For those of you who are still trading as a sole trader or partnership have you considered fully or partially incorporating to reduce the tax payable? This is well worth considering with the end of the tax year fast approaching. We find that most businesses save at least £2,000 per annum upwards in tax and national insurance by taking such action. Commercially their businesses give a better impression and also the owners are no longer personally liable for the trading debts of the business. There has to be a very good reason not to take this option.
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Archive for Essex Accountancy News
Categories Advice, Essex Accountancy News, tax strategies, top tips
If you have money invested in your business, e.g. partnership capital or your company owes you money and you have a mortgage on your house consider refinancing to make the interest tax deductible.
Categories Advice, Chelmsford, Essex Accountancy News, tax strategies, top tips
Review the timing of any capital expenditure on plant and machinery you expect to make to ensure Annual Investment Allowance is fully utilised. Remember that the first £250,000 gets a full 100% relief so if you are nearing your year end you may want to accelerate any capital expenditure to make full use of this relief.
Categories Essex Accountancy News, tax strategies
We are delighted to say that the new year has started well for us at CBHC and we are keen to share how we have achieved this success with many of our clients to help them do likewise. One of the reasons for this has been the use of of a new CRM system, salesforce.com and we would recommend this as a cost effective solution in the area of customer relationship management. See the link below and take a free trial to see how you get on. Please feel free to contact Gary White for guidance and more details if required.
Please go to: http://www.crmsuperstars.com/
Categories Advice, Essex Accountancy News
Sponsor the CBHC Movember team
There’s no accounting for style in the CBHC office this month – our team have gone all out to grow (or stick on, in the case of the ladies) the biggest and wackiest moustaches possible. But rest assured this isn’t a new fashion among the accounting elite, but rather a bid to raise as much money as possible for men’s health charity, Movember.
All of the funds raised by our team will be directed to programmes run by Movember, Prostate Cancer UK and the Institute of Cancer Research. These charities support a broad range of programmes all of which aim to raise levels of awareness, education, survivorship and research in the area of men’s health.
The whole team at CBHC is fully behind Movember (even the women, as you can see in the picture!), and we would be delighted if you could show your support too. Donating is easy – simply log on to Movember team page using this link http://uk.movember.com/team/615385, or if you fancy seeing our hairy creations for yourself, simply pop into our reception and place your pounds directly in our collection box.
With thanks,
The CBHC team
Categories Advice, employees, Essex Accountancy News
How can businesses make sure the Olympics only have a positive impact on their operations?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year or so, chances are you won’t have failed to notice that the London 2012 Olympic Games are almost upon us – but what might this mean for businesses, and how can they prepare?
There are many types of business in our region that will see a very positive impact on their bottom line, thanks to the influx of visitors that this world-renowned sporting event will bring into the area – while training camp locations have been identified across the country, bringing the business benefits to an even greater geographical area.
Some of the most obvious businesses to benefit include hotels and other types of accommodation, restaurants and bars, taxi firms and other tourism-related operations, and it goes without saying that business owners should already be gearing up for increased demand in July – but there should be a knock on effect that could boost other types of business too.
Whether you expect your business to be directly impacted by the Olympics or not, you should talk to your staff ahead of the Games, and ask them to let you know as early as possible if they intend to take annual leave – with all the competition locations within just a few hours’ journey from our region, chances are a number will have tickets for specific events, while die-hard fans might want to book time off to watch the live coverage.
You could even use the events to bolster camaraderie within your workforce – perhaps you might arrange for a TV to be put into an area used for breaks (make clear your guidelines on when it can be watched, to ensure nobody takes advantage), or alternatively why not think about undertaking some kind of Olympics-themed team-building activity, tapping into the upbeat mood that will grip the country?
Depending on their commute, bear in mind that staff may be affected by the additional load on the transport system during the Games. Depending on individual circumstances, you might want to think about altering working times, encouraging home working or compressed weeks (e.g. five days hours condensed into four actual days) for the duration of the games, and employing conference calls or video/web conferencing rather than face-to-face meetings.
We all want the Olympics to provide the long-awaited boost to the UK’s economy that is expected, but it could be even better than that – hopefully this event will also raise consumer confidence, which can have a very positive impact on the wider economy in the longer term.
Categories Advice, employees, Essex Accountancy News
So you’re looking for new staff, and you’ve drafted a job advert – but where do you put it?
It’s all very well coming up with a tempting job description, working out a suitable salary, and listing the essential qualities of your ideal candidate, but if you don’t put that advert in the right place then you might not reach your perfect new employee. The first step is to think about how your ideal candidate might search for a new job.
If it’s a straightforward role, and there will be many candidates in the local area whose skills would be suitable, then you might want to place an advert in the local paper. If your industry requires specific qualifications or skills, then you might want to consider advertising in a trade publication. But, no matter whether your vacancy is at the top or bottom rung of the ladder in your firm’s hierarchy, you can bet that the majority of suitable candidates will be looking for their next career move online.
This means online job boards are a must. The wonder of the digital age, and the beauty of search engines, means that candidates can look for vacancies not just by geographical area and industry, but specific job titles, skills or tasks. But not only does an online job advertisement of this type let you reach exactly the right kind of candidates, it does so without requiring a significant financial investment – you’ll be very pleasantly surprised at just how affordable it is.
We offer an exclusive service to our clients, the CBHC Job Board, which can help you reach suitable candidates online in a very cost-effective way – just speak to your account contact to find out more.
Categories employees, Essex Accountancy News, managing costs
Gone are the days when websites cost tens of thousands of pounds to set up, and could only be updated thereafter by those with technical skills – shrewd businesses are turning to WordPress for a smarter way to get a website.
If you’ve not yet heard of WordPress, chances are you will do soon. Basically, it’s an open-source (free) content management system which allows websites to be built quickly and easily. While it’s best not to go it alone entirely with your corporate site if you have no coding experience at all – the result will be far more polished if you go to someone who’s well-versed in the technology – the great news is that sites built this way are available for a much lower cost than traditional sites.
Keep it fresh
One of the most impressive factors is that WordPress sites can be updated online, using a unique log in. With only a little coaching (or some judicious Googling and a little computer savvy), you can easily change the content of existing pages or post a new blog article – which is important, since one of the criteria the search engines are using these days is how ‘active’ a site is. Gone are the days when a website was a static brochure for a business; today it’s got to be a dynamic tool.
WordPress works in a modular way, so you can literally bolt on functionality as and when you require it. There are plenty of ‘widgets’ which cover everything from streaming your Twitter feed onto your homepage to ‘ask the experts’ facilities, which allow visitors to pose questions, which are then answered by your company’s experts, and posted online for all to see.
Styling is also easier than with traditional web design, since there are thousands of free and ‘premium’ templates out there – all you have to do is pick from the myriad of aesthetic choices, and then customise it with your logo and graphics, there’s no need to pay top dollar to a designer. Even the paid-for ‘premium’ themes cost around £30, depending on their originator’s pricing structure, which wouldn’t even get you a couple of hours with a web designer.
Get results
In case you hadn’t already guessed, we switched to a WordPress site almost a year ago, and have never looked back. It was created to retain all the elements of our previous site’s design that we loved, but in a more dynamic package that allows us to be much more nimble with our digital marketing. Because WordPress is so search-engine-friendly, and thanks to the work we’ve done boosting the content and functionality of our site, our Google Analytics results have already shown improvement.
Thanks to the popularity of this technology (because its benefits are just so clear to see), there’s now plenty of WordPress experts who will create you a website for a very reasonable price. Why not ask around your business network? You’re bound to get a recommendation from someone, which is always a reliable way to meet a great new supplier.
To view our website, visit www.cbhc.uk.com
Categories Advice, Essex Accountancy News, marketing your business
In the past couple of years it’s been widely acknowledged that HMRC is conducting more tax investigations than in previous times. But while some specific sectors have been named as particularly being focused upon – for example doctors, plumbers and e-traders – it’s worth remembering that every business and individual might be selected for a tax investigation at any time.
There are a variety of reasons why an investigation might be triggered (click here to read more about them), but random selections are also made, so there is no way of telling whether your past returns – and even your current year’s affairs – will be put under scrutiny.
To avoid prolonged disruption to your business, and protect you from the distress of the process itself, we can represent you during an investigation – but of course there are costs involved. The best way to protect yourself against unexpected expense of the tax investigation professional fees is to subscribe to our Tax Investigation Service, which will cover the cost of us representing you during an HMRC investigation, or a PAYE, NIC or VAT dispute.
For a surprisingly low cost, we can offer you peace of mind in financial terms, and also ensure that if you are selected for a tax investigation, you will have the benefit of a trusted professional to provide you with expert representation. For more detail, please visit our Tax Investigation Services page, call 01245 453881, or alternatively email gary.white@cbhc.uk.com.
Categories Advice, cash flow, Essex Accountancy News, managing costs, saving money, top tips
The Chancellor had promised to deliver a budget ‘backing business’, and for the most part he has done so, since the measures announced have certainly favoured business rather than pleasure.
Key announcements include:
- Corporation tax has been cut to 26%, and will be lowered again to 24% in April. It will be 24% by 2014.
- A stamp duty rate of 15% on properties over £2m bought through an offshore company
- Tax breaks for exporters, biotech, R&D and video games companies
- Tax simplification for small businesses expanded to include firms with a turnover of up to £77k
- A new higher annual limit on Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS) of £5m, and a higher limit on the number of employees within eligible companies – although these measures are subject to EU State Aid approval.
- Vehicle excise duty frozen for road hauliers
- Entrepreneurs’ relief from capital gains tax (CGT) extended to include EMI shares
- A clampdown on tax avoidance and evasion
- The top rate of income tax will be reduced from 50% to 40% from April next year
- An increase of the enterprise management incentive (EMI) employee share option scheme grant limit to £250k (more than double the previous limit)
- A reduction in the top rate of tax on dividends to 37.5% from April 2013
- A lowering of the higher rate tax threshold from 2013-14
- The tax-free personal allowance will be raised to £9,205 from next April
- Properties over £2m will incur a 7% stamp duty tax
- Age-related allowances will be frozen for half Britain’s pensioners
- State pension age to be reviewed
- A single-tier state pension is to be introduced
- A consultation on combining the national insurance contributions (NIC) and the PAYE systems
Mr Osborne’s plans to introduce “far-reaching tax reforms” so Britain can “earn its way in the world” have certainly been played out in the measures announced, although unsurprisingly there have been some who have accused him of not going far enough.
However, support has already been forthcoming from a variety of pillars of industry, including the director general of the CBI, John Cridland. He commented that the cut in corporation tax could “make a big difference.” “By seizing the opportunity to make sure our corporate tax system is more internationally competitive, he has sent a powerful signal to companies to invest, do business and create jobs in the UK,” he added. The response of the Federation of Small Businesses was also largely positive. “We are pleased with some of the actions to cut the burden of red tape, help to get our young workers into employment, and measures to improve access to finance,” said National chairman John Walker.
In other positive news yesterday, the Office for Budget Responsibility has already upwardly revised its growth forecasts to 0.8% this year, and 2% next year, while the unemployment forecast has fallen, with inflation expected to fall to 1.9% too.
So SMEs have a lot to be positive about, especially those measures which will allow them to invest more and hire more – for example, the changes to the EIS, and tax simplification for those with a turnover below £77k – which will have the knock-on effect of strengthening the economy and improving confidence. Britain is indeed ‘open for business’.
Categories Advice, business planning, Essex Accountancy News, managing costs, personal wealth
Held at the Moot Hall in Colchester’s Town Hall, the ‘East’ heat of the Lloyds TSB Enterprise Awards recently recognised the achievements of a firm which has developed a revolutionary new fertility monitor – Cambridge Temperature Concepts Ltd.
The award, for Best Enterprise, was presented to Chief Scientific Officer Dr Oriane Chausiaux and CEO Dr Shamus Husheer by our very own Gary White, who was impressed with the young firm’s drive and future prospects.
“The Best Enterprise award recognises a business that the judges deem to have real potential for growth over the next five years,” he said. “CTC’s groundbreaking product, along with its accompanying support service, certainly demonstrates excellent growth potential – with the company having just gained approval for the device in the US.”
Left to right: Gary White, CBHC; Dr Oriane Chasiaux and Dr Shamus Husheer, CTC; Steve Elsom, Lloyds TSB
Categories Essex Accountancy News
It’s funny to think that just 15 years ago, the internet wasn’t anywhere near as popular as it is now – and those who had it, had to contend with slow dial-up connections, and basic functionality. Now we can now hold online video conferences with colleagues on the other side of the world, pick up emails on our mobile phones, and stream movies live into our living rooms!
The potential for technology to improve business operations is immense, and at CBHC we like to be early adopters of any innovation which helps us to provide our clients with a better service. For example, it’s possible for us to arrange remote access into your Sage accounting records so that we can provide a management accounting service, therefore enabling us to act as an outsourced finance director. By keeping in such close contact with the figures, we’re able to offer so much more added value in terms of business advice.
In addition, our strong relationships with IT support providers mean that we can work with you to ensure that you’re making full use of the available technologies, with expert advice available whether you’re starting up, looking to grow, or build value ahead of a sale. For example, whether you have any regular homeworkers on your staff or not, there’s a lot of benefit to having remote access to your servers – perhaps if your employees get snowed in, their usual workplace suffers a power cut, or they simply they want to work a little over a weekend to make sure a busy week is less hectic, they can do so with ease.
Not only can the right hardware and software make sure that your staff can be connected to the office even when they’re not there, well-chosen tech can also help you be more connected with your customers. Aside from smartphones enabling you to keep on top of your social media strategy while you’re on the go (read more about this kind of marketing here), tablet PCs (or iPads) can be excellent tools in a meeting or presentation situation, especially if you purchase one with a SIM card, so you can access the internet anywhere, without having to connect into the local wireless network.
Imagine the benefits of having complete access to all your files and communications, as well as web applications, during a meeting with a client or potential customer – it can ensure a much more efficient and productive use of time.
With technical advances putting so much data and information at our fingertips wherever we are, the modern workplace can literally be anywhere – and work becomes purely an activity, rather than a location!
Categories Essex Accountancy News
There’s no business owner in the country who isn’t aware of the economic deficit that the Government has to tackle, but not everyone is aware that HMRC is ramping up its enquiry activity in order to help balance things out. There will be an increase in the number of Tax Return enquiries, and these are likely to be more involved than in previous years – from April 2009 the Finance Act 2008 granted HMRC a new raft of investigative and challenging powers. With this greater complexity comes a potential for higher costs, so protection against this expense has become increasingly important.
Of course, we always ensure that our clients’ Tax Returns are filed in a manner that should limit the possibility of an enquiry by HMRC, but as they select thousands of businesses and sole traders at random each year, it pays to be prepared. We have considerable expertise in defending clients whose cases are under review, and unsurprisingly we aim to settle the situation quickly, and mitigate the final tax liabilities.
But even with an experienced accountant dealing with the process, answering HMRC’s questions does take time, and an enquiry can take several months, so the defence costs involved can mount up. To help you avoid an unexpected bill, we offer a Tax Enquiry Fee Protection Service. Backed by an insurance policy, this Service offers clients peace of mind, since we are able to claim back the costs of defending them in tax enquiries. A whopping additional £12 billion was raised by HMRC investigations and compliance activities last year, and the Government has indicated that even more will be undertaken this year. Because of this additional activity, we have increased our cover to make sure our clients are protected against most types of enquiry.
Not long ago the HMRC announced that up to 50,000 business records will be investigated in the second half of 2011, and we have recently discovered that these checks have already started – our enhanced Tax Enquiry Fee Protection Service will protect you against this new campaign, should your company’s records be investigated. In addition, business clients who subscribe will also receive personal cover for their Directors and Partners, provided their affairs are being looked after by our team, and there are no additional businesses which require separate cover.
To find out more about how this cover can offer peace of mind against unexpected tax inspection bills, please get in touch with our tax team.
Categories Advice, Essex Accountancy News, forecasting, tax strategies, top tips
The beauty of social media is its accessibility – no matter what the size of your organisation, provided there’s someone savvy who can take ownership of your firm’s profile, you can leverage this particular type of online marketing. But whether you’re planning a little light Tweeting, or a major campaign involving Facebook, Youtube videos and blogging, the most important thing is to make sure that your activity tallies up with your marketing objectives.
It’s important to consider the various channels available to you, and work out which ones will reach your target audience of potential customers:
LinkedIn – This online business networking tool is great for working your personal network. You can make connections with friends, colleagues and customers, find out who knows who, and request introductions to new people. Contacts can also write ‘recommendations’, which are basically testimonials that will be displayed on your profile. If yours is a B2B operation, you might want to consider joining a specialist group, and sharing your expertise on the forums.
Facebook – This network is best leveraged by the type of businesses that consumers are likely to chat about during their social interactions. For example, someone might recommend a restaurant or local independent shop, or they may want to find out more about a hobby or their favourite brand of clothing. Businesses can set up their own pages, upload pictures and information about their activities, then post ‘updates’. It’s best to make sure these encourage interaction from Facebook users who ‘like’ the page, rather than just churning out commercial messages. If social media users feel like you’re spamming them, they won’t want to engage with the brand.
Twitter – This 140-character micro-blogging channel is simple yet effective. It’s important to make sure your account name is as close as possible to your business name, even if you have to use an underscore – as spaces are not allowed, also think about how upper and lower cases can be used to clarify. As with updates on other platforms, it’s important to get the frequency and content right. Don’t bombard your followers with lots of tweets, and try to post something regularly. Again, constant commercial messages are a no-no, although there’s no harm in promoting the odd special offer. Asking questions about your industry or service is a good way of inviting feedback, while highlighting pertinent news stories will highlight your specialist awareness.
Blog – To boost your website up the organic search rankings, it’s best to have your blog integrated into your website, because the more relevant content you can put on your site the higher it will be ranked. But what should you write about? Think about the sort of questions that your customers ask you. What sort of advice are your employees always dishing out? Are there any current industry issues that you can offer a perspective upon? If you’re really stuck, have a sneaky peek at your competitors, to see what’s on their news agenda. However, don’t whatever you do copy their posts, since you’ll be breaking Copyright rules. Once you’ve posted a new blog entry, it’s well worth promoting it through the other social media channels, so your LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter contacts all know you’ve added new content.
Whichever channel – or combination of channels – that you choose, the key to success with all of them is to engage with your prospective and existing customers on the level that they wish to engage upon. By being open and friendly, welcoming and responding to both positive and negative comments, you will achieve more respect that if you use these platforms as advertising vehicles. It goes without saying that you also need to respond promptly, as social media users will expect this communication channel to be checked almost as often as you check your email or voicemail.
Social media is a great opportunity, but in order to achieve your business objectives, it should be wielded carefully.
Categories Advice, Essex Accountancy News, marketing your business, top tips
Happy New Year! Hopefully you’ve had a well-deserved Christmas break and have come back to work raring to go. However, if understandably you’re feeling rather cautious after so much negativity in the press, we’re here to remind you that there are several reasons to feel positive about 2012.
As financial experts with over 2,000 clients in Essex and London, we have a good insight into how local businesses are faring, and what’s clear is that this year will continue to reward the best: those who offer the best service, the best value, and are structured and managed in the best way for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
So if you’re slightly in the doldrums after the festive high, take at look at some concrete reasons to feel better about the coming year, and then call us to make sure you’re in the best possible position to make sure your business achieves its full potential!
Going UP!
Clearly the economy is suffering, but the outlook for entrepreneurial small and medium sized businesses is encouraging. A key difference between this recession and the last is that business is far more fragmented – with SMEs accounting for 99% of all enterprise in the UK. Add to this the wealth of communications technology available to all, and we’re in a far better position to survive and prosper than in any previous downturn.
A snap-shot of recent good news:
- Last year alone 480,000 new businesses were created, creating jobs and investment opportunities throughout the UK.
- The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index showed an increase in the UK service sector, with better than expected performances for the manufacturing and construction sectors.
- British factories received a surge in orders from Germany, Eastern Europe and China in December in 2011.
- Christmas high street sales were much stronger than anticipated.
- House purchase loans have hit their highest level since December 2009.
- Four fifths of SMEs (up from 76 percent in 2010) believe that 2012 will be as prosperous or more prosperous than 2011.
- Advances in digital marketing and social media have made communicating with new and existing customers much easier for every business. With access to such a powerful and cost effective tool, more and more companies are finding themselves better able to compete.
Success in this context relies upon sustained investment in skills, innovation, service and organisation. We can help you with some of these areas – and probably more than you’d expect from a traditional accountant. In addition to being experts in all aspects of corporate finance, we also have sector-specific expertise and are well placed to help you develop, grow and even network.
So whether you need an injection of positivity, or we’re preaching to the converted and you want to find out more about how we can help you this year, please contact CBHC today.
Categories Advice, Essex Accountancy News, marketing your business, policy updates, top tips
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