Archives / 144 post/s found
Good foundations
All good structures are built on good foundations, whether we are talking houses or companies. Good foundations in houses rely on bricks and mortar, whilst good foundations in companies rely on good founders. We have pulled together some top tips to help you be a brilliant founder. Get along with your co-founders: obviously we can’t get along with people all the time, and disagreement is a healthy part of every relationship. However, toxicity isn’t. Learn how to accept constructive feedback, and how to give it! No-one likes to be criticised but feedback is essential to improve. Pull the trigger: it [...]
Take control of your time
Apparently, we spend less than 60% of our time working productively. That’s nearly half our day we waste on activities such as checking social media, checking emails, having dead-end meetings. Imagine what you could do with half a day, every day. Go for a walk, cook a nice meal, spend time with your family, read a book. No doubt one of the reasons that you started your own business was to be able to be flexible with your time, take the odd afternoon off, start late on a morning, take a long holiday. It’s unlikely that you started your own [...]
Exporting goods to the EU with a no-deal Brexit
We previously considered the effects of importing goods from the EU if a no-deal Brexit occurred. This week we are considering matters that government has published for exporters to the EU. A summary of the comments made in recent announcements is reproduced below. After the UK leaves the EU, in the event of a ‘no deal’ scenario, businesses exporting goods to the EU will be required to follow customs procedures in the same way that they currently do when exporting goods to a non-EU country. Before exporting goods to the EU, a business will need to: register for [...]
Is this a good time to invest?
This article considers the question: should businesses invest in new equipment or other long-term capital acquisitions at this time? In truth, no one knows what the impact of the Brexit will be? Brexiteers believe that the floodgates will open, and the rest of the world will rush to buy our goods and services whereas Remainers, expect recession to return when the EU drawbridge is lifted. No doubt the reality will sit somewhere between these two extreme points of view. With these uncertainties nonetheless present, is this a good time to consider investment in new plant and equipment [...]
No money…no problem!
People tend to think that you need a large chunk of capital to start your own business; however it is possible to get started without needing to invest large sums of money into it. You might have a great idea, or just want a change of lifestyle that running your business may allow. Whatever your motivation it is possible to start off with a small budget. Here are three great tips to get you going. Reduce your needs: You don’t need flash offices, or the latest laptop. Take a look at what you really need to get going, bearing in [...]
Exclusivity and tax relief
In order to qualify as a deduction for tax purposes we have to demonstrate that the expenditure was incurred “wholly and exclusively” for the purposes of our business or employment. We will also need to consider a further criterion: where the expenditure has a duality of purpose. In a 1980’s case, a barrister claimed for the cost of business suits which she insisted were only used for business purposes. To her delight, the lower courts agreed, but HMRC were having none of it and pursued their case to the House of Lords where the taxpayer’s claim and appeal was dismissed. [...]
Importing goods from outside the EU
Although the Brexit issue is not yet decided it may be salutary for businesses to consider the changes they will need to face if we depart with a no-deal Brexit. We have touched on these issues in past articles posted on this blog, but today we have reproduced the present regulations you will need to consider if you import from outside the EU – with a no-deal Brexit these, or similar processes, will need to be applied to imports from the EU. Within the EU most goods: are in free circulation, can be imported with minimal customs control, have no [...]
Ignore these pieces of bad advice
Advice, like many other things, comes in both the good and the bad. Some people dispense excellent advice, based on a sound understanding of the circumstances, while others simply fling phrases at random, with little or no regard for their helpfulness. We work with businesses of all sizes, from entrepreneurs to established family businesses, all of whom have received advice of both varieties. Entrepreneurs in particular seem to be in receipt of an astonishing amount of unsolicited advice. Here are a selection that we have come across: “You must have the smartest offices,” – you don’t need a smart postcode. [...]
Do you know what you are selling?
We hope that you know what you are selling: watches, cars, hedge cutters…we hope that your accountant knows what you are selling also. But do they? You aren’t selling watches, you are stopping people being late. You aren’t selling cars, you are helping people get from A to B. You aren’t selling hedge cutters, you are tidying people’s gardens. For example, you own and run a bakery. You believe your business is selling bread, cakes, pastries and pies. Of course, people love bread, cakes, pastries and pies, so they’ll buy them. Right? Wrong. Lots of bakeries go bust. Why? Because [...]
Did your goat eat your accounts?
Companies House have published a list of bizarre excuses for the late filing of their statutory accounts. They include: “goats ate my accounts” “I found my wife in the bath with my accountant” “pirates stole my accounts” “we delivered the accounts to the betting office next door to Companies House” “a volcano erupted and prevented me from filing” “slugs ate my accounts” “it was Valentine’s Day” “my company was more successful than I thought it would be, so I was too busy to file” As you would expect, Companies House issued late filing penalties and any appeals were [...]