Meet Stephen, MD at Qutis
Qutis have been pioneers of aesthetic skin treatments for over 20 years.
Run by husband and wife team Marea and Stephen, Marea began offering botox treatments before they were in vogue and has spent the subsequent decades honing her craft whilst building a trusted brand based out of Oxfordshire. They have three clinics, Incredible staff and turnover in the millions. Still, despite their accolades even this friendly team haven’t always been able to completely avoid the challenges that come with running a business.
We spoke with Stephen Thorns, Managing Director, about their journey:
“When starting any business I’ve always found there to be three main challenges: Finding the right staff, finding the right premises and finding the right suppliers”
The Challenge
Prior to engaging with Valued, Qutis had instructed another firm to handle their accounts and some mistakes had been made. Mistakes that resulted in Qutis over-posting profits to the tune of hundreds of thousands and being overcharged tax.
Amazingly however, and very much in testament to Stephen’s patience, this wasn’t the only driving factor in Qutis wanting to move to a new firm. That came down to culture and an attitude towards technology.
“We asked to be moved onto Xero and they didn’t know anything about it. We wanted somewhere that used tech to make life simple. Until we started using Valued we’d only get our accounts once a year and by the time they were submitted it would be too late for us to act on the numbers”
Stephen asked the advice of another trusted supplier who then recommended Valued. Qutis were taken on personally by our own Stephen... Stephen Paul and work began to unpick the prior mistakes that had been made…
Finding a Solution
“Stephen [Valued] liaised with our old accountants and asked a series of questions. He was professional and thorough and encouraged them to resolve all our queries.”
It took 6 months but finally, after a herculean effort from all sides, the issue of overposted profit was resolved and everything could get back on track.
Past mistakes were only half of the problem however and when this had been sorted the next challenge was to give Qutis access to their financial data, as in the past the information that had been supplied was too little and too late for the business to make use of it.
Collectively, It was decided that we’d work in a flexible manner that allowed Stephen (Qutis) to input his own data and the Valued team to be on hand to help with any queries and difficult transactions.
This would then feed into Xero’s suite of reports that could be reviewed together at scheduled meetings.
“Previously I would put in the data and they [the old accountants] wouldn’t use it. Now we have a quarterly call for one hour guiding us through the accounts - It’s what I always wanted”
Stephen and the team at Qutis now had access to timely financial data that they could use to make business-critical decisions like hiring and expanding into new locations.
How Are Things Looking Now?
Now with a supplier they could trust and a solid financial foundation, Qutis went on to grow despite challenging financial conditions around the world.
“We’ve had the best quarter ever and last year was the best year. Valued help me sleep at night. If you’re a premium business, you need premium suppliers. I’d find it very difficult to find someone else this good. They’re critical.”
Stephen and Marea have continued to employ an amazing team of practitioners and are even looking at expanding further. With painful mistakes in the past and a circle of trusted suppliers around them, Stephen seemed nothing but positive about the future.
If you’d like to learn more about how Valued could help you or your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch.