I picked up on a consultation doc issued by HMRC last week entitled 'Business Record Checks'. This seemingly innocuous sounding document has quite important potential ramifications for all small business owners - the full text can be found here, though I'll attempt to quickly summarise.
Existing legislation exists concerning the records all businesses must keep, along with the additional records needed by VAT registered firms. HMRC have always had the ability to levy penalties for inadequate record keeping, though in reality these have not often been used.
HMRC estimate that tax loss due directly to poor record keeping is a factor in 40% of random enquiries - they therefore propose to check the records of up to 50,000 businesses annually, beginning in second half of 2011.
That timescale is actually rather soon, if your records are not currently up to scratch!
PS: SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
There is a small amount of small print, pls email us at plymouth@taxassist.co.uk !
Thursday 23 December 2010
Friday 17 December 2010
Biz Tip Stocking Filler #12 - VICE!
A bit of Christmas fun (ok, its slightly sadistic fun), but being Friday and all......
Ever wondered exactly how much money the govt makes out of your particular vices? You know, the odd ciggy here, bottle of claret there; or those few pints after a hard days work?
Well calculate it here http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/vices-calculator presenting you with the Vice-Ometer - courtesy of thisismoney
The figures are accurate to the budget earlier this year though won't reflect the emergency budget.
It won't stop @plymtax enjoying a few jars this Christmas mind!
Wednesday 15 December 2010
Biz Tip Stocking Filler #11 - Quick Tax Savers!
Are you maximising your use of available tax allowances / breaks? Here are some quick wins you may not have thought of, and all represent legitimate tax planning:
1: Use of Home - If you run your self-employed business from home, HMRC recognise that a share of the costs of running your home office can be included as an expense against income. There are specific guidelines covering different scenario's on the HMRC website
2: Income Generating Assets - If you are married or have a civil partner, you may transfer assets between spouses without tax consequence. This means income generating assets can be transferred to the spouse with the lower tax rate.
3: Motor costs - If you run a business, sole trader or limited, have you had your motor expenditure 'audited' by your accountant to identify best treatment? Its a complex area, with different reliefs operating depending on how the vehicle is used and the model. Handsome savings are possible.
4: Employing a spouse: Most people are aware that business owners often employ a spouse on a low salary, if the spouse is non-working. It allows the spouses unused personal tax allowance to be used, whilst getting a deduction in the books of the working spouse. There must be some substance to the arrangement though! This might be assisting on admin side or acting as company secretary.
5: ISA's, pensions etc: These tax saving 'vehicles' are extremely tax efficient and for the majority of people are suitable for virtually any savings for the medium/long term. Remember, with pensions, money is locked in once contributed, and with ISA's, its one allowance per year - you snooze, you lose!
PS: SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
There is a small amount of small print, pls email us at plymouth@taxassist.co.uk !
1: Use of Home - If you run your self-employed business from home, HMRC recognise that a share of the costs of running your home office can be included as an expense against income. There are specific guidelines covering different scenario's on the HMRC website
2: Income Generating Assets - If you are married or have a civil partner, you may transfer assets between spouses without tax consequence. This means income generating assets can be transferred to the spouse with the lower tax rate.
3: Motor costs - If you run a business, sole trader or limited, have you had your motor expenditure 'audited' by your accountant to identify best treatment? Its a complex area, with different reliefs operating depending on how the vehicle is used and the model. Handsome savings are possible.
4: Employing a spouse: Most people are aware that business owners often employ a spouse on a low salary, if the spouse is non-working. It allows the spouses unused personal tax allowance to be used, whilst getting a deduction in the books of the working spouse. There must be some substance to the arrangement though! This might be assisting on admin side or acting as company secretary.
5: ISA's, pensions etc: These tax saving 'vehicles' are extremely tax efficient and for the majority of people are suitable for virtually any savings for the medium/long term. Remember, with pensions, money is locked in once contributed, and with ISA's, its one allowance per year - you snooze, you lose!
PS: SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
There is a small amount of small print, pls email us at plymouth@taxassist.co.uk !
Tuesday 14 December 2010
Biz Tip Stocking Filler #10 - Saving Accountancy fees!
Biz Tip #10 is all about saving the pennies and pounds with your Accountant!
Here are some 'quick wins' to keep those accountancy fees down, and value received, up:
1: Books & Records: By far the most significant way you can reduce your fees is by doing the bookkeeping well. At its most basic level, this could be a simple spreadsheet of ins and outs. To get maximum savings, you must reconcile the bank.
2: Identify which specific services you need the accountant to provide. Good accountants will demonstrate clearly the impact that each service line has upon their fee.
3: Areas such as payroll can often be performed more economically by a specialised bureau, rather than your accountant. Can you outsource this particular task?
4: Keep in touch with your accountant! The accountant can't do a lot in the way of tax advice if he only finds out after the event that you've sold an investment property for instance. A lot more could be done in advance!
5: If you like and value your accountant, can you recommend business to them? The accountant will be mindful of this when performing fee reviews.
At TaxAssist Accountants in Plymouth we've recognised that getting value from us is fundamental to the service clients want. We price new work from a fixed price menu to demonstrate this, and then actively help clients progress to the right accounting solution for their business.
PS: SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
There is a small amount of small print, pls email us at plymouth@taxassist.co.uk !
Here are some 'quick wins' to keep those accountancy fees down, and value received, up:
1: Books & Records: By far the most significant way you can reduce your fees is by doing the bookkeeping well. At its most basic level, this could be a simple spreadsheet of ins and outs. To get maximum savings, you must reconcile the bank.
2: Identify which specific services you need the accountant to provide. Good accountants will demonstrate clearly the impact that each service line has upon their fee.
3: Areas such as payroll can often be performed more economically by a specialised bureau, rather than your accountant. Can you outsource this particular task?
4: Keep in touch with your accountant! The accountant can't do a lot in the way of tax advice if he only finds out after the event that you've sold an investment property for instance. A lot more could be done in advance!
5: If you like and value your accountant, can you recommend business to them? The accountant will be mindful of this when performing fee reviews.
At TaxAssist Accountants in Plymouth we've recognised that getting value from us is fundamental to the service clients want. We price new work from a fixed price menu to demonstrate this, and then actively help clients progress to the right accounting solution for their business.
PS: SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
There is a small amount of small print, pls email us at plymouth@taxassist.co.uk !
Monday 13 December 2010
Biz Tip Stocking Filler #9 - Incentivising the Team
Welcome to Biz Tip #9 - incentivising the team
If you are looking for growth in your business, what better way to achieve that than have the whole team involved? It makes sense - if the team are involved in the selling process, they'll be more engaged in service delivery, as its their own promises they are delivering on.
The key to incentivising your particular team, and making a scheme work, lies not in offering the biggest slice of commission, nor the most rapid rise up the career ladder within the firm. Instead, its taking some time to recognise what factors are important to each employee.
For instance - praise and recognition amongst their fellow employees, additional days off work, financial reward will be important to some, greater responsibility at work, career progress, one off 'awards' like weekends away etc.
Any scheme must be set out clearly, so the team know what to do to earn the rewards. When a staff member qualifies, make a big deal out of it - the others will want a slice of the action.
For the employer its a win-win situation - all commission / rewards are paid for by business growth - no fixed costs. You cannot afford NOT to be doing this!
PS: SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
there is a small amount of small print, pls email us at plymouth@taxassist.co.uk !
Friday 10 December 2010
Biz Tip Stocking Filler #8 - The Emotional Sell
Welcome to tip #8 - on a slightly different theme.......
This wasn't the intended post for today, but was inspired by an event I attended last night - basically invited round a friends place to view a 'business opportunity'....
...Of course that was the first hook, I (and OH) were intrigued so went along wondering what to expect.
The meeting went along these lines - got there, some familiar faces, others I didn't know, 10 mins of nervous chatting whilst everyone turned up, then a presentation (more on that in a mo), a product tasting, a (brief) look at some figures, and finally, the sell.
So the crux of this blog is really about the presentation - our friends, although not presenting themselves tonight, helped the guys who were as they were still fine tuning. It wasn't initially clear what was going on - the presentation was talking about earning a residual income in ones spare time without much effort (suspicions immediately aroused), berries, a large corporate company in the States, a business opportunity and some very rich Americans.....we were becoming a little lost.
Anyway, all became clear when a dvd was played - this piled it on emotionally - lots of images and clips of wealthy so called part time workers driving expensive Mercs etc. I still had no idea what the business was, but the sales approach was to hook me into 'the dream'.
Cutting back then to the presentation - we were told that the product behind the success stories witnessed was a simple health juice made from berries. And even better, to earn our residual income, we didn't have to sell it, but just to share it with friends ("share" later transpired to mean in exchange for £26 a bottle - in my book that means sell, not share).
After a tasting - the product actually tasted good, the presentation flew through some figures. Now, I'm an accountant, and have a head for these things - I didn't understand where the income was being generated from - aside from recruiting your friends into the system and selling the stuff. Perhaps the fact that direct sales of juice are made stops this from being an illegal pyramid selling system. What I do know is that a substantial portion of the 'residual income' I would earn was due to come from recruiting other distributors - that is a classic sign of a pyramid system where the guys at the bottom earn diddly squat.
What I did pick out of the facts was one that read 87% of all distributors earned an average of $1700 (not exact figs) in 2009.
Most worrying was that those who'd bought in to the system were evangelical about it. My friend cited cases of millionaires being made and cancer being cured.
We were then asked to rate the opportunity on a scale of 1 to 10. The guy before me said 9, and that he wanted in there and then. Hmmm - I was deeply suspicious of that - he'd not asked a single question. Could he be a plant? Surely not!
My turn - well, I didn't bother rating it. I chickened out and politely said it wasn't for me but thanks for the opportunity to hear about it. I may buy a bottle of the stuff - it was quite nice. The sales approach was classic American - hook people emotionally rather than rationally, with the power of the group to speed things along. Not my cup of tea (or glass of juice for that matter)
I really hope it works for my friend - he's in early in the UK so it may just do that. Money doesn't grow on trees, or does it?
This wasn't the intended post for today, but was inspired by an event I attended last night - basically invited round a friends place to view a 'business opportunity'....
...Of course that was the first hook, I (and OH) were intrigued so went along wondering what to expect.
The meeting went along these lines - got there, some familiar faces, others I didn't know, 10 mins of nervous chatting whilst everyone turned up, then a presentation (more on that in a mo), a product tasting, a (brief) look at some figures, and finally, the sell.
So the crux of this blog is really about the presentation - our friends, although not presenting themselves tonight, helped the guys who were as they were still fine tuning. It wasn't initially clear what was going on - the presentation was talking about earning a residual income in ones spare time without much effort (suspicions immediately aroused), berries, a large corporate company in the States, a business opportunity and some very rich Americans.....we were becoming a little lost.
Anyway, all became clear when a dvd was played - this piled it on emotionally - lots of images and clips of wealthy so called part time workers driving expensive Mercs etc. I still had no idea what the business was, but the sales approach was to hook me into 'the dream'.
Cutting back then to the presentation - we were told that the product behind the success stories witnessed was a simple health juice made from berries. And even better, to earn our residual income, we didn't have to sell it, but just to share it with friends ("share" later transpired to mean in exchange for £26 a bottle - in my book that means sell, not share).
After a tasting - the product actually tasted good, the presentation flew through some figures. Now, I'm an accountant, and have a head for these things - I didn't understand where the income was being generated from - aside from recruiting your friends into the system and selling the stuff. Perhaps the fact that direct sales of juice are made stops this from being an illegal pyramid selling system. What I do know is that a substantial portion of the 'residual income' I would earn was due to come from recruiting other distributors - that is a classic sign of a pyramid system where the guys at the bottom earn diddly squat.
What I did pick out of the facts was one that read 87% of all distributors earned an average of $1700 (not exact figs) in 2009.
Most worrying was that those who'd bought in to the system were evangelical about it. My friend cited cases of millionaires being made and cancer being cured.
We were then asked to rate the opportunity on a scale of 1 to 10. The guy before me said 9, and that he wanted in there and then. Hmmm - I was deeply suspicious of that - he'd not asked a single question. Could he be a plant? Surely not!
My turn - well, I didn't bother rating it. I chickened out and politely said it wasn't for me but thanks for the opportunity to hear about it. I may buy a bottle of the stuff - it was quite nice. The sales approach was classic American - hook people emotionally rather than rationally, with the power of the group to speed things along. Not my cup of tea (or glass of juice for that matter)
I really hope it works for my friend - he's in early in the UK so it may just do that. Money doesn't grow on trees, or does it?
Thursday 9 December 2010
Biz Tip Stocking Filler #7 - Outsourcing and SME's
Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la. Tis the season to be jolly
OK OK, thats enough of that, 2 weeks to go still.......
Outsourcing is still a word that conjures up thoughts of call centres and poor customer service with many SME owners. Many on the other hand have wised up to the benefits, put simply - improved profitability through productivity and professionalism!
Here are some tasks which a third party is likely to be able to do better than a typical SME in house:
IT
Telephone overflow answering
Bookkeeping, Accounts, Tax
HR
Other Legals
Marketing
Printing
Website design, optimisation & maintenance
etc etc
All these have a cost of course, but as the saying goes - work on what you are good at, and let others do the rest.
BTW, I have some FANTASTIC contacts all GREAT at what they do who can provide the services above delivered to how your business needs them. Call me if you want to be put in touch :)
Alex
OK OK, thats enough of that, 2 weeks to go still.......
Outsourcing is still a word that conjures up thoughts of call centres and poor customer service with many SME owners. Many on the other hand have wised up to the benefits, put simply - improved profitability through productivity and professionalism!
Here are some tasks which a third party is likely to be able to do better than a typical SME in house:
IT
Telephone overflow answering
Bookkeeping, Accounts, Tax
HR
Other Legals
Marketing
Printing
Website design, optimisation & maintenance
etc etc
All these have a cost of course, but as the saying goes - work on what you are good at, and let others do the rest.
BTW, I have some FANTASTIC contacts all GREAT at what they do who can provide the services above delivered to how your business needs them. Call me if you want to be put in touch :)
Alex
Wednesday 8 December 2010
Biz Tip Stocking Filler #6 - Can you eliminate bad debts?
Is it possible to eliminate bad / slow debts? Here are some tips to show you how:
First, consider why bad debts occur in your place. Usually it will be for the following reasons:
1 Customer goes bust
2 Dispute over services / product supplied
3 Customer is defrauding your business
Second, look at why slow payment takes place, and typically its because of:
4 Customer ignores your terms & conditions
5 You have no legally binding terms & conditions
6 Customer is following their standard practice
7 Customer has cash flow difficulties of their own
Working through these, its possible for many firms to dramatically cut the risk of bad debt in their business.
It all goes back to why your customer is buying from you. Are they buying from you because you are cheapest, or are they buying from you because your product / service is what they want?
For most, its actually the latter, and price (and payment terms) are a secondary buying factor. So why is this relevant? Well it means that you, the supplier, can dictate payment terms. If your customer wants your product, and you think you are the best at supplying it, then why not require payment in advance?
Payments in advance eliminate bad and slow debt and make (most) businesses cash positive. Don't underestimate how this can transform your business - its a nice place to be!
Sometimes, and normally where price is a greater factor in the buying decision OR when dealing with huge organisations, there is less scope to negotiate upfront payment.
So, other steps are needed!
- Can a reduced up front payment / deposit be obtained. We think most SME's out there can at least get some form of upfront deposit
- Implement terms and conditions: Just because you write 'Due in 30 days' on top of an invoice, doesn't make it binding! Such a statement is meaningless if written post-contract. Get payment terms into the Ts and Cs!
- Credit check all new customers, get a deposit and set a credit limit. Then stick to it!
- If someone has not paid, set a credit limit to indicate the point at which that customer will nto be supplied anymore, and stick to it, even if they are a nice bloke!
- Set up your accounts package to automatically email suppliers a reminder 7 days before payment date, and then firmer reminders beyond that. (See our Christmas offer below for a package that will do this)
- After you've exhausted chasing a client (through the systemised reminder process above), pass the debt to a collection agency. There are many professional firms out there, and often this will elicit a response without any talk of court etc. It also keeps your relationship with the customer in tact
- Review the cost to your business of working with slow payers. If you are losing considerable time yourself, or employing a credit controller, then are those customers paying you enough to work for them?
- Consider using a finance firm to chase your invoices for you - the cost of doing so might just balance things once the cost of your time chasing is factored in
- Above all - never expose your business to a risk with a single customer that could take your business down in the event of non-payment
PS: SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
ther e is a small amount of small print, pls email us at plymouth@taxassist.co.uk
1 Customer goes bust
2 Dispute over services / product supplied
3 Customer is defrauding your business
Second, look at why slow payment takes place, and typically its because of:
4 Customer ignores your terms & conditions
5 You have no legally binding terms & conditions
6 Customer is following their standard practice
7 Customer has cash flow difficulties of their own
Working through these, its possible for many firms to dramatically cut the risk of bad debt in their business.
It all goes back to why your customer is buying from you. Are they buying from you because you are cheapest, or are they buying from you because your product / service is what they want?
For most, its actually the latter, and price (and payment terms) are a secondary buying factor. So why is this relevant? Well it means that you, the supplier, can dictate payment terms. If your customer wants your product, and you think you are the best at supplying it, then why not require payment in advance?
Payments in advance eliminate bad and slow debt and make (most) businesses cash positive. Don't underestimate how this can transform your business - its a nice place to be!
Sometimes, and normally where price is a greater factor in the buying decision OR when dealing with huge organisations, there is less scope to negotiate upfront payment.
So, other steps are needed!
- Can a reduced up front payment / deposit be obtained. We think most SME's out there can at least get some form of upfront deposit
- Implement terms and conditions: Just because you write 'Due in 30 days' on top of an invoice, doesn't make it binding! Such a statement is meaningless if written post-contract. Get payment terms into the Ts and Cs!
- Credit check all new customers, get a deposit and set a credit limit. Then stick to it!
- If someone has not paid, set a credit limit to indicate the point at which that customer will nto be supplied anymore, and stick to it, even if they are a nice bloke!
- Set up your accounts package to automatically email suppliers a reminder 7 days before payment date, and then firmer reminders beyond that. (See our Christmas offer below for a package that will do this)
- After you've exhausted chasing a client (through the systemised reminder process above), pass the debt to a collection agency. There are many professional firms out there, and often this will elicit a response without any talk of court etc. It also keeps your relationship with the customer in tact
- Review the cost to your business of working with slow payers. If you are losing considerable time yourself, or employing a credit controller, then are those customers paying you enough to work for them?
- Consider using a finance firm to chase your invoices for you - the cost of doing so might just balance things once the cost of your time chasing is factored in
- Above all - never expose your business to a risk with a single customer that could take your business down in the event of non-payment
PS: SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
ther e is a small amount of small print, pls email us at plymouth@taxassist.co.uk
Tuesday 7 December 2010
Biz Tip Stocking Filler #5 - Tax Enquiry Insurance: Whats it About?
Christmas is a'comin, Christmas is a'comin, and here is our top biz tip #5:
You may have heard that HMRC are expected to massively increase the number of tax investigations they make, in a bid to reduce the tax gap. Small businesses can be an easy target, so we are suggesting that SME's take steps now to protect themselves financially from the Inspector's call.
The investigation insurance company, CCH, has already seen an explosion in new cases, with new claims up 82%* compared to the previous year and this is expected to ramp up even more in the next few months. Our own experience is similar.
Small businesses should follow five golden rules when the tax inspector calls:
• Challenge any part of the tax assessment you know is wrong
• Answer all correspondence from HMRC within their deadline – or fully explain why if you need more time
• Anticipate the inspector’s questions – if there is anything to declare do so early
• Ensure your tax advisor is experienced in negotiating with HMRC
• Appeal against any HMRC order to the independent commissioners within 30 days and go to the Tax Tribunal if you have a particular grievance
Any individual or business can see any documents / telephone recordings held on them by HMRC by calling the HMRC Data Protection Unit on 0191 225 7575.
And finally - ensure the business has tax enquiry protection insurance in place. This protects against the accountancy fees that can rack up, even for the smallest sole trader under enquiry. Unlike many accountants, TaxAssist Plymouth consider this insurance so important we ensure all clients are included on a practice policy at no additional cost. (Beware of inferior freebies from membership of trade federations which have severe restrictions in place on when a claim can be made).
PS: SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
*Just a few conditions apply, pls email for details
You may have heard that HMRC are expected to massively increase the number of tax investigations they make, in a bid to reduce the tax gap. Small businesses can be an easy target, so we are suggesting that SME's take steps now to protect themselves financially from the Inspector's call.
The investigation insurance company, CCH, has already seen an explosion in new cases, with new claims up 82%* compared to the previous year and this is expected to ramp up even more in the next few months. Our own experience is similar.
Small businesses should follow five golden rules when the tax inspector calls:
• Challenge any part of the tax assessment you know is wrong
• Answer all correspondence from HMRC within their deadline – or fully explain why if you need more time
• Anticipate the inspector’s questions – if there is anything to declare do so early
• Ensure your tax advisor is experienced in negotiating with HMRC
• Appeal against any HMRC order to the independent commissioners within 30 days and go to the Tax Tribunal if you have a particular grievance
Any individual or business can see any documents / telephone recordings held on them by HMRC by calling the HMRC Data Protection Unit on 0191 225 7575.
And finally - ensure the business has tax enquiry protection insurance in place. This protects against the accountancy fees that can rack up, even for the smallest sole trader under enquiry. Unlike many accountants, TaxAssist Plymouth consider this insurance so important we ensure all clients are included on a practice policy at no additional cost. (Beware of inferior freebies from membership of trade federations which have severe restrictions in place on when a claim can be made).
PS: SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
*Just a few conditions apply, pls email for details
Monday 6 December 2010
Biz Tip Stocking Filler #4 - Good & Bad Websites / Stationery
Our fourth tip - this time on the subject of websites and stationery.
I think its a safe bet to say most businesses now recognise the value of a good website - the better the website, the more a business will gain financially from it.
BUT - what about a bad website? Just having a website should never be seen as job done. If it looks shabby, poorly presented, has broken links, spelling mistakes or just way out of date, far from just not generating business, it will actually deter people from doing business with you.
The same is true for stationery - before getting those free business cards printed from we-all-know-who, just think, do these cards convey a professional image of my business? Conversely, if you offer a no frills product, do you want to be dishing out the latest in metallic-embossed-hologrammed business cards!!
We are always happy to recommend great local firms for each who will listen to your requirements & budget too.
For websites and stationery, the quality of each must match the overall impression you wish your business to give out :-)
SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
*Just a few conditions apply, pls email for details
I think its a safe bet to say most businesses now recognise the value of a good website - the better the website, the more a business will gain financially from it.
BUT - what about a bad website? Just having a website should never be seen as job done. If it looks shabby, poorly presented, has broken links, spelling mistakes or just way out of date, far from just not generating business, it will actually deter people from doing business with you.
The same is true for stationery - before getting those free business cards printed from we-all-know-who, just think, do these cards convey a professional image of my business? Conversely, if you offer a no frills product, do you want to be dishing out the latest in metallic-embossed-hologrammed business cards!!
We are always happy to recommend great local firms for each who will listen to your requirements & budget too.
For websites and stationery, the quality of each must match the overall impression you wish your business to give out :-)
SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
*Just a few conditions apply, pls email for details
Friday 3 December 2010
Biz Tip Stocking Filler #3 - Client Christmas Gifts
Here is our third top tax tip for Christmas - if you are buying presents for any of your staff or customers this yuletide, make sure they qualify for tax relief!
To qualify for tax relief, gifts to customers shoul dbe below £50, and carry conspicuous advertising. Remember too that alcohol will always be disallowed. If the total value (including wrapping!) goes over £50, no tax relief is given.
What about the staff I hear you cry!!! Gifts to staff are actually classed as taxable benefits, unless 'trivial'. SO what does trivial mean? Well, perishables such as a turkey, a bottle of wine, and a box of chocolates are common gifts, and all considered trivial, and not therefore taxable. Money and vouchers are always not trivial, and should go through payroll.
Happy giving!
SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
*Just a few conditions apply, pls email for details
To qualify for tax relief, gifts to customers shoul dbe below £50, and carry conspicuous advertising. Remember too that alcohol will always be disallowed. If the total value (including wrapping!) goes over £50, no tax relief is given.
What about the staff I hear you cry!!! Gifts to staff are actually classed as taxable benefits, unless 'trivial'. SO what does trivial mean? Well, perishables such as a turkey, a bottle of wine, and a box of chocolates are common gifts, and all considered trivial, and not therefore taxable. Money and vouchers are always not trivial, and should go through payroll.
Happy giving!
SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
*Just a few conditions apply, pls email for details
Thursday 2 December 2010
Biz Tip Stocking Filler #2 - Employer advice for the snow
No 2 in a series of tax and business top tips this festive season......
"Wahey its snowed, no work today", shouts many an employee countrywide. For huge corporations, it's a contingency they factor in and generally (historically at least), grin and bear the lost worktime.
For the SME, the impact can be financially tough - having had three tough winters on the trot, many employers will have lost significant worktime to the snow - employees simply unable to get into the office.
So what can (and should) an employer do in this scenario? We think businesses should have a 'bad weather plan', covering how the business operates in adverse conditions, and covering:
TRAVEL: - Don't force employees into work if not safe for them to travel! This is a bad place for an employer to be if the employee subsequently has an accident en-route!
WORKING FROM HOME: - Think about remote working for office employees - services such as 'logmein' allow users to login to their desktop machine over the internet whilst sat at home sipping cocoa. Think about the phones - who will cover them and how? Technology (skype / voip) and telephone answering services have this base covered.
ENVIRONMENT: - If you are in work, make sure the environment is safe - grit any public areas you are reposnible for if iced up, and make sure basics like temperature are reasonable too. If an insurance claim is then necessary, you can demonstrate that you had necessary safeguards in place.
CONTACT: - Do staff know who to contact in adverse weather scenario's if they can't get in? No point in calling the office if no one is there, and that is exactly when the Bad Weather Plan needs to kick in. Also worth updating phone messages and the website with the situation, so customers know what is happening if they can't contact you.
PROLONGED OFFICE CLOSURE: - Your plans should cover the scenario of a prolonged spell of adverse weather (read snow, flooding etc). It maybe more than a day or two that access is not possible.
Plan in place and actioned, working from home, they'll be plenty of time during the day to go out and chuck a few snowballs at some schoolkids.
SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
*Just a few conditions apply, pls email for details
"Wahey its snowed, no work today", shouts many an employee countrywide. For huge corporations, it's a contingency they factor in and generally (historically at least), grin and bear the lost worktime.
For the SME, the impact can be financially tough - having had three tough winters on the trot, many employers will have lost significant worktime to the snow - employees simply unable to get into the office.
So what can (and should) an employer do in this scenario? We think businesses should have a 'bad weather plan', covering how the business operates in adverse conditions, and covering:
TRAVEL: - Don't force employees into work if not safe for them to travel! This is a bad place for an employer to be if the employee subsequently has an accident en-route!
WORKING FROM HOME: - Think about remote working for office employees - services such as 'logmein' allow users to login to their desktop machine over the internet whilst sat at home sipping cocoa. Think about the phones - who will cover them and how? Technology (skype / voip) and telephone answering services have this base covered.
ENVIRONMENT: - If you are in work, make sure the environment is safe - grit any public areas you are reposnible for if iced up, and make sure basics like temperature are reasonable too. If an insurance claim is then necessary, you can demonstrate that you had necessary safeguards in place.
CONTACT: - Do staff know who to contact in adverse weather scenario's if they can't get in? No point in calling the office if no one is there, and that is exactly when the Bad Weather Plan needs to kick in. Also worth updating phone messages and the website with the situation, so customers know what is happening if they can't contact you.
PROLONGED OFFICE CLOSURE: - Your plans should cover the scenario of a prolonged spell of adverse weather (read snow, flooding etc). It maybe more than a day or two that access is not possible.
Plan in place and actioned, working from home, they'll be plenty of time during the day to go out and chuck a few snowballs at some schoolkids.
SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
*Just a few conditions apply, pls email for details
Wednesday 1 December 2010
Biz Tip Stocking Filler #1 - Get online with the books!
Christmas is nearly here.......so time for some top business and tax tips from us, and a very special December offer to boot!
Our first tip was easy to come up with - take your record keeping to another level and get it online. Especially if all you are doing is using spreadsheets. Just a few of the benefits.......
-Access to your records wherever you are;
-Much improved security of your data
-Low cost and time saving (importing transactions)
-Professional invoicing and great credit control - ie easily see who owes you money and chase them!
-Know how profitable the business is in real time, not when your accountant has done the accounts!
SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
*Just a few conditions apply, pls email for details!
Our first tip was easy to come up with - take your record keeping to another level and get it online. Especially if all you are doing is using spreadsheets. Just a few of the benefits.......
-Access to your records wherever you are;
-Much improved security of your data
-Low cost and time saving (importing transactions)
-Professional invoicing and great credit control - ie easily see who owes you money and chase them!
-Know how profitable the business is in real time, not when your accountant has done the accounts!
SPECIAL FESTIVE OFFER
****We love online accounting so much, as a special Christmas pressie are including a full years Kashflow license at no extra cost throughout December for all new client sign ups****
*Just a few conditions apply, pls email for details!
Wednesday 24 November 2010
What are my data protection obligations?
We woke this morning to hear that the Information Commissioner (he who supposedly regulates how organisations keep personal data) has finally sunk his teeth into two serious occurrences of data loss - the organisation A4E were the recipient of a £60k fine for the loss of an unencrypted laptop, and Hertfordshire County Council are fined £100k.
Both fines are significant sums for the organisations involved.....so for others handling or processing personal information - be they businesses, employers, councils, banks etc, its essential that all understand our own obligations.
The Information Commissioners website has some useful resources for the small business:
Do you need to register as an organisation processing data?
Failure to notify is a criminal offence by the way. Most smaller businesses who need to register will fall in the £35 per year category.
There is a whole load of other useful info on there about what the public can ask to see, sending data overseas, and perhaps most importantly in view of the above, the security measures your organisation should take.
Some businesses see all this as a bit of a chore, and yes it is another layer of compliance for small businesses. But the reality is we have a responsibility to those our businesses interact with, and if we can't guarantee the safekeeping of their personal information, should we really be in business?
Both fines are significant sums for the organisations involved.....so for others handling or processing personal information - be they businesses, employers, councils, banks etc, its essential that all understand our own obligations.
The Information Commissioners website has some useful resources for the small business:
Do you need to register as an organisation processing data?
Failure to notify is a criminal offence by the way. Most smaller businesses who need to register will fall in the £35 per year category.
There is a whole load of other useful info on there about what the public can ask to see, sending data overseas, and perhaps most importantly in view of the above, the security measures your organisation should take.
Some businesses see all this as a bit of a chore, and yes it is another layer of compliance for small businesses. But the reality is we have a responsibility to those our businesses interact with, and if we can't guarantee the safekeeping of their personal information, should we really be in business?
Friday 19 November 2010
Top 5 Tax / Accountancy Mistakes made by Start-ups
A quick list of start-up mistakes new businesses can easily avoid. If ignored, some of these will put the business owner in potentially significant financial pain later on:
- 5 : HMRC not notified that trading has started: The rules are clear - sole traders have 3 months from commencing trade to notify HMRC. One telephone call to HMRC quoting start date and NI number is all there is to it. Failure to notify in time means a £100 fine, and if tax returns are missed as a result, penalties too. Easy to fix this one!
- 4 : No business bank account: Mixing up personal and business transactions presents a couple of issues - firstly it means that there is a lot more bookkeeping work to be done and secondly it means in the event of tax enquiry, there will be a lot more explaining to do to the taxman. Our advice - get a business bank account, bookkeeping savings will outweigh any costs.
- 3 : VAT: we find some start-ups often ignore VAT completely, and some get registered without thinking about whether they should do so, and some submit returns late. Businesses making vatable supplies don't have to register until they do £70k + in sales in 12 months, BUT it can be beneficial to register beforehand, in many cases. Submitting VAT returns late is a quick way to problems with the VAT man, our advice is keep on top of VAT.
- 2 : Forming a limited company before seeking tax advice : Surprisingly common, and generally occurs because someone's mate told them it was best down the pub. It may well be the best vehicle for a new business, but far from always, other structures exist, and which can often have significant tax advantages in the early days. Advice is needed on this point.
- 1 : Not keeping records : The most common mistake we see remains not keeping a record of transactions in the business and no receipts. No receipts / records means higher tax bills - simples, as the Meerkats might say.
Thursday 18 November 2010
Do you use technology in your small business?
I thought I'd run through a few technologies out there, widely available now to small biz owners, yet still very much in an early growth phase in terms of take up:
Use of dual screens
We've run dual screens for our team here for around 12 months now I think. If I tried to take away anyone's second monitor they'd be kicking and screaming. Using two screens allows a much higher level of multi-tasking, and reduced time spent flicking between windows. The benefits in increased productivity are huge (I have seen them) and the cost of a monitor now ridiculously low. Before embarking on dual screens, check your pc can do it, sometimes a cheap graphics card is required.
Productivity increase HIGH, Cost LOW
Use of web based software applications
The web has arrived for the small biz owner in a huge and affordable way. This topic is vast, but to give a flavour, ways which we are seeing are tech-savvy clients benefit from the web include hosted services - allowing all staff in the firm to access key data and document templates (eg google apps) and also online accounting solutions - we have many clients running their own books who now have real time access to high quality management information - this is in itself an area thats taken off hugely recently, with the next major development being automated uploads from your bank to the accounts software - how much bookkeeping time (ed. & money!) would that save!
Cost wise - the pricing of these web based products tends to be pay as you go (monthly) rather than along the lines of the lump sum inivestment in software and hardware required in yesteryears.
Productivity increase HIGH, Cost LOW-MED
Smartphone technology
Iphones and Blackberrys are for playing games and catching up with the latest news, right? Wrong! The wealth of applications out there mean you can be in touch with customers and the office as much or as little as you want. You can hook into your office pc/network, print off documents via your phone, keep track of your put of pocket expenses (got to maximise that tax relief now!) for starters. Download 'mailchimp' to check the response to your latest newsletter campaign, or log into your online accounts software to get a snapshot of profitability. And thats all before making a call.......
Productivity increase MED, Cost LOW (many people have the phones now already)
To be honest in the past, many of these technologies have been the preserve of IT related and/or tech savvy firms - but those times have changed - the technology is cheap enough for everyone to use and when the accountants are embracing this type of stuff I think its fair to say its going mass market!
Use of dual screens
We've run dual screens for our team here for around 12 months now I think. If I tried to take away anyone's second monitor they'd be kicking and screaming. Using two screens allows a much higher level of multi-tasking, and reduced time spent flicking between windows. The benefits in increased productivity are huge (I have seen them) and the cost of a monitor now ridiculously low. Before embarking on dual screens, check your pc can do it, sometimes a cheap graphics card is required.
Productivity increase HIGH, Cost LOW
Use of web based software applications
The web has arrived for the small biz owner in a huge and affordable way. This topic is vast, but to give a flavour, ways which we are seeing are tech-savvy clients benefit from the web include hosted services - allowing all staff in the firm to access key data and document templates (eg google apps) and also online accounting solutions - we have many clients running their own books who now have real time access to high quality management information - this is in itself an area thats taken off hugely recently, with the next major development being automated uploads from your bank to the accounts software - how much bookkeeping time (ed. & money!) would that save!
Cost wise - the pricing of these web based products tends to be pay as you go (monthly) rather than along the lines of the lump sum inivestment in software and hardware required in yesteryears.
Productivity increase HIGH, Cost LOW-MED
Smartphone technology
Iphones and Blackberrys are for playing games and catching up with the latest news, right? Wrong! The wealth of applications out there mean you can be in touch with customers and the office as much or as little as you want. You can hook into your office pc/network, print off documents via your phone, keep track of your put of pocket expenses (got to maximise that tax relief now!) for starters. Download 'mailchimp' to check the response to your latest newsletter campaign, or log into your online accounts software to get a snapshot of profitability. And thats all before making a call.......
Productivity increase MED, Cost LOW (many people have the phones now already)
To be honest in the past, many of these technologies have been the preserve of IT related and/or tech savvy firms - but those times have changed - the technology is cheap enough for everyone to use and when the accountants are embracing this type of stuff I think its fair to say its going mass market!
Wednesday 17 November 2010
How do you set price in your business?
If you run a service business, how much is your time worth? And if you sell widgets, how much should you sell them for?
Small biz owners are notorious for under-pricing, but the difficulty is in knowing what to charge?
Some methods commonly used to arrive at price:
Cost based pricing (ie work out your costs and add your desired profit)
Market based pricing (what price can the market take)
Value pricing (what is the perceived value of your service / product to your client?)
These sub-divide according to your strategy - what are you trying to achieve? If its market penetration, then a lower short term price than will be expected in the long run would be the norm (think about when a supermarket introduces a new product line).
Alternatively if at near capacity already, and you are still in demand, then a 'skimming' / premium pricing approach could be relevant - ie price higher than 'normal'.
In most cases I reckon a combination of the three methodologies above is appropriate. An ESSENTIAL step is to know your cost base - if you don't know this, how do you know you haven't gone and lost money when you next sell that hour of your time, or that box of 25 widgets?
Small biz owners are notorious for under-pricing, but the difficulty is in knowing what to charge?
Some methods commonly used to arrive at price:
Cost based pricing (ie work out your costs and add your desired profit)
Market based pricing (what price can the market take)
Value pricing (what is the perceived value of your service / product to your client?)
These sub-divide according to your strategy - what are you trying to achieve? If its market penetration, then a lower short term price than will be expected in the long run would be the norm (think about when a supermarket introduces a new product line).
Alternatively if at near capacity already, and you are still in demand, then a 'skimming' / premium pricing approach could be relevant - ie price higher than 'normal'.
In most cases I reckon a combination of the three methodologies above is appropriate. An ESSENTIAL step is to know your cost base - if you don't know this, how do you know you haven't gone and lost money when you next sell that hour of your time, or that box of 25 widgets?
Tuesday 16 November 2010
A Giant Leap into the Unknown.....or Not?
Sometimes thats how starting up your own business feels.........sleepless nights, wondering about paying the mortgage, needless to say I won't go on!
Of course the key to any new venture is planning, identifying risks, and minimising them, thus ensuring you give your new venture the greatest chance of success.
Thats where 'First Steps to Self Employment' comes in - its an exhibition being run at Plymouth Guildhall this Thursday, 10am until 2pm. You can speak to business link, the main banks, further education colleges, The Princes Trust, HMRC, providers of office space and Outset Plymouth will also be there who are funded to provide specific support to those starting out.
Finally, I will be there with my team from TaxAssist Accountants - we'll be there to provide advice on starting up, talking about record keeping, and have one or two nice offers up our sleeve.
Hope to see you there!
Of course the key to any new venture is planning, identifying risks, and minimising them, thus ensuring you give your new venture the greatest chance of success.
Thats where 'First Steps to Self Employment' comes in - its an exhibition being run at Plymouth Guildhall this Thursday, 10am until 2pm. You can speak to business link, the main banks, further education colleges, The Princes Trust, HMRC, providers of office space and Outset Plymouth will also be there who are funded to provide specific support to those starting out.
Finally, I will be there with my team from TaxAssist Accountants - we'll be there to provide advice on starting up, talking about record keeping, and have one or two nice offers up our sleeve.
Hope to see you there!
Thursday 28 October 2010
Employment costs up, up and away
For all employers, whether 1 employee or 50,000, the cost of employing someone is set to become a whole lot more expensive AND administratively burdensome, following the governments approval yesterday of the new 'National Employment Savings Trust' (NEST).
What's NEST? Simply put - compulsory pension saving for all employees.
Cutting to the chase, what are the hard facts?
My concern is for employers - an effective rise of 3% on the cost of employing someone is huge. Will the Office for Tax Simplification be recommendiing a reuction in other headline tax rates to compensate? I doubt it. And not to mention the massive headache all the paperwork will no doubt bring.
What's NEST? Simply put - compulsory pension saving for all employees.
Cutting to the chase, what are the hard facts?
- Employees earning over the personal allowance of £7475 automatically enrolled
- Commences next October 2012 (large employers)
- All employers in by October 2016
- Compulsory contributions starting at 2% (1% employer, 1% employee) from 2012
- By 2017, split will be 5% employee and 3% employer minimum contribution.
My concern is for employers - an effective rise of 3% on the cost of employing someone is huge. Will the Office for Tax Simplification be recommendiing a reuction in other headline tax rates to compensate? I doubt it. And not to mention the massive headache all the paperwork will no doubt bring.
Tuesday 23 March 2010
Compensation for loss of trade
As anyone driving in or around Plymouth at the moment will be only too acutely aware, the dozens of different sets of roadworks in the city are causing lots of driving delays for the poor old motorist.
But what about the traders on Mutley Plain, given 10 days notice that the 'Plain was being shut to everything bar buses for up to 6 weeks? It goes without saying that the utility company in question has acted grossly irresponsibly in this situation, with scant thought for the livelihoods of many small businesses, both on the 'Plain and the surrounding areas - North Hill and Hyde Park Road included.
So what can a small business do about it?
Considering Mutley Plain specifically, though applicable to a number of loss of trade scenario's, the reality of proving loss of income will be difficult to prove, as any small business owner knows, a whole host of factors influence trading income from one month to the next (think the weather / fashions / uni term times etc etc). So, to stand the best chance of securing compensation, quality evidence for lost trade is essential, and the more evidence in support of the claim, then the stronger the case will be. Quality financial evidence will be the best evidence of all - here are some tips:
1) Most important - keep records tidy and up to date. Information to assist with claims will be more easily extractable then.
2) Traders will need to be able to compare takings for the period of trade against takings during 'normal' periods (two years worth of comparison data has been suggested).
Firstly, traders will need to be able to identify the exact periods affected - no use doing the books quarterly - weekly takings if not daily takings summaries will be essential.
This means looking back at takings last year and the year before that. Dig prior years' 'Z' readings out the loft and do a year on year comparison. The more data the better.
Make this an 'intelligent' exercise - look at the data and consider whether other factors may have influenced takings in prior years (eg was scaffolding up, or did you close for holidays?) such factors may have artifically reduced takings making the comparison unreasonable. That all needs to form part of your case, and you can start building your case now.
3) Non-financial evidence: do you have other sources of evidence that could be used to substantiate a claim? Do you measure footfall through the doors with one of those beeper things? If not, is it worth getting one and taking daily readings for the period of work and after?
Deliveries - have deliveries of stock failed because of lack of access? Note each and everyone down, and the impact its had on the business.
4) Empirical evidence: Consider what is going on in Plymouth during the work - would you normally be benefiting from a particular event at the University, but sales haven't materialised as people can't get to you? Or with the work spanning Easter, is your planned Easter promo campaign ruined? If so, note it down, and include within your wider case.
If this all sounds complicated, the reality is that for your accountant, the work could be done alongside existing services they provide. The work at Mutley will span two accounting years for many traders - a final tip from us is to get your books to your accountant asap after 31 March, and explain the scenario. As they do the normal year's work, it will be cost effective for them to prepare the additional financial info likely to be needed for a compensation claim.
In support of all the Mutley traders.
TAA
But what about the traders on Mutley Plain, given 10 days notice that the 'Plain was being shut to everything bar buses for up to 6 weeks? It goes without saying that the utility company in question has acted grossly irresponsibly in this situation, with scant thought for the livelihoods of many small businesses, both on the 'Plain and the surrounding areas - North Hill and Hyde Park Road included.
So what can a small business do about it?
Considering Mutley Plain specifically, though applicable to a number of loss of trade scenario's, the reality of proving loss of income will be difficult to prove, as any small business owner knows, a whole host of factors influence trading income from one month to the next (think the weather / fashions / uni term times etc etc). So, to stand the best chance of securing compensation, quality evidence for lost trade is essential, and the more evidence in support of the claim, then the stronger the case will be. Quality financial evidence will be the best evidence of all - here are some tips:
1) Most important - keep records tidy and up to date. Information to assist with claims will be more easily extractable then.
2) Traders will need to be able to compare takings for the period of trade against takings during 'normal' periods (two years worth of comparison data has been suggested).
Firstly, traders will need to be able to identify the exact periods affected - no use doing the books quarterly - weekly takings if not daily takings summaries will be essential.
This means looking back at takings last year and the year before that. Dig prior years' 'Z' readings out the loft and do a year on year comparison. The more data the better.
Make this an 'intelligent' exercise - look at the data and consider whether other factors may have influenced takings in prior years (eg was scaffolding up, or did you close for holidays?) such factors may have artifically reduced takings making the comparison unreasonable. That all needs to form part of your case, and you can start building your case now.
3) Non-financial evidence: do you have other sources of evidence that could be used to substantiate a claim? Do you measure footfall through the doors with one of those beeper things? If not, is it worth getting one and taking daily readings for the period of work and after?
Deliveries - have deliveries of stock failed because of lack of access? Note each and everyone down, and the impact its had on the business.
4) Empirical evidence: Consider what is going on in Plymouth during the work - would you normally be benefiting from a particular event at the University, but sales haven't materialised as people can't get to you? Or with the work spanning Easter, is your planned Easter promo campaign ruined? If so, note it down, and include within your wider case.
If this all sounds complicated, the reality is that for your accountant, the work could be done alongside existing services they provide. The work at Mutley will span two accounting years for many traders - a final tip from us is to get your books to your accountant asap after 31 March, and explain the scenario. As they do the normal year's work, it will be cost effective for them to prepare the additional financial info likely to be needed for a compensation claim.
In support of all the Mutley traders.
TAA
Tuesday 9 March 2010
Do I need Accounting Software?
The answer is (of course) it depends. This article will aim to provide answers to typical queries we get asked, some of the misconceptions, and look at a couple of packages too.
If your business is VAT registered, and/or a limited company, there are legal requirements as to the records that must be kept. Spreadsheets can handle these requirements in a simple and straightforward manner, and it maybe that if you don't need any additional info about the financial affairs of the business, you need look no further.
BUT, and its a big but, if you want additional information, such as that listed below, really you need to be considering software:
If your business is VAT registered, and/or a limited company, there are legal requirements as to the records that must be kept. Spreadsheets can handle these requirements in a simple and straightforward manner, and it maybe that if you don't need any additional info about the financial affairs of the business, you need look no further.
BUT, and its a big but, if you want additional information, such as that listed below, really you need to be considering software:
- Profitability!
- Debtors reports (ie reports detailing customers owing you money)
- Creditors reports (the same, but detailing those to whom you owe money)
- Cash flow information
- Sales information (ie which products sold what, when)
- Stock control
- Costing information (ie how much was spent on say advertising last month)
- Automated invoicing and statement generation
- Project and time costing
- Customer database
- VAT reports
- Snapshot financial reporting data
For small businesses, the choices of packages are typically split between those covering bookkeeping (and therefore data entry only), and reporting, covering bookkeeping, everything above and a lot more besides.
The cheapest bookkeeping packages (think Cashflow manager and Do$h for example) will do VAT returns and produce basic profit and loss information. Don't ask them to do much more than that though. We think there are much better options out there, even for the non accountants.
If you've established you need software, and are looking at something that will be of value to you as well as your accountant, then really you are looking at a piece of full accounting software. What package to go for? Clients often come in having heard about Sage or Quickbooks, and it is true that these firms have been the market leaders in the UK for some time.
Here is our view on the current round up of full packages we regulalry encounter:
Sage Instant £115+vat - this just makes the list, it is simple and fairly cheap, but does have the likely functionality a simple, small business will need. Tech support is extra mind you after a year, as is training. We don't generally recommend it as non-accountants tell us they find it less intuitive to use. Its also software in the traditional sense, meaning it is one license installed on one pc.
Sage line 50 £550+vat - for small/medium sized businesses, with high volumes of transactions, and needing solid financial reporting, this is the definite article as they say. Reporting is excellent, but the programme is complex. Unfortunately it is expensive, and tech support will cost more still. Sage line 50 will push the abilities of the non-accountant, so be prepared for training on top (or to pay a bookkeeper to come in). Sage also have a nasty habit of charging for annual updates...........
Quickbooks - various editions from £90 to £450 +vat - some clients swear by Quickbooks software, it is certainly better designed for the non-accountant user, and also good with dealing with higher volume of transactions (as Sage). It achieves very similar functionality to sage, in an easier to use way. Again like sage, its installed on a pc or laptop, so unless you carry the pc round with you, thats the only place you can access your financials. Your accountants may well be less keen on Quickbooks but thats another story.......
VT Transaction+ £125+vat - I would describe this as a 'rough diamond' - VT has a basic company website, the package manages basic reporting only and is cheap as chips, but don't be deceived! Underneath the budget exterior lies a great piece of software, especially when your business is heavy on the transaction side. Its very easy and quick to enter data, easy to correct mistakes and easy to reconcile the bank. Its our choice over the sage and Quickbook alternatives EXCEPT if you want it to talk to your website, which it can't, yet.
Kashflow £15.99+vat per month direct (or see our offer below) - this is by far the best of the new breed of 'in the cloud' programmes. 'In the Cloud' refers to the fact that the software is internet based, so can be accessed from wherever you happen to be, and via pc, laptop or even mobile phone. The other big advantage to this is that your accountant can login to your records for the occasional check-up without doing the whole transfer of data routine malarky! Functionality is great for the smaller business, including great invoicing options and reporting. It fairs less well for the high volume of tansactions business (simply because its internet based). Otherwise we think its the first and only choice, and if you've never used accounting software before, we think you'll be amazed by its ease of use.
I did mention that we are running a Kashflow offer - currently we have a 60 day trial on our TaxAssist version, AND are selling it at the discounted rate of £149+vat for the year, AND will even chuck in 2 hours one on one training for purchasers who also appoint us as their accountants. We like the product so much we use it in house too for our own books, need we say more?
This article will hopefully emphasise the fact that there is no one size fits all when it comes to software. So if your accountant insists on your use of one program its probably because its in his interests rather than yours!
Ultimately we'll work with whichever software is right for each client.
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