When Julie Williams started The Hollies Bookkeeping Services in 2010, she was working alone from a bedroom office at home.

Today, Hollies is a thriving Shrewsbury-based practice with a team of ten, supporting clients across a wide range of industries. The business has grown considerably, but Julie's approach to looking after clients and supporting her colleagues remains at the heart of what Hollies does.

It's an approach that has earned recognition, with Julie shortlisted for both ICB LUCA Student of the Year and Payroll Professional of the Year, while Hollies Bookkeeping Services has been shortlisted for Large Practice of the Year.

We caught up with Julie to find out more about her career, how Hollies has developed and why continuing to learn remains so important to her.

From Corporate Accountancy to Hollies Bookkeeping

Julie's career in finance began in 1996, when she worked as a Management Information Analyst for an American credit reference and direct marketing company.

Her role involved tracking sales performance, calculating commissions and working out which members of the sales team had earned the monthly prize of a BMW to drive for a month!

She went on to work in management accounting roles across several large companies, including Biffa, where she was responsible for the accounts of 45 workshops across six regions, as well as the wider company fleet accounts.

Her move into bookkeeping came in 2009, when her partner, now her husband, asked whether she would take over his business bookkeeping. His existing bookkeeper had been reluctant to move to digital systems, and Julie saw an opportunity.

She returned to studying, learned to use Sage and began dealing with VAT, the Construction Industry Scheme and payroll. It was a different world from the one bookkeepers work in today, before Real Time Information reporting and Making Tax Digital.

The following year, Julie established Hollies Bookkeeping Services.

From a Bedroom Office to a Team of Ten

Julie initially worked alone from home before taking on her first employee. A work experience placement for an ICB member followed, and eventually the business moved into its current offices as the client base continued to grow.

Today, Hollies has a team of ten women who bring different experiences and areas of expertise to the practice.

"We are now a team of 10 fab ladies who all work together and support each other," Julie says.

Rather than concentrating on one particular industry, Hollies supports a varied client base. The team's different backgrounds mean they can bring relevant experience to businesses with very different needs.

The services they provide have developed too. Alongside bookkeeping and payroll, Hollies supports clients with tax returns, VAT and limited company accounts.

But the technical work is only part of the relationship.

Julie describes her role as extending well beyond bookkeeping. She can find herself acting as a sounding board for clients, helping them find information or pointing them towards funding opportunities.

She jokes that the team occasionally needs a "crystal ball, magic wand and fairy dust" to meet all the demands of the job.

Behind the humour is a serious point. For many small business owners, a trusted bookkeeper is someone they turn to when they need help understanding what is happening in their business. It's this combination of professional judgement, personal understanding and trusted relationships that sets good bookkeepers apart. And as AI and technology take on more of the routine work, those human qualities become more valuable than ever.

Why Experience Doesn't Mean the End of Studying

With decades of experience behind her and a successful practice to run, Julie might reasonably have decided that her days of formal study were over.

Instead, she enrolled with Ideal Schools to work towards her ICB Level 4 Diploma.

The decision came from recognising how her clients' expectations were changing. More businesses wanted a practice that could provide a wider range of services in one place, rather than using separate bookkeepers and accountants.

Julie had already taught herself aspects of final accounts and corporation tax but wanted to strengthen her knowledge and gain qualifications to support the services Hollies was providing.

Returning to formal study was not entirely straightforward.

She had previously attempted Self-Assessment Tax training twice without completing it. This time, however, things began to fall into place.

Once Julie passed her first Level 4 exam, she found herself increasingly motivated to keep going. She passed Self-Assessment Tax, Drafting Financial Statements and Corporation Tax within just six months, and has now added Business Insight to her achievements, completing the four subjects in her ICB Level 4 programme.

Achieving that progress while running Hollies has required considerable commitment.

Julie has studied in the evenings and fitted learning around her working week. Although she has tried to set aside a day at home for studying, the demands of the business have not always made that possible.

Instead, she has taken whatever opportunities she could find to make progress.

Finding the Right Support

For Julie, the support available through Ideal Schools has made a real difference.

Having struggled to maintain momentum with previous attempts at Self-Assessment Tax training, she found that the encouragement she received helped her move forward.

I just liked the team behind the business. Brian was excellent and Louise my tutor was a real motivator to me!

Being able to fit her studies around the demands of running Hollies, while knowing that support was available when she needed it, helped Julie make the progress she had previously found difficult.

And her experience with Ideal Schools has since led to a wider investment in training across the practice.

Developing the Whole Team

Julie has also enrolled six members of the Hollies team on payroll training with Ideal Schools.

Although the practice already provides payroll services, Julie has been its only formally qualified payroll professional. She wanted her colleagues to develop a stronger understanding of the principles behind the work they were doing.

To be honest I decided that it shouldn't just be me who was qualified and that it would do them all the world of good to learn the knowledge behind the practical!

There's a practical benefit for Julie, too.

She hopes the additional knowledge across the team might reduce the number of times she hears her name being called whenever a payroll question arises in the office!

Her colleagues are making progress with their qualifications, and studying alongside one another has created a sense of mutual encouragement.

Julie explains that seeing how everyone was getting on with their studies helped motivate her own Level 4 work.

For Hollies, professional development has become something the team can share, supporting one another as they build their knowledge and confidence.

The People Behind Every Payslip

Payroll has been part of Julie's professional life since 2009, when she gained her first payroll qualification with a distinction.

She remembers the days of manual tax tables, working out gross and net pay and using Sage desktop payroll before the introduction of RTI and workplace pensions.

The technology and regulations have changed enormously since then, but her understanding of the responsibility involved has remained constant.

"Payroll represents the ultimate relationship of trust," she says.

For Julie, payroll is about much more than processing figures. Employers rely on her team to ensure that their employees are paid correctly and that the business meets its obligations.

A payroll mistake is never just an administrative error; it creates real worry for real people.

That understanding influences her approach to professional standards and why she places such importance on her colleagues developing their knowledge.

Behind every payslip is someone who depends on getting paid accurately and on time.

Looking Ahead for Hollies

Despite the considerable growth Hollies has experienced, Julie isn't focused on making the practice bigger for the sake of it.

"All I want is a happy team and happy clients," she says.

She feels the business is a good size and is now concentrating on how technology can help the team work more effectively.

Reducing routine data entry and making better use of software would allow them to spend more time reviewing financial information and helping clients understand how their businesses are performing.

Further training in Xero, Dext and artificial intelligence is among the areas Julie is keen to explore.

For Hollies, continuing to develop the team's skills is part of preparing for whatever comes next.

Every Day Is a Learning Day

When asked what advice she would give someone developing a career or building a bookkeeping practice, Julie emphasises that the work involves far more than numbers.

Bookkeepers need to become good listeners and understand the challenges their clients face. Technical knowledge matters, but so does the ability to offer sound advice and build trusting professional relationships.

She encourages others to make use of webinars and training opportunities, and not to be afraid of stepping outside their comfort zones.

It's advice she has clearly followed herself.

From her early career in corporate accountancy to establishing Hollies and supporting her colleagues through their own studies, Julie has continued to build on what she already knows.

Her story is a reminder that professional development doesn't stop when someone becomes experienced or establishes a successful business. As Hollies has grown, Julie has continued to find new opportunities to learn, while encouraging the people around her to do the same.

We are delighted to be part of that continuing journey.

Find out more

Visit The Hollies Bookkeeping Services to learn more about Julie and her team.

If you're looking to develop your own bookkeeping or accounting qualifications, or support the professional development of your team, explore the courses available through Ideal Schools.