Opportunity
For Bookkeepers
If you are a bookkeeper, you may have reached a point where your clients’ needs are outgrowing what you can currently offer, leaving you turning work away, or handing it to someone else. An Affinity Associates franchise is a way through that, letting you build and run a full-service accountancy practice, offering tax returns, year-end accounts, payroll, VAT, audit and advisory service, without becoming a chartered accountant or delivering that work yourself.
We still offer the personal touch with the support of a larger accountancy practice that offers a far wider range of services. It’s the best of both worlds: a local practice with people clients know and trust, backed by the expertise and resources of a national and international brand.
Can a bookkeeper offer tax returns and year-end accounts?
Yes. It’s one of the main reasons bookkeepers join us. Instead of referring that work to an accountant, and risk losing the client along with it, you can offer tax, year-end accounts, VAT and payroll yourself, delivered by our specialist teams under your brand. You stay the single point of contact your clients trust.
Do I need to be a qualified accountant?
No. You don’t need to be a qualified or chartered accountant to run an Affinity Associates franchise. Your background as a bookkeeper is the ideal foundation. The accountancy work your clients need is carried out by our outsourced specialist teams, so you can offer a full service without the qualifications or extra staff needed to deliver it yourself.
How does the outsourced model work?
You win and look after the clients, and we deliver the work you’re not set up to. When a client needs year-end accounts, a tax return, or anything beyond bookkeeping, our specialist teams produce it to a professional standard, in your practice’s name. You keep the relationship, the reputation and the revenue, without hiring accountants or building the infrastructure yourself.
Why join a franchise when I could just outsource the extra work myself?
If you already run a bookkeeping practice, it is reasonable to ask why you would join a franchise at all, rather than simply outsource the services you cannot yet offer yourself. The answer is that outsourcing on its own gives you an extra pair of hands and little else. Once you are part of Affinity, you put a full range of services in front of your clients under a single trusted name, with the systems, the credibility and the specialist teams all working together behind your practice, so that what you are building holds lasting value rather than being assembled job by job.
Can I build a full accountancy practice as a bookkeeper?
Yes. Many bookkeepers reach a point where clients need more than bookkeeping. Rather than refer that work away, an Affinity Associates franchise lets you offer it yourself through our outsourced teams, so you can grow from a bookkeeping business into a full-service accountancy practice under your own name.
Why join a franchise when I could just outsource the extra work myself?
If you already run a bookkeeping practice, it is reasonable to ask why you would join a franchise at all, rather than simply outsource the services you cannot yet offer yourself. The honest answer is that outsourcing on its own gives you an extra pair of hands and little else. Once you are part of Affinity, you put a full range of services in front of your clients under a single trusted name, with the systems, the credibility and the specialist teams all working together behind your practice, so that what you are building holds lasting value rather than being assembled job by job.
How much does it cost to start an Affinity Associates franchise?
The franchise package fee is £24,495 plus VAT. It includes your exclusive territory, training, systems and software set-up, a marketing start-up package, and access to our full range of outsourced services. You’ll also need some working capital while you build your client base.
Will I still run my own business?
Yes. You remain an independent business owner. You own your client relationships, your local reputation and your practice. Affinity provides the brand, the systems and the specialist teams behind you – the business is yours.
What’s the difference between this and starting a practice on my own?
On your own, the services you can offer are limited to what you’re qualified and resourced to deliver. With Affinity you can offer a full accountancy service from day one, without hiring specialists or building the infrastructure yourself, and with the credibility of a 60-year-old brand behind you.
Do I need premises or staff?
No. You can start from home, and you won’t need to hire a team of accountants, because the specialist work is delivered by our outsourced teams. That keeps your overheads low while you still offer clients the full range of services.
What training and support will I get?
Every franchisee completes an initial training programme at our head office, tailored to your experience, followed by ongoing support, regular reviews, and access to our specialist teams and the wider network of Affinity offices across the UK.
