Greater London Enterprise Awards 2020

6 | Greater London Awards 2020 Sep20519 Tommys Tax: Best Fintech Company - UK The power of a modern Fintech firm is not just for big organisations. Far from creating a larger gap between those who can and those who can’t, the democratisation of technology has allowed everyone to benefit. The team at Tommy’s Tax have achieved enormous success with their innovative app. We take a closer look at the firm and its founder, Tommy McNally, to further understand how the team have reached such astonishing heights in SME News’ Greater London Awards 2020. No one likes doing their taxes. It’s an onerous and bureaucratic job that requires an in-depth knowledge of the field to discover the best results. Those who can, find accountants and tax experts who are able and willing to tackle this difficult sector. For many, this is a luxury they can ill afford, but with overpayment of tax so common, an expert eye over your tax returns is something that you cannot afford to go without. Since 2015, Tommy’s Tax has grown incredibly quickly. In fact, it has also laid claim to the title of the UK’s fasting growing tax consultancy. The aim of the organisations was to revolutionise the way in which tax returns are completed, creating a way of working that was easy, quick and simple to use. Historically, the tax return process has been long and complex, drawing on many different fields to drive success. Tommy’s Tax is designed to bring all of these aspects into one single user experience that can be completed quickly and effectively. What the Tommy’s Tax app does is allow people to manage their finances throughout the tax year, equipping them with the vital tools they need to really make a difference to their financial situation. By doing this throughout the year, customers are able to apply for their tax refund quickly and easily. In some cases, customers find the refund in their account within 72 hours, although the average is 7 to 10 days. The growth of Tommy’s Tax as a company has been nothing short of stratospheric. The team has been able to achieve an average 80% YOY revenue growth, which is roughly 30x total revenue growth since inception. This incredible achievement is only set to improve as time goes on, with the firm’s dominance over the market becoming increasingly secure. The 2021 financial year is on track to reach an impressive 150% YOY revenue increase, and a 90% EBITA margin. This achievement places Tommy’s Tax in line with the world’s best tech disruptors. Disruption is precisely what Tommy’s Tax is doing. The team are providing a service that has never been available before to customers, making tax refunds easier, quicker and more financially rewarding. The app is a piece of fintech that looks certain to revolutionise the public perception of taxes, providing people with solutions that will save them time and money. The team’s work is specifically aimed at those who need support the most, specialising in helping the self-employed and employees with PAYE. Those who are covered by the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) find the app particularly useful, with sophisticated systems in place to ensure that they get the funds back from the government that they deserve. Over the last year, the importance of an app like Tommy’s Tax has become more obvious. It has been a desperately tough year financially for almost everybody. People have turned to alternative ways of funding themselves, in a world that is filled with redundancies, pay cuts and enforced business closures. Having secured over £20m in refunds for clients, the team at Tommy’s Tax knew that they were in an ideal position to support those who were most vulnerable at this difficult time, making their skill and knowledge available to the widest possible field of people. To support the UK’s workers during this difficult period, the team launched their free app in April 2020. This was designed to supplement the work that Tommy’s Tax provides as an expert consultancy and has proven to be a major success. It has just hit 20,000 downloads, spread equally between Google Play and the Apple store. People have turned to digital accountancy because they can’t meet face to face. The app has been an overwhelming success story for the firm, with an average refund of £3,000 for those on PAYE and £2,800 for the self-employed. This achievement is due to the way in which income tax is calculated and the challenging year that businesses have faced. Around fifteen million people have worked from home during the pandemic, and almost all are missing out on tax rebates that could have an immeasurable impact on their finances. Many people don’t have the time, or know how, to find out what they’re owed. Changing the work situation adds new options to a system that has frequently underutilised in any case. Most people don’t realise they can claim for things they buy for work, including travel costs, food or uniform. Those who have been working from home benefit from a similar government support system, where tax can be reclaimed for the use of utilities. It’s very common for people to be on the wrong tax code because of the nature of their work. Often, they’re working a lot of overtime or have fluctuating earnings, such as commission-based jobs that can also result in overpayment of tax. The situation has been made worse by the number of redundancies that have had to happen. With over 20,000 people out of work in September, the impact on the rest of society is clear to see. Most of these people will not just have lost their jobs, but will also have overpaid on tax. The UK system seen income tax is based on your anticipated annual salary, divided into 12 equal payments. Losing a job before the end of the financial year means that the person will obviously not have earned the amount originally estimated. Unless they find another job immediately, a challenge in any climate, their tax bill should be reduced. With all of these variables, it’s understandable not only how many people fail to file taxes correctly, but often struggle to file them to their biggest advantage. The Founder and Managing Director of Tommy’s Tax, Tommy McNally, has a wealth of experience in this field, being on hand to offer his expert advice to clients who want to reclaim tax or ensure that they are not making the same money mistakes that most people do on a daily basis.