Mac Kotecha – a specialist dental accountant for over 28 years – shares with you his 5 top tips for this issue. If you can only do 5 things this fortnight, make sure you read this first:

1. Shop around on your car finance and enjoy your metallic paint!

   After spending days pouring over What Car? magazine, you’ve finally decided which car to go for. But how are you going to finance it? Whilst some of us shop around for a good finance deal, many still believe that finance from that nice honest car dealer would be the most competitively priced option.

   However, when you consider that dealer finance can have an average APR of around 13.8%, while the cheapest personal loan is currently approximately 6.25% APR, you can see there could be a massive difference in the amount your new car will cost.

   In some cases, other financing methods could be far superior. Consult your accountant for the best way to finance your car.

   Remember, the extra cash you save could even be used for those added extras that you didn’t think you would go for. Leather seats - anyone?

2. It’s not my fault - Honest!

   If you decide to buy a practice, it is worth considering negotiations to cover for the risk of defective work/treatment provided before the purchase took place, by either the dentist selling the practice, or their associates.

   Some points to consider:

   — What time-scale, if any, should be included in the contract for making a claim.

   — Should the selling dentists be allowed an opportunity to respond to the allegation of defective work/treatment?

   — Should the contract cover complaints by patients only, or also defective work/treatment discovered by the purchasing dentist?

3. Walking, talking adverts!

   The most effective adverts are ones that people can observe closely without wondering if they have been airbrushed or modified – so why not give patients exactly that? Give your staff treatments such as teeth whitening, botox etc., then when you are discussing these treatments with your patients, call your staff member in and let your patients see for themselves. Put them at ease to ask questions to your staff member, i.e did it hurt! Show the patient a "before" picture of the staff member and let the staff member explain what you did from a patients point of view.

   This type of advert is great because it is fully interactive and your patient is more likely to have a treatment, if they see that someone else who had it is happy with it.

4. Boost your holiday spending money with a "holiday friendly" credit card

With Easter just around the corner, many of you will soon be jetting off away from the traditional British weather. It can be very useful to carry a credit card with you, but watch out for those which charge handling or loading fees for the use of their cards abroad.

Although this fee may seem small (typically 2.75%) it is charged on each and every transaction. Spend £1,000 and you'll be charged an extra £27.50!

For this reason it can be well worth considering switching your credit card. Alternatively, consider having a card specifically for use abroad.

The only cards that we have come across that do not charge a loading fee on worldwide transactions, and that don’t have an annual fee are Nationwide credit cards (Classic Visa and Classic Gold).

Mac Kotecha (FCA) is a Chartered Accountant and Certified Financial Planner, who deals exclusively with dentists and has been established for over 28 years. His company offers Accountancy, Taxation & Payroll services in addition to invaluable advice on practice management, buying/setting up a practice and other dental issues. Contact him on 020 8346 0391 or go to www.specialistdentalaccountants.co.uk to learn more.