 Tax Affinity Accountants have several branches in London 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.
0 Comments
 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 election, weather, online sales, anything really to distract from their own incompetence in the run up to Christmas and New Year 2019. In fact last year December 2018 it was the exact same excuses with only exception being the recent general election.
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 - try to 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 - try to 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 - try to 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 - try to 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.  With all the negative news currently in the media and retail sales warnings issued by a few large retailers (who may be using this as an excuse) in the run up to Christmas and New Year 2017. Its a good time to 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.
So we've compiled a short list based on our extensive experience and industry wide knowledge. 1. Go where the money is - be adaptable and look to see what is selling and sell more of that and stock less that which 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. Ask them, remember you have two ears and one mouth, use them in that proportion. 3. Make an offer they cant refuse - when things are difficult for a client make sure you have offers and special deals like the supermarket and larger traders do to entice them. This may mean offer something at a low price with the plan to sell another product/service that compliments that item and 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 downturn. 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 drive 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.  The General Election, Brexit, Falling UK Sterling and lower consumer confidence across the UK has made a perfect storm of negativity with small to medium sized businesses seeing lowering sales and profit in last couple of months.
We've seen this is with many of our clients. (Why is your current accountant not telling you this?) And this worrying trend may last longer as the summer months arrive and peoples' focus switches to holiday and spending less money as they keep hearing about inflation and other scary words they don't understand. So with that in mind how does a small / medium sized business keep growing or, at the very least, keep the money coming same as previously? Well at Tax Affinity Accountants we've been helping business through many recessions / downturns and believe in giving useful real time support and advice to small and medium sized businesses. And with this in mind the tried and tested list below will help: 1. Go where the money is - be adaptable and look to see what is selling and sell more of that and stock less that which 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. Ask them, remember you have two ears and one mouth, use them in that proportion. 3. Make an offer they cant refuse - when things are difficult for a client make sure you have offers and special deals like the supermarket and larger traders do to entice them. This may mean offer something at a low price with the plan to sell another product/service that compliments that item and 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 downturn. 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 drive 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.  At Tax Affinity Accountants we have a huge spectrum of clients from a multitude of industries and sectors. And all of them are effected directly or indirectly by the the shopping habits of the public during Christmas.
So whether your selling luxury brands such as Aston Martin's or Jimmy Choo shoes or selling personal services such as dental or psychotherapy work. The public's time and willingness to spend time and money on what your selling is effected by both the weather and their holiday spirit (not including if their tooth hurts or car breaks down). That's why large retailers are starting to show Christmassy type adverts and high streets and shops are starting to decorate their premisis to get people in the mood to spend money. Spend on others and also to spend on themsleves. Not every purchase is a Christmas gift. Granted the late and longer summer has moved the goal posts somewhat. But facts and figures do not lie. And if Coca Cola and a Starbucks are always busy looking at trend analysis to help push sales higher then why shouldnt a small business too. In fact maybe they need to doing it even more so. And so because everyone loves a Christmas list, here's one to help you sell more:
Over all innovate and update, learn and evolve that's what clever businesses do and its why their businesses improve year on year. Look at trends over previous years and look at what worked and sold well, then look at current conditions (economy/weather etc) and then make a very educated plan so you can optimise sales better than last year. 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 business 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.  A lot of wise entrepreneurs are making a lot of money in the fallout as the UK economy bounces around with the triple hit of Brexit, PM resignation and new appointment and the now predictable event of England being kicked out of the Euro 2016 football championships.
They know that there is money to be made where there is fear and speculation. Some are buying cheap UK Sterling others are snapping up cheap stocks and shares while others are haggling hard on basic business deals on such as renewing a lease for a property or machinery. Facing fears and thinking positive in times of an economic downturn is what a true entrepreneur does. Many success stories are about people who made their most money during recessions and economic slumps. Just read about billionaire businessmen and women such Warren Buffet. So when the chairman of JCB Lord Bamford recently said we have "little to fear from leaving the EU" and the business community "needed to look to the future", he was not wrong. He went on to explain "European markets are important to many UK businesses, including JCB, and this will not change," but also said "We should look ahead to opportunities to trade more freely with the rest of the world, as well as building on existing trading relationships with customers and suppliers in Europe." So he was basically saying, we have to remember is that the UK is the world's fifth largest trading nation in the world, and being positive and looking for the opportunites to do even better should be the priority not giving in to the nay sayers and fear mongers. With this in mind, some economists have predicted that the UK could be heading towards a recession, while others have predicted stronger growth once things settle down. "We can look forward to faster rates of economic growth as we embrace the world economy," John Hearn, an economist at the London Institute of Banking and Finance stated recently. But why the huge contrast? Well let's not forget that these people are paid employees and don't really understand what it means to be self-employed and how an entrepreneur's take home pay is directly effected by the sales they did that week. So its all well and good to reassure the doubtful but would a true entrepreneur even be paying any attention or be busy working hard? Sorry who said what? - Lets all work hard today to make more profit and be successful tomorrow, and the economy will take care of its self. Its core foundation is after all individual businesses not employed workers or politicians they are just the purchaser at the end of the chain. Top Tip: The fall in the exchange rates is benefiting UK exporters by lowering their prices and helping domestic retailers products look more attractive to the buyers from other countries, so look for opportunities to export your products and expand your market place overseas while it lasts. 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 advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help new and established businesses to succeed. 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 new tax year begins so with it new tax savings rules and the potential to make more income in 2015/16 as the UK economy moves further away from the recession. The personal tax free allowance rises from £10,000 to £10,600 per annum and for those born before 6 April 1938 its £10,660. And married couples not using their entire tax free allowance can transfer some tax saving to their partner to help him/her save tax on their tax bill. Make sure to employ a good tax accountant (like Tax Affinity Accountants) that will take this into account as it could mean moving across up to £1060 in tax free allowance in the year. With the BOE base rate interest rate staying at a record 0.5% for the entire term of the current coalition government. Making any substantial gain on savings is relatively small. The ISA savings rate has grown to £15,000 per annum tax free but with rates of return at around 2.2% i.e. £330 profit (yes that really is it!). So any real entrepreneur worth his/her salt would never be happy with such low returns. So what should a UK entrepreneur be doing then? Well the word on the street is ‘expand and grow’ to take full advantage of the economic growth predicted in 2015/16 (2.5% Real GDP). This means plan ahead now and start making changes now, take full advantage of the optimistic uplift in consumer confidence after the general election on 7th May 2015 and the follow through of huge world cup sporting events, falling oil prices and UK growth leading London and the South East regions. If your business is in property then development is the real boom currently, buying a distressed property or expanding and renovate to a high standard of finish is the where the real money is in property. With older properties, with real potential, being snapped up by developers who have found rising equity easy from their portfolio to use as deposits. Or if you’re in the service industry then a shift to registering your own Limited company and working through this will mean you can take advantage of the lower 20% tax band for companies as compared to the higher 40% band for individuals earning over £31,865. We’ve seen an explosion in new company registrations in the last 12 months and are seeing more and more people not from just the IT crowd but from NHS staff working through agencies to construction workers and engineers moving into this. By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants. Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Kingston upon Thames they provide a bespoke service to clients right across the UK and are considered in the industry to be experts in business advice. They mentor and support members of the public to make their businesses grow and reach their full potential. 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.  Successful business is making the right moves at the right time How to maximise business sales in Spring 2015
With the UK's retailers taking on board the American tradition of "Black Friday" which showed significant discounts on a huge array of products, the sales figures for that month were at an all time high of 6.4%. Leading on from this final Christmas sales figures are yet to be published but it is predicted around £4.45 billion across Europe, with £324.5m being within the UK alone. The late winter and early spring is a good time to introduce new tactics to increase your sales figures. Here are a few tips to increase sales and therefore your profits: Spring up your business Refreshing the look of the business by having new signs and banners to suit the mood of optimism and success in the coming year through your business will give your customers a more comfortable shopping experience and confidence in your business. It can also hint that there may be a good deal to be had with your business. If you have an online website then accommodate by giving your website a New year / Spring twist to inform your customers that your business is willing to adapt to seasonal changes and overall they are likely to feel more comfortable to shop with your company increasing the likeliness of them willing to do business with you. Mailing List Sending your customers a friendly and helpful email shows them you care and that you appreciate them. Try not to mention any promotions/discounts in your email as this may make them feel that it is more like an empty gesture. However if followed up with another email a few days later promoting products etc. then it seems more friendly. If you do not have a mailing list and you deal with customers face to face then telling each customer will give the same affect, if not more. This idea of giving a personal touch to your company is likely again to increase your company's credibility and in turn increase sales. Spring Discounts/Promotions Spring discounts, promotional offers and package deals will never go a miss as it helps to out-price other competitors giving you the edge. Also its worth noting that your customers may be tight pocketed from buying gifts for friends and family and that discounts are what they will be hunting for. Keep well stocked/ Accommodating the increased need for staff This gives two benefits, firstly for a business to see demand and sales slip away due to the fact that you have no stock can be frustrating. Secondly is that if you have a high inventory, studies have shown that you are likely to show more determination to increase sales and boost ideas. It's worth adding that along with the actually products for sale, you also should keep packaging items well stocked as well if your business delivers products. Around the late winter and early spring months it is clear that consumers increase their demand in products and in turn it also increases the amount of pressure your workforce may take. You need to insure you give good customer service and that sales aren't affected by your business being short staffed. To solve this hire more staff to help out or ask friends/family for an extra hand. By Mohammad Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants. Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Kingston upon Thames they provide a bespoke service to clients right across the UK and are considered in the industry to be experts in business advice. They mentor and support members of the public to make their businesses grow and reach their full potential. 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.  Tax Affinity is a reputable business adviser and can help give you the strategic advice need to grow Growth Vouchers Scheme can be invaluable for business to gain the advice and support needed to expand and grow their profits and business.
This government programme is basically designed to help small businesses get strategic business advice on:
The voucher can pay for up to half of the cost of the advice from a recognised business adviser such as Tax Affinity Accountants can serve as a real helping hand to boost your business. It is structured in such a way that the supplier will claim this fee from the programme making it easier for the business owner to quickly get the support and advice he/she needs. There are some simple eligibility criteria as below: Your business must:
And then you will need the following things to complete your application, as available by your accountant:
So how does it work? Either speak to your chosen adviser and they will make the necessary arrangements for you or sign up on the government’s growth voucher website (open until March 2015). Once you have received the voucher, simply use it for the advice and support. The growth voucher scheme has been running for few months now and it is growing in success. However, be careful because the scheme is not intended for company owners seeking to subsidise practical guidance on how to engage in precise tasks relating to running a business. It’s for tactical advice that will lead to growth of the businesses. The quickest way to get support for the is to call 0800 043 4051 or visit www.taxaffinity.com and speak to one of our experienced business adviser's and growth coaches at Tax Affinity Accountants. By Tahir Malik at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in business coaching and are based in Kingston upon Thames they are considered to be experts in their field. Helping and supporting businesses and individuals throughout the UK. 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. 
Note - You dont have to be left handed!
Start Your Own Business in 2014- Top Tips
With the jobs market as saturated as ever, 2014 may be the year to cut loose and set up your own business. Figures from ‘Start Up Britain’ report that over 500,000 new businesses were incorporated in the UK in 2013, employing approximately 7 million people. Here are some tips to give your new business the highest chances of success: 1. Business Plan- One of the keys to starting up a strong new business venture is to ensure you have a well-structured, yet flexible business plan. By planning thoroughly your business model and strategy, you improve your chances of eliminating costly mistakes. Take time to assess the market and your competitors and ensure you have a USP (unique selling point) to differentiate your product/services. Have a strong grasp of sales forecasts, costing and investments so you can track the progress of your business and also attract funding from lenders. 2. Break-even Analysis- This is very useful tool to ensure you don’t jump into a new business venture without properly assessing the risks. By working backwards and summing all your fixed costs, you can work out approximately how many units you will need to sell at a given price in order to break even. This allows a straightforward check to ensure the business is viable. A simple formula for this can be calculated as follows: Break-even point = fixed costs/ (unit price – variable costs) 3. Know your product (and its competitors) - Do your homework. Make sure you have fully researched the competition. What are their strengths/weaknesses? Know your customer and who you are targeting in order to tailor your product/service to the clients’ needs. Also ensure you have a competitive pricing strategy. 4. Marketing- Although some forms of marketing can be expensive, it is highly important to increase brand awareness and start attracting a wider customer base. Use free marketing tools such as social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to spread the word. Even basic techniques such as asking customers to tell their friends and family can be highly effective. 5. Ensure the Right Image- The perception of your business is extremely important to its success. Ensure a professional image by creating a clean, easy-to-use website and business cards. You should also consider using a 0800 number which will be free for customers to call from landlines. This is a simple way to make the business more customer-friendly. 6. Home Business- Consider setting up your business from home initially. There are a range of benefits to this. Aside from extra flexibility, you will also avoid the costs of renting an office space, utility bills and other expensive bills. Furthermore, you can claim certain household expenditure as tax deductible. A portion of telephone, internet and utility bills can be deducted from your tax liability. 7. Build the right team- Going it alone in business can be highly stressful so it is imperative you build a strong team around you. Depending on your circumstances, you may also benefit from starting up with a partner in order to increase ideas and share the load. Look for someone with the same aspirations but with a different skill set that can complement yours. By Thomas Hoadley at Tax Affinity. Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Kingston upon Thames they are considered to be small business experts helping and supporting business in the UK. They regularly help new business start up and provide valuable support for new businesses. 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. |
Various AuthorsOur experienced accountants and tax advisers provide valuable insights into practical every day questions and issues. Archives
August 2024
Categories
All
Ask your own question: If you would like to have a tax related question answered here, please send your question to [email protected]. |
RSS Feed
