they need and what kind of service they want, and then we come up with their plan, which tells them what we think they need for improvement and how much we would charge. A successful plan can take a week for us to create and after we issue the proposal, it will be on the clients if they want to take it forward. Hopefully, we would have captured the clients aims for their business and as such they are happy to proceed.
In which financial area do you think architects could improve?
It’s not necessarily formal advice, but architects may be focused on service delivery and sometimes they don’t keep their clients updated with costs. Especially with initial work on a project. Architects often do that work without an agreement in place which can lead to additional fees that some architects choose not to charge or can lead to clients becoming upset about the extra cost they were not expecting. Better communication in the early stages keeps the agreement on track and makes timely payment more likely.
Do you have any advice for RIBA Chartered Practices in this time of crisis?
To price their service properly, setting clear payment agreements with their clients. Chasing payment is an area where architectural practices struggle sometimes. They can send an invoice, but not chase a debt, as they feel embarrassed about asking for the outstanding money. The longer a debt is not paid, the lower the chance it will be. Probably my main advice would be improving communication with the client. Make sure that the clients agree the fees, follow up a week later. Do not let it drift. Obviously, these are general areas of advice, most businesses benefit far more from specific tailored support. We would welcome any clients wishing to discuss their options or request quotes from us to help them achieve their business plans.
In a series of interview led articles, we provide an up close and personal look into the portfolio of the products & services chosen to help support you in practice. Find out more about our accounts and payroll services for architects and practices.