Latest Blogs in Business Support
Elizabeth Prior
4th February 2022 2022: Time to become more eco-friendly?

There’s never been a better time to become an eco-friendly company.  Not only for the wellbeing of the planet but it also makes good business-sense.   Although financial measures are very important in deciding the performance of a business, there are many non-financial measures which can affect your figures. Being sustainable is something that customers…

Elizabeth Prior
4th February 2022 Xero: How to reconcile your bank

Reconciling your bank account is an important task in managing your businesses finances. This is because, by doing this we are making sure that all business transactions are being recorded and more importantly, you can identify any unusual transactions that may be taking place in your company. Xero has a feature in which you can…

Ian Piper
11th January 2022 Should your company have a ParentCo?

If you operate a trade through a limited company, and your ‘numbers’ are big enough, then there are some scenarios where it is often best advice to insert a parent company above this trading company, to create a simple group structure: As a risk management measure, to enable valuable assets (eg business premises, investment property,…

Whitings LLP
11th January 2022 Chancellor announces another £1bn in grants

On 21 December 2021, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, unveiled a £1 billion COVID-19 fund, including cash grants of up to £6,000 per premises for each eligible firm in the hospitality and leisure sector.   Mr Sunak said the government would also help certain firms with the cost of sick pay for COVID-related absences. The Chancellor also announced…

Ben Kilby
5th January 2022 Home office pod: the tax pros & cons

If there is one question I have been asked by our business clients more than any other since the pandemic began, it is “How can I tax efficiently purchase a garden home office pod, to run my business from”?   Unfortunately there is no simple single answer to this question, and best advice will depend…

Steven Denton
5th January 2022 HMRC latest guidance for employers

HMRC has published the latest edition of the Employer Bulletin. This guidance for employers, and their agents, includes articles on: reporting PAYE information in real time when payments are made early at Christmas preventing and correcting payroll errors Health and Social Care – National Insurance contribution increase UK-Swiss Convention on Social Security Coordination COVID-19 –…

Ian Piper
4th January 2022 Business credit rating: top 10 tips

For some businesses having a strong credit rating is fundamental to their future success. It can affect availability of supplier credit, the ability to borrow and eligibility to be on customer/prospect tender lists as an approved supplier. For many other businesses, however, this credit rating is totally irrelevant. Experian is one of the major rating…

Ian Piper
10th December 2021 COVID: business interruption insurance claims?

Those businesses with comprehensive commercial insurance cover will possibly be covered for ‘business interruption’. This cover will typically include losses arising from events that close or severely disrupt operations. The COVID pandemic has already led to many claims under this. The insurance industry (as you might expect?) has warned that few policies are likely to…

Elizabeth Prior
9th December 2021 Xero: entering invoices and bills and setting up your own invoicing system

Creating invoice templates In Xero you can customise the look of your invoices by using an invoice template. This allows you to add different payment terms and logos, as there is no limit on the amount of invoice templates you can add you can have as many as required for all different customers. Below are…

Ben Kilby
9th December 2021 NEWS: Xero Bank Feed disruptions

Please be aware of the following current bank feed disruptions in Xero, as per Xero’s blog page, with the following banks as of 9th December 2021 :   AIB (UK) (Open Banking) Currently AIB (UK) credit cards are unavailable to connect through bank feeds. We’re looking into getting this reinstated. For now please manually import…