The spread of (Covid-19) Coronavirus from Mainland China throughout the world is having massive effects upon small and medium sized businesses. A lot of small business owners are so busy with running their busy everyday that they have not had time to try to figure out a plan to safeguard their employees, customers and profit lines.
The British economy is reliant upon finance, tourism and to a lesser extent manufacturing. Data presented earlier this month showed British economic growth slowed to a stand still at the end of 2019. Supply chains from China have dropped off and many travel operators are slowing down or closing services. This means limited supply and increases in costs. And because small to medium sized (SME) businesses often do not have the cash flow and financial resources to absorb sudden increases in costs this can mean a serious problem, not to mention the health and well being of their staff. Unlike the press, we don’t just present the problem but provide an answer - So here is what SME business owners need do to manage the coronavirus problem:
By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Epsom they are considered in the Industry to be expert business accountants and tax advisors for small and medium sized businesses (SME's). Helping and supporting limited company owners and self employed people throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice and support. Their support has been considered invaluable by many clients and key to their success. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.
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With the UK now officially leaving the EU, small and medium sized business owners need to put plans and procedures in to place to ensure their business carries on with no problems. Research show that unfortunately the vast majority of SME business owners continue to bury their heads in the sand and ignore the potential ticking time bomb.
Below is a short check list of what you may need to do:
By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Epsom they are considered in the Industry to be expert business accountants and tax advisors for small and medium sized businesses (SME's). Helping and supporting limited company owners and self employed people throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice and support. Their support has been considered invaluable by many clients and key to their success. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. This is an important & urgent reminder that if you have not already had your 2018-19 personal tax return calculated & submitted to HMRC then this is urgently due in to us now. (If you had it done or do not need it then please ignore this reminder, if you are company directer and only have wages and dividends contact us to make sure we have all the info).
As per last year HMRC is saving money & will not send many postal reminders. They now choose instead to collect money through letters of fines for missed deadlines saying 'all tax payers should be aware of the self assessment deadline, and not expect HMRC to remind them'. With fines starting at £100 rising to £1300 plus interest for late filing and payment even if you had no tax to pay, there really is no excuse to not have it done as soon as possible. So please make sure to get all your income and expenses information from 6/4/18 to 5/4/19 to us before the 30th November 2018 so we can complete this in time. Any later and there will be difficulty in allocating extra time and staff to your personal accounts and we will have to charge extra for the late notice work. A list of information needed is below. Extra charges for latecomers Because we care and give 120% in our work, using all our skill & knowledge of tax rules & allowances so each client pays the least amount of Tax & NI. We end up sacrificing a lot of personal time during the December and January tax return season. Working hard when everyone else is winding down for Christmas. Staff at Tax Affinity often end up leaving work around 9pm having worked more than 10 to 11 hour a day. So like previous years to simply cover our extra expenses we will have to charge extra to all latecomers who bring in their tax return information after the 30th November 2019 deadline. If you want to avoid this extra charge then please drop or email your information to us immediately. You can securely email all information to us at info@taxaffinity.com or drop the paperwork to us at any one of our branches - Tolworth, Worcester Park or Epsom 18/19 Tax Return info list: We will need the following information and in the following formats:
Please email everything securely to info@taxaffinity.com. Also, please note at this busy part of the year we may take longer (at least 5 to 7 work days) than normal to respond due to the large number of email and correspondence received each day. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Espom they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting contractors and self employed people throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. Important new HMRC rules for VAT registered business - both Limited Company and Sole Trader.
HMRC has made it compulsory for all businesses registered for VAT (+ over the 85k threshold) to use MTD complaint software and submit their VAT returns to HMRC electronically with a full breakdown that can be checked by them remotely. The first MTD compliant VAT Return for the 3 month period ending June 30th is due to HMRC by the 7th August 2019. HMRC expect a huge rush as many people leave it to the last minute and then realise they are not compliant to avoid penalties and interest charges for missed deadlines and unpaid VAT, as the process requires pre-registration and this causes further delays before a submission is possible. So this has caused a lot of business owners problems and extra work and we are pleased to announce we are here to help and make things easier. As we are at the forefront of such changes and already have MTD complaint software and have access to HMRC for the benefit of all our clients . So if your having problems with MTD VAT - Making Tax Digital, then get in touch today and we will be happy to help. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Espom they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting contractors and self employed people throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. Every year around this time we get a wave of negative news in the media with large corporations issuing retail sales warnings, making excuses publicly about Brexit, the weather, online sales, anything really to distract from their own incompetence) in the run up to Christmas and New Year 2018. Always ignore the 'nay sayers' and pro-actively look at what positive steps can be taken to ensure your business sales and profits rise or at the very least stay level with previous years.
To help with this we've compiled a short list based on our extensive experience and industry wide knowledge. 1. Go where the money is - be fluid and adaptable and look to see what is selling and sell more of that and stock less of what is in less demand. If its a different product or service that you don't offer consider adding this. 2. Give the customer what they want not what you want - listen to them and understand them properly and give them what they are looking for. Your customer will tell you how to keep things going in your business. Don't be shy to ask them, actively ask for feedback. 3. Make an offer they cant refuse - when things are difficult for a client make sure you have offers and special deals like supermarkets do. This may mean you have to offer something at a lower price with the plan to sell another product/service that compliments that item which will make more profit. 4. Keep an eye on competition - make sure your business is not lagging behind on the four P's of the marketing mix - Product, Price, Promotion, Place. All four need to be excellent to ensure growth in a slowing economy. 5. Give away stuff to entice people to keep visiting - This doesn't mean give everything away at a knock down price, but more specifically could mean a good chance to clear out old stock items and have more space by getting rid of it at cost price. The customers get a good deal and you keep the cash-flow coming in. 6. Don't use bad economic conditions as an excuse - stay focused and think positive, don't listen to negative sources of information, look at the positive sources as well. Many large retailers have a positive outlook, its just that media outlets like to dwell on negativity as bad news sells better than good. Compare your business to the bigger companies and see what they are doing and what you can do as well. The Director / CEO that thinks and plans positively is the one that drives their business forward. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting contractors and self employed people throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. As the dust settles after Chancellors October Budget 2018. We felt nearly all of the news coverage by journalists had presented little or no perspective specifically for the self employed and small and medium sized businesses. So to help below is another one of our famous main points lists, because lifes to short to waffle :
By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Surbiton , Worcester Park , Kingston upon Thames , Cheam and Epsom they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice and support. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. As of today there are only 16 working days till the 31st January 2018, which is HMRC's online self assessment deadline. Our team of experienced tax accountants, some who have worked in the top 5 accounting firms in the UK, advise everyone to make haste and ensure their tax return is done early to both minimise tax and the chance of late filing penalty.
The submission of the personal income tax return and the payment of any tax and NI due for the period 6/4/16 to 5/4/17 is midnight 31/1/18. And anyone who has not yet had their tax return done should start to worry about the 'up to £1300 fine plus interest on late paid tax' imposed by HMRC for missing the deadline. To put it further in to perspective there is an immediate penalty of £100 if the return even one day late. The self assessment / personal tax return is required from the following types of people: 1. Self Employed (even partially) during the tax year 16/17 ie 6/4/16 to 5/4/17 2. Employed and earning over 100k for the year ended 5/4/17 3. Director or shareholder of a Company and taking dividends in the period as above 4. If you have received rental income in the period 6/4/16 to 5/4/17 5. You received savings and investments income in the period 6/4/16 to 5/4/17 6. You sold something and made a profit on the item, so are required to pay the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) eg selling shares, a property, an antique, Plant and Machinery etc 7. You have received income over £50,000 and you claimed Child Benefit 8. If you have not notified HMRC that you have left self employment and they have not confirmed that you do not need to do a 16/17 return 9. A letter / email / text from HMRC has been received by the tax payer advising them that they need to submit a tax return for the 16/17 year (note: only new registrants may get a reminder as HMRC expects old registrants to already know the deadlines and protocols required). 10. You received income from overseas including off shore companies (the law has changed) 11. You lived abroad and had income from the UK 12. You are retired and receive more than one type of pension and annual income payment pushing you over the personal income allowance 13. You have had a P800 from HMRC saying you have not paid enough tax in the year 14. You are minister of religion or and Underwriter 15 Even if a person has died they may still need to submit a tax return to make sure they have paid the correct tax and those that receive an inheritance may need to pay for Inheritance Tax (HMRC will advise further). 16. If you have received a P11d and not paid the correct tax for the benefit in kind eg company car, private medical, gym, travel etc So if you haven't already had your tax return done and still need to send / drop in your income and expenses information, please take heed of this reminder. For those that have handed in their information, we will make sure it is done before the deadline and if there is any tax due we will advise you of this well before the deadline. We can even have your deadline extended in some cases as we are a registered authorised agent for HMRC. And if your thinking of using an accountant - then make sure to note, not all accountants are the same. We recommend you use an expert in tax so he/she saves you far more in tax than you ever have to pay them for their service. A lot of accountants are using out of date knowledge they learned along time ago and never bother to keep up to date with the ever changing landscape of HMRC tax rules and regulations. With fines up to £1300 plus interest on the amount of tax due. This means for some, the penalties can be much greater than the actual tax that would have been due. So don't delay, as you have little time left. And in the unfortunate even that you do miss the deadline - most excuses and appeals are rejected by HMRC. If you would like to contact us about having your tax return done by an experienced tax accountant then go to our contact us page and tell us your requirements today. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. With branches in Surbiton , Worcester Park , Kingston upon Thames , Cheam and Epsom they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and tax advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice and support. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. |
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