Accounts

When you start a business one of the things you need to arrange is a bank account to enable you to keep your personal and business spending separate. If you are starting as a sole trader/self-employed with just a little income initially it is tempting to…

Whilst you have time to spare and are looking to reduce your overheads now would be the time to look at the charges for taking payments by card.  You will be paying fees to offer your customers this service and every merchant services provider will charge differently.…

In their simplest form management accounts inform the business owner and managers (where appropriate) of the key numbers for their business.  Every business is different and whilst some key numbers are important in every business each business might like to keep track of a different aspect of their business.…

If you are a sole trader or consider yourself to be self-employed you will need to declare your income and expenses to HMRC at the end of each tax year through a self-assessment tax return.  Even if you earn income in addition to being employed and receiving pay through a payroll from your employer you need to declare your additional income to HMRC.  The only exception to this…

If you are a sole trader preparing to file your tax return did you know that some of your business expenses can be calculated using HMRC's rules for simplified expenses?  This includes motor vehicle costs and working from home which can often be time consuming to keep records of.…

Making Tax Digital for VAT is less than 6 months away.  We are ready for it and have made sure all our customers know what changes they need to make too.  Are you ready for MTD?…

At least once a year every business owner should review the cost of running their business - the overheads.  Whilst you might spend time finding the best and most cost effective supplier for the goods that you sell or for the materials that are used to provide your service, do you consider the other costs that your business incurs?  Costs such as insurance, telephone & broadband, stationery, subscriptions and marketing.  Are you aware of these overhead costs or do you just accept they are what they are?…

I have written a few blogs over the years about the differences between an accountant and a bookkeeper and why I recommend that you use both a bookkeeper and an accountant for your business.  That may be yourself as the bookkeeper, an employed bookkeeper or a bookkeeper external to your business - whatever works best for your business.  During the last 12 months…

A large number of our clients are using Xero to maintain their accounts records and as a Xero Silver Champion partner we are well placed to help them get started and use it to its best advantage for their business. So if you are already using Xero or are thinking about using it what are our top five tips for getting started.…

Not all bookkeepers and accountants are good at their job.  Each has a different sets of skills.  Bookkeepers do the day to day record keeping for your business, whilst accountants are better qualified to look at the overall picture of the business and advise on tax savings and planning.…