23rd Nov 2022

Team Spotlight: Rachel – Accounts Bookkeeper

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We’re taking you behind the scenes once again to get to know another member of our team. It’s our Accounts Bookkeeper, Rachel Preseton’s turn to tell you about herself, her role and her life at Blueprint Interiors.

Could you tell us a little bit about your role?

I look after all the accounts and record all of the company’s financial transactions. From invoicing our clients and paying our suppliers, to doing our company VAT and CIS returns.

During a project, it’s my responsibility to ensure we have all the information we need to calculate things like project cash flow and track profits to help the Financial Accountant prepare accurate monthly management accounts.

What’s your favourite project you have been a part of so far?

I don’t often get directly involved with projects, but I am supporting with a large project for one of our clients, MIRA (more on this soon), and now another big project, Melton. I’m enjoying it because it means I get to see these projects from the start and help to map out things behind the scenes like project cash flow and costs.

Being able to track project progress from the beginning is interesting. It’s great because most of the time my role comes into it at the end when the final figures come through.

What is your favourite part about working at Blueprint Interiors?

I think it’s the whole atmosphere in the office. It’s quite nice and relaxed, you have a lot of flexibility and I like coming into the office.

What is your favourite area of worklife central to work in?

There’s the main area of WorkLife Central that we all sit at while we’re working. I like it because we can chat and there are always familiar faces around. The desks aren’t ‘fixed’ so any day, anybody can come and sit next to you. It changes every day and that’s nice.

What is your favourite part of the fit-out process?

I like seeing the end result when everything comes together. For all the projects we work on, the final results are always stunning. I’m really proud to be a part of it – even though I’m not directly involved with the office design or fit-out process.

What’s the best lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?

I think being open, honest, and patient with everyone you work with is important. There’s no point in getting too stressed about certain situations. I know we all can have moments where we get caught up in a stressful situation but try not to get to a point where you feel like you can’t cope because it’s not worth it.

Can you tell us a fun fact about yourself that people might not know?

A lot of people might not know that I got into accounting because of my Gran as she was an accountant too. At school, I was quite good at maths, and she encouraged me to enrol on an accounting course (AAT). On the first day of my course, the tutor went around and asked everyone why they were there and why they wanted to do the course. I said it’s because I’m good at maths and he turned around and said it’s nothing to do with maths!

Accounting doesn’t have much to do with maths, like many people think, it’s more about attention to detail. It’s not necessarily knowing numbers, because you can use a calculator or a sum in Excel. Anyone can learn to do it!

Meet the rest of the Blueprint Interiors team

Keep an eye out for more behind-the-scenes content about our team. Or, take a look at our people page if you can’t wait until then!

Author:

Rachel Preston

Finance Manager