The very last thing you want to think about when you are starting your new business is accounting software! You’re thinking about customers, contracts, cash flow, staff, offices and so you should be… after all, your enthusiasm, drive and vision is the lifeblood of the business. Don’t lose or suppress it. But, […]
Intro We have taken a look at the key FX players offering banking solutions for business who trade in foreign currency and worked through the features and pricing to present a simple comparison. At the time of writing, there are three companies worth looking at. For most of our recommendations we balance cost vs service […]
What is Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA)? Postponed VAT Accounting, also known as PVA, is a process for accounting import VAT that was introduced on 1st January 2021. Essentially, rather than pay import VAT when your goods are imported into the UK, and then reclaim the VAT on your VAT return, PVA allows you to both […]
Intro When you claim back expenses you lower the profit of your business which in turn lowers your tax bill. This guide exists to save you money by ensuring you know everything you need to know about expenses, what best practice looks like, and most importantly, what can be claimed. There is very little difference […]
Subsistence Expenses Explained The majority of business owners do their best to optimise their taxes. One aspect of tax planning is to ensure that you are including all of your correct business expenses in your accounts. As everyone on the planet spends money on food, not to mention the fact that ecommerce business owners have a tendency […]
Setting up Payment Plans with HMRC Sometimes a business may find itself in the unfortunate position of being unable to pay its taxes on time. There are a number of reasons that this might happen, for example you may have not realised that your business was liable to register for VAT and are suddenly facing […]
Pay a mix of salary and dividends You have three options: a salary, dividends or both. The answer depends on how much you intend to withdraw from the business and if you have other income, but in general, a combination of a small salary and dividends is optimum. What salary should I pay? We’ve outlined some […]
This blog post will walk you through how to create a government gateway account in the quickest and most straightforward way possible. Creating and setting up your government gateway account might seem mundane, but ensuring that it is done in the right way will allow you to manage all of your taxes and their associated […]
Here are the core accounting services UK businesses and individuals typically need. Accounting Our accounting service is slightly different depending on your business structure, e.g. Limited Company/Sole Trader. Regardless of structure, it always includes everything to keep your business fully compliant with both HMRC and Companies House. We will become your authorised agent and point […]
Firstly, what are director’s loan accounts? The Director’s Loan Account records the non-dividend transactions that occur between a company and its director(s). At the end of the company’s financial year, the director would either be owed money or they will owe the company money. This account contains any cash withdrawals made by director as well […]
Definition of payroll Payroll is the process of an organisation paying their employees. An organisation, normally a limited company, would need to register for a payroll scheme before they onboard their first employee. Payroll is usually run on either a weekly or monthly basis, the process involves producing payslips, paying employees and reporting earnings to […]
Collecting recurring payments from clients and customers can be a time consuming & costly process for businesses. This is especially true for many new start-ups, where the high percentages charged by many merchant banking systems can directly impact the costs of your product or service that you charge to your customers. What is GoCardless? GoCardless […]
What is the Information Commissioner’s Office? The Information Commissioner’s Office is the UK’s data protection regulator. Essentially the ICO’s responsibility is to ensure that businesses in the UK are compliant with strict data protection rules. They investigate organisations that go against these principles and impose penalties where appropriate. What is Data Protection? Almost every service we use […]
Whenever most people hear the word pension, they think of free bus passes, zimmer frames and slippers… (just saying!) But a pension offers very attractive tax breaks, and you don’t need to be retiring to make use of them all. Before we start it’s worth noting that the tax benefits of pensions are […]
Earlier this year the chancellor announced an increase in corporation tax rates from 19% to 25%. A fairly significant increase! yuk… I think we were all expecting something with the extreme COVID relief money splashing around last year. Furloughs, grants, loans and much more all need to be paid back. So what exactly […]
They say that behind every good business is a great accountant, and it’s true! A great accountant does far more than save you money on your tax return – although that certainly is an attractive benefit. Hiring a great accountant isn’t just about remaining compliant; it’s a big step towards improving the financial health of […]
If you’re a sole trader, you may have heard that you can save tax by running your business through a limited company. This could indeed be the case, but there are many factors you should consider before you decide. Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of trading through a limited company. The […]
A good accountant is worth their weight in gold. But what if you’re not happy with your current one? It’s understandable that some business owners don’t want to go through the hassle of switching accountants, but it can be a huge mistake in the long run. If you’re unhappy with your current level of service, […]
Director/shareholders of UK limited companies tend to reward themselves will a small salary and a dividend. The recommended system for 2021/22 is set out here. However, in order to get the calculations absolutely right, you need to know how much profit the company has, and you probably won’t know that until after the year-end accounts have […]
This is a basic guide to the small salary big dividend method of rewarding yourself from your own company for the tax year ended 5 Apr 2022. Your company is responsible for maintaining a corporation tax reserve. Dividends can only be paid from the company’s post-tax profit, so that means that the company tax reserve […]
