We launched the Tax Advice Network 6 months ago today.

The website went live on 22 November 2007. Over the last 6 months more than 900 accountants and other users have registered with us and we've raised £450 for TaxAid (with more to come).

Thousands of searches have been performed on the site; perhaps the strangest being for 'VAT on colonic irrigation'!

Dozens of users have telephoned or emailed one or more of the tax adviser members of the network and tens of thousands of pounds of tax advice has been provided by members of the Tax Advice Network over the last 6 months.

Our T.A.N.K has been filled with:
- Almost 30 weekly practical tax updates (we started them before the site went live);
- On average more than one new article a week.

We have also published over 40 shorter items on our blog. And we recently launched a facility for users to rate the individual advisers and to provide testimonials to assist subsequent users of the Network.

Also the Tax Adviser members' forum has had over 100 active discussion threads.

We have had around 7,000 visitors to the site and more then 70% of them, on average, have a good look around. Users typically spend over 4 minutes on the site and look at 5 or 6 pages. I'm told this is all pretty impressive but to me it's just the start. My marketing, PR and Search Engine advisers all tell me that I'm simply being impatient and that we have achieved an enormous amount in a short period of time.

When we were planning the launch I never expected that the biggest tax consultancy in the country, and one of our major competitors, would be swallowed up by BDO Stoy Hayward just weeks before our website went live. Another smaller tax consultancy was bought out by Begbies Trayner not long afterwards. All much too soon to be a function of the change we have introduced to the marketplace but fortuitous developments in the tax support for accountants arena.

I'm quite sure that our niche will become deeper and our reputation for good quality, cost-effective and personal tax advice will grow over time.

Thank you to all of the tax adviser members, the registered users and to everyone who has contributed to the development and promotion of the Tax Advice Network on it's first 'half-birthday'.

You ain't seen nothing yet!