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3 cloud accounting tips to save your business time and money

Keeping on top of your accounts is a big part of running a successful and profitable business. But you don’t want to spend ALL your time dealing with accounting tasks, especially when that time could be spent building customer relationships, or developing new products etc.So, how do you keep your finances in check, while also spending less time on your accounts?1. Bringing your accounting into the digital ageSwitching to cloud accounting can be a revolutionary step for many business owners, es...

Strategic business partnerships: the benefits of working together

Your business may compete head-to-head with a number of other companies, but this doesn’t mean you have to treat ALL other businesses as if they are the competition. In fact, there are real benefits in creating strategic alliances with other like-minded organisations.When you look at the wider marketplace, you’ll see that there are businesses out there that may well compliment your offering. And by working together (rather than against each other) it’s possible to become valued strategic p...

Why your accountant is the ideal mentor

A business mentor can provide guidance and support, so you make the right decisions and stay focused on the end goal as a business owner. They can also help you move forward in your career by providing advice and feedback on what steps to take to reach the pinnacle of success.But have you ever thought of your accountant as a mentor?Why your accountant is the ideal mentorHaving someone who understands your business journey is incredibly important. You might see an accountant as someone who files ...

Want to cut your business costs?

Incurring expenses is an unavoidable fact of running a business. But there are ways to reduce the impact of these expenses, by claiming the relevant costs against your tax bill.Here’s our lowdown of which common expenses are tax deductible, and the advantages of claiming these costs to cut down your operational and personal expenses.1. Expenses for staff parties and social eventsStaff events, like your end-of-year party or your summer barbecue, are tax-deductible for you, as the employer, and ...

Getting your bookkeeping ready for a digital future

Keeping up-to-date records of your business transactions isn't the most glamorous part of being an entrepreneur, that’s for sure. But, in reality, having accurate and up-to-date bookkeeping is actually one of the core ways to keep your finances (and your business) under controlDigital bookkeeping is the future of your financeThe digital age has revolutionised the way many business owners carry out their bookkeeping. From digital accounting to real-time data, the modern bookkeeper is now equipp...

5 signs you’re undercharging

Are you undercharging for your services? It can be hard to tell, particularly if you’re in a niche industry or you’re a contractor. Costs have been rising, so it may be time to rethink your own pricing.Here are five signs that you might be undercharging:Nobody ever questions your quotes - Do all your new clients accept your quotes or charges without asking any questions, requesting a breakdown or wanting a discount? It’s possible they’re delighted to be getting such a great deal.You run ...

How much stress is good for you?

Trying to get perfect the work/life balance can be a cause of stress in itself. If you are feeling the strain of building your business and maintaining your life the good news is that stress and a productive existence can go hand in hand. Be mindful and you can find the balance that’s best for you.How much stress is good for you?The Yerkes-Dodson law shows that an individual's performance increases with stress (arousal) until cortisol levels get too high and then decreases again just as sharpl...

Is your 2023 planning leading you down the right path?

As a business owner, CEO or managing director, it’s important to look forwards. Your job is to guide the course of the company and to provide the roadmap for a successful year.But navigating the hurdles and driving the business to success is never easy – especially when you’re confronted with a market and economy that’s still in a state of recovery.A business plan that’s tailored to your key 2023 challengesSo, what are the current and potential risks that you should be planning for in ...

Understanding Your Breakeven Point

Your breakeven point is the income, or sales, needed to cover all of your business costs. Any earnings above this point generate profit. So, in a nutshell, your breakeven point tells you the minimum sales needed to keep your business profitable and viable.Combining your understanding of the breakeven point with detailed financial reporting from your accounting software is invaluable. You’ll get valuable data to analyse your fixed and variable costs. You can also set meaningful sales targets fo...

5 ways to get in control of your business finances

Having proper control of your business finances is a big advantage. It helps you make well-informed business decisions and keeps your organisation profitable.With so many digital tools for managing your bookkeeping, accounting and management reporting, it's never been easier to manage, track and forecast your financial position.But what are the main tools you need? And how do you set up your financial systems, apps, processes and reporting to put yourself back in the finance driving seat?1. Brin...

Are you ready for the end of the tax year?

Even if we’d predicted the chaotic events of 2022, you wouldn’t have believed us. Tanks rolling into a European country. The world teetering on the brink of both world war and global recession.Russian oil fuelling rocketing inflation. And then in Britain alone, four chancellors and three prime ministers in twelve weeks. The ‘KamiKwazi budget’, was followed by its almost total reversal. Strikes and the most brutal tax squeeze since the dark days of the 1970s…But as business advisors, it...

Build long-term customer relationships: improve your financial stability

We know that building long-term relationships with your customers makes good sense for your customer experience. But good relationships are also a key factor in making your business more financially stable and improving your bottom line.The answer lies in nurturing the relationship, building a sense of trust and satisfaction that leads to regular sales and a boost to your revenue.Nurturing customer relationships that drive your profitsA business with no customers has no future. But a business wi...

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment - pushed to 2026

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5 goal-setting tips for 2023

Whether you want to grow your business or take more time for yourself, these goal-setting tips can help you achieve your long-term plans.Think big! - What do you want from your life – and how can your business help you achieve that? Think about next year and beyond; what does your business look like in five or 10 years? When you know what end point you’re aiming for, it’s easier to set goals that move you in the right direction.Pick something you can measure - Vague goals aren’t as helpf...

How to get the most out of your pension strategy

How much thought have you put into planning out your retirement years? Your employees will automatically be enrolled into a workplace pension scheme. But for directors, partners and sole traders, there’s no mandatory requirement for you to set up your own pension scheme. When it comes to planning your pension, the buck stops with you. Let’s take a look at some of the main questions you’re likely to have about your retirement planning, with some straightforward answers to get you moving i...

Keeping on top of small business cash flow

Money in, money out. Cash flow is one of the most important measures of your business's health. But how do you monitor it? It sounds simple to track sales on the one hand and expenses on the other – then compare the two. But a massive 65 percent of failed businesses say they closed down because of financial mismanagement, including issues such as lack of cash flow visibility. In other words, they didn’t know if they were making more than they were spending....

Business tips: Making the most of digital and cloud

Transforming into a digital business sets the best possible infrastructure for your future growth. And, as your business scales, the benefits of going digital will start to become obvious. Running your key business processes in the cloud and using the latest digital software and apps adds to both your efficiency and your productivity. And, most importantly, digital systems are designed to scale with you as your enterprise grows and the need for resources increases. Here are some of the big reaso...

Business tips: Using forecasting to help your decision-making

Producing regular management information is one way to help improve your business decision-making. But looking at historical numbers can only tell you so much. In business, you want to know what the future holds. And to make truly informed decisions about your future strategy, it’s important to use forecasting tools to project your data forwards in time. By running projections, based on these historical numbers, and producing detailed forecasts, you can get the best possible view of the road ...

Weighing up a big investment in your business

Are you considering investing in a new way to make your business more productive or streamlined? With a tight labour market, everyone’s time is at a premium – so finding ways to maximise productivity has never been more important. But it can take considerable funds to pay for a new website, ecommerce platform, software system or automations. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when you’re weighing up the costs and potential benefits of a significant investment....

Tax planning in uncertain times – why we need to talk about tax

We live in what might be seen as ‘interesting times’. UK politics is going through a turbulent and unpredictable time at present, leading to unforeseen changes to tax legislation, business reliefs and enterprise incentives across the board. When the goalposts keep moving so frequently, it can be confusing: Is your business meeting the right tax compliance goals?What are the big tax changes to be aware of?And is your tax planning delivering the very best results for you and for your company? ...

Hire purchase or lease rental: which is best for your business?

When setting up or growing your business, you’ll need access to new equipment, tools and vehicles. This usually means accessing finance to either buy or lease these new assets. It’s easy to get confused between hire purchase (HP) and lease rental (LR). The names lenders use aren’t always helpful, and the tax and VAT treatments are very different. To help you get a handle on these two very specific finance facilities, we’ve outlined the main differences between HP and LR, and how theyâ€...

Why are some expenses not allowed for tax?

As a business owner, you’ll be looking for every opportunity to claim back expenses and minimise your tax liability. But not everything that falls under expenses is tax-deductible. To give you a better understanding of which costs are allowed and which are not allowed, we’ve highlighted the main areas where business owners habitually trip up with their expense claims....

Bringing your cashflow processes into the digital age

Keeping on top of your cashflow is even more important during tough economic times. With a global slowdown on the cards, energy prices soaring and supply chain still challenges, cash is likely to be tight over the coming year and beyond. Cloud technology and fintech apps, can give your business the best possible control over its cash....

Understanding Your Profit and Loss Statement

Your profit and loss statement (P&L) helps you understand your business performance and profitability over time. It’s sometimes called an Income statement and its main purpose is to list income and expenditure. Whereas a balance sheet is a snapshot in time, the P&L shows transactions over a specific period of time. This can be a month, quarter, financial year or any other period, and it can be a stand-alone report or a comparative period report. Together with the balance sheet, these t...

Understanding Your Statement of Cash Flows

The statement of cash flows, (also known as the cash flow statement), shows how your business has generated and used cash (and cash equivalents) within a specific time period. For each of the reporting categories, receipts and payments are listed (money in and money out), and this is reported as a net increase or decrease in cash held for that category. The net change in all categories is added to the amount of cash on hand at the start of the reporting period to arrive at the current cash on ...