Hairdresser Gunars story about success and transformation

Accounting is something that for many entrepreneurs, especially those starting a business for the first time, can seem confusing and intimidating. This was also Gunars challenge when he, a hairdresser with years of experience in a prestigious salon in the center of Riga, decided to create his own beauty salon - this was his dream. He understood that the skills gained over the years to cut, color and style hair were impeccable, proven by many positive client reviews and fully booked appointments even on weekends. However, to build a successful business, he needed not only skills but also to choose a business form, establish a company, set up accounting properly and understand tax calculations.

From employee to his own salon

Gunars had worked for many years as an employee, but to be honest he did not even delve into how accounting works - all that was the bookkeepers duty, so payroll accounting and taxes were handled by the employer.

Still the dream did not leave him and he told the manager that he wanted his own hair cutting studio. Both parties agreed that Gunars could renovate the salons second floor, serve clients there, but pay rent to the salon and use its brand - buying hair products from the existing salon, which was also the official representative of a French cosmetics brand in Latvia.

Gunars agreed, but he still had to register as a self employed person in order to continue working officially. He found the necessary information on the pats.lv website, along with a guide on how to become self employed, and registered economic activity. But when Gunars initially moved to his small studio, where he managed work that also included room renovation and purchase of materials, he had to face various unclear questions about economic activity, deductible and non deductible expenses, reports, SRS and more.

It must be admitted that profit was already much higher than before, however thoughts about accounting and taxes still made him fear the unknown, so the existing salons accountant helped to keep records, although communication still seemed complicated and lengthy. There were many requests from the accountant for documents, Gunars tended to lose some receipt, invoices were missed and not issued, even a report was prepared incorrectly because not all income and expenses were recorded.

How pats.lv transformed Gunars business

Although at first he was uncertain how to deal with many accounting issues, Gunars still decided to follow his intuition and open his own salon. After a couple of years worked in the existing studio, he found new premises, purchased equipment and finally opened his own beauty salon. One of the most important steps on the way to starting a business was arranging legal matters and choosing an accounting system.

Gunars already knew about pats.lv since he had become self employed, but now he registered an LLC and finally also purchased a subscription to the system and started keeping records himself, because with its help, no matter how unbelievable it sounded at first, it was actually simple and clear. "I realized that I do not have to be an accountant to successfully run my company," says Gunars. "Pats.lv helped me not only to start a business with the information provided, but also reminds and helps control all necessary accounting processes - submitting reports, paying taxes."

The user experience in pats.lv was intuitive and the system provides a lot of free information that explained how Gunars can quickly and easily:

• register a company,
• write off expenses - purchases,
• acquire fixed assets and automatically calculate their depreciation,
• record income - invoices,
• receive fast payments even without a terminal and a cash register,
• how to calculate salaries for employees.

With this system he could focus on the most important things - clients and work quality.

Gunars invests time and resources in his salon

With the help of pats.lv, Gunars could perform all necessary financial calculations, control tax payments and ensure that everything complies with the law. Thanks to this system, he can now also easily manage payroll calculations for his team - a barber and a makeup artist whom he hired to expand the salon.

What at first seemed impossible and complicated has now become part of the daily routine. Gunars admits: "Pats.lv allowed me to focus on business growth and development without worrying about accounting. No matter how banal it may sound, this system is like a whole support team that is always available and helps to make the right decisions. Since knowledge in accounting was small, I highly appreciated that I could ask questions to the pats.lv tax specialist. And the best part - there is no need to search for or hire an accountant, there is no eternal miscommunication, and the system does not get sick and does not go on maternity leave, like my last accountant after which searching for all documents was a nightmare. But with pats.lv the accounting problems have remained in the past."

New heights in a clear future

Now, after 2 years of work and successful salon management, Gunars can safely say that his dream of a personal business has come true. "Pats.lv was there almost from the very beginning and continues to be a reliable assistant today. I like that this system not only helps manage accounting but also allows me to be organized and focused on important business matters," says Gunars. "I no longer have a problem hiring a good accountant, I can afford it, but the problem is that there are very few really good accountants who understand business, so it is easier to rely on an automated system like pats.lv."

Conclusions

The accounting system pats.lv has successfully helped Gunars not only solve all accounting issues but also improve his business process. Starting with information about company registration and ending with automatic payroll calculation, pats.lv has become an indispensable assistant on his way to success. And now Gunars is convinced - the dream has come true and now only forward because there are still many opportunities for growth.