Latest Start Ups

Start-ups: Maximise tax relief on pre-trading expenses. When starting out in business, it is possible that you will incur significant costs before you start trading. Some common expenses that fall into this category are advertising, insurance, rent & rates, stationery, machinery leasing and website hosting. The good news is that such expenses incurred no more…

Business Credit Rating: Poor rating hurting your business? If there is one positive that has come out of the UK’s double-dip recession, then it is reminding businesses of how important their credit rating is. In many sectors, both suppliers and customers have now re-engineered their processes to routinely look at a company’s credit ratings. Within the UK,…

As the tax calculations below illustrate, based on the UK tax rates and thresholds for 2016/17 (ie applying the new dividend taxation rules), a limited company still results in a lower overall tax/NIC charge than a sole trader (allowing for the extra accountancy fees incurred through trading as a limited company), whilst profits are above…

Putting off Preparing your first Accounts? Have you started in business between 6 April 2013 and 5 April 2014? If so, it is likely that you are due to prepare your first set of accounts. If you are self-employed these would have to be included on a self-assessment tax return, due for filing by the…

Start-ups: Make use of your spouse’s tax allowances. There are a lot of costs surrounding setting up your own business, so saving tax is a big concern for most clients. This can be done in a number of ways, through ensuring you are claiming all your business expenses. However there is also the consideration of…

Requests for Payment If you supply goods, the taxpoint for accounting for VAT on these sales is the sooner of: The raising of a tax invoice, or Receipt of payment. To delay this taxpoint, it will usually, therefore, be beneficial, prior to dispatching goods, to raise a “Request for Payment”,  “Application” or “Proforma Invoice” instead…

2016 British Small Business Awards: Nominations invited. This years Awards are taking place in London on 20th October and the nomination deadline is 27th May. There are 3 categories: Sole Trader of the year, Micro Business of the Year (2-9 people), Small Business of the Year (10-50 people). For further details visit:  http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/news/opportunities/2516776/nominations-now-open-for-the-british-small-business-awards.thtml and for…

Do I need to register for VAT? This is one of the many questions we hear from clients who have just started in business. The compulsory VAT registration threshold is currently £79,000. If you expect your annual turnover to exceed that threshold quickly, then you are probably best registering on day one. If not, and…

Horizon 2020:  EU funding for ‘disruptive‘ SME’s. As part of the Horizon 2020 programme, the EU is selecting potentially disruptive businesses to invest in and support. SMEs with a strong growth potential and the ambition to become world-market leaders could receive up to €2.5 million in funding. The commission is looking for high growth, highly innovative…