Budget Summary 2012

Most of the key changes in the Budget had already been leaked before the Chancellor stood up, although not necessarily the exact details.  There were a few headline grabbing changes read more

Company directors pay for 2012/13

If you are a company director and are paying yourself a low salary and topped up with dividends allow read on.  Up to 5 April 2012 you are probably paying yourself £589 per month, this is greater than the NI Lower Earnings Limit at which you build up state entitlements but below the Secondary Threshold at which point the employer starts paying read more

Year end information for your accountant for Quickbooks users

The details provided below are in response to requests from clients of AW Accounting in Gravesend for details of what to provide at the year end.  This specifically relates to Quickbooks read more

Computer records – what does my accountant need?

It is no longer necessary to box up all of your records and send them down to your accountant. If you keep your records electronically read more

Is it worth me getting a company car?

The first question is always why do you want a company car and what do you want to use it for, in many cases a van or low emission car

iQ driven to #autotweetup by Scott Brownlee

may be more appropriate, depending on the use it may be free or a low cost benefit.  However if you are looking for a regular family car read more

Tax thresholds and planning opportunities 2011/12

There are lots of thresholds which can be utilised or avoided in order to make the most use of the  tax system.  As accountants we need to consider each clients personal situation to make sure that we make the most of the opportunities while minimising their tax bill.  read more

Can I claim R&D Tax Credits?

I recently attended a tax update course and the lecturer was very enthusiastic about R&D tax credits and the regime to positively encourage investment through the taxation system.  Costs specific to a qualifying project are eligible for 200% tax relief read more

HMRC Spam emails and hacked Twitter account

There have been two incidents which have reminded me of the danger of online transactions in the last few days:

HMRC spam repayment claim email

A client of mine received an email directing him to a website which as you can see looks pretty realistic at first sight.  He was only forewarned by some spelling and grammatical errors in the original email. read more

Badges of trade – HMRC targeting Ebayers

HMRC target Ebayers

You may have heard about HMRC targeting people carrying on a business on Ebay, or bootsales.  HMRC are always keen to collect additional tax read more

Running a business, my best advice…

I get to see many businesses and discuss their experiences throughout the year and the most successful ones are those that concentrate their activity on their core business

What is the core business?

It is so easy to describe your business within its sector as accountants, builders, cleaners for example  but this does not describe what you do.  It is only by being more specific that you can become more focussed not only in your marketing activity but also in the process by which you actually do the work.  Let us consider the builder as an example and the type of work they carry out:

• Commercial (as opposed to residential)
• Public sector (not private sector)
• Fit out (rather than new build)

If they deviated into a domestic new build a new skill set would be required and while they may be able to do the work the disciplines and working practices are different.  Suddenly the efficiencies are lost and this will impact on both profitability and ultimately cashflow.

This may be an extreme but it is worth looking at new ventures and seeing whether they are complimentary to current activity or running along a separate track altogether.  In summary my advice would be to:

• Differentiate your business
• Become a niche – you are not the same as the others
• Concentrate on that core activity

The advice above may not apply to your circumstances, so seek professional advice before taking any steps based on the information shown. If you would like advice in this or other areas feel free to call.  Alastair Wood, AW Accounting, Gravesend – Accountants who “speak your language”