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We hear all sorts of questions from our clients. Naturally, we are often asked how they can save money, and specifically… how they can save tax!

We’re observing lots of businesses thoroughly reviewing their costs in light of the changes in employers’ national insurance contributions and generally feeling the pressure of inflation and increased costs across multiple areas of the business.

Accountancy and advisory costs are no exception to the cost review. As with any service, there are always ‘DIY’ and cheaper options to explore, but will you save any money by using them? Let’s take a closer look.

There will always be a ‘cheaper’ accountant.

The team at Accounting Clarkes has been around long enough to see multiple cheaper solutions come into the market. Most recently, there’s a growing market of online ‘accountants’ offering accountancy services at a cheaper, flat fee rate. It’s estimated that unregulated accountants account for one-third of the profession. These are individuals who call themselves an accountant but are not registered with a professional accounting body. You can read more about how to spot an unregulated accountant here. If you’re being serviced entirely online, you may not truly know who is advising your business, which qualifications they hold and whether they are registered with a professional accounting body.

The online accountancy service offering often focuses on making you compliant, and that’s all. Compliance is important, but if you’re also wondering how your accountant is going to save you money, that’s a different level of service entirely. It’s key to be clear on exactly what you will be getting for that fee (and what you might be missing out on).

If you want your accountant to think about your business and personal finances holistically, then you need to shop around. Advice like this does come at a premium, but you’ll get a greater return on your investment in our experience. Ask your network for recommendations and see which firm is the best fit for you.

The tax landscape is always changing.

This is where your accountant should impact cost saving in your business. The reality is you don’t know what you don’t know, and it’s your accountant’s job to understand the changes in tax and make you aware of what’s going to have an impact.

Paying more tax is the result of your business growing. There are lots of areas to consider in how growth will impact the amount of tax you pay which is why it should have a plan behind it. There will be areas where tax can be offset, or tax reliefs utilised – only if you know about them and how to apply them.

Ask yourself, is your accountant reactive to your questions about saving tax, or proactively identifying opportunities to help you be as tax efficient as you can be?

Do you know the right questions to ask?

If you’re looking for your accountant to be proactive in saving you money, take a moment to consider how much time your accountant currently spends asking you questions about the business – where you’re currently at and want to go. Is your accountant interested in what’s happening outside of work, that might have an impact? Do they seem genuinely interested in what your company does and what your personal aspirations are? Time spent like this is valuable for unlocking cost-saving opportunities.

But it’s not just about the questions the accountant asks you. Are you asking THEM the right questions? We work alongside our clients to help them understand the questions they should be asking – to interrogate and understand the numbers in their business. Think about how differently these questions could be answered:

• Am I paying the right amount of tax?
• Is there a way for me to offset any of my tax bill next year?

Accountants who look at your business holistically will love that second question and take the time to explore the options with you. If they are just servicing you from a compliance perspective, they’ll be happy to answer the first question with a ‘yes’ and leave the discussion there.

Remember, it’s not just about monetary savings.

We know that your business wants to save money but remember that a great accountant can also save you:

• Time – whether it’s outsourced work or the time searching for the right answers or ways to do things
• Stress and worry – from knowing your business accounts are being managed correctly
• From the consequences of getting things wrong – yes, this can be fines and penalties but serious wrongdoings could get you disqualified as a company director and potentially face prosecution.

A local accountant who can save you money and so much more.

Come and meet the team at Accounting Clarkes and discover how we can support you and your business to reach your goals and aspirations, remaining as tax efficient as possible along the way. Call 01252 612484.

It’s estimated that 20% of small businesses will fail in their first year, and 60% will fail by year three. Running your own small business isn’t easy! At Accounting Clarkes, we’ve worked with organisations of all sizes for over 40 years and helped them to ride out the highs and the lows (and everything in between!)

In this month’s blog, we’d like to get you thinking about business risk and how well you’re protected. Knowing where the biggest risks lie and putting in the right protection won’t necessarily prevent difficult situations from occurring, but you’ll be in a strong position to mitigate the risk and move forward.

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest risks to small businesses.

Unmanaged cashflow

As accountants, we will naturally start with finances. It’s not uncommon for business owners to glance at sales reports and believe that the business is financially sound. They may have a general idea of their costs, but quite frankly, they don’t delve into the detail… until a problem arises. Putting aside the wider economic changes, if a business isn’t clear on when revenue is coming in and costs are going out, the unexpected can pose a huge risk to the solvency of the business. A string of late payers or being ill-prepared for upcoming bills (especially tax) can very quickly cause you and your business significant problems.

Preparing cashflow forecasts, profit and loss reports, and scenario planning can easily be done at the click of a button if you use accountancy software. You then just need to carve out time to understand thoroughly what the numbers are telling you. Better than that – use your accountant if you’re unsure. Ask them questions about your understanding. They could even save you time preparing the reports for you!

Cyber threats

Around 38% of micro and small businesses in the UK reported experiencing a cyber attack in the last 12 months, according to the UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey. This year, the Government is due to publish the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, to help protect UK cyber defences.

Small businesses are at a greater risk of a cyber attack because they aren’t as well prepared as larger organisations, and cybercriminals target them specifically. Many don’t know how to fully protect themselves. For some, it’s viewed as an additional cost. A cyber attack can cause a lot of damage. There’s the immediate business disruption, of course, but longer term, the reputational damage to clients and suppliers can be significant.

We aren’t cyber security professionals but we recommend every small business owner engage with a reputable IT services provider and address their cyber security as a matter of urgency.

Regulatory risk

Compliance is critical for any business. The consequences, like with cyber threats, aren’t just the immediate financial cost – reputational damage can do more harm in the long term, and potentially be the reason the business comes to a close. Even when business finances are strained, failure to comply with regulatory requirements is no excuse.

As accountants, we can support you with the regulatory duties of being a company director and ensure you comply with tax regulations to avoid unnecessary penalties. We can also support you with payroll and ensure that your employees are paid in line with minimum wage rates (which are due to increase in April).

Though we can’t comment on industry-specific regulatory bodies, we imagine many of you will be using customer data to market to them. You should familiarise yourself with the Data Protection Act (GDPR) to ensure you are protecting the data you have acquired and use it in the right way.

Working with the wrong people

Hopefully, your business won’t encounter this risk too often, but it does happen. Whether it’s an employee, supplier or customer, working with the wrong person can have a huge impact on your business and pose a big risk. Employees can disrupt the working environment and have an impact on other members of staff. HR advice and employment tribunals can also be costly.

Clients who are late payers will undoubtedly impact your cashflow. If you’ve prepared for such a scenario, you can potentially minimise the impact until payment is made or you seek legal action for what’s due. Sometimes, it’s not that a client doesn’t pay – they might not be the right fit for your business and as a result, you have a difficult relationship to manage.

Due diligence is key here. Put in the effort to fully vet future people you work with, and this risk will be minimised.

Reduce your risk by working with a qualified accountant

Managing risk is an important skill when running a business. We help our clients to assess risk and to make informed decisions based on their financial data. We’re proud of the relationships we build with our clients – they know they can turn to us for advice and support whenever they need it.

If you’d like to explore how Accounting Clarkes can help your business achieve its goals in 2025 and beyond, call us on 01252 612484. We’ll invite you to a discovery call so we can get to know you, and just as importantly, you can get to know us.

 

Since the Autumn Statement, employers have been bracing themselves for the increased employment costs coming into place in April:

• Companies to pay National Insurance at 15% on salaries above £5,000 (up from 13.8% on salaries above £9,100)
• Legal minimum wage rates increase, and the National Living Wage for those who are 21 years + becomes £12.21 per hour.

Payroll is the biggest cost for many SMEs, so these changes could increase business costs significantly for some impacting their cash flow and profits. Increased costs can’t always be easily absorbed by the business or passed onto the customer.

From the conversations we are having, businesses need to look at where they can save budget in order to accommodate the changes in April and manage cash flow positively. Understandably business owners want to proactively explore options and gain an element of control where these increased costs cannot be ignored.

With that in mind, the team at Accounting Clarkes have five practical cost saving tips for you to explore today.

1. Increase pension contributions for tax purposes

Speak to a payroll specialist about the option to increase employer pension contributions, which won’t be subject to employer and employee National Insurance (NI). This option expands the bands for which NI is applied and reduces the tax liabilities for the employer.

2. Investigate other salary sacrifice benefits

Like the pension contributions, an employee sacrificing part of their salary for a benefit lowers their gross salary, in turn reducing the National Insurance Contributions (NIC) you make as an employer. Even if you have explored these options before, remember that individuals’ circumstances change over time and revisiting them might identify a new need like childcare vouchers or gym membership.

3. Review other employee benefits

As well as salary sacrifice benefits, what other non-monetary employee benefits could you explore with your teams? Some may opt for additional time off in lieu of a pay rise. Others may welcome training opportunities to boost their professional development. Ask your employees what they would like – it could turn into a great tax saving!

4. Review other costs

We like to think that all business owners regularly review their budget and forecasts and therefore supplier costs to make sure they remain competitive. When there is such a prominent change to employment costs, the earlier you can review and identify potential areas of the business to save money, the better. Changing suppliers or negotiating better terms can take time. Don’t be put off if you haven’t started, but make it a priority to look at and scrutinise all your business costs.

5. Consider working with freelancers as opposed to employees

Your business may be at a pivotal point of growth and prior to the Autumn Statement announcement, you might have been gearing for growth and planning to employ more staff. If your business needs more people but the increased employment costs make it unsustainable, consider bringing in the resources you need via freelancers or agencies. You’ll be able to scale up (or down) as required.

 

Make decisions informed by the numbers.

Every business owner will have to make difficult decisions from time to time. Decisions don’t have to be difficult if you’re led by the facts and the numbers. As your accountant, we don’t leave you with doubt and questions. We’re here to help you better understand the figures in your business and to help you make key decisions with evidence.

If the upcoming changes in April are causing you stress and you’re struggling with decision-making, come and talk with our friendly team. Call 01252 612484 to discover how working with Accounting Clarkes is different.

If you feel as though you overindulged in 2024, and your finances aren’t looking as healthy as they should, then this article is for you. We naturally view the dawn of a New Year as a clean slate so now is the perfect time to review and declutter your costs.

There are a raft of increased costs that companies will have to navigate this year too. From April:

• Companies will pay National Insurance at 15% on salaries above £5,000
• Legal minimum wage increases (over-21s will rise to £12.21 per hour)
• Employer pension contributions are also increasing

Companies are already juggling increased utility costs, and supplier/material price increases. The decision as to whether these costs can be passed on to the customer is often debated (and hopefully analysed with financial data!)

The team at Accounting Clarkes have pulled together our top tips to help you make some cost savings at the start of the year.

1. Stop wasting money through unused subscriptions.

Small amounts spent regularly soon add up! What might have started as £5 per month initially might now be a monthly payment of £15/£20 from your account. Identify your regular subscripts by running through your direct debits, and then be honest with how well they are utilised:

• If you can’t remember using it, cancel the subscription immediately.
• Use some features? Investigate if there is a lower-value tariff you could switch to.
• If it’s a definite keeper, is it time to switch to a competitor to get better value?
• Could you save money on an annual subscription?

2. Investing in something new – shop around!

If there are new purchases to be made, including a new subscription, don’t accept the full price advertised online! If you are going to be a new customer, it is highly likely that they will have an introductory offer for you.

• Search online for discount codes.
• Perhaps there’s a referral code an existing user could share with you that unlocks a discount for you (and a reward for them).

Don’t forget to share your referral codes if you have them – you could earn credit to reduce your bill or some other reward.

3. Take a closer look at your expenses.

There’s so many apps out there that can do the ‘thinking work’ for you when it comes to deciphering receipts. If your categories are too broad, you might not realise where your budget is being wasted. The more detail you can analyse with, the more insight you’ll have. That insight becomes a tool to use in your decision making. Can you set a goal to reduce spend in some categories by 10% in Q1?

At Accounting Clarkes, we care about your personal finances too! Here’s some useful cost saving tips as a consumer:

• As well as looking for online discount codes, sign up for an account with an online retailer and you’ll usually get a reward or discount to use around your birthday.
• If you feel motivated to declutter in January, use apps like Vinted to earn cash for things you no longer need. Choose to save or put it towards something you want.
• Supermarket hack – don’t pick items you see at eye level (the cheaper ones are usually higher or lower)
• Just as you do with your business expenses, take a closer look at where you spend your money. Apps like Expensify can help do the hard work for you, analysing your receipts. You might think you only spend £10 on takeaway coffees each week, and realise it’s actually double that ! Be informed so you can take back control.

We’d love to hear your cost saving tips for 2025. Add a comment below or join in the conversation on LinkedIn or Facebook.

If you feel as though the costs in your business are spiralling, call 01252 612484 and speak with Gillian and Chris. We can help you to improve the health of your business and achieve your goals in 2025.

 

 

 

The Autumn Budget 2024 made the headlines for many reasons. It’s great that you’ve taken notice and you’re thinking about how these changes may impact your business in the future. Although we can’t offer personalised advice via this blog, we can give you some additional ‘food for thought’ and guidance to help you evaluate where you are and where you are planning to be.

If you like what we have to say, why not book a discovery call with the team to see how else we can support your business to grow and be profitable in 2025?

1. First things first – stop and think.

Whenever there are changes to tax rates or legislation, it’s important not to make any rash decisions – certainly not based on the headlines you’ve read. The devil will be in the detail.

The best thing you can do is speak to your accountant or another trusted advisor. If you’re the sole director of a company, it can be difficult to deal with the day-to-day running of the business AND create time and space to think strategically. Working alongside someone you trust (and who has the right knowledge to share) is a wise move when the decisions could impact the future of your business. Whether you plan a day away from the office or simply have a relaxed conversation with others away from distractions, make sure you prioritise this thinking time.

2. Scenario plan.

When you are considering making significant changes to your business, like changing its legal entity, build a picture of what the alternatives look like. A great way to do that is to scenario plan. This is where you can use forecast reports to show the impact on areas such as turnover, costs, and profit as you hypothesise different scenarios – increasing prices, changing suppliers, taking on a new member of staff for example.

The changes to tax rates, particularly employer’s NI contributions, have been a concern raised by many business owners over recent weeks. Forecast reports will help them to visualise the impact of these changes and enable them to make informed decisions.

3. Factor in your personal circumstances.

The biggest drawback with generalist advice (from well-meaning sources and friends) is that it fails to consider your personal circumstances. That’s why you can’t compare your business to someone else’s because you don’t have the finer details ‘behind the scenes’ about their finances. They may have entirely different goals from you and as a result, will structure their business in a different way.

Following the Budget announcements, we’ve had several business owners ask us whether their business should remain a limited company or would being a sole trader prove to be more tax-efficient. There are lots of factors to consider when choosing the right legal entity for your business, and it may change over time – it’s such a popular question we wrote this blog about it!

Time to get the answers you need.

We’re already working with businesses like yours to evaluate and implement changes that will help the business grow and be more profitable in 2025. We can help your business too!

Call us on 01252 612484 or email gillian@accountingclarkes.com to get a date in the diary.

Business finance today is fast-paced and often complicated. The type of support you need from your accountant will evolve as your business grows or your goals change.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all in terms of our approach which is why we’ve outlined some examples of how we can help your business, in this blog.

Starting a new business

Starting a new business is a very exciting time. Whether you’re putting your existing skills into working for yourself or you’re venturing down a new path entirely, the prospects of what this business could be are endless. All the opportunity, and all the liability, sits on your shoulders. There are lots of strategic decisions to make even in the early days, and for many, this can feel overwhelming.

Rather than make those decisions on your own, with little-to-no experience of running a business, utilise the expertise of an accountant to guide you through this unknown territory – after all, you don’t know what you don’t know! Accounting Clarkes work with lots of start-ups at this delicate part of their entrepreneurial journey. We help them to make the right decisions for their business and lifestyle, setting them up for success. Here’s some examples of how we can help you:

• We help you identify the right legal entity for your business (and the process of setting up a limited company if that’s what you decide)
• We advise you on selecting the right accounting system (and help you get set up and establish good bookkeeping practices)
• We take care of your self-assessment or filing of company accounts (getting your relationship with HMRC off to a positive start)

Business accounts

Every business, whether you are a sole trader or a limited company, will have annual business accounts to prepare and file. The legal requirements for limited companies are greater which is why it’s important to choose the right legal entity for your business. Remember that the right legal entity can change as the business grows.

Even if a business is not profitable or even trading, annual company accounts still need to be prepared and filed with Companies House.

Preparing company accounts can be complicated and time-consuming which is why many of our clients hand this responsibility to us. Our clients tell us that this makes life less stressful for them, and they can use that time and energy elsewhere in their business.

Tax planning

This is a key area of support we provide our clients. Understandably, every client wants their business to be tax efficient. Nobody wants to calculate their tax incorrectly and face the repercussions with HMRC. Mistakes can easily be made (and tax efficiencies lost) if you aren’t up to date with tax rules and thresholds. We saw a lot of change in this year’s Autumn Budget which will require all business owners to take a closer look at their tax planning.

How would it feel to know that your business is paying the right amount of tax, you’re making use of all the allowances and reliefs available to you, and you’ve budgeted to pay all your tax bills when they fall due? In our experience, this removes a lot of stress from our clients. It can often bring new opportunities, with reliefs freeing up cash to invest back in the business.

We look holistically at your business and personal taxes and align them with your goals. We can take care of:

• Corporation tax — computation and submission
• Personal tax — self assessment
• VAT
• Capital gains
• Payroll

Navigating business growth

As you have probably already experienced, success is rarely linear. You will need to make strategic decisions along the way to reach your financial aspirations and personal goals. Though instinct and ‘gut feel’ can prove fruitful, the best advice is to be informed by the numbers in your business.

This isn’t always an easy task. Accounting Clarkes clients can lean on the 60+ years of experience we collectively have, helping businesses from start-ups to large corporations. We can take you from understanding what the numbers mean to improving efficiencies in your systems. We help our clients to navigate business growth through:

• Management accounts – from budgets and forecasting, pricing, cashflow management and management reports to assist decision-making
• Business consulting – where we dig deeper and offer strategic advice on accounting systems and internal audits, for example.

We bring our expertise and knowledge to your business to enable it to thrive as you so wish.

Tailored advice for your business

We hope that this article gives you food for thought. As we said in the beginning, our advice is tailored to the business and the individuals within it. The easiest way to find out exactly how we can help you is to get in touch. Let’s have a discovery call to find out about your goals and aspirations, what challenges you are facing and how we can set you on the path for success.

Call 01252 612484 or email gillian@accountingclarkes.com

At Accounting Clarkes, we find it a privilege to work closely with business owners. We’re there to help them celebrate the good days and weather the difficult ones. We recognise that one of the biggest challenges that business owners face today is managing increasing costs. With the soaring impact of inflation increasing the cost of raw materials and overheads such as rent rates insurance and IT/ telecoms, there is a significant strain on business finances and the constant consideration of whether to pass these costs onto customers.

In this article, we share practical advice to help you review your budget and tackle those increased costs.

Step one – Identify where you are wasting money.

When you’re conscious of increased costs eroding your profit, it can be tempting to focus on big figures. In reality, it’s the smaller costs that go unnoticed which do more damage. If you pay attention to the smaller values and find several to reduce or cancel altogether, those small savings will soon add up. With these simple tips, you might spot some great savings and move into 2025 knowing you aren’t wasting a penny!

Review the costs coming out of your account regularly – go through your bank statements line by line. For each cost, ask yourself:

1. Do you know exactly what that cost is for?
2. Is it necessary?
3. Is there a contract renewal date to consider? More about to follow.
4. If a subscription has continued longer than you thought, could you apply for a refund?

Once you’ve identified the subscriptions you no longer need, it’s time to see if you can reduce the ones you do:

1. Review the benefits/features of what you are getting for your money. Is there a lower-priced package that covers your needs?
2. Are you out of contract? Speak to your supplier and try to negotiate a better (cheaper) deal.
3. If the supplier won’t budge, it’s time to shop around to see what other deals are available. It’s a sad reality these days, but loyalty isn’t often rewarded financially.

Step two – plan ahead for the bigger costs.

Budgeting isn’t just about reducing costs. When running a business, you will have operating costs that you simply cannot avoid or reduce – they are what they are! We’re referring to things such as your utility bills, insurance and of course tax. It is also wise to plan for a financial buffer to cover times when you aren’t working like taking a holiday or when you are sick.

1. Calculate what these big bills add up to and what you need to put aside each month to contribute towards them.
2. It’s easy to build up a buffer by putting small amounts aside each month. Opening a second bank account means the money is kept separate from your daily business finances.
3. Diarise when bigger costs are due – remember that late payment of taxes can incur penalty fees and interest!

How close are you to the numbers in your business?

It’s not uncommon for business owners to estimate their costs – they just simply aren’t close enough to the numbers! We recommend that you review your costs each quarter (ideally monthly). It’s so easy to do! Use the pre-defined reports in your accounting software and get an accurate view at the click of a button.

If you aren’t confident enough with the numbers, or you want to get better at understanding how to accurately forecast and budget in your business, call 01252 612484 to speak to Gillian or Chris. We’d be happy to help you build a profitable business.

The team at Accounting Clarkes has worked with hundreds of businesses like yours. We’re well versed in the common misconceptions and mistakes that are made, and we know the right solutions to put them right. If you don’t already, follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook where we regularly share snippets of advice each week.

In this article, we’re going to focus on why this time of year is ideal for giving your business a financial reality check. As humans, we naturally reset when the schools go back. Do you have a bit of a spring in your step this week? Are you feeling more energised and focused on tackling those goals again? Then this is a great time to check in on the numbers in the business.

Does your business need a financial reality check?

It’s easy for business owners to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of the business and overlook the importance of regular financial checks. Even if the business is trading well, keeping close to the numbers, especially what’s coming in and when, is vital to avoid a cashflow disaster.

Checking in with your finances is a bit like using GPS to work out where you are. Your goals are the direction you want to head. If you set them at the start of the year and start walking, how do you know how far you’ve reached without regularly plotting your current location? At the very least, using the halfway point in the tax year (or the halfway point in your accounting year) to mark where you have got to. In an ideal world, we recommend businesses do this on a monthly basis to have a solid grasp on their numbers.

Why financial awareness is essential for SMEs.

We’ve explained the importance of knowing where you are in terms of reaching your financial goals, but financial awareness will also:

• Help you to spot warning signs early. As soon as actual numbers don’t line up with budgeted numbers, there could be a problem. For example, you may notice that you’ve spent more than you’ve budgeted for and that’s easting into your profits. A noticed problem is one you can begin to address and remedy before it escalates.
• Help you to make informed decisions. We love it when our clients come to us with questions about how they can grow their business. The answers are almost always in the numbers! Whether it’s the opportunity to take on a new member of staff, invest in new equipment or launch a new product, your financial data will guide you.
• Help you to prepare for future opportunities. Some of you may be thinking further down the line – perhaps you need to attract external investment, or you want to sell the business and get the best value for it. In either circumstance, having a clear picture of the financial health of the business over time is essential.

How can you ensure your SME business is financially fit?

Here’s our recommendations and some helpful resources:

1. Create a budget. Not sure how? Check out “How to effectively forecast your budget.”
2. Monitor your cash flow. Do you understand the difference between accounts receivable and accounts payable pays? We explain it all here.
3. Track profitability. Understanding your profitability is essential for measuring your business’s success. Do you understand the difference between a profit and loss and cashflow forecast? It’s a common question we’re asked and we answer it here.

Finally, you can ask your accountant! A qualified accountant can provide invaluable guidance on financial management as well as tax planning and compliance.

Don’t bury your head in the sand!

If reviewing your business financials gives you the jitters and you’d do anything to avoid it, you need a supportive, friendly accountant. One who understands the ups and downs of running a business.

We help our clients to better understand their numbers every day, and as a result they become more confident with them. It’s never too late. Book in for a initial meeting with Gillian and Chris by calling 01252 612484 or email gillian@accountingclarkes.com.