Reporting and management information!
What information do you get regularly from your accounting software? How automated is this reporting? How many reports are created by rekeying figures into spreadsheets? What other information would be useful – either to you, or others in your team? Do you wade through pages of figures, or do you have graphical formats too? Many […]
The Autumn Statement and the effect on small businesses
The government has announced a cut to the main rate of Class 1 employee NICs from 12% to 10% from 6th January 2024 and a cut to the main rate of Class 4 self-employed NICs from 9% to 8% from 6th April 2024. It has also announced that no one will be required to pay […]
Are you STILL issuing manual invoices?
Sales invoicing is another area of accounting that is labour-intensive and prone to errors when creating them manually. There may be handwriting issues or typos, the calculations may not be correct, and the totals may not correlate with the calculations. Then there’s the issue of how you keep track of unpaid invoices? There has been […]
Out of pocket expenses – are you (or your staff) STILL using a spreadsheet?
Expenses can provide an admin headache on both sides of the coin! First, for the person who incurs the expenses and has to keep track of them and record them. Secondly, for the accounts team that processes the expenditures and incorporates them in the accounting records. A spreadsheet has long been a method of simply […]
Might the VAT flat rate scheme be beneficial to your business?
If you use the Flat Rate Scheme, you charge VAT to your customers (‘output VAT’) and pay VAT to your suppliers when you buy goods or services from them (‘input VAT’) in the normal way. However, the VAT return figures are calculated differently. VAT on expenses is generally ignored; instead, the total sales including the […]
Do you accept credit cards as a method of payment?
Whilst there is a “cost” to accepting credit cards, do you know how much business you might be losing out on by not accepting them? A case study heard recently – a family of 2 adults and 3 children called into a remote café (so no banks or cashpoints nearby). It did not accept cards, […]
Do you have a clear view of your business position on a regular basis
The accounts are all on the computer and, you think, the records are well maintained, and the bank feeds work every day importing transactions. It appears the business is doing well – profits are shown to be more than £100,000 on the profit and loss report…. but is it all as it seems? Are you […]
Bank base rates rise again!
We are in the spiral of increasing finance costs which impinges on both personal and business arenas. HMRC charges interest on any tax owing and on the penalties and charges incurred as a result of the late payment of tax owed. So,it makes sense to not pay more to HMRC than is necessary! Therefore, we […]
Being “green”
With sustainability and the environment constantly in the news, there are several ways any business can “make a difference”. Paper consumption, along with the consumables that are used in printing- toner, cartridges, etc. – can be reduced significantly. Why print and post invoices when it is possible to email them direct from accounting software, or […]
Benefits in Kind –P11d or PAYE Settlement agreement?
Many businesses will provide certain benefits to their employees that are intended to motivate or incentivise them, such as staff entertaining, gifts and prizes. Whilst there are certain exemptions available, many benefits remain liable to income tax and NIC. A PAYE Settlement agreement (PSA) is an administrative arrangement allowing employers to pay the income tax […]
