Langford & Co now benefits from:

• More time to focus on clients
• A professional image at all times
• A cost-effective alternative to employing additional staff

Langford & Co is an accountancy firm based in Tring, Hertfordshire. The company offers a range of accountancy services for individuals and businesses.

"We needed the support of an additional team member, without the associated cost."

Chris Langford, proprietor of Langford & Co, approached Moneypenny in August 2004. He had identified that he needed a PA to handle his calls while out of the office, someone who would offer a professional point of contact for any potential new business. Chris comments:

“I needed the phone to be answered whilst I was with clients or away from the office. However, I could not justify the cost of employing someone to do this full-time.”

"Clients think Julie is based in my office and her professional approach sends exactly the right message.”

Having found Moneypenny, Chris decided to trial the dedicated PA service to see whether it would meet his requirements. Chris explains:

“Julie, my Moneypenny PA, has helped me grow my business by allowing me to focus on my clients. She takes work off my shoulders by answering calls, managing VIP clients and always ensures messages reach me wherever I may be."

Lubbock Fine now benefits from:

• Extended virtual opening hours
• Staff able to focus on other duties

Lubbock Fine is a significant firm of chartered accountants and business advisers. Based in central London, it provides a full range of audit, accounting and taxation services and advises many businesses and individuals, both in the UK and overseas.

"We needed a solution that would help manage our inbound calls, as well as provide cover for breaks and holiday periods.”

Lubbock Fine understands the importance of providing a high level of service to clients. When the firm’s reception team advised that customer service was being compromised by having to handle a high volume of inbound calls, as well as greet clients visiting the offices, a solution to the problem was sought immediately. Geoff Goodyear, managing partner of Lubbock Fine comments:

“With secretaries helping out on reception, we soon realised more essential work was being sidelined and even more crucially, service levels showed no real sign of improvement."

"We now have permanent cover for our telephones - it's also enabled us to extend our virtual office hours."

Lubbock Fine made contact with Moneypenny in April 2009 to help manage overflow calls.

"With our in-house reception team able to manage peaks in activity with ease, out secretarial staff members have reverted to concentrating on administrative duties and other important business priorities.”

Impax Asset Management Group now benefits from:

• A reliable back-up solution as part of a wider business continuity policy 
• Service and communications not disrupted in the event of an emergency

With a track record for delivering excellent returns across private equity and hedge fund strategies, Impax’s reputation as a leading investment manager requires the company to provide world-class levels of service at all times.

"We needed a robust business continuity plan for our telephone system."

Impax employs over 40 team members at its office in central London. When the company reviewed the crisis management policy in place for its telephone systems, the decision was taken to approach Moneypenny to discuss how their phones could be handled in the case of a telecommunications failure. Darren Johnson, operations director of Impax, comments:

“Ensuring we have an effective crisis management policy in place for our telephone system is a key part of our wider business continuity plan. We were keen to establish whether Moneypenny could respond immediately in the event of a disaster. They reassured us this would always be the case.”

"So far, we've used the service on one occasion and it worked perfectly."

Moneypenny’s business continuity package – providing a flexible solution with fully briefed virtual receptionists on hand to answer all incoming calls in the event of an emergency. Messages are either taken and forwarded immediately via email or SMS, or calls connected through to appropriate mobiles. Call handling instructions are all agreed in advance and all relevant data e.g. staff names, contact numbers collected to ensure a seamless transfer whenever required.

Moneypenny handled 61 calls for the company in March 2010, when a BT fault caused all incoming telephone lines to fail between the hours of 11am and 3pm. Having Moneypenny set up and on hand to take calls meant that:

• Normal service to clients was not interrupted
• Business critical activity continued
• Staff were able to get in touch easily
• All activity during downtime was fully audited

Felder Accountants now benefits from:

• Improved service levels
• Smarter ways of working
• Support without increasing staff 

Felder Accountants has been in practice for over 25 years. The firm consists of three partners and five administrative team members. Keen to implement more efficient and cost-effective processes, using Moneypenny was seen as a way of improving service levels, without investing in new equipment or additional team members.

"The strongest practices are those which are open to change."

Michael Plimley, partner at Felder Accountants comments:

“We like to think we’re a forward-thinking firm that’s open to new ways of working. However, as is the mentality of most businesses, we believed service improvements come at a cost. With any new service or procedure, the benefits must be clear, for both us and our clients, from the outset.”

"Overnight, we moved from scribbled notes to clear and concise email messages."

“We became aware of Moneypenny at a CPD event when we got talking to a fellow firm who were already using Moneypenny. In their own words, they had been ‘bowled over’ by improvements made across the business; from service levels, to enquiry rates - even team morale. They suggested we take advantage of the free trial.”

"As soon as Tess, our dedicated Moneypenny PA, began taking calls, we realised why the other firm had been so complimentary. No more scribbled notes. Tess either puts calls through to us or takes a message, which she then forwards by text or email. We no longer worry about who’s in to take calls, as we have flexible cover whenever needed.”

"We've discovered an enhanced service offer for our clients needn't be expensive to implement."

“Everyone believes they have sound working practices, but finding ways to work smarter only come about when you’re prepared to try something different.”