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Many happy returns

Most people in the UK are spared the hassle of having to complete a Tax Return. That is because the PAYE system which applies to salaries and wages gets roughly the right answer if the PAYE code number is correct.

The self-employed and landlords receiving rents are two of the groups of people who will be required to submit a return. The principle behind this is that, if you are likely to owe the taxman money, then he wants a Tax Return.

Not just us, our clients love Xero too

I have been working with Xero since December 2011 and for me it was love at first sight. That may seem quite dramatic; however, it really was a game changing moment seeing accounting software as more than just a commodity.

Since then we have made the progression from bronze to silver through to gold Xero partnership status, this allows us to have a greater influence within the Xero community; more importantly, this has allowed our clients to revolutionise the way they run their business, but don’t take our word for it, this is what our clients have to say about Xero

Social media - is your business on board?

With the development of the internet in the last decade and the increased use of smart phones and tablets in recent years, the way people communicate with each other has changed, and social media has evolved through channels such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Many business owners are now using social media to grow their businesses. If you own a business but are not yet utilising social media to grow and attract new clients/customers, you need to seriously consider embracing this change. Here are the reasons why:

Now it's the turn of the SME

So we have reached the one year anniversary of auto-enrolment (AE), with figures from The Pensions Regulator showing 1.6m people have been auto-enrolled into a qualifying workplace pension scheme. With opt out rates of just 9%, AE's first year appears to have been considerably more successful than many skeptics predicted.

The great fish and chips debate

On the way home from work the other day I passed my local fish & chip shop, nothing unusual about that you might think, however the difference was it was closed. 6pm on a Friday night and it was shut. Closed for re-decorating, the sign in the window said. 

My mind started to wander, thinking about all the people whose regular Friday night routine had been turned upside down, forced to go elsewhere or even go hungry. This simple observation makes you realise how you take things for granted and the value you put on peace of mind.

Employee shareholder status

As of 1 September 2013, employers are now able to offer their employees a new type of employee status known as an employee shareholder. This new status could be a tax efficient way of giving your employees an interest in the company to incentivise and motivate your staff.

Top 10 tax tips for the self employed

1. Get registered with HMRC – while the deadline to register for self-assessment is quite generous, you only have three months from starting to trade to register for Class 2 National Insurance. You may as well do both at once and avoid a late registration file of £100. 

Are you in control?

Have you ever thought or asked yourself the following?

1. Can I take a step back from the business without it falling apart around me?
2. There must be a better way of doing this…
3. If I want it done properly I’ll have to do it myself…next month!
4. I need to look at that part of the business in more detail but I don’t have time.
5. If there was a fraud occurring within my business then I’d know about it. Wouldn’t I?

Well we can help you find the answers…

Reform of close company loans to participators rules – consultation response

1.  Do you agree these are the right primary objectives for rules governing the taxation of loans from close companies to their participators? Please explain your answer.

We do not consider that the majority of loans provided to participators to be a form of deliberate tax avoidance. Acting for predominantly Owner Managed Businesses (OMBs) you quite rightly state that many of these situations arise because such businesses used to be run as sole traders or partnerships, where the proprietor took drawings.

Hotels enjoying a bright summer

Hotels in the Lake District have enjoyed a busy summer, in stark comparison to the previous year. The average room rate achieved by hotels in the Lake District for June 2013 was £101 which compares with £61 for June 2012. This is a huge increase, but we must remember that last summer the Olympics and terrible weather led to many hotels reducing their room rates in a bid to increase occupancy levels. This information comes from a survey that was run by Armstrong Watson during July 2013, specifically for hotels in the Lake District.