Business mistakes cost £2,340 a year

A third of business owners would describe themselves as ambitious risk takers, says a study. However, the flip side was bad decisions, with taking a chance on hiring someone who ultimately turned out not to be right for the job named as British bosses' most common business mistakes.

The Volkswagen Caddy - However Big Your Ambition survey of a thousand SMEs revealed that mistakes and bad decisions cost UK businesses an average  £2,340 every year.

Not taking advantage of an opportunity was the number three business mistake, followed by offering too much of a discount and hiring a friend.

Sixth place in the list went to taking on a relative to carry out a role in the company; while firing someone and later realising they shouldn't have been giving the boot was at seven.

Trusting the wrong person or business partner was eighth in the list, with investing in equipment which didn't do the right job and ignoring good advice completing the top ten.

Over a third (35%) of owners say they have let their heart rule their heads at some point, with 61% of those saying the decision proved detrimental. More than half of those (56%) say they even lost money because of it. Another one-in-ten admitted their company's reputation was affected.

New HMRC Tax Calculator

HMRC have released a new version of the tax calculator to estimate the amount of income tax and National Insurance payable on income.

The calculator is aimed at people who pay tax through PAYE and is available to anyone through the HMRC website or by following this link.

http://payecalculator.hmrc.gov.uk/PAYE0.aspx

If you need any help or assistance with PAYE or Payroll then contact us 

mail@bookkeeping4u.biz or tel 07792080789

RTI - 2 Weeks to go. Are you ready?

Does it apply to me?

RTI applies to anyone who is registered for PAYE (or needs to be). This means:

YES - if you employ staff and any of them earn more that £109 per week in 2013/14.

YES - if you do your work through a limited company (assuming you pay yourself a salary or reimburse expenses).

NO - if you are a sole trader or partnership and don't employ anyone.


What does it involve?
RTI or Real Time Information is the new way to report wages, salaries, PAYE and National Insurance to HMRC. Traditionally, PAYE data would be submitted at the end of the tax year, but the new regulations require the data to be submitted electronically to HMRC online whenever employees get paid.


Get sorted for RTI
If you need help with your payroll or you don't think your current payroll software is not compatible with RTI then contact Bookkeeping4u. We have various payment options and can submit you RTI data to HMRC for you. all our software and staff are ready for RTI submissions now.

New Online VAT Services

HMRC has made some changes and additions to the VAT online services. These services aren't functions used on a day-to-day basis, they will speed up and simplify notification procedures which have, until now, been slow to update.

So what are the changes?

The following actions can now be completed entirely online:

• Changing your business and trading names
• Amending your principal place of business address
• Adding or amending business contact details (phone number, email address and website address)
• Notifying a change of bank account details
• Amending the period (quarters) your VAT return covers
• Cancelling or applying for a VAT registration
• Viewing or printing your VAT registration certificate
• Applying to use the annual accounting or flat rate schemes
• Attaching files, e.g. A scanned PDF document, to application etc.

As long as you are enrolled for the VAT online services you'll have automatic access to the new functions.

If you need help and assistance completing or updating your VAT details or registering for VAT and VAT online then contact Bookkeeping4u.

Ring 07792 080789 or email mail@bookkeeping4u.biz

Reasons (Excuses) for submitting Self Assessment Return Late

According to The Guardian, Around half a million people who still have not filed tax returns for the 2010/11 tax year are about to receive fines of at least £1,200 as HM Revenue & Customs sends out its latest round of penalty letters.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/aug/14/hmrc-penalty-fines-tax-return

So what are 'reasonable' excuses?

Here are some examples that are acceptable:

a failure in the HMRC computer system
you registered for HMRC Online Services but didn’t get your Activation Code in time
your computer breaks down just before or during the preparation of your online return
a serious illness, disability or serious mental health condition has made you incapable of filing your tax return


And some that aren’t acceptable:

found the online system too complicated to follow
did not try to re-submit your return on time once a problem with the IT system was put right
left everything to your accountant to do and they let you down
forgot about the deadline
registered for HMRC Online Services after the filing deadline (eg 31 January for Self Assessment)


http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/online/excuse-missed-deadline.htm

If you are submitting late and you need to appeal against a penalties you need to complete Form SA370

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/sa370.pdf

What's your excuse?

The Social Media Revolution 2012-13

The Campaign for Real Time Information

Real Time Information system will be up and running in February even though industry objections that things are moving too fast.

Are you ready? 

Will employers be ready? 

David Adams article asks Will Employers be ready, and is the change necessary at all?

Please click HERE to read the full article.

RTI - Are You Ready?

RTI or Real Time Information is the new system being introduced by HMRC in April 2013 to improve the operation of Pay as you Earn (PAYE).

Starting this April employers and pension providers will be required to submit information to HMRC on deductions for PAYE, national insurance contributions (NICs) and student loans every time they pay their employees rather than at the end of the year. HMRC believes the introduction of RTI will help individuals pay the right amount of income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NIC) throughout the tax year.

How will RTI benefit my business?

On the plus side, it should make the PAYE process simpler and less of a burden for businesses by streamlining paperwork as well as simplify the employee new starter and leaving processes.

For the most part though RTI underlies the government’s new state benefits overhaul otherwise known as Universal Credits and enables more efficient collection of outstanding PAYE and NIC liabilities.

When will RTI happen?

The new scheme is being phased in from April 2013. HMRC will notify employers 4-6 weeks before they must begin using RTI. All employers will be using the RTI service by October 2013.

Check your payroll data is accurate for RTI

You will need to check in advance that your payroll data is accurate and in an appropriate format for RTI. The information that you submit will be matched against records held on HMRC’s databases, and any discrepancies could lead to inaccurate tax calculations or trigger a compliance check.

If your business is not ready for RTI and you would like some advice please contact us for a no obligation consultation.

Tel: 07792 080789

Email: mail@bookkeeping4u.biz