For those of you watching the Glastonbury Festival over the weekend.     

It was a great boost to our UK economy.   Some £40 million turnover taken over the 5 day event.  Over 200,000 people attended and 3 million people tuned in to see Kylie Minogue, with Stormsy and The Killers pulling in great ratings too.

Donations to Oxfam, Green Peace and Water Aid were the main charities benefiting from the event.

The area I want to draw to your attention was over 200,000 attended the event this year, and over 400 small food and merchandise providers helped make the event a great success.

Whether you love it or hate it,   its provided a great boost to what has been so far quite a difficult 2019 for many retail and service outlets.

Those 400 food and merchandise providers will be providing jobs to thousands of people, creating work for not just the Somerset area but all over the UK, as a lot of the suppliers would have travelled to the area for work.   

There was also 2,000 volunteers mainly representing and supporting the three main charities.

With our continuing confused political market at the moment, with uncertainty with what is happening with Brexit.    A lot of small businesses are struggling to keep a float,  they are finding it harder to gain long term contracts, and being able to gain fixed prices for goods that may be coming from overseas.    The uncertainty affects everything.    The exchange rate of the Pound Sterling to Euro is also still highly volatile.

Please keep supporting your local businesses, they are keeping millions of people employed at the moment, we most definitely need them into 2020.

We never hear about them in the news when they suffer, they just go about their business quietly.       We only hear about the larger companies finding things tough at the moment.

Our economy and stability we all like to take for granted heavily relies on them.

Give your local business whoever they are your full support in 2019 regardless of the political outcome.      Lets keep our economy robust to ride the storm.

#shop local

We’re halfway through the year and 2019 is not slowing down for anybody. There are approximately 5.7 million businesses in the UK, of which 96% are considered small or micro. So, we small businesses are crucial to the UK economy, there is no denying this.

Whether you are a start-up and excited for the times ahead, or an establishment renewing your challenges, we all want to be successful with our business. In our latest blog, we talk about tips we think are vital to any business.

We all have a vision in mind, of where we’d like to see our business in the future. This vision needs to be translated on paper as your business plan. A business plan is a must for all business owners. This can help outside investors get an insight of your business, for if ever you need funding to grow your business.

Business Plan

A business plan should consist of;

·    Summary – What is your purpose, what is your vision?

·    Target market – Who are you likely to sell to

·    Competitors – What is your rivals weakness? Why are you different?

·    Staff – Do you need people to help run your business. What level of skill and pay is required?

·    Suppliers – Who will be your main supplier?

·    Marketing Plan – How will you advertise yourself to the world

·    Operations – Which is the best way to run your business.

·    Finance – How much money do you need? Determine the profitability of the business.

Business Structure

As well as a business plan, you will need to have a business structure. Sole trader, partnerships and limited companies all have their own pros and cons. Deciding which structure to choose is not always straightforward. If an asset is owned outright, then you would need to consider retaining personal ownership on incorporation. If you’re not sure which structure model you should go for, then here at Cross Accounting we can give tailored advice to you.

Year End

We cannot stress enough the importance of doing your year end as early as possible. Once completed, this will give you peace of mind as you will not have to worry, until next year. It will also give you more time to budget for your tax bill. You will not be in a rush to find the money for the tax bill and not kill your cashflow. Keep all receipts for your expenses, these will all help lower the tax bill. If you buy equipment or tools, mobile phone bills, petrol, these are all deductible. HMRC can conduct random spot checks, so it’s important to keep paperwork, recommended for 6 years.

Budgeting

Having budgets in place for your business can help you predict the near future. This allows you to have a spending plan, so you can make sure you have money for the things you need and the things that are important to you. You can see what is eating up your cash and avoid spending on unnecessary fees. Below is an example of a very simple budget.

These tips will keep you motivated and more importantly give you an idea of where your finances lay, helping you to quickly identify if there are rainy days ahead.

If you need expert tailored advice, please do get in touch as we are always happy to help.

Welcome to our latest blog. Christmas is around the corner and it’s our favourite time of the year here at Cross Accounting. It’s the time of giving and is there any other way to give your business a boost a grant to get your finance in place.

A business or an individual will be given a sum of money for a specific project or purpose. A grant usually covers only partial costs involved. Grants are given depending on your business activity, the amount of jobs that will be created due to this investment or if you are in a specific industry sector. Sometimes grants are linked to geographic areas. Such as those areas in need of an economic transformation.

Business Wales can support in finance, take a look at their finance locator to see if grants and other finance your business may be eligible for at https://businesswales.gov.wales/zones/business-finance/funding-search-tool-form

You should ensure that you meet the requirements of the scheme before applying for grants and finance. You’ll have to ensure you are ready to put up some of your own money as grants only cover partial costs. You’ll also need to have a detailed description of your project or purpose and a work plan with full costings. We can assist with a budget and full detailed cashflow to secure the finance you need.

The application process for grants can sometimes be time consuming and there usually is a lot of competition but on the plus side, most grants don’t have to be paid repaid giving your business that extra boost.

If you’re looking for that push to reach some New Years goals, the Development Bank of Wales can support to get the finance your business needs to succeed. Visit https://developmentbank.wales/ to get you ready for the New Year.

You will need to have a polished business plan at the ready.  If you would like us to look at your business plan, then you can book in for a free one-hour consultation where we can discuss how to start the New Year strong. Visit our website on www.crossaccountingservice.co.uk or call us on 02920 653 995. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

There has been a change in the VAT Flat Rate Scheme since April 2017. The government are concerned that some businesses are using the scheme to pay less VAT than appropriate. Read our blog to be reminded of the rules and regulations.

The Flat Rate Scheme is designed to simplify your records of sales and purchases. It allows you to apply a fixed flat-rate percentage to your gross turnover to arrive at the VAT due.

The scheme is for businesses with a turnover no more than £150,000 a year, excluding VAT. The Flat Rate Scheme is a simpler method of working out the VAT you have to pay to HMRC. The flat rate percentage you use depends on your business sector. The correct sector is the one that most likely describes what your business will be doing in the coming year. Click here to find out your sector percentage https://www.gov.uk/vat-flat-rate-scheme/how-much-you-pay

From 1 April 2017 the flat rate changes if you’re a limited cost business. The flat rate percentage will be 16.5% regardless of your sector if you are a limited cost business. You’re a limited cost business if the amount you spend on relevant goods including VAT is either, less than 2% of your VAT flat rate turnover or greater than 2% of your VAT flat rate turnover but less than £1000 per year.

You will also get a 1% discount if it is your first year as a VAT registered business. If you’re unsure about your VAT and would like to discuss, then please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Summers out and its back to business

Summers out and schools are back in. Those 6 long weeks of entertaining the children are over and it’s truly back to business. As summer comes to an end and we prepare for darker evenings, the new season is the best time to plan for your business.

The lead up to Christmas is best to note down and plan for the next couple of months. Its best to hand in your paperwork for self-assessment and year end to your accountant so that you can fully concentrate on the build up to Christmas and New Year. There will be no stress on your behalf to meet HMRC’s deadline, leaving you to focus on what matters most, your business.

Since everyone is back from holiday, it is a good opportunity to go out networking. This will build connections and get your business name out there. Meeting new people and old familiar faces will keep your business from being forgotten.

Get your cashflow and budget up to date, this will help you plan for the seasonal events to come. Having an idea of your businesses ins and outs can shape your business for the busy Christmas and New Year period. There will be a lot of people spending during this period, so make sure your business is always on its ‘A’ game.

As mentioned earlier, note your plans down, as it is better to have something written down and in front of you than in your memory. This will help you achieve your goals and remember planning is key!