Latest News

Failure to borrow could hold back growth

I was reading an article in the Independent by David Prosser saying that 'SMEs who fail to access external finance can expose themselves to just as much risk as firms which borrow too much.' Research has found that almost half of all SMEs now are a 'permanent non-borrower', meaning they are not currently using external finance, and have not done so in the past five years. It also means they have not applied or wanted to apply for finance over the past 12 months, and have no plans or desire to apply in the next three months.

Advisory fuel rates for company cars - 1 June 2015

These rates apply from 1 June 2015. You can use the previous rates for up to one month from the date the new rates apply.

Grant fund worth £4m available to qualifying businesses in Cumbria

I’ve recently been working with two of my clients who previously secured in excess of £100,000 of grant funding to assist the expansion of their businesses. This funding has enabled both businesses to achieve both growth in turnover and growth in Cumbrian employment, which is great news for the Cumbrian economy.

#AWMoo15 - Cumberland Show

If you were at The Cumberland Show at the weekend you may well have spotted an Armstrong Watson Sterling squeezy cow around the show ground! We had hundreds to give away and asked show goers to send us their selfies with their very own Sterling using #AWMoo15. We had some really good entries, from Sterling at the wheel of one of Lloyd's brand new Range Rover Sport, to Sterling having a cheeky pint, and Sterlings being cuddled and kissed by their new owners.

Is £10,600 the most tax efficient salary for directors?

In May 2014 my colleague David Robinson wrote an extremely popular blog entitled 'Is £10,000 the most tax efficient salary for directors?’ which examined the way in which directors should remunerate themselves from their family company. In the blog, it was identified that a director could receive an additional £164 without any additional cost to the company.

Academies under pressure

Academy school budgets are currently under severe pressure with expected funding reductions, the planned increase in teachers’ pension contributions and increase in National Insurance contributions leading to school reserves being fully utilised.

Do you make electronic supplies?– Reminder of the new MOSS rules

After the change in rules for electronic supplies to non business customers came into effect on 1 January 2015, we have now reached the end of the first quarter under the new rules. There is, however concern that many suppliers of such services have failed to act on the changed requirements and are therefore accounting for VAT incorrectly.

Armstrong Watson makes the shortlist for 'Best Tax Practice' in National Awards

Armstrong Watson is delighted to announce that their tax team has been shortlisted for ‘Best Tax Practice in a Regional Firm’ at the National Taxation Awards.

These national awards recognise the best in the taxation industry, celebrating excellence and promoting the highest standards possible.

Armstrong Watson are up against five other regional firms who are spread throughout the country.

Rebecca Rayson, Taxation Awards commented:

Xero goes from strength to strength

As a Xero platinum partner covering Cumbria, Yorkshire, Northumbria and Dumfriesshire, we are moving more and more clients on to Xero with incredibly postitive feedback. However, some of our clients have held off due to some features that Xero did not offer. I'm now pleased to say that these barriers have now been removed.

What does the budget mean for the haulage and motor trade?

As I am sure you are aware, the Chancellor gave his pre election budget today, with a few mentions towards the motor industry.  In general the budget was extremely positive; the Chancellor took the time to highlight what the current government had done to help the UK economy.

One of the strap lines that will come from the budget will be get a “tenner off a tank with the Tories” which was mentioned with the announcement that the September 2015 fuel duty increase was going to be cancelled.  This is great news and will be very helpful to haulage companies.