profit / 9 posts found
Are you on the cloud?
Making Tax Digital (MTD) comes into force on the 1st April 2019 (no – it’s not an April Fools!) If you are VAT registered and, your turnover exceeds £85000 you will need to follow the rules for MTD as laid out by HMRC. Essentially MTD means that you will need to keep and file your VAT records and returns electronically; you can no longer just use spreadsheets and manually upload the information. In practice this means you will have to be using some form of cloud accounting. Regardless of whether you want to or not, you will have to do [...]
How fast can you react?
Are your reactions lighting fast? Or are you struggling to keep up? Fast reactions are useful in a variety of situations; accidents, emergencies, but also in business. The ability to react to changes in the marketplace is one of the main areas where small businesses can beat big businesses. Being able to judge the trends and changes in a marketplace and ensure that you are in a good position quickly can be an indicator of success. But what has this got to do with accountants? Imagine you have a small company that sells blue widgets, and the big company that [...]
Are you looking for export opportunities?
In a recent press release, the Department for International Trade promoted its enhanced Export Opportunities service for UK companies. In a nut-shell, this lists overseas governments and companies that are looking to buy UK goods and services. On the face of it, if you are looking for a source of leads for your export marketing activities, it’s probably worth taking a look. Extracts from the press release and the link to find out more are copied in below: The UK is one of the first countries in the world provide this online service, following the launch of the Export Strategy [...]
Are you about to buy a second-hand commercial vehicle?
When you buy a new commercial vehicle, you will pay 20% VAT on the purchase price and in most cases this VAT can be reclaimed. This assumes of course, that the motor trader selling you the vehicle is VAT registered. If you purchase a second-hand commercial vehicle there are three VAT options: The second-hand dealer is not registered for VAT and therefore, you will not be charged VAT. The second-hand dealer is registered for VAT and only charges you VAT on the profit he is making on the sale under the VAT margin scheme, in which case you will not [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Are you doing too much?
As small business owners, we all do it! We take on too much; we do too much. We’re always saying, “there’s never enough time in the day!” But are we being productive? Or are we running around, sweat pouring out of every vein, doing tasks others could do for us? Are we always thinking about saving money, rather than the bigger picture? Is your accountant always on at you to reduce costs? But at what cost? You probably didn’t go into business to work every waking hour. You may have gone into business for the flexibility, so that you could [...]
7 steps to improving your cash flow
Did you know that more businesses fail because of cash flow problems than profit problems? Don’t let yours be one of them. The problem with cash flows issues is that they can creep up on us. If you are only seeing your accountant once a year, you don’t have the opportunity to react in time. If you are constantly monitoring and reviewing your business and its systems, you are less like to fall into a cashflow crisis. With our Build Your Business Better support system we can help you to improve your cash flow, but to get you started here [...]