Carol Evans Managing Director of Quality Cleaning Services, talks to us about dealing with rapid growth, her staff and why running her own business gives her the biggest high…

Carol, tell us what you do?
I run two separate businesses. The first is the Quality Cleaning Services, we look after the cleaning of private houses, and we also take on small commercial jobs. The second business is RTS Project Management.

How has your business grown over the years?
The cleaning business started off with just myself and one other lady. We gradually built the business up from nothing - I now have 14 staff to manage and don’t plan on stopping there! We want to grow what we already have, all the while maintaining a good mix of corporate, rental, domestic and private contracts.

How long have you been with Barclays?
I was with HSBC initially but I went to a Lets Talk More Profit event at the back end of 2005 and after that I met up with my then Local Business Manager, Helen Tyson. I switched Bank Accounts to Barclays in August 2006 - I can’t believe that other banks don’t offer packages like Barclays Business Manager.

What are your biggest challenges?
It sounds odd, but growing so quickly has been a challenge. That and cash flow, which often slows up after the holidays – especially the Christmas period. You fight your way through it though, and the key is making sure you are prepared for it so you don’t get caught out.

Easier said than done, how do you do that?
Well, we also make sure we proactively manage our cash flow; we’ve successfully implemented a policy by which we give our customers the option to pay by Standing Order, which means we always have a steady influx of cash throughout the year.

This system is helped by the fact that we can produce customer statements and letters via the Sage accounting system we use in Barclays Business Manager – a real hassle free, quick and efficient way of ensuring we get paid.

So you’ve seen benefits from using the Barclays Business Manager package?
Yes! When I first set up my business I managed all my accounts on spreadsheets however, I soon realised that something more was required. The Barclays Business Manager package I have includes Sage accounts software and I use it all the time, I would recommend everyone use something like this from day one

What other applications and services do you use?
I’ve used beprofessional service extensively, to create my employment contracts. In the past I’ve employed a HR lawyer at great cost – but not any more, this service has saved me a lot of money.

The MindLeaders training courses in Business Manager also look excellent, I plan on including them in all the training I do this year, for myself and the girls I employ - as part of their ongoing development.

Finally and most recently, because our business has grown so much we upgraded the accounts software in our Business Manager to Sage Line 50 Financial Controller with 2 companies and 4 user licences.

What’s so great about the package for you?
Everything is in one place, it’s easy to use and available 24 hours a day so I can get things done outside normal working hours - the only time I seem to get chance!

I also love the new Barclays data back up service, it is so much better than using a disc as we did before. Now I don’t have to remember to backup our data as it’s all done automatically, again saving me time and giving me peace of mind our data is secure. The value of this service was really brought home just last week when our computer crashed and we were still able to retrieve our data and carry on as normal.

Did you have any trouble getting started with Business Manager?
No because I went on the one day training course - which has proved invaluable, I have learnt how to use all aspects of the applications and services.

I have also found the Sage Support team very helpful and patient. My phone and email queries have always been quickly answered.

What’s the best and the worst thing about running your own business?
Running a business is very, very hard work, but you get so much pleasure out of it – that’s the main high for me.

Would you recommend Barclays Business Manager to other businesses?
I would and I have, I think it is an invaluable service for any small business.

Business details:
Quality Cleaning Servcies
Mold, North Wales
Tel: 01352 756552
Email qualitycleaning@tiscali.co.uk