If you have employees you will want to know how much you can pay your employees in 2016-17 before you have to pay employer National Insurance Contributions and if there are any further benefits which will help you as an employer. There is no change from 2015-16 and employers will continue to pay employers National […]

Every business owner should prepare for the unexpected.  According to the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) every year one in five businesses suffers a major disruption and one in ten of these cease trading due to this disruption. What preparations have you made to overcome disruptions to your business? Have you thought what could have […]

There is a vast array of accounts software available for keeping your accounts which can be overwhelming if you don’t know what you need to do or the best way of doing it.   When you set up a business you need to record your trading income and your trading expenses.  This is basic accounting […]

What a fantastic month February has been for our business.  A trip to Westminster to talk to MPs about auto enrolment, a new employee, a promotion for one of our team and now we are celebrating achieving the Standard for Investors in People,  And there is still a week to go! After a day of interviews […]

I was very privileged last week to be invited by John Glen MP to attend the Department for Work and Pensions Select Committee to provide an insight into how auto enrolment is affecting small businesses.  The DWP Select Committee launched an inquiry into pensions auto enrolment in December 2015 and since then a variety of […]

As a growing business building our team to support other businesses is one of the pleasures of being a business owner.  You get to choose who becomes part of your team and that is a fantastic opportunity.  I have not had experience of recruiting before but I have managed to build a great team of people who […]

All businesses who employ staff will be aware from the adverts on television, the articles in the press, editorials online and the information letters they will have received from The Pension Regulator that they cannot ignore Pension Auto Enrolment. So knowing about it and actually doing something about it is proving difficult for small employers. […]

If you are intent on growing your business at some stage you will have to become VAT registered.  It is surprising how many people don’t want to grow their business because they are concerned that becoming VAT registered will be complicated.  In fact registering for VAT is straightforward and can be quickly and easily done […]

In September 2015 the Government made the Marriage Allowance available to couples where one of them earns less than the personal threshold for tax, currently £10,600. The Marriage Allowance works by allowing the higher earning person to transfer £1,060 of their personal allowance to their husband, wife or civil partner.  The lower earner needs to […]

In September 2015 the Government made the Marriage Allowance available to couples where one of them earns less than the personal threshold for tax, currently £10,600. The Marriage Allowance works by allowing the higher earning person to transfer £1,060 of their personal allowance to their husband, wife or civil partner.  The lower earner needs to […]