A few nights ago I saw a documentary about small business owners who had been defrauded by their bookkeepers. This was a blatant abuse of their positions, where individuals stole hundreds of thousands of pounds. The methods used by these fraudsters were fairly simple and once you know what you are looking for they are easy [...]
In our opinion todays budget was for, in the most part, the employed, as opposed to the self-employed or small business owner. An increase in the personal allowance and the creation of the living wage will be welcomed but the changes we have seen with increased taxed on dividends along with the removal of employment allowance [...]
I couldn’t resist quoting The Godfather when writing this post about keeping your personal expenditure separate from your Business expenditure. The rest of this post doesn't quite live up to the excitement of this epic film but whilst it's not exciting it is important. When you first started your business you probably started as a [...]
I was asked this recently by a potential client of mine. At first, I was taken a back because he showed me the corporation tax return he had just completed and the accounts that he had just filed and you know what he had done a half decent job. Its true there is nothing to [...]
If you know me then you will know I am a little obsessed with systems and processes – I actually named my business Accsys because I wanted to develop Kent’s Leading Systemised Accounting Practice. I also dedicate a big portion of my book, The Organised Business, to the importance of systems and how to develop [...]
I believe that at the centre of any business are the finances and ultimately this means the bookkeeping package that you use to record the day to day transactions that will provide the business with its financial reporting. In the past this software package has been desktop based and has been a little disconnected from [...]
Getting value for money for your business Generally speaking there are really only two ways to make more profit in your business, selling more or cutting costs. Keeping an eye on the costs for your business is vital if you want to keep more of the profit you make. Regularly reviewing these costs is important [...]
If you think you may have a disorganised business but aren't sure then here are ten ways you can tell: Paperwork - You often find it difficult to find things, paperwork, files or even your desk! Fighting Fires - You seem to be endlessly fighting fires or resolving issues rather than moving the business forward. [...]
Many business owners use a spreadsheet or desktop package to do their bookkeeping but we think they should stop and switch to an online bookkeeping package such as www.Xero.com and here are ten reasons why. Get to know your financialsA set of management accounts is possible with a spreadsheet but it’s not easy. Xero gives [...]
Whenever I sign up a new client, I make a point of always asking the question; How do you price your services? The answers I get are often surprising and not what you might expect. The reason I ask this is because, in my opinion, pricing is the number one reason why businesses fail. Lack [...]
