Midlands Enterprise Awards 2021

10 | Midlands Enterprise Awards 2021 Jul21020 Best Nationwide Membership & Not For Profit Office Outsourcing Business 2021 Helping membership associations and not for profit organisations with a complete outsourced office solution, Cygnul Limited can provide admin, finance, secretarial, and events support and services. We speak to Managing Director, Kirstie York, to find out more about what it can offer. Cygnul specialises in offering a complete remote office service to membership associations and other not for profit organisations. It employs a team of experienced administration professionals who work together to handle all of its clients’ day-to-day needs, as well as having the flexibility to deliver one-off projects or events. Because Cygnul works for multiple organisations it can offer its clients the availability of a fully staffed office, five days per week, irrespective of the number of hours the client requires. The service is surprisingly accessible, even for the smallest organisations, with the minimum contract being just 4 hours per week for the full service with ad hoc arrangements available for secretarial services. Kirstie York is the Managing Director of Cygnul Limited (Cygnul) and she brings with her more than 25 years’ worth of experience. She has a real zest for the work that she does and, as a small business owner herself, understands the pressures and strains that daily life can bring. “I love working with membership associations and not for profits because I admire the enthusiasm and passion of the leadership,” Kirstie enthuses. “Being a volunteer myself I know how much time and energy it takes to deliver a great service.” Cygnul can provide an office address, staffed with a dedicated team of experienced administrators, who will answer the phone and respond to emails from an association’s members, potential members and other partners and suppliers on its behalf. As part of the standard service, Cygnul provides the association with a dedicated lead administrator and deputy, as well as a named senior manager who will be the first point of contact and supervise the allocated administrators. Kirstie believes that relationships are vital and keeping the teams small allows for trust and understanding to grow between Cygnul and the association’s leaders and members. Taking the stress out of the AGM, meetings, annual returns and other regulatory requirements is an area in which Cygnul excels. Familiarity with the legal and regulatory aspects of not for profit organisations really sets Cygnul apart from the more general small business service providers. Their secretarial background places them perfectly to organise meetings, collate and circulate management reports, take accurate minutes of the meetings and ensure that all actions from the meeting are completed. When it comes to bookkeeping and financial control, Cygnul can provide a full range of bookkeeping services, including acting as an additional signatory on an account if required to ensure payments are made on time and that all accounts are fully up to date, including submitting VAT returns if applicable. Cygnul will also work closely with an association’s accountant to ensure adequate provision is made for taxes, and it can help to set out a budget by providing regular accounting reports and raising potential issues with the board as soon as they arise. As well as all this, Cygnul loves to help organise events and training courses. Whether associations charge members an attendance fee or use association funds to provide the benefits, the company can work with the organisation through the planning stage to offer suggestions and advice on budgets and venues. It can then take over and undertake the advertising, delegate bookings, venue arrangements and credit control. Cygnul won’t leave clients to fend for themselves during the event either. Kirstie stresses that the board’s role at these events is to be visible and accessible to their members and Cygnul can facilitate this by taking care of the reception and hosting. As Kirstie says “We attend events to act as receptionists and first point of contact for the board, delegates, exhibitors and venue. We also help promote networking by talking with delegates about the organisation and their industry, and ensuring we make introductions between individuals because we all know how daunting it can be to walk into a room full of strangers.” “When asked if anything ever goes wrong during events Kirstie says tactfully, “We have a vast amount of experience in dealing with the diversity of issues that can arise during events of all kinds. While we are more than happy to give the board an amusing update over a coffee after the event, we usually agree that they would prefer us to find solutions so they don’t need to be distracted just before going on stage to give the welcome address.” “The board really do not need to know at the time that Joe Bloggs is upset because he has been served the vegetarian option he specifically requested on booking but prefers the look of his colleague’s meal. Or perhaps a delegate has