Raw 03 - November 2008 - (Page 75)

JMB ACCOUNTING RAW 6. Advise on VAT Issues The threshold for registering is currently £67,000. There are various methods of calculating VAT and also different ways to pay, ie: if you send the return and pay on-line you gain an extra 7 days. Annual Accounting allows you to pay a regular amount over 10 months, and the Flat Rate Scheme calculates the VAT you pay as a percentage on Sales relevant to your trade. Your Accountant can give advice or do any calculations necessary. Some need permission from the VAT office and others depend on your current or expected turnover. Do you know the most beneficial method of paying and calculating VAT for your business? 7. Save you Tax and keep you Informed of Taxes to Pay This is the one area where your Accountant can excel as they know all the costs that can be claimed, including fair and reasonable allowable estimates such as Use of Home as an Office. The due dates for Tax and National Insurance under Self Assessment are 31st July and 31st January. If your profits are less than the previous year, claims can be made to reduce your payments on Account. Make sure your Accounts are prepared early to avoid paying taxes that aren’t due. 8. Help with Credit Control Using a third party to chase debts can often result in a faster response. Use the ‘fear of Accountants’ to your advantage. Your Accountant can help put a good credit control system in place and accounting software has become very sophisticated in this area allowing you to set credit limits and automatically charge interest on late payment (you can charge up to 8% over base rate – go to www.payontime.co.uk for further info). 9. Recommend other Allied Trades Whilst we are not suggesting that your Accountant knows all the answers, they should certainly be your 1st port of call if you need help in other areas, eg: legal advice, web design, marketing or even buying or leasing a new car. They will know numerous Professionals and Trades in your area, not only as clients but also from the various ‘bodies’ of which they could be a member. 10. Contribute even more to your success with help from you We now list 5 things you can do to ensure an even more productive business relationship with your Accountant. Keeping the Year End processing time to a minimum means more time can be spent on tactics and long term strategies. 1) Ensure all the paperwork is provided for the Year End preparation, including items such as H.P. agreements, Insurance details, Payroll records. 2) Add notes of any changes or events during the year such as ‘car written off in January, went on holiday for all of March, computer crash in October. 3) Make the above available ASAP after your Year End date. 4) Make the Accountant aware of your future plans and goals, eg: planning to move offices next year, intend to double turnover within 2 years. Ask for any advice they might have on these issues. 5) Make your own notes and questions to ask before the meeting. Never be afraid to ask for further explanation. They might know their job inside out but they wouldn’t know yours! Our final recommendation is to always agree fees up front and establish what is included. A regular monthly standing order can help cashflow and avoid you feeling guilty when making ad hoc communication. If you decide your Accountant isn’t providing the service you need or would like, never be afraid to change. Some business relationships will never work. We hope this article has shown that your Accountant can make a vast difference to the performance and growth of your business, and you now have the ammunition to move forward in whatever way you think best. If you would like to acquire more confidence and know-how when communicating with your Accountant, we have put together a guide: ‘Accounts Demystified – in 10 Easy Steps’ which explains in Plain English ‘how Accounts work’. Anyone can gain a better understanding of accounts within a few hours and put it to use immediately. Go to www.accountsdemystified.co.uk to find out more. Order by 30th November and pay only £17 (that’s £10 off the usual price of £27) and receive TWO FREE BONUS reports to help grow your business. About JMB Accounting: Jan Buckett dreamed of owning her own business. Having always enjoyed working with numbers, she did not wish to become one so in 1981, took the plunge and JMB was born. 27 years later, her enthusiasm and passion is still evident with her honest, down to earth approach of helping small business owners confront day to day challenges, while continuing to keep abreast of latest legislation and compliance issues. JMB’s mission is to provide a valuable but affordable service to the small and medium sized business, whilst maintaining accuracy, diligence and improvement. Jan can be contacted on 01428 723561 or via email at jan.buckett@btinternet.com More of the services JMB offer can be seen at www.jmbaccounting.co.uk millionimpossible.com 75 http://www.payontime.co.uk http://www.accountsdemystified.co.uk http://www.jmbaccounting.co.uk http://www.jmbaccounting.co.uk http://www.millionimpossible.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Raw 03 - November 2008

Raw 03 - November 2008 Contents Bradley Chapman Rachael Elnaugh Linda Klassen-Brown Heidi Weir Mark Asquith Emma Thompson Chris Wright

Raw 03 - November 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.