The Financial Spring Clean

The weather is warming up and Spring is on the way, its great time for you to put some financial processes into action and start to look forward to the year ahead.

Your business plan/budget.

Keep this report in mind certainly every six months, ideally every quarter. Rolling the plan ahead and updating it with new ideas or processes you may have in place. I would also look at having a cashflow projection a year ahead, this will help you plug in cash reserves if there is a shortfall ahead of time. You will be better prepared for any challenges that await, if you see this all ahead of time.

Cash Is King

Keep your creditors and debtors up to date, I see far too many sets of accounts needing either tidying up, or money chasing from several months ago. This will keep you liquid if you are keeping the cash close to your chest. Make sure you have a fully usable process for keeping these up to date. Credit score new Customers if you are giving credit. Don’t be afraid to use outside help if some debts are getting hard to chase. By keeping this professional and not personal you are more likely to get a positive outcome.

Look at your processes

You can never spend enough time in tightening up your processes. Imagine you have moved your business from a couple of hundred thousand turnover to a million pound turnover business. If you havent addressed processes and improved efficiencies you will never cope with the increased demands. Delegate your time appropriately and keep training of your team at the heart of your business. As you grow you will be become more reliant on them, they are your future. Invest in them wisely and see the rewards, just like you would if you were buying equipment or software to run your business more efficiently.

Tracking your Sales

Are you tracking where your sales are coming from? How are businesses finding you? I always recommend you track at least the following

Where people are finding you

Long term customers/vs new business

Product/service segmentation

Average customer spend

Track every item of marketing spend you have, and make sure they are all working well.

Marketing Strategy

When was the last time you prepared a SWOT Analysis, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Your competition will be focused on this subject, you need to be one step ahead of them at all times. Dedicate at least a third of your time to marketing focus. Afterall you cant grow without increasing your new business. Track all of the spending in this area and drop what clearly isn’t working. Don’t ponder, this needs direct action.

Cost of Sales and Overheads.

Keep a close eye on your margins. Always track the service jobs you do, or check margins on the products that you make. It’s a good idea to keep timesheets and compare theses costs to the job originally quoted. This will enable you to quote better, and work on improving your margins, and in turn your profitability.

Overheads, keep a track of these. Some of these costs may be fixed, but that doesn’t mean that you cant make amendments if you need to. By knowing ahead of time it is worthwhile knowing your breakeven point. The point at which your sales match your costs, and any surplus is profit.

I hope you find these easy to follow steps and look forward to hearing from you as you develop your businesses and grow.  By managing your business as you grow you will be better prepared and find it easier to cope as the demands on your time increase.

This blog is intended for information purposes only, you may have suggestions of your own.  it is not intended to be used to make all of your decisions but as a guide only.

Happy New Year to you all, we hope you’ve had a lovely Christmas. It’s the New Year but some things remain the same, and that’s the deadline of 31^st January for Self-Assessment returns.

Self-Assessment is a system HMRC uses to collect tax. For people who are self-employed, with their own business or others who make additional income. 

The dates for Self-Assessment is 

1^st April 2016 to the 31^st March 2017. With online returns needed to be submitted by

31^st January 2018 and paper returns to have already been submitted by 31^st October 2017.

The best way to keep the tax bill down is to have your paperwork organised. You will need the actual receipts to claim as expenses. Collate your receipts and keep together as HMRC can ask to see evidence at any time. Another great way is to utilise the ISA savings as any interest received is tax-free. You’ll keep your savings on a tax-free basis for as long as you keep the money in your ISA accounts.

Higher rate tax payers benefit from additional tax savings when they contribute in to pension schemes and give to charity.

An example of a list of records you will need are;

•          Business and personal bank statements
•          Records of income
•          Records of purchases
•          P60/P45
•          Rental Income
•          Interest Income
•          Child Benefit and Income Support

You need many other records to keep, here at Cross Accounting we give our clients a more in detail list of records which we require from them to complete their tax return. This also includes a reminder of approaching deadlines to ensure not to be penalised. HMRC fine £100 for anyone who misses the 31^st January deadline.

HMRC have revealed a record number of people are filing for self-assessment this year as the numbers are north of eleven million. If you’re a couple of years behind, then do not worry as you’re not alone, we have taken on a number of clients in this situation, and have supported them and brought them up to date. If you’re not sure if you need to submit a self-assessment or you need to complete a return, you can call us on 02920 653 995 or visit our website on www.crossaccountingservice.co.uk to see how we can assist you. 

Your year end can cost you more than you think

Preparing your year end accounts can be costly your business – and that’s before you’ve event considered the financial aspect.

In finding, organising and making sense of your paperwork and records, there are time costs, emotional costs (usually stress!) and work-life balance costs to consider.

15% off your year end with us

Cross Accounting Services can help on all fronts. We love year end and so as a thank you from us, we’re offering 15% off your first year end fees with us.

So, you get to spend time doing the things you love at a reduced all round cost – and we get to spend time doing the things we love, thanks to you!

Call Nicola on 029 2065 3995 and quote reference CA15 to receive your discount or email her asking for more information also quoting CA15 Closing date 31 March 2014