Following on from my last discussion - are you the sort of person who opens letters from HMRC with relish and action them promptly?  Or, do you put them on the side ready to action later (much later).  Ok, so I admit it even I sometimes do the latter.

DON’T! - These letters are important, that’s why you always feel nervous opening them probably, if you have any doubts, send them to your accountant to action on your behalf.  If the communications mention anything about payments / penalties / overdue amounts, then make sure you DO NOT IGNORE them.  It could be the difference between sorting things out in a timely manner and having to pay up to £1600 penalties.  Yes, I sadly have a client who ignored all of those green letters and has ended up with all sorts of late payment penalties, this is so unnecessary and could have meant a nice family holiday for her and her family this year instead of a cheque being sent to HMRC.

I was recently talking to a self-employed trader and he told me a shocking fact “…I’m always late filing my self-assessment, so any tax rebate I’m due I end up paying in penalties…”

So for the sake of keeping a few records and keeping his books up to date (and putting reminders in his calendar) he was losing out on hundreds of pounds!  I got to wondering how many other traders were operating like this and how many of them end up getting themselves in a pickle and have to call in an expert.  Well that’s where I come in ;-)

Then an interesting article landed in my in-box this week prompting me to think even further, HMRC are taking money for old rope,  let’s not let them take any more in penalties than they deserve, let’s keep those books up to date and file everything on time.  Let me help if you find you don’t have the time to do this, or to go to the full article click below.

http://www.taxinsider.co.uk/1441-Enquiries_Dont_Give_HMRC_An_Opportunity_To_Raise_Extra_Tax.html?inf_contact_key=4e85f3524c715458b47253f3f4456a1b00f4819344a885c66c93b4754893920c

Source:  www.taxinsider.co.uk

Here is an extract from the latest YBC newsletter for June 2015 - in this edition we talk about essential tips for new start up and small businesses

Why record keeping is essential
It is vitally important to keep accurate records for your business (whether sole trader or limited company), the penalties for failing to do so can be very strict – including a jail sentence!
 
It is so much easier if you start keeping records from the very beginning of your self-employment or start of business and keep the habit going…keep all receipts for purchases and records of sales to customers using a method that suits you (can be electronically or paper receipts but it must be done). HMRC will accept small mistakes if you can prove you have tried to keep full and accurate records, but there is no excuse at all for failing to keep reasonable records.
 
As with everything, there are many ways to records the necessary transactions for your trading activities and it pays to take advice on what will suit you and your business.


Click here to read the full YBC newsletter with great articles on Market research, legal obligations and credit management

http://eepurl.com/bq1HkL

Please contact me to discuss how I can help you keep on top of record keeping in your business
Catherine

If you are ever flagged by HMRC for inspection would you be ready?  The key to peace of mind is keeping a tidy, up-to-date set of books, imagine trying to track down lost receipts or missing invoices to prove your trading figures?

An accountant or bookkeeper can help you keep up to date so that at any time you know how much VAT you owe and when, they can help prevent errors and help you calculate your corporation/income tax liability.  Alternatively, choosing and using the correct bookkeeping software reduces the headaches immensely.

For advice on the best tools to use, contact CMW, or let CMW take the worry off your shoulders by completing your bookkeeping on your behalf.

Following on from the previous topic, there are a number of cheap and cheerful (and extremely easy to use) cloud accounting software packages just tailor made for small business owners.  Here are just a few:  Freeagent, Xero, Quickbooks online, clearbooks and Kashflow.  These have the advantages over desktop packages in that all data is kept securely on-line, your accountant or business advisor can login and keep up to date with financial information and most of them have mobile applications to help you ‘on-the-go’.  

There are a number of apps for smartphones too that are extremely easy to use: eg receipt bank to record receipts immediately and timesheet timetracker to record all billable time (useful for consultants out in the field),  as with everything do your research or ask for advice.

What is the best way to keep accurate records for your business?  There are many ways, simple paperwork (receipts, invoices, printed paypal and bank statements) are perfectly acceptable to HMRC, however you should make sure they are filed and kept in a safe and secure manner. 

Electronic receipts are also acceptable to HMRC and with the huge choice of apps available for smartphones it is a very simple process to keep electronic copies of receipts and statements. 

To record cash income and outgoings, simple spreadsheets are an effective and extremely cheap way of producing simple income statements and balance sheets, however for your business you may need something more sophisticated.  As with everything it pays to talk to someone who can help you decide what is best for your business.