Hi Johnny,

my links worked fine.

Also had no issue finding the site using the old site name which redirected me without issue to the new one.

Can you let me know exactly what you mean by the usual ways and I'll investigate them for you,

Many thanks,

Shaun.

Hi
the first time I did it on my ipad I got the sparklit page, but that was ungodly o'clock when Im assuming they were doing the updates. When I tried again this morning I got a 404 website no longer type message (wish Id taken a piccie now!) but hen there was an option to click on a re-direct. Now its fine on ipad cos its picking up from my history.

I always used the term 'bookkeepers forum', which it didnt like at first on my PC.  

 

Might be worth asking someone who has never searched for it and see what it shows on theirs?

Should add - I like it, not masses of change and daftness like with another website we could mention, so thats all good.  Logo certainly cleaner and fresher.  Would like to know more about the offerings for the fees.

-- Edited by Cheshire on Monday 1st of August 2016 11:53:23 AM

I concur with Joanne Johnny (on the PC, I don't use the mobile version of the site)

between 12:01 and when I went to bed last night the site was going through its overhaul so that Sparklit page came up a lot.

On the PC hit F5 to refresh memory as your system may be going there before attempting to get the site properly which could possibly explain still being redirected to the Sparklit message.

That should sort your PC issues out.

Now that you have found the site through the ipad as indicated by Joanne I believe that should also have sorted out the issue of hangovers in memory.

Lol Vince,

I remember having to dig out the large version of the Oxford Russian-English doictionary in a debate with you long ago that Book-keeper was a real word! I missed off completely from that one that in the pure English version of the Oxford dictionary it's without the hyphen... I can admit it now. Glad that you are now a happy man over the site name.

Well done Steve, I agree an excellent job.

Im afraid a lot of people forget to say things like that, usually just love to complain, but Im a firm believer in saying when I think a job is done well.

Seems that plenty of peeps are finding the site given the number of views so far!

Must admit to keep hitting 'user' details instead of latest posts cos Im being vain without the glasses. Its a wonder I get any work done without them.

I just have one small request that the awards go back to including our business names as well - can this be done? Am I best emailing Steve?

Well done Steve and the team

I love the new logo and name. The font for the logo is clean and fresh.

The forum remains exactly like it was, so thanks for that. 

Also many thanks for providing existing users with full membership access for 12 months. A big plus imo.

bookkeepers wrote:

 

Joanne, as requested I can confirm we have now re-added the business name to the winners listing details for the awards. 

Thanks again,

Steve

---

 Thank you 

Looks good! Much improved.

Facebook? Do people still use that. lol.

Hi Phil,

Already had that conversation with Steve about Facebook groups and its a conscious decision not to go down that route.

People come here to get questions answered. Visitor numbers (well over a million a month) give the site its value. If we answered questions on Facebook then that gives Facebook the value rather than this site.

As things stand Steve has total control over the site and it's content where if we were on Facebook to a certain extent that control is divested and also the sites content would be diluted by being spread over two platforms.

Shaun.


p.s. sorry Phil, hidden links (the letter A in your signature is a link) to commercial sites or for SEO purposes are not permitted. (For long standing members such as yourself links to our own websites (such as www.philhendy.com) where you may put the link to commercial sites is fine)

Shamus wrote:

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p.s. sorry Phil, hidden links (the letter A in your signature is a link) to commercial sites or for SEO purposes are not permitted. (For long standing members such as yourself links to our own websites (such as www.philhendy.com) where you may put the link to commercial sites is fine)

---

Shaun's spam spotters have spotted it too - well I did, I think John maybe asleep still!    

But its still there!!  Or are you giving Phil the chance to remove it? 

Regarding the Facebook groups, I agree with Phil. They certainly allow for another audience, but tend to remove from forums. I think the reason is the fact that many people live on facebook (which I don't think is dying) so the replies tend to come very quickly at all times of the day and night. We use Facebook groups for The Bookkeepers Alliance which has a fairly active community. We made a conscious decision not to have a forum, as I was saying to Steve this morning, BKN does the forum well there's not much we can add to that. We decided to concentrate on the stuff others are not doing very well.

As said, we do have a Facebook group, and our members love that it's hidden and they feel that they can ask questions without fear of ridicule, or clients seeing them. There are always some who don't use Facebook, or don't want to, so forums still have a place and will for some time.

Kris

Sammy76 wrote:

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I had an email saying that my paypal payment for membership was cancelled - is this why? Do I need to set up a new membership?

 

---

 There was an announcement on here some time ago about this, I seem to recall. besides the new site now has new info which is detailed above in Steve's original post.

kjmcculloch83 wrote:

---

Cheshire wrote:

---

kjmcculloch83 wrote:

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 many people live on facebook (which I don't think is dying) - insider info Kris.  

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-- Edited by Cheshire on Thursday 18th of August 2016 02:55:28 PM

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 Insider info from Facebook??  yes from FB.  Plus from a UK source with UK data.  Well my experience doesn't reflect that.  Sorry oh dont be sorry - thats good for you surely.  Just a lot less people can hang their hat on it and have noticed the pull away from it. Depends on the nature of your business.

-- Edited by kjmcculloch83 on Thursday 18th of August 2016 02:58:34 PM

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kjmcculloch83 wrote:

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Absolutely. The "Is facebook Dying" stuff has being around since 2014. We're still noticing that the facebook group is one of the primary attractions for The Alliance. This combined with the opportunity to work a bit closer with BKN covers all the bases.

---

 Its an age related thing in many cases, but evidenced across sectors too.   If you saw the raw data it would blow your mind. 

''This combined with the opportunity to work a bit closer with BKN covers all the bases.' What is this about?

Wow Shaun. Let me take this bit at a time so I don't miss anything. Firstly, bkpr haven't been around for some time. You're probably talking about The Bookkeepers Alliance. Seconding we are not a fledgling offering, or trying to sell our wares.

No one is trying to steal members. The mere suggestion is ridiculous. Ridicule is something on the minds of many bookkeepers who post on sites. You have referred to such yourself on a number of occasions when talking about Aweb. Clients seeing questions is also a very real concern of some bookkeepers too.

A secret Facebook group is not a bad thing, just another answer and choice for our bookkeepers. Even in a closed group, there are as many differing opinions as in an open group. The nature of the group means it is limited to bookkeepers, if there were not a need then there would be no members.

Just for clarification, I have already spoken to Steve today about this, and understand that he is happy with a relationship of cross promotion between TBA and BKN. Both are very different offerings.

I never expected such a post from you Shaun, but I guess it was only to be expected.

Kris

kjmcculloch83 wrote:

---

Wow Shaun. Let me take this bit at a time so I don't miss anything. Firstly, bkpr  Wonder if that was just an initials typo on Shaun's part?  haven't been around for some time. You're probably talking about The Bookkeepers Alliance. Seconding we are not a fledgling offering, or trying to sell our wares.  I dont understand the not trying to sell comment.  That is what the BKA is  - a business. It might be there to help bookkeepers but it doesnt do it for free.

No one is trying to steal members. The mere suggestion is ridiculous. disagree, although I do agree on your next comment. But you dont need a closed forum nor closed facebook page to prevent that. Ridicule is something on the minds of many bookkeepers who post on sites. You have referred to such yourself on a number of occasions when talking about Aweb. Clients seeing questions is also a very real concern of some bookkeepers too.  Again you dont need a closed forum/facebook page to prevent that.  Cant imagine you can get long strand answers on a FB page!!   

A secret Facebook group is not a bad thing, just another answer and choice for our bookkeepers. Even in a closed group, there are as many differing opinions as in an open group. The nature of the group means it is limited to bookkeepers, if there were not a need then there would be no members. 

Just for clarification, I have already spoken to Steve today about this, and understand that he is happy with a relationship of cross promotion between TBA and BKN. Both are very different offerings.  I think if Steve has agreed something then it should really be for him to announce on BKN rather than the generalised comment just made.  But I for one would be concerned about the set up given I can access this site freely (and give my time for free to help people), yet Im blocked from accessing the BKA unless I pay a monthly fee. Plus the site owners of BKA  dont provide much in the way of assistance on here, maybe in the past, but now you are concentrating on BKA - ie  your business.  So how does that work?  One for you and Steve to work through obviously but one which others on here may have concerns about.  

I never expected such a post from you Shaun, but I guess it was only to be expected.  Thats totally contradictory, so doesnt make sense!

Kris

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 Edited for typos re initials!

-- Edited by Cheshire on Thursday 18th of August 2016 04:07:24 PM

Cheshire wrote:

---

kjmcculloch83 wrote:

---

Wow Shaun. Let me take this bit at a time so I don't miss anything. Firstly, bkpr  Wonder if that was just an initials typo on Shaun's part?  haven't been around for some time. You're probably talking about The Bookkeepers Alliance. Seconding we are not a fledgling offering, or trying to sell our wares.  I dont understand the not trying to sell comment.  That is what the BKA is  - a business. It might be there to help bookkeepers but it doesnt do it for free.  You're a bit right here, but I can see where the confusion is.  So, like BKN, TBA is a for profit organisation.  It makes a profit by offering services to its members.  A lot of what we offer, like BKN is free.  So first myth.

No one is trying to steal members. The mere suggestion is ridiculous. disagree, although I do agree on your next comment. But you dont need a closed forum nor closed facebook page to prevent that. Our members asked for it, we delivered it.  What's right for one person, isnt right for everyone, but our members want it.  Ridicule is something on the minds of many bookkeepers who post on sites. You have referred to such yourself on a number of occasions when talking about Aweb. Clients seeing questions is also a very real concern of some bookkeepers too.  Again you dont need a closed forum/facebook page to prevent that.  Cant imagine you can get long strand answers on a FB page!!   It's amazing some of the answers we get.  As above, it's something that is asked for, and we respond.

A secret Facebook group is not a bad thing, just another answer and choice for our bookkeepers. Even in a closed group, there are as many differing opinions as in an open group. The nature of the group means it is limited to bookkeepers, if there were not a need then there would be no members. 

Just for clarification, I have already spoken to Steve today about this, and understand that he is happy with a relationship of cross promotion between TBA and BKN. Both are very different offerings.  I think if Steve has agreed something then it should really be for him to announce on BKN rather than the generalised comment just made.  But I for one would be concerned about the set up given I can access this site freely (and give me time for free to help people), yet Im blocked from accessing the BKA unless I pay a monthly fee. Plus the site owners of BKN, dont provide much in the way of assistance on here. Maybe in the past, but now you are concentrating on BKN - ie  your business.  So how does that work?  One for you and Steve to work through obviously but one which others on here may have concerns about.  I agree, but I think the comment had to be made before too much damage was done to make this unworkable.  With regards to the bit where you say you are blocked from TBA if you don't pay, this is not the case.  We have loads of free members who get huge value and don't pay a penny.  Regarding the value, I try to add value when I can, but the same could be said for BKN owners, ultimately this is a forum for members.

I never expected such a post from you Shaun, but I guess it was only to be expected.  Thats totally contradictory, so doesnt make sense!  Perhaps I should have said I didn't expect it, but should have.

Kris

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---

 

Sorry Kris but that is so very unprofessional.

How can see how a thread is going to go? I know you need a crystal ball in this profession but that statement is just ridiculous.

You say you have just saved a potential working partnership by making an announcement - but that was not in your gift to make - that could potentially do it more damage, its tantamount to releasing confidential information, albeit we are clearly not working at a corporate level here so you may just get away with it.

Ive been on your site and very little of it is for free so please dont try to compare it with BKN. Of course both are businesses, but dont try to compare eggs with apples. I dont have a problem with your business model - that is your choice, its your business, but I do have a problem when you can freely come over to BKN and have your say and for all to see it.....but the reverse is not true.....where exactly can I post the same about BKN on your site for ALL, not just signed in members, to see it, yet you talk about a 'partnership' ????????????? I cant!!

-- Edited by Cheshire on Thursday 18th of August 2016 04:22:00 PM

I'm sorry Joanne, but we offer a lot free. We don't have a forum, so you can't post that way. But every single blog article we have is open for comments from any of our members. So the reverse is true.

I could see how it was going. I guess we'll need to agree to disagree.

kjmcculloch83 wrote:

---

I never expected such a post from you Shaun, but I guess it was only to be expected.

---

You've never said anything which attempted to undermine the confidence of the contributors to the site before Kris.

To quote "they can ask questions without fear of ridicule, or clients seeing them".

So you want bookkeepers to join your site on the basis that nobody will know that they're there to ask their questions of other bookkeepers in a sheltered community where the answers that they get may not be the best answer but they are the best that can be offered from the limited membership.

Members have regularly joined this site specifically to answer questions where they feel that the existing posted responses omits key facts. You cannot have that with a hidden members only group. The only hope for such a group to survive would be for a site such as BKN or Aweb to actively promote the group and point people towards it but I'm having real difficulty here seeing what the advantage is for BKN or Aweb of doing that.

 

You have a group that few people would knows exists unless we tell them where you are and if they find it then people will start asking questions in the wrong place to get the right answers (bookkeepers sites / groups need accountants).

Please tell me what I'm missing here as I am having real difficulty understanding what if anything BKN gets from this as I'm seeing no potential for traffic in the other direction, it could cost BKN contributors and any link up could compromise the extenal view of the sites absolute independance of all other groups, bodies and institutions.

Nothing I say should in any way be construed as anything against BKA or BKPR. My responses are purely in protection of the integrity, objectivity, independance, longevity and brand value of BKN.

To read BKN you do not need to login. To read BKA you do. Or have I got that wrong? Has that changed?

I know how partnerships work, but as I've already said, and as Shaun has indeed since said on this post, what can BKN and it's members possibly get from such a partnership? It's all skewed in favour of one party, not BKN and as I said that's when partnerships fall apart, or should never be created in the first place.

Neither have I said anything today to undermine any confidence. I simply agreed with Phil that Facebook groups are useful. Unless of course you believe that one size fits all?

There is a small pool on any forum answering questions, that's the way of it. It doesn't matter if it's open, or closed. Our organisation is surviving quiet well without the promotion of BKN. Clearly, there is an opportunity for both though.

TBA is not a forum. That's not what we offer. Our primary focus is on a mix of online and face to face work. Therefore we have regional meetings, workshops (both ourselves and with partners), conferences, retreats and more. Coupled with this we have group mentoring, one to one mentoring, webinars, masterclasses, courses, shared resources and the much talked about - Facebook groups. We actually have 2 facebook groups, as well as 2 linkedin groups. One of our facebook groups is closed to our paying members, and the other is open to all. Both of our LinkedIn groups are open to all.

Many of our articles are open to all. Some of our specialist articles are open to only members, and some only paying members depending on membership level. Despite what has been said, free members can comment on our posts, and videos.

Hopefully you can see the host of resources on offer from TBA. This coupled with the forum from BKN, and hopefully you can start to see how the two compliment each other. TBA has no desire to run a forum, but BKN do this well. BKN clearly don't offer a lot of the other stuff, but TBA does.

Kris

No, there are loads of articles and content for both members and non members. Like many other sites, there are some things that you do need to join us, free, to get access to. We make no apology for that. However, the comment was around posting comments, and you can also do that. :)