Category: Limited Companies

KPI blog

Setting KPIs for your business: 6 tips

Posted on | by Jade Donno

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are metrics that tell you if what you’re doing is working or not. As you can imagine, this makes them incredibly important for productivity and business growth.

How do you know that you’re on the right track to achieving your goals if you don’t measure progress?

How do you know that you’re doing exactly what you should to get to the place that you want to be?

The short answer is, you don’t.

If you want your team to work more efficiently and if you want to actually reach the goals that you set out for your business, you need to start setting and monitoring the right KPIs. Here’s how.

1) Set KPIs for everyone

Regardless of the size of your business and team, you need to set KPIs for each team member. Metrics allow you to measure performance and improve it, so don’t be tempted to not set them at all.

2) Don’t set too many KPIs

This is a big mistake that many business owners make. Avoid this. Less is more when it comes to improving performance, as too many goals affect focus. Aim to have no more than 5 KPIs for each team member.

3) Choose KPIs that are relevant to the businesses overall goal

KPIs need to directly link to the demands of the individual’s role and what the business is trying to achieve, so look at your business plan. Where is the business going? What are the key figures that you need to know and measure?

4) Agree on these with each individual

Once you’ve chosen the KPIs for each individual, sit down with them and agree on them. Set your expectations but also explain how they will support the business by achieving these targets. The more you can show them how they contribute to the overall success of the business, the better.

5) Measure and monitor KPIs

It’s not enough just setting KPIs, you need to measure and review them. Setting and monitoring KPIs is an essential business development task, so schedule in time to review this data every month. When you do, you’ll see what tweaks you need to make to improve productivity and move the business forward.

6) Review and reset these every quarter

As your business grows and changes, your targets will be out of date. Make sure to review them with your team every 3 months so that you can update them and ensure they are still relevant. During this time, give your employees feedback, seek out their views on what is working or not working, tell them how the business is performing, and discuss what they can influence to move the business forward.

Start getting results by setting KPIs

Don’t just set arbitrary goals, set KPIs too. If you do, and you track them and monitor performance, you’ll soon see if you’re getting the results that you want. If you’re not, then the great thing about KPIs is that you can identify that something isn’t working a lot sooner. All it takes is another tweak here and an improvement there, and you’ll find what works best for you and your business.

surprised face

7 Ways an Accountant Can Save You Money

Posted on | by Jade Donno

In today’s competitive business world, it is not uncommon for people to do their own bookkeeping and accounting. There are many reasons why this is done – the most common being that you can save money doing so. Of course, saving a couple of hundred pounds is an enticing prospect, but there are actually many more ways in which hiring the services of one will help you make money instead. Here are 7 ways an accountant can save you money:

1) They free up your time

Time IS money, so the more time you free up doing your bookkeeping, taxes, and financial statements, the more time you can dedicate to the tasks that will actually generate money for your business.

Not to mention that it will take you a lot longer to do all your finances than a professional anyway. Why would you waste your time when you could be doing what you do best and what you actually enjoy?

2) They help you be more tax-efficient

Accountants can help you save money by being more tax-efficient. This means claiming what you can, obtaining loans if you are entitled to financial support, and maximising the tax deductions you are entitled to.

3) They help you avoid fines and penalties

You need to file your taxes correctly and you need to do this on time. With legislation changing all the time, this isn’t easy, and you could be leaving yourself vulnerable to penalties and charges, simply because you didn’t know.

By hiring an accountant, you can always be reassured that you’re filing on time and that your taxes are correct. You can have peace of mind that you won’t get a surprise letter from HMRC and you don’t even have to deal with them at all if you don’t want to.

4) They identify opportunities for growth

Accountants keep your records up-to-date so you will always know the figures of your business. At a glance, you’ll be able to see how you’re performing, what’s coming in and what’s going out, and also your liquidity.

There is power in data! For example, your accountant can help you ascertain how long you could survive if there was a recession, where you can cut down expenses to save money, and where you should be delegating most of your budget if you want to grow.

5) They assist in gaining funding

It takes a lot of time to secure financing from banks and as we said previously, time is money. Your accountant can help you secure loans and financing really easily from creating a business plan and helping you budget to applying and assisting you in the loan process.

6) They advise on investments

If you’re interested in investing, an accountant can help you understand different investment options. From stocks and money markets to real estate and investment vehicles, they can show you how you can grow your money and which opportunities are the best for you and your business.

7) They offer invaluable business advice

As well as accountancy, accountants can offer business guidance to help you increase your chances of success. They can help you build a business from the ground up; they can help you with goal setting and planning, budgeting and forecasting, and pricing to increase your profit margin. This isn’t even everything that’s included in their advisory services so make sure to take advantage of their knowledge.

Spend money to make money

While you can save a couple of hundred pounds doing your own books, you won’t save as much with an accountant and you could actually end up losing a lot more. With an accountant on your team, you can save both time and money while having the reassurance and peace of mind that you’re making sound business decisions for your future.

piggy bank

10 tactics to make sure your invoices get paid.

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Wouldn’t life be simple if you could guarantee that your invoice would get paid on time every time? Sadly, this isn’t always the reality. With the economy coming out of recession, there is a very clear and present danger that your business invoices may not get paid in a timely fashion. Here are our best tips for getting your invoices paid:

1 . Invoice promptly

The longer you take to invoice someone, the more likely the bill won’t get paid. Of course, no invoice normally means no payment… Do you remember the early days of running your business? When you were amazed that some business owners got lax with their billing? Then, you get busy servicing your customers and clients and the admin slips. Before you know it, you become that business owner who has become slow to invoice.

If you are finding that you are getting behind on your admin, then give us a call. We can take care of your bookkeeping and other financial processes to leave you free to run your business.

Cloud accounting software such as Xero, include the feature to do recurring invoices. So, where you have a regular repeating invoice for the same amount with a customer, use this recurring invoice feature to cut down the chance of missing an invoice.

2 .No billing surprises

The more unexpected a bill, the more likely it won’t get paid. If a project is going to occur some extra expense or cost, always talk to the client or customer promptly about it. If you just crack on with it and don’t tell the customer about the unexpected cost coming their way, you risk getting into a payment dispute.

Before you bill someone, always make sure that:

  • They are aware and expecting the bill
  • They have agreed to pay the bill

3. Set up a Direct Debit or payment mandate for your customers and clients

If you have regular customers, getting a direct debit mandate signed from them is a great way to be more in control of when they pay you. GoCardless is an inexpensive direct debit solution that integrates well with the likes of Xero. Our team can help you set up Direct Debit for your customers.

4. Make it easy to pay your invoice

This is such a simple one but easily missed. Make sure you are removing any barriers to pay your bill. Such as:

  • Including a ‘pay now’ button linked to a payment gateway on your invoices. For example, Xero will do this for you with your Stripe account. Some customers may be happy for you to type in their card details over the phone using this option.
  • If you visit the customer on-site, then have the means to take payment whilst you are on site. E.g. with a card machine. Technology is such that you can easily connect a gadget or download an app to your phone to take card payments. No need for an expensive and bulky card terminal.
  • Including your bank details on the invoice. (You will be surprised how many businesses and tradespeople don’t do this).
  • Offer your customers the option to do a bank transfer, set up a direct debit or pay by credit card. If possible, try to avoid offering the option to pay by cheque as getting to the bank can take time.

5. Ask for payment before you start working for the customer or client

There is no rule saying you can only invoice after you start work for a client. In fact, we will ask for payment upfront for some of our services, such as a client wanting a one-off tax return. If you (or your customers) are not happy with a 100% upfront payment, why not ask for a deposit to get the work started?

6. Build a relationship with the accounts payable team at your customer

It always helps to be nice to the person at your customer’s business who actually pays your bill. The stronger the relationship you have with them, the more chance your invoice gets paid promptly and without being ‘delayed’. This may not be your direct contact. It could be someone in their finance or accounts payable team. So, who in the customer’s organisation is responsible for accounts payable? Can you get their name and contact details to help ‘ease the way for your invoice to be paid’?

7. Understand your customers’ accounts payable process

Do you need a PO number on your invoice? How does the invoice need to be addressed and who too? What needs to be on the invoice for it to be paid promptly? Who at your customer’s organisation needs to sign off the invoice before it will be paid? Who in the customer’s organisation is responsible for accounts payable? And can you get their name and contact details to help ‘ease the way for your invoice to be paid’?

When a finance department is preserving cash for a business, they will reject an invoice for payment for the smallest reason.

8. Put in place a process for unpaid invoices

For example, this could include a series of communications when the invoice is issued. Then a call or email the day before the invoice is due to see when it is going to be paid. Then a series of calls or emails a number of days and weeks after the invoice is due to be paid.

Most accounting systems such as Xero will have a feature for automated reminders for invoices. If you need more than the basic invoice chasing that this software will provide, consider using a more sophisticated credit control tool such as Chaser.

9. Consider offering a payment plan for customers who have built up a large unpaid debt

Most customers want to pay your bill. But sometimes stuff gets in the way. So consider offering a payment plan. Getting paid over 6 months in instalments is better than not getting paid at all.

10. Stop work if your invoices don’t get paid

We see this regularly. Where a business owner carries on working for a customer in the hope that the invoices will get paid eventually. The debts pile up and may never get paid. You’ll be surprised how quickly your unpaid invoices may get paid if you stop working for a client.

What is a Registered Office?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

What exactly is a registered office?

A registered office is the address which your Limited Company is registered to. This is a legal requirement for all companies that are incorporated in the UK and you cannot form a company without one.

This address will be placed on the public record and will also serve as the legal postal address for letters from Companies House, HMRC, and all other government departments and agencies. It must be a physical postal address that is in the same UK jurisdiction in which your company is registered.

What is a correspondence address?

All directors and persons of significant control for your company will also have to provide a correspondence or service address. This serves a similar purpose to your company’s registered office in that it will be where HMRC, Companies house, and other government agencies send important post, and will be displayed on the public register. We usually recommend keeping the correspondence address the same as the registered office address, however it can be different it you wish.

Can I use my home address?

You can use your home address as your registered office, however if you rent your home you may need permission from your landlord. You should be aware that by doing this your personal address will appear alongside your company on the public register, so we do not recommend this for privacy reasons.

We believe that your company will also look more professional if you are not using your home address as your registered office.

Where else can I use for my registered office?

You are able to use anywhere as your registered office providing you have permission from the property owner. Here are a few ideas of spaces you could use:

  • Your own office space
  • An external company that provides this service.
  • Your home (although we wouldn’t recommend)

If you are a client of ours, you are able to use our office address. This is included in all of our limited company services.

how to build your business

How to build your business (not your workload)

Posted on | by Jade Donno

If you want to build your business (not your workload) and you want to spend time on doing the things that will actually grow your business, you need to stop being a ‘busy fool.’ This means no more firefighting through the days and spending most of your time doing things that don’t contribute to your overall goal.

To build your business, you need to take control of your time and use it wisely. Here’s how.

Invest in the right workflow tools

There are bound to be inefficiencies in your existing processes, so identify them. Where are the bottlenecks in your processes? Can you automate any manual tasks?

One of the best ways to start working slicker is to invest in the right workflow tools. They can make management, collaboration, tracking progress, and daily operations so much more efficient.

Prioritise high-value work

To stop spending so much time on unnecessary tasks, start prioritising effectively. Use the Urgent Important Matrix to do this.

Group your tasks into 4 quadrants:

  • Q1: Urgent and important – these are emergencies that arise (e.g. missed deadlines, complaints, technical failures, pressing problems etc).
  • Q2: Important but not urgent – these are the tasks you need to do to grow your business (e.g. goal setting, growth planning, networking, self-development, business development etc).
  • Q3: Urgent but not important – these tend to be interruptions that take up the majority of your time (e.g. phones, texts, emails, unproductive meetings and reports etc).
  • Q4: Not urgent and not important – these are distractions that cause you to procrastinate and have no value to your business (e.g. personal phone calls, social media, excessive or irrelevant emails etc).

Once you’ve grouped your tasks, you will know what you need to focus on and what you need to avoid.

Delegate low-value work

Now you have identified tasks that need to be done, delegate the low-value work to your team so that you can focus on the ones that require your level of skill.

If you delegate effectively (i.e. delegating authority as well as tasks), you can be reassured that the day-to-running is ticking along while you’re focusing on the tasks that will grow the business.

Schedule time in the diary for business development activities

You need to invest more time in quadrant 2, doing the planning and budgeting and development activities that will grow your business. You know this, but if you don’t schedule it into your diary, it won’t get done.

If you prioritise these tasks and delegate the rest, you will have time to sit down and focus on them. You just need to find the best days and times where you can work productively and without any interruptions.

Build your business

It really is as simple as that. To build your business, not your workload, you need to follow these 4 steps. When you do these consistently, you’ll find that each day follows a much calmer formula:

  1. DO – those important tasks that need to be done today.
  2. SCHEDULE – the important but not so urgent tasks, so that they will get done.
  3. DELEGATE – the urgent but not so important tasks.
  4. AVOID – the non-urgent, non-important tasks.
Yellow and pink zig zag

Can anyone get a tax enquiry?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Each year HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) undertake an enormous number of tax enquiries into individuals and businesses to check they have paid the right amount of tax. Since 2010 HMRC have strengthened their approach to enquiry work by using wider powers and sophisticated software and consequently a record £36.9 billion of additional tax revenue in 2019/20 up £2.4 billion on the previous year.

Moving forwards we expect to see an even greater increase in the number of tax enquiries as HMRC look to revoke the enormous £350bn government spend through the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as ensuring that measures put in place to support the economy through this period have been utilised correctly by taxpayers.

Tax enquiries can last for months, even years and defending you against HMRC’s detailed questions requires specific expertise and can be time consuming and costly. Indeed the cost of dealing with an enquiry can amount to thousands of pounds, even if no extra tax is payable.

But no need to panic…. 

All of our 1 Accounts monthly fixed fee services cover the additional professional costs of handling tax enquiries and compliance checks this is through our Tax Fee Protection Service. This is so our clients never have to worry that they will get a huge unexpected bill if HMRC decide to investigate.

As an additional benefit this protection also provides our clients with complementary telephone access to employment, health & safety and general legal advisors, including support from employers with any adjustments made in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

What is a dividend

What is a dividend?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

“You can take a dividend” – That’s great, but what is a dividend?

The business world can be a big scary place, where people use lingo that you may not understand. However, some words and phrases sound far scarier than they actually are. We have noticed that the mention of dividends seems to scare a lot of our clients and having an accountant explain them can often lead to more confusion.

So, we thought we would let you in on the basics!

The definition of a dividend

“A dividend is a sum of money that a limited company pays out to someone who owns shares in the company.”

Dragons Den

To be able to take a dividend, you must be a shareholder owning a percentage of the company. You know on Dragons Den when they are haggling over percentages of the company ….. that’s the shares on which a dividend can be paid.

Limited companies can only pay dividends if they have enough accumulated profit, also known as retained earnings,  in the business to do so. The dividend payment comes out of profit after corporation tax. Even if the company has enough cash to pay a dividend, it is illegal for the dividend to be paid if there is no available profit.

Dividends should be distributed according to the percentage of company shares owned by each shareholder. So, if you own half the company’s shares, you should receive 50% of each dividend distribution.

How to take a dividend

The profit that the dividend is paid from can be from the most recent accounting period or from a previous accounting period, but the directors must have board meeting to minute they have checked there is enough profit available for distribution before they allow any dividends to be paid. Permitting a dividend to be paid is called ‘declaring’ a dividend.

If you are the only person … you still should have a meeting with yourself to check that there is enough profit in the business to take the dividend. Don’t worry, you don’t need to talk to yourself, just complete the check.

To be able to check if there is enough profit in your business to take a dividend. Your books HAVE to be up to date.

For every dividend payment your company makes you need to issue a dividend voucher to each shareholder that shows the following:

  • Date the dividend is paid
  • Company name and number
  • Name and address of the shareholder
  • Amount of the dividend and the number of shares held, including the rate and class
  • The dividend certificate number
  • The company year end the dividend relates to
  • Whether it is an interim or final dividend
  • Signed by an office holder

A copy of the voucher should be given to all recipients of the dividend amount and a copy kept for company records.

How dividends work

Stay with me here, there are some numbers;

Tokyo Ltd makes a profit of £1,000 in this current year. There is also some profit saved from previous years of £3,033 of which corporation tax has already been taken.

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Shrug sholders

Silene is the only shareholder of Tokyo Ltd and decides she wants to take a dividend. She sits down and works out that she can take the previous years profit as a dividend. She then works out she can also take the profit from the current year as a dividend, providing she accounts for the corporation tax. She takes away 19% of the £1,000 leaving £810 that can be taken. In total Silene takes £3,843 as a dividend.

She then created board minutes and a dividend voucher for her records. Silene is happy as she can now afford to go on that holiday that she wanted to book.

Plane tickets

How are dividends taxed

The limited company does not need to pay tax on the dividend. However the shareholders taking the dividend may have to pay tax personally dependent on their personal circumstances through their self-assessment tax return.

The limited company and the shareholder taking the dividend won’t need to pay national insurance on the dividend taken. This is why many business owners take a small salary and dividends.

Everyone gets a personal tax free allowance of £12,570 (for the year 2021/22), you can then earn an additional £2,000 in dividends before you pay any income tax on your dividends (for the year 2021/22). Once you have used up your personal allowance and the tax-free dividend allowance of £2,000 any further dividends received from any source will be taxed.

The amount of personal tax you pay on income from dividends is based on your tax band. The rates you pay are lower than the income tax rates you would receive if taking a salary, which is why it can be a tax-efficient way to pay yourself as a shareholder. Here are the rates:

Basic rate tax payer- 7.5%

Higher rate tax payer – 32.5%

Additional-rate tax payer – 38.1%

So in conclusion, taking a dividend can be a great way to pay yourself as a shareholder if your business is making a profit.

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Do new small businesses need an accountant?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

According to business start-up statistics in the UK, 20% of businesses fail in their first year and around 60% will go bust within their first three years. Approximately 660,000 new start-ups register in the UK every year according to The Telegraph, so what are the reasons for such a high failure rate?

While there are many factors, the top two reasons start-ups fail is because:

  1. there’s no market need for their services or products, or;
  2. they ran out of cash.

These two reasons, like many of the others, could have potentially been avoided if they had consulted professionals early on in the process of setting up their business. Professionals such as accountants.

Here are 9 ways that new or early-stage businesses benefit if they consult an accountant earlier rather than later.

9 ways an accountant can help new businesses

They can help you…

  1. Identify whether your new business idea is feasible – an accountant can help you analyse your market research data to see if there’s enough demand for your product or service to sustain your business. They can also assist with outlining your business goals too.
  2. Decide on a business structure – choosing your business structure can impact your tax, personal liabilities, and asset protection etc. An accountant can help you choose the right one, saving you time and money in the process.
  3. Create a business plan – a big chunk of your business plan will be your financial forecast which outlines your business costs, revenue projections and the funding you will need. Naturally, an accountant is the best professional to help you with this cost analysis.
  4. Secure funding – accountants can advise you on which lenders to approach as well as helping you create your loan pitch. They can help you create an accurate and reliable economic forecast for your business.
  5. Register your business – you will need to register your business with the government and the Internal Revenue Services (IRS). An accountant can assist with this as well as registering you for tax, applying for licenses and permits you may need, and setting up your business bank account.
  6. Choose the best business insurance – an accountant can advise you on the best insurance options to ensure you have complete protection at the most cost-effective price. They can help with property and vehicle insurance to professional liability and business interruption insurance.
  7. Make the right recruitment decisions – from advising you on recruitment decisions (e.g. whether a part-time employee or outsourcing makes more financial sense) to helping you with payroll and auto-enrolment, accountants can help significantly when hiring employees.
  8. Set up cloud accounting software – accountants can help you run your business more efficiently by looking at your processes and advising on the most appropriate cloud accounting software. Some even offer migration, set up, and training services when it comes to software too.
  9. Plan for the future – great accountants become a trusted member of your team. They help you set your business goals and they provide you with ongoing advice and support throughout the years to help you achieve them.

Always seek an accountant’s advice when starting a new business

Failing to properly plan for the financial needs of a new business will undoubtedly lead to challenges. Challenges that could lead to the complete failure of the business if left unaddressed.

By getting an accountant involved as early as possible in the process, they can identify and mitigate any risks for you and help you budget and forecast your finances. With an accountant by your side, you’re far more likely to be a part of the 40% of new businesses that survive the 3-year mark!

Is my accountant regulated?

Is my accountant regulated?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Would you trust your life to someone who was not a doctor?

Would you be defended in court without a qualified lawyer?

Of course not. Yet many businesses trust their livelihoods to unregulated accountants.

Why does being regulated make a difference?

To be regulated accountants have to be a member of a professional body. The main professional bodies are:

  • ICAEW
  • ACCA
  • CIMA
  • AAT

In order to practice as an accountant with a professional body, you have to have a practicing licence and hold professional indemnity insurance. You also have to do continued professional development. An unregulated accountant does not have to have any of this in place.

As a member of a professional body they will be regulated by law under the Proceeds of Crime Act Money Laundering Regulations (AML) with very strict rules to comply with.

How to check if your accountant is regulated.  

When you sign up to an accountant, you will receive their terms of business (engagement letter). This will set out the basis of the contract between them and you. In that proposal there should be reference to their professional body and details of their AML procedures. If there aren’t, this should be your first red flag.

Questions to ask your accountant:

  • What professional body do you belong to?
  • Can I have a copy of your professional indemnity insurance?
  • What CPD do you do?

If the accountant isn’t regulated they HAVE to register with HMRC under the AML rules. This is the law. The link below will give you the details and allow you to check if your unregulated accountant is actually registered with HMRC.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/money-laundering-regulations-supervised-business-register

Our experience

When taking on new business, we always request hand over information from the previous accountant. Normally this is relatively easy, however for one of our new clients it has been far from it. We have been shocked by the quality and correspondence from the previous accountant. After looking through all the information, we have found out that this particular accountant is unregulated. This ultimately meant, our client cannot report the accountants actions to their governing body. Leaving them with one option, legal action.

The client put their trust in this accountant and have been left with extremely messy books, which could result in more tax and potential fines.

Make sure your accountant is regulated, this way if something goes wrong your accountant has certain standards to adhere to, ensuring your finances are kept in order.

What is working from home relief?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Working from home relief = FREE CASH

Due to the current pandemic, many businesses have been working from home this year (ours included). It looks like those who can work from home will be until March 2021 at the earliest.

We have also seen a change in attitude towards flexible working. It has become the ‘new normal’ and many employees may continue working from home in the future.

What many businesses haven’t realised is that they can get free cash from HMRC for working from home. WOW!

So what is working from home relief?

From 6 April 2020 employers have been able to pay employees up to £6 a week tax-free to cover additional costs if they have had to work from home. Employees who have not received the working from home expenses payment direct from their employer can apply to receive tax relief from HMRC.

Find out full details here –  www.gov.uk/government/news/54800-customers-claim-tax-relief-for-working-from-home.

In a very interesting twist Martin Lewis has reported that even if you work from home for just one week, you can still claim a whole years relief. This is a very public statement from Martin Lewis and we are certain that he has proof from HMRC. However there may be a caveat when HMRC realise what they have said.

Read his article here – https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2020/04/martin-lewis–working-from-home-due-to-coronavirus–claim-p6-wk-/

Our advice for employees 

If your employer is not paying the allowance, which they are not obliged to, log into the HMRC portal and make your claim. For basic rate tax payers this is worth £62.40 and higher rate tax payers it is worth £124.80. For 10 minutes of your time, it is worth doing!

Our advice for employers

You do not have to pay the allowance. However as we are coming into the festive season, why not incorporate the £6 per week into a Christmas Bonus? There are no PAYE or NIC deductions for the employer or employee making it a great treat for the end of this turbulent year.