Thirteen years ago, I found myself in a situation many can relate to—I was made redundant from my previous job as an assistant accountant at a company with an annual turnover of £23 million. Six weeks later, I began a new chapter at LRL, handling not just the accounts but taking on all the administrative duties as well. This included HR tasks, pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQ), and some initial tenders (ITTs). I completed the paperwork for CHAS and ISO certification, managed company insurances, became the administrator for the company pension scheme, and created the overhead budget for approval.

This new role was a welcome change from number crunching day in and day out—though, I must admit, the mobile phone contracts quickly became the bane of my life!

Of course, accounts are accounts, regardless of the industry. Yet, each industry has its quirks, like the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) in construction and now, RCV. One of my biggest challenges—and achievements—was overseeing the transition of our accounts system from Sage to Summit. This was a mammoth task that involved setting up the new nominal structure, transferring all data, and running parallel systems for three months.

Just before the pandemic hit, we welcomed an Office Manager, which eased some of my administrative workload. Back then, our turnover was around £6-7 million. Fast forward to today, and I’ve had the privilege of witnessing significant growth, with our turnover now at £13 million and hopefully continuing to rise.

Reflecting on these years, I’ve seen many changes, both big and small:

• Payments: Back in 2011, around 40% of receipts were paid by cheque. Now, we might see just one or two a year!
• Staffing: We’ve grown from a small team of four office staff to a energetic group of 17.
• Expansion: We’ve opened a new office in Bradford and moved to larger offices in Manchester. 
• Technology: From expanding into felt and single ply to the once rare laptops that are now commonplace. We used to use faxes a lot too, which are now nonexistent. For you younger people, it's a piece of equipment, a bit like a printer - that you can dial a number, send sheets of paper through and they would be printed out at the other end and they did make that wonderful noise (a bit like the dial up noise on the internet, but you probably don't know what that is either, if you're under 35!) How many of you are going down memory lane...

Another reflection I've had is the shift from speaking with people over the phone to mainly communicating via email, where I feel something has been lost, which is a shame. 

Overall and looking back, it’s been incredible to be part of LRL’s growth story and I’m excited for what the future holds. Here’s to many more years of change, growth, and adaptation!

Pam McKay - Finance Manager