Thijs Munten decided in 2006, after having worked partly as an employee and partly as a self-employed person for a number of years, to take the step to work entirely on a self-employed basis. Now that he runs his own Em-Ka Administratiekantoor business, he can decide for himself how he wants to approach customers and how he can set up the administration in the most efficient way. He wanted a business that would excel, with the digitisation of his files being one of his wishes. A well-designed digital file results in efficiency. Thijs Munten tells you how he has done this, gives you tips and tells you where improvements can be made.
How did you handle this transition?
“I started by digitising the years that the administration has been completed. These files used to be archived in a box in the attic of each customer. In itself a safe way of storage, because I kept it all indoors instead of in a garage, for example. When the attic started to fill up, I thought it was time for me to really store the files safely. When a year is over, I send the files to Archive-IT and have them scanned and integrated into my current digital archive. I use the Virtual Archive and the Virtual File. The files from the current years, currently 2012 and 2013, are still available to me in folders.”.
How do you experience digital working?
“What is most important to me is being able to find it quickly. I used to have to go to the attic to search through boxes when I needed something from, for example, two years ago. All I have to do now is log in and, for example, search for 2011 and the name of the customer in question. This saves me a lot of time and space. Due to the storage period of seven years, my attic literally filled up. But perhaps the most important thing is that my files are now stored in a safe way. Risks such as fire or theft are no longer an issue and personal or business-critical data of customers are now much better safeguarded. I always report this to new customers”.
Improvements
“I still receive the things from customers on paper. As far as I’m concerned, there’s still a lot of room for improvement, because when they can supply me with everything digitally, I will only be able to work fully digitally. If my customers were to work digitally, I would also save an enormous amount of time. At the moment I go to a lot of customers to pick up things. Once I have updated the administration, the administration goes back to the customer. If I need an invoice for that afterwards, I am forced to request it from the customer again”.
Are there still differences for the tax authorities?
“In terms of convenience, speed and clarity for sure. During the audit it is much more convenient to search in a digital file compared to the files in folders in boxes. In addition, all administration must be delivered per year. It is very important that you deliver it in such a way that you can find it for yourself. If, for example, you want to make a distinction between the annual accounts and the income tax return, you will also have to submit it in this way. If all this is done digitally, it will give you much more possibilities and control. The structure of your administration can be safeguarded much better and that is also important for the tax authorities”.
Do you have any tips for administration offices that also want to work digitally?
“I advise you to keep the annual accounts and the income tax return divided by means of a tab for one-man businesses. With a B.V. this looks a bit different, because it concerns information from different shareholders. An advice that I can then give is to split the files income tax return per shareholder”.
Thijs Munten is very enthusiastic about the new, safe way of working. He has largely achieved his goal of setting up his trust office as efficiently as possible. The improvements that he can still achieve from the client’s point of view can save him even more time. He has also taken the first steps in this area. The entire digital administration office is getting closer and closer.