Why Use Me
New start-ups
You’ve decided to go it alone and start up your own business in your chosen field. Accountant found, HMRC, etc. are informed and an annual Accountancy fee has been agreed…
So, till next year when your accountant chases you for your books… what happens in the meantime? Will you actually make it till the end of the year? How will you?
Been in business a few years?
Or maybe you’re a growing business and your Turnover is increasing year on year, but your costs have spiralled out of control…?
You’re now thinking...
- Am I Ready and equipped for the business to grow?
- Will I be ready and equipped for employing staff and dealing with all those payroll & Pension commitments?
- When will I have to think of becoming VAT registered?
- What does MTD mean? How will this affect me?
Are you even thinking of these questions? Probably not at front of your mind as your concentrating on your business – actually doing it and building it…
But… this will not take care of itself…
Many bury their head… but it will catch up with you and cost you a lot more of that hard-earned cash if left and not kept under control… it may even cost you your business…
Sadly, many businesses fail within the first 3 years… and for many different reasons BUT do include failure to keep on top of the accounting function of your business.
So, let’s just concentrate on Accounting challenges that may lead to business failure.
Planning
Many new businesses start with a good idea but do not have a business plan with clearly defined goals to work from. Therefore, have no idea where they are going or how to measure any success or failure or indeed will not know what either looks like.
Budgets and forecasting
Not many businesses produce large profits, especially from day one. In fact, many do not see a decent profit until the 2nd or 3rd year.
Start-up costs are more likely to be higher than first anticipated.
Income may also fluctuate from month to month and may be difficult to realistically forecast for the first year.
Therefore, in order to ensure that your business can plough through these uncertain times, a business needs to budget throughout the year and closely monitor to the actual results and adjust accordingly.
Cash is king. A cash-flow squeeze is the single most common cause of small business failure.
Sentiment can also cause problems. Small business owners are often reluctant to charge people (especially family and friends) for the real worth of their products or services.
The human factor
Personalities play a crucial part in the success of failure of a small business. Business partnerships are comparable to marriages: tough times, long hours and constant contact can bring out the worst in the relationship.
Small business owners often cannot bring themselves to hire people to do the things they can’t or don’t have time for, or even to ask for help. Others make the mistake of hiring someone just because his/her labour is cheap. It is better to have someone who is competent working two hours a week than a full-time incompetent soul.
You are the driving force behind your business: progress will depend on how much energy and enthusiasm you put into it. If you’re prepared to do whatever it takes to succeed, you will succeed.
And finally, …
Falling off the rails
So many small businesses fail because their owners underestimate the importance of keeping up to date with simple day-to-day matters, picking up problems only when they have reached serious, even irremediable proportions.
One serious mistake can take you years to recover from.
Expanding too quickly when you don’t have the infrastructure to handle it can prove fatal.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way.
Stay a step ahead
- Retain your focus
- Keep up to date with your financial management and accounting systems
- Stay in control and don’t take too much money out of the business
- Take time often to reassess your goals, your direction and your strategies
May this year be the year that you exceed your dreams for your small or medium sized business!
So HOW?
Start the way you mean to go on
I mentioned MTD earlier… what does this mean?
Making Tax Digital.
Currently it effects how your VAT is recorded and submitted to HMRC. However, HMRC are planning to roll this out to Income Tax as part of their 10-year plan to modernise the tax administration system.
Recap:
Last April (2019), all VAT registered businesses with a turnover in excess of £85k were required to record their business transactions digitally using suitable compliant software and to digitally file this information with HMRC.
So… what’s coming next…
From April 2022, all other VAT registered businesses will follow suit, having to record their business activities digitally and report those to HMRC using MTD compliant software.
This extension will affect a further 1m businesses who are currently exempt based on their turnover being under £85kpa.
From April 2023, sole traders and unincorporated landlords with a turnover of £10k pa or more, will need to be recording information digitally and report their business activities quarterly rather than annually to HMRC.
This will draw in around 4m businesses and individual landlords into MTD by April 2023.
MTD for Corporation Tax
A consultation document on MTD for corporation tax is expected to be published in the autumn of 2020.
There is still no word regarding MTD plans for complex bodies such as large partnerships and LLP’s, and these were not addressed within the original MTD proposals, but maybe included in the consultation paper being release in the autumn.
What about paying tax within the new MTD plan?
The timing and frequency of tax payments is being looked into to make them more ’real time’ to align with the quarterly reporting of the tax information. This is likely to be part of an open debate regarding this along with other long-term reforms being discussed.
However, the current infrastructure surrounding tax payments will need to be changed in order to support such a move, but real time tax reporting under MTD can still be introduced without changing the current tax payments arrangements.
So… Will you be ready?
The plan is already in motion and now is the time to start getting ahead of the game.
How?
Choose a cloud-based accounting software
One of the up and coming Cloud software providers proving popular today is XERO, with QuickBooks online accounting software a close second and creeping up on its heels…
Technologies have moved forward in recent years. Cloud accounting can grow with your business and can add Apps to compliment the system.
The cloud growth rate was close to 50% over the past year and has nearly doubled since 2015.
More and more businesses have accepted cloud tools into their working lives and the trend is expected to continue making desk top systems obsolete within the very near future.
How does this help your business?
- Go paperless – scan invoices directly into system
- MTD Compliant – VAT at present
- RTI Compliant – Payroll
- Pension/ Auto Enrolment Reports
- Automates daily and painful manual tasks
- Add compatible Apps integrated with the system
- Automate bank feeds direct into system
- Instant access to financial data
- Easy online reconciliation of accounts
- One single ledger
- Secure online collaboration
- Track business performance / KPI’s on dashboard
- Everything stored and recorded in one place
- Keep an eye on your business direct from your mobile
- Send Invoices, scan your receipts and expenses on mobile that directly automates and posts to the correct accounts
And… When you become a fast growing business… this is where I offer something a little different…
The Niche…
All businesses should have a specialisation… A niche they call it…
Or sometimes referred to as an USP… Unique selling point.
Something that separates you from your competition…
I started accountancy as a career within the practice field for the first 12 years of my working life. I then went into the industry as a Financial Controller, working up to a Finance Director. Here, I worked with businesses with processes and accounting procedures as well as managing their budgets, targets, cashflows and management accounts.
After 25 years I decided to start my own accounting business to bring in the valuable experience I accumulated over those last years and combine it with the good ole fashion accountancy offerings that offers offer.
Mine is different as in it gives the smaller business owner who would not usually be able to – have a slice of the expertise that is usually only enjoyed by corporate sized businesses.
I aim to work as a partnership with businesses throughout the year, not just at year end, having their cloud-based accounting systems at my fingertips to ‘virtually’ drop in provide the knowledge required to take your business to the next level.
Introducing the Virtual FD
So, your business is up and running and you have covered all the basics – what else could help you keep ahead of the competition and maximise those profits?
Just because you are not running a corporate size business, it doesn’t mean you cannot have access to a FD on a smaller scale.
With access to a Virtual FD, you can concentrate on what you do best, knowing that behind the scenes we are ensuring you actually stay in business, maintain business growth and enjoy increasing profits, whilst keeping a competitive edge.
Why Virtual FD?
- Analyse financial data and present in a way that highlights the impact it is having on the business and, in a way, you understand
- To be proactive rather than reactive
- Highlight problem areas with high spend or low profits within projects or the business as a whole
- An affordable alternative to the traditional office based FD, providing a flexible, on demand finance solution giving financial foresight and knowledge, keeping your financial goals and realities clearly in sight that can directly influence the success of the business and making a difference to your bottom line at a fraction of the cost
- Can set business apart from competition – have a profitable business model to ensure you do not over trade or run into cash flow problems without prior notice
- Delivering peace of mind
Virtual FD Services includes:
- Business Advisory & Consulting Service
- Management Accounts – quarterly or monthly
- Budgets, Forecasts and Cash flow
- Periodic Financial reviews
- Virtual assistance
What else is on offer?
The usual standard accounting services to complete the service include:
- Bookkeeping & Account Reconciliations
- VAT recording, completion and submission
- Payroll / pensions & auto- enrolment
- Preparation of accounts
- Tax submission / self-assessment
