English Cymraeg Changes to UK company law The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act received royal assent on 26 October 2023. The act gives Companies House the power to play a more significant role in tackling economic crime and supporting economic growth. Over time, the measures will lead to improved transparency and more accurate and trusted information on our registers. There’ll be new responsibilities for: all new and existing company…  Read more

HMRC launches ‘Tax avoidance – don’t get caught out’ campaign

HMRC has created a series of messages, information and other communications materials as part of its ‘Tax Avoidance – don’t get caught out’ campaign, designed to help contractors get their tax right. The Revenue’s campaign is designed to help contractors and their agents recognise the signs of tax avoidance and understand how umbrella companies work. It has been developed partly in response to the loan charge, which saw tens of…  Read more

Three Ways an Accountant Can Save You Money

Many small business owners think they’re saving money by handling their financials themselves. While it’s a real asset to learn bookkeeping basics, cash flow management and your tax obligations, hiring an accountant to oversee your finances has many benefits. Leaving your books to a pro will free up time so you can focus on serving your clients and implementing plans for growth. Here are a few ways an accounting professional…  Read more

How to Hire the Right Bookkeeper for your Business

“Outsource your weaknesses.” So says start-up guru, Sujan Patel, when advising small business owners to get outside help for tasks like payroll and bookkeeping. And when you consider that 70% of businesses fail due to poor in-house financial management, Patel’s advice seems spot on. Unfortunately, many small business owners seek to keep costs low by doing everything themselves— unwittingly sabotaging the financial stability of their own company. If numbers aren’t…  Read more

Similarities and differences between a bookkeeper and an accountant

They both work with financial data; they’re both essential for managing a successful business. Yet the roles and duties of a bookkeeper and accountant rarely overlap. If you’re like many business owners, you may not be exactly sure of the differences between a bookkeeper and accountant – and whether you should hire one, or both. An established, growth-focused company will employee the services of both an accountant and bookkeeper. The…  Read more

Avoid These 5 Costly Accounting Mistakes

A Canadian bank recently surveyed over 500 small business owners about what they love and hate most about owning their own business. Unsurprisingly, flexibility and feeling in control ranked first in the “love” category. Meanwhile, almost 60% said bookkeeping was hands-down their most hated task. Most business owners understand that effective financial management is key to their success. But lack of knowledge, frustration, and even avoidance can add up to…  Read more

3 Consequences of Avoiding Your Bookkeeping

If you ask 100 business owners what they like least about running a business, chances are good that bookkeeping will rank high on the list. It’s an annoying and frustrating chore that takes up a lot of time and is easy to put off until tomorrow. Avoiding your bookkeeping is dangerous, however. Not knowing your company’s financial situation can result in a series of missteps that could ultimately cost you…  Read more

6 Essential Accounting Terms for Small Businesses

Hiring an accountant is widely considered best practice for small business owners.  But delegating financial analysis and reporting doesn’t mean completely checking out of the process each month or quarter. On the contrary, it’s recommended that business owners work closely with their accountants throughout the year to better understand their financial position, and make smart plans for future growth. Want to increase your accounting knowledge so you can have more…  Read more

How to create good habits in business

If you’re like most small business owners, there are never enough hours in the day to complete every task on your list. Often you’re faced with prioritizing what you need to do right now – deal with a customer, meet a deadline, attend an event – and the things you know you should do for the ongoing growth of your business. Scheduling time to attend to these business activities on…  Read more

8 things your invoice needs in order to get paid faster

So you’ve set up your business and sold some products and services. Now, you have to send an invoice to collect your payment. But what should you include on your invoices in order to get paid faster? Even if you’ve been running your business for a while, you might be missing other information that you should include. So here is a step-by-step guide on what to include on your invoices.…  Read more

5 Most Common Accounting Mistakes That Could Hurt Your Business

Many small business owners tend to handle their own accounting and bookkeeping, especially when they’ve just started out. However, keeping track of the finance-side of the business– everything from income to expenses to tax compliance– can be overwhelming. Mistakes can happen quite easily and can have costly consequences to your business. Below are five of the most common DIY accounting errors that you should avoid. Unorganised Records It takes excellent…  Read more

5 Xero Mistakes Business Owners Make and How To Avoid Them

If you’ve just started working with Xero, it is normal to make a few mistakes while you’re learning. We see mistakes that are quite common – and unfortunately costly – so you should be aware of them if you want to get the most out of Xero’s powerful cloud accounting system. 1. Not connecting all the bank and credit card accounts dedicated for your business Make sure that you keep…  Read more

5 Steps to Early Retirement

For some people, early retirement is a choice. For others, it’s a necessity. Regardless of which group you fall into, there are some steps you can take to help make early retirement a reality and live the life you dream about. 1. Know your goals Before you know exactly how much money you need to save, you need to know your goals for retirement. Do you want to live in…  Read more

3 Tips to Make the Most of the End of Financial Year

Preparing your End of Financial Year (EOFY) information often feels stressful—there are receipts to sort out and reports to review, and you need to make sure you have all the necessary information about your income and expenses. It can be overwhelming, and it can make the EOFY feel daunting. The end of the financial year isn’t just a time to collect receipts and find invoices, however. It’s also a time…  Read more

3 Ways to Motivate Workers

The question of motivating employees is often on a business owner’s mind. It can be difficult to find ways to genuinely motivate employees at work, and often the old standards—performance-based bonuses, increased rewards and commissions—only work in the short-term, if they work at all. In fact, some tests have shown that the usual motivational tactics aren’t always effective. So how can you authentically motivate workers? 1. Share positive feedback Too…  Read more

6 Vital Money Management Tips for First-Time Entrepreneurs

Financial management is a vital part of running a successful business, but often entrepreneurs start their business with little understanding of how to make solid financial decisions. Managing your finances is about more than bookkeeping and paying taxes—although those are also important to a sustainable business. It’s about managing cash flow, preparing for income fluctuations, and having the resources to take advantage of opportunities. Here are 6 money management tips…  Read more

Tax-free aids for homeworkers

A director has been injured in a car accident. This has made it difficult for him to commute to the office. The company is paying to provide special equipment at home so he can work. Will this count as a taxable benefit in kind? Working from home Working from home is increasingly common these days, and despite the tax system being slow to react to change, there are a few…  Read more

Another change to tax relief for property loans?

To release capital tied up in a let property you have remortgaged it. In the past HMRC accepted that the interest paid on this type of loan was tax deductible, but it seems to be changing its view. What’s the full story? A matter of interest A change in HMRC’s internal guidance has left tax experts baffled. The trouble relates to a paragraph in HMRC’s business income manual ( BIM45700 ), which…  Read more

Keep your capital and protect your estate from inheritance tax

As your estate grows so does the potential inheritance tax bill. What steps can you take to minimise tax while keeping hold of your underlying wealth? IHT-effective gifts The simplest way for someone to reduce their estate for IHT purposes is for them to pass their wealth to their beneficiaries by making gifts during their lifetime. However, the maximum that an individual can give away to others entirely exempt from…  Read more

Tax on directors’ salary, dividends and perks

The taxation of dividends and benefits in kind has changed significantly in recent times. So if you’re considering taking more income from your company, which should you choose for maximum tax efficiency? Topping up your income Choosing tax and NI-efficient types of income to draw from your company can make a big difference to its worth to you. As a rule of thumb, salary in excess of the NI threshold…  Read more

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