Celebrating Our Success at the 2025 ICB LUCA Awards

Having recently completed our application for the 2026 ICB LUCA Awards, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on a very special achievement for everyone at Jems Bookkeeping & Accountancy Services.

At the 2025 LUCA Awards, we were delighted to be named Medium Practice of the Year. We were also awarded Highly Commended for Client Experience and Highly Commended for Team of the Year.

To receive recognition in three separate categories was an incredibly proud moment for our whole team. Each category reflected an important part of what we work hard to achieve as a practice: providing a professional and dependable service, looking after our clients properly and creating a supportive team that works well together.

What are the ICB LUCA Awards?

The annual LUCA Awards are organised by the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers and recognise outstanding achievement across the bookkeeping profession.

The awards celebrate bookkeepers at different stages of their careers, as well as bookkeeping practices, teams, tutors, training providers and the software companies supporting the profession. Entries for the practice awards are assessed by an independent panel of judges.

Often described as the “Oscars of the bookkeeping world”, the awards provide an opportunity to recognise the individuals and businesses helping to maintain high standards across the industry.

The 2025 ceremony was held at the QEII Centre in London on Monday 17 November. It brought together bookkeeping professionals, businesses and software providers from across the country to celebrate the work being carried out throughout the profession.

Jems had already been recognised at the 2024 LUCA Awards, reaching the finals in three categories: Small Practice of the Year, Team of the Year and Client Experience. Being shortlisted in three categories again in 2025 was therefore another significant achievement. To then come away with one award and two Highly Commended recognitions made the evening particularly memorable and marked an exciting step forward for the practice.

Medium Practice of the Year

Our biggest achievement of the evening was being named Medium Practice of the Year, an award sponsored by Bright.

This was a particularly significant award because Medium Practice of the Year was introduced as a new category for 2025. Its introduction allowed growing bookkeeping practices to be recognised in a category reflecting their size, structure and stage of development.

Winning the award was an important acknowledgement of how Jems has developed over the years while continuing to retain the personal approach on which the business was built.

Jems is a family-run bookkeeping and accountancy practice founded in 1999. Originally based in North London, we are now located in Bishop’s Stortford and work with businesses and individuals across Essex, Hertfordshire, London and throughout the UK.

Although the practice has grown and the bookkeeping profession has changed considerably during that time, our aim has remained consistent. We want to make accounting, bookkeeping and tax matters easier for our clients and give them the reassurance that their finances are being handled carefully.

Growth is important to any business, but we believe it should not come at the expense of personal service. As the Jems team has developed, we have worked hard to maintain the friendly, approachable support that our clients value.

Being named Medium Practice of the Year felt like recognition not only of the size the practice has reached, but also of the way in which we have grown.

Highly Commended for Client Experience

We were equally proud to receive Highly Commended in the Client Experience category, sponsored by Xero.

Good bookkeeping and accountancy are about more than completing calculations, preparing reports and meeting filing deadlines. Clients also need to feel that they can ask questions, receive clear answers and rely on their accountant or bookkeeper when they need help.

Financial matters can sometimes feel complicated or worrying, particularly for someone running a business alongside numerous other responsibilities. Part of our role is to remove as much of that worry as possible.

We take the time to understand each client, their circumstances and the type of support they need. Some clients require regular bookkeeping and ongoing advice, while others may need help with annual accounts, payroll, tax returns or a particular financial issue.

Whatever the service, our goal is to be approachable and responsive. We never want a client to feel uncomfortable about asking a question or unsure about what is happening with their accounts.

Receiving Highly Commended for Client Experience was therefore especially meaningful. It recognised an area of the business that has always been central to the way we work.

We are very grateful to our clients for placing their trust in us and for the feedback, recommendations and continued support they give us. Strong client relationships are not created by one award entry or one successful year. They develop over time through consistent service, good communication and a genuine commitment to helping people.

Highly Commended for Team of the Year

Our third recognition of the evening was Highly Commended for Team of the Year, sponsored by Sage.

Although clients may deal directly with one particular member of the Jems team, providing a dependable service is very much a combined effort.

A successful bookkeeping and accountancy practice relies on people sharing knowledge, communicating effectively and supporting one another. This becomes increasingly important as a practice grows and manages the differing needs and deadlines of its clients.

Every member of our team contributes to the service we provide. That includes completing detailed financial work accurately, responding to client queries, keeping up with changes within the profession and helping colleagues during particularly busy periods.

The Team of the Year recognition belonged to everyone at Jems. It reflected the care, professionalism and hard work demonstrated across the practice.

We were also pleased that the judges recognised both our team and our client experience alongside the Medium Practice of the Year award. Together, the three results represented the balance we aim to maintain: developing a successful practice while continuing to support both our clients and the people within our business.

A proud moment for the Jems team

Em & Jay Manchee attended the ceremony and Em said “Winning Medium Practice of the Year was an incredibly proud moment for me, but being recognised for our client experience and team of the year made it even more special. Jems has always been built around providing a personal, dependable service, and this achievement reflects the care and hard work of our whole team, as well as the trust our clients continue to place in us. I am enormously grateful to everyone who has been part of our journey.”

Awards are never the reason we provide a good service, but it is rewarding when the work taking place behind the scenes receives independent recognition.

Much of bookkeeping and accountancy involves careful, detailed work that is not always visible from the outside. It means keeping on top of deadlines, checking information thoroughly, maintaining accurate records and being available when clients need guidance.

The 2025 LUCA Awards gave us an opportunity to pause and appreciate what the team had achieved.

Winning Medium Practice of the Year was a wonderful moment, but being recognised across three different categories made the result even more special. It showed that the judges had considered several sides of the practice, including our development as a business, the service experienced by our clients and the contribution of our team.

The evening was also an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of other bookkeepers, practices and businesses supporting the profession. We would like to congratulate all the other finalists, Highly Commended recipients and winners.

Thank you to our clients and team

Achievements such as these are never down to one person.

We would like to thank every member of the Jems team for the skill, care and commitment they bring to their work. Their willingness to support both our clients and one another plays an essential part in the continued success of the practice.

We would also like to thank our clients. Many have worked with us for a number of years, recommended us to other people and supported the business as it has developed.

The confidence our clients place in us is something we never take for granted. Their businesses, finances and personal tax affairs matter, and we understand the responsibility that comes with being trusted to look after them.

We would also like to thank the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers, the awards organisers, the category sponsors and the judging panel for recognising our work.

Looking ahead to the 2026 LUCA Awards

Following our success in 2025, we are delighted to have submitted our application for the 2026 ICB LUCA Awards.

Buoyed by our 2025 success we have submitted applications for

• Bookkeeping Innovator of the Year
• Client Experience
• Large Practice of the Year
• Medium Practice of the Year

Naturally, we are keeping our fingers crossed, but entering again has also given us an opportunity to look back at the progress we have made since last year’s ceremony.

An award is a moment to celebrate, but it does not mean the work stops. We continue to look for ways to improve our services, support our team and respond to the changing needs of our clients.

Technology and accounting software continue to change how businesses manage their finances. Regulations and reporting requirements also develop, making it important for bookkeeping and accountancy practices to keep their knowledge current.

However, while the tools may change, we believe clients will always value personal support, dependable advice and having someone they know they can contact.

Those qualities will remain at the heart of Jems as we continue to grow.

Whatever the outcome of the 2026 awards, we are extremely proud of what the Jems team achieved in 2025. Winning Medium Practice of the Year and receiving two Highly Commended recognitions gave us a memorable evening and an achievement we will continue to value.

Thank you again to our clients, our team and everyone who has supported Jems along the way.

Please keep your fingers crossed for us in 2026!

Friendly bookkeeping and accountancy support

Jems Bookkeeping & Accountancy Services provides friendly, personal and professional bookkeeping and accountancy support for businesses and individuals.

From bookkeeping, payroll and tax returns to annual accounts and wider business support, our experienced team is here to make managing your financial responsibilities feel easier.

To find out how we could support you or your business, please contact the Jems team to arrange an initial consultation.