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 !
Showing posts with label kashflow accountant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kashflow accountant. Show all posts
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
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
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!
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