🚀 New Apprenticeship Starter Guide
We're excited to have you on board!
This page is your go-to resource during the early stages of your apprenticeship with us. Please keep this guide bookmarked and refer to it often during your first few months.
🏁 Your First Few Weeks
The first few weeks are all about learning — it may feel slow at first, but that’s completely normal.
Be proactive: If you're not sure what to do, ask yourself “What could I be doing right now?”
Sit with the team and ask lots of questions. Observing experienced colleagues is one of the best ways to pick things up quickly.
Keep your timesheets up to date — these will be closely reviewed during your early weeks.
Don’t wait to be told what to do — when you finish a task, come and speak to us about what’s next.
We are investing a lot of time in you, and in return we expect you to turn up with a willingness to learn and work hard. You might not have the skills yet — and that’s okay — but if you stick to your side of the bargain, you’ll gain them faster than you think.
💬 Daily & Weekly Checklist Email
To help you stay organised, accountable, and on track, we ask that you submit a short summary at the end of each day and complete a fuller checklist at the end of each week. All checklist emails should be sent to Emma, Ryan, and your mentor.
📅 DAILY CHECKLIST
Please send this before the end of each working day:
✅ A summary of what you’ve done during the day, including how long major tasks took (skip anything under an hour).
✅ The number of emails currently sitting in the Outlook inboxes you're responsible for.
✅ Confirmation that you’ve replied to all emails within 1 working day.
✅ Confirmation that your timesheet is up to date (you should update it every time you switch tasks).
✅ A note about anything you’re struggling with — have you asked your mentor or the team for help?
✅ Do you know what you're doing tomorrow? If not, speak to someone before the end of the day.
📆 WEEKLY CHECKLIST
Send this every Friday (or your last working day of the week), along with your daily checklist:
✅ Have you completed your plan for next week?
✅ Did you complete your tasks from this week’s plan and if not, why not?
✅ Have you ticked off all bookkeeping clients and escalated any you’re unsure about?
✅ Do you have any college deadlines in the next 2 weeks? If yes, what's your plan to meet them?
🕒 Timesheets
🔍 We keep timesheets for a few important reasons:
To track how your time is spent: As an apprentice, around 20% of your time should be on learning and 80% on client work.
To find inefficiencies: Without timesheet data, we can’t figure out what’s taking too long or which processes need improving.
To assess job profitability: Your data helps us determine whether we’re charging clients the right amount.
To support your development and set you targets: Over time, we’ll set you time budgets for tasks so you can learn to work more efficiently.
Best Practice: update your timesheet every time you switch tasks. It’s almost impossible to accurately recall timings at the end of the day if you've handled multiple tasks.
🧠 Some Common-Sense Examples
Example 1: Tea Break: You’ve worked for 55 minutes on one job, then take 5 minutes to have a chat and make a cup of coffee. Just put 1 hour to the client.
Example 2: Quick Jobs in Outlook or PM: You spend 20 minutes on 4 tasks: Two small ones take 2 minutes each. Two others take 16 minutes combined. Put 10 minutes each to the two main jobs.
🛠 Using the Timesheet System
To Open Your Timesheet go to Iris Accountancy Suite Menu > Iris Practice Management > Timesheet Time Postings
🧾 Filling Out the Timesheet
Client & Job: add the chargeable job you’re working on (e.g. ‘BOO’ Bookkeeping, ‘PAY’ Payroll, ‘PTX’ Personal tax)
Non Charge (e.g. ADM Admin, COL College, LEA Learning, MMP Management meetings & planning, PHO Phone, PNC Potential New Client, TEB Team Building, ZAL/ZBH/ZSL/ ZUL Annual/Bank Holiday/Sick/Unpaid Leave
Time: enter time in minutes on the day you did the work - there are 450 minutes in a day
Narrative: description of what you did
🎓 College Time Guidelines
As part of your apprenticeship, you're entitled to use approximately 20% of your time for college or learning (COL/LEA). Below is a breakdown of how this time should be used and recorded:
Breakdown of COL/LEA Activities:
DAY – 7.5 hours per day for tuition and skills college days
TIMESHEET – 1 hour per month for maintaining your college timesheet (this can be filtered via the Data tab on the Client Time Summary spreadsheet that I will email to you on a monthly basis)
PORTFOLIO – 1.5 hours per month on average for development and portfolio tasks
EXAM – 7.5 hours per exam (includes revision time)
COACH – 1.5 hours per quarter for skills coach meetings and any assigned tasks
SKILLS – 1 hour per quarter for the skills scan
How to Record This on Your Timesheet:
At the start of the description when posting time to COL, include one of the following labels so we can see where the time is being spent: DAY, TIMESHEET, PORTFOLIO, EXAM, COACH, SKILLS
Client vs Learning Time:
If learning is specific to a client’s circumstances, post it to that client.
If the learning is general and likely to help with various clients in the future, post it to LEA.
If you're ever unsure where time should be posted, just ask — it's important that COL/LEA time is recorded correctly.
🧾 The Work You’ll Be Doing to Start With
To begin with, your main focus will be on bookkeeping. This is the foundation of most of what we do, and getting it right is essential.
We want you to become both accurate and efficient. This isn’t just about doing the basics — it’s about doing them well. The more efficient and reliable you are with bookkeeping, the more opportunity you'll have to get involved in other areas like Self Assessment and Payroll.
📋 Why Bookkeeping is a Great Start
It gives you a solid understanding of how businesses operate day-to-day
It helps you get familiar with accounting software and systems - try and play around with the software’s functionality
It’s a great way to build confidence in contacting clients and chasing missing information
It lays the groundwork for everything that follows in your training
📌 What It Involves
Uploading receipts and invoices to accounting software
Allocating transactions to the correct account codes
Ensuring all details (VAT, supplier names, dates, descriptions) are correct
Contacting clients for missing receipts or information
Investigating and following up on bills or transactions that seem delayed or incorrect
💡 VAT is a priority — getting this right is a key part of your role.
➕ What You’ll Progress To
Once you're consistent and efficient with bookkeeping, you will have more time to take on:
Self Assessment tax returns – preparing returns for individuals and sole traders
Payroll – running payrolls, calculating pay, and managing submissions to HMRC
These are excellent opportunities to expand your skills and begin taking on more responsibility.
📈 Performance, Feedback & What to Expect
🗣 Regular Feedback: You’ll receive regular input so you know what’s going well and where you can improve. If you're falling behind, we’ll be upfront early - no surprises.
🎯 Clear Expectations: We’ll show you exactly what’s expected and how your performance is measured. You’ll always get fair, supportive, and transparent guidance from us.
⚠️ No Guarantees: Progression to the next stage isn’t automatic. This apprenticeship is an opportunity — but one that depends on your effort and development. If expectations aren’t being met, we reserve the right to end the apprenticeship early.
🤝 Our Commitment: We’ll give you the tools, support, and structure to succeed — the rest is up to you.
💬 Final Thoughts
We’re looking for people who are efficient, accurate, and switched on. Do things well - and do them promptly.
When you finish a task, don’t wait - come and ask what’s next. Show that you’re proactive and engaged.
Learn as much as you can, as fast as you can. Ask questions, listen closely, and take responsibility for your own progress.
Be open, adaptable, and willing to improve. We’re here to help you grow — but we expect you to show up ready to do the work.