Roger Gilson joined the map making business when he left school in 1993 and has…
A day in the life of Mary Phillips, Finance Manager at Dennis Maps
Mary has been with the company from the start, handling all aspects of a Finance Manager’s role, including management accounts, payroll, financial reporting & forecasting, and liaising with external bodies, such as HMRC. She works part time hours, some of which are based at home, coming into the office at least one day per week.
7am:
I get up around 7am, shower, get dressed, and get ready while enjoying a lemon, ginger and manuka honey tea. I then make sure my daughters are all sorted and ready for the day and take my youngest into school. When I get back, I quickly walk our dog, Ernie.
9.30am:
I leave home to drive into the office with Heart on the radio, enjoying the lovely countryside views along the way. On arrival, I say good morning to my sister Emma (who also works at Dennis Maps and sits in the front office) and other colleagues as I go to my desk.
10am:
I start the day by reviewing my emails and dealing with anything urgent. I then review the list of tasks in my diary and see what needs to be prioritised, depending on the time of the month. It could be payroll, management accounts or other financial forecasting tasks.
11am:
Usually around this time, I eat my breakfast of yogurt, berries, seeds and honey while sitting at my desk. Whether I’m working on payroll or accounts, I use both Excel spreadsheets and Sage software to produce the required information.
11.45am:
I make a coffee and have a quick catch up with colleagues.
12pm:
I continue my day preparing the required information. I input data into the Sage systems. Then I export reports and submit required information to external bodies, like HMRC for payroll & VAT, to hit deadlines as needed.
2pm:
If I’m peckish, I usually have some fruit (if I’m feeling healthy!) but often it’s hula hoops and brunch bars, if I have them in my desk. I only work part time, so this is my last hour in the office as I need to leave at 3pm.
3pm:
Leave the office to collect my youngest daughter from school at 3.30pm, as it takes me a good 25 minutes to drive home.
3.45pm:
Get home, walk the dog quickly as he’s had a few hours on his own and then get back to my laptop to continue working until around 6pm.
6pm:
Get dinner for the family, which is usually something like spaghetti bolognaise, curry or a roast-style dinner. I try to cook reasonably healthy dinners from scratch, but it can be tricky trying to please everyone!
7.15pm:
In the evenings, if we’re not out watching our daughter playing netball (or local football matches my husband is involved with), I’m also an NLP Mindset Coach, so I am either coaching or preparing for future sessions. I really enjoy seeing the difference it can make to people’s lives.
9pm:
It’s time for a cup of tea and some television – I love Yellowstone, MobLand, Landman, Clarkson’s Farm and Vinnie Jones in the Country.
11pm:
Go to bed after a busy day!
Dennis Maps is one of the leading map printers in the world, producing more than two million maps and charts every year. We offer comprehensive pre-press services, large size printing – large format print solutions using both large format litho printing and large format digital printing, plus specialised map folding and map finishing techniques.