Pension schemes and tax relief A pension is one of the most tax-efficient ways of saving for retirement. Pension schemes that are registered with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) can qualify for tax relief on: Pension contributions Investment income and gains Some lump sums paid from the scheme Contributions When you make a payment into …
Payroll Administration
Once you know you have to employ staff you will be left with a decision as to the method of administrating the payroll that best suits the organisation. The options are: Administer yourself using free software Administer yourself using commercial software Get someone else to do it via payroll bureau Free Software: The main advantage …
Running A Payroll
Running Payroll Once you have decided someone is an employee you have to put them on the payroll and of course you are obligated to deduct tax and national insurance from their salaries. To do this you need to inform the government how much each employee earns on a regular basis by registering with HMRC …
Employing Staff
Employee or Self Employed One of the decisions a business has to make is whether or not specific individuals are actually employees. This may sound like an easy question but it’s not as straight forward as it sounds. It is quite common for business to treat someone who works for them or on their behalf …
Accounting Records & Software
Why? Accounting records are necessary to control a business, monitor cash flow and to record income and expenditure. It is also a requirement of HMRC and Company Law for companies to keep adequate books and records. The definition of adequate will depend upon the nature of the business, for example, a start – up will …
Raising Finance
Sources of Finance The most suitable finance option for your business depends on many things: whether or not you’re willing to sell shares; the amount of funding required; business size; available security. There are three main sources of business finance: Equity Debt Grants The best source of business finance is your own resources or that …
Business Structures
The first question to ask is, are you self-employed and operating a business or are you an employee. If you are self-employed; income tax and national insurance payments are lower and you can deduct more expenses against your income. Against these benefits you have no employment law rights and more administration, self employment is not …
Introduction
This is an introduction to a series of blogs about business structures, taxation and accounting with an underlying theme of looking at the implications of employing people. This is quite a large subject area as there is no one correct answer to the issues faced, it depends on your circumstances, and we can only really …
VAT & Catering Supplies
Food and Catering Food is zero rates, however, a supply of food is in the course of catering is standard-rated. Thus sandwiches, cakes etc which are normally zero-rated are standard rated if supplied in the course of catering. When deciding whether a supply is in the course of catering all factors need to be considered …