financial planning / 21 posts found
Making the best of it
Many people regard paying their accountant as a necessary evil. Simply as something that has to be done, in order to tick the boxes laid out for us by the Government. But what if we change our thinking toward accountancy, what if we embrace something we have to do anyway, and turn it into a benefit, not simply a drain? We have to, by law, file our end of year accounts with HMRC. Most businesses pay an accountant to do this for them, in order to firstly ensure that it is correct, and also to optimise our tax position. This [...]
Why does the UK tax year end 5th April?
A bit of history this week but with a practical outcome for 2019. Up to 1582, Europe used the Julian calendar introduced by the Romans in 45BC. Unfortunately, the Julian calendar differed from the solar calendar by 11 ½ minutes; after 500 years this small difference meant that the Julian calendar was 10 days off the solar calendar. To remedy this error, Pope Gregory introduced the Gregorian calendar in most of Europe under his influence, 1582. There was a notable exception, you guessed right, the British Empire. Sound familiar? The Brits stoically maintained their use of the [...]
Have you received your tax statement?
HMRC normally send out a tax statement this time of the year to all self-assessment taxpayers that have submitted a tax return for 2017-18. As we reported last week, this will list any balance of tax due for 2017-18 and the amount of any payment on account required for 2018-19 (if any is due). Both amounts will need to be settled on or before 31 January 2019 to avoid interest and possible late payment penalties. If you don’t receive a statement, but you know how much you need to pay, simply organise an online bank payment to: HMRC Cumbernauld – [...]
Proposals for consumer protections when companies collapse
The government is to consider new laws to protect consumers who have prepaid for products when a business becomes insolvent. Government to consider new laws to protect consumers who have prepaid for products when a business becomes insolvent proposed measures will include guaranteeing consumer schemes like Christmas savings clubs can safeguard customers’ money reforms are part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy to ensure markets work in the interests of consumers New laws to protect consumers who have already paid for products but not received them when businesses go bust will be considered by the government, it was [...]
What’s the difference?
Choosing an accountant is an important business decision to make. Surrounding yourself with a good team involves picking people that you trust to work with you and help you to achieve the goals that you want from your business. Understanding the type of accountant that you need is an element of the decision. Generally, there are two types of accountants: financial accountants and management accountants. So, what’s the difference? Financial accountants produce quarterly and annual statements showing what has been happening in your business. These reports are viewed by external personnel such as shareholders, and the tax office. They tend [...]
How do you eat an elephant?
The answer is, of course, a little bit at a time. Goal, dreams or aims are like elephants, it is far too overwhelming to have your goal as make a million pounds, but breaking that goal down into manageable bite sized pieces will make the obtaining of your goal possible, and certainly more probable. We have reached the time of year when we start to think about next year and what we want to achieve going forwards, so now is a good time to start understanding how to set out good goals, to enable you to reach your final aim. [...]
Struggling with growth?
Trying to achieve increased growth can seem a daunting prospect, but as with most thing in business and life, once broken down it becomes clearer. There are only 4 ways to increase growth. 1.Increase the number of customers or transactions. Increase the average value of existing transactions. Increase the gross profit margin on your products and services Introduce a new product or service So, for each of these we can come up with a strategy that may help. Firstly, increase your customers or transactions. This can be finding new customers or encouraging your existing customers to order more frequently. [...]
Powers of attorney
There are two types of power of attorney that you can grant: Firstly, to appoint someone you trust to make decisions about your health and wellbeing if you become incapacitated, and Secondly, to appoint someone you trust to make decisions about your finances if you cannot manage your financial affairs. You can choose to make one type or both, but please note, there is a different process in Scotland and Northern Ireland. A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint one or more people (known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions [...]
Are you in training for the Brexit Marathon?
March 2017 was the date we declared we were going to exit from the EU. This set the deadline for our national drawbridge to be raised on the rest of Europe at the 29 March 2019. This is the first time we have separated ourselves from our largest trading partner since we joined the Common Market – the precursor to the EU – 1 January 1973. It is useful, when considering the effective strategies we could employ to weather the changes that this process will likely create, to visualise the exit as running a marathon. The comparison may seem to [...]
Powers of attorney
As we will possibly live on until our 80s, and as that may involve coping with disability of one form or another, the need for consideration of support as we get older is ever more pertinent. Readers will no doubt have heard the term “power of attorney”, but not many, we suspect, will have made the investment and appointed someone trusted to act as their representative if they become physically or mentally unable to look after themselves in old age. If you did become infirm and unable to make sensible decisions about your health care or finances, and [...]