What Happens If You Lose Your Business Records??
Lost records have been a problem since time began. Sometimes the loss is genuine and records ruined in fire or floods etc., but sometimes the “loss” is a smokescreen because the business person thinks they can outsmart HMRC by claiming the records are lost. HMRC has lots of information sources they can access in these situations, including digging into your
How Long Do You Need To Keep Your Business Records?
This question comes up a lot here at the office. I am asked at least 3 times a week as there seems to be lots of confusion out there in the “real world” amongst business people. The answer is it depends… If you just complete a Self Assessment Return each year as a consequence of having a company car or
A Challenge For You!!
It seems that there are still countless thousands of households using BT for their phone calls at their extortionate call rates. These days there are lots of alternatives to BT as long as you still have your BT phone line and Tiscali is one of those but also offer so much more. To qualify, you just have to be a
Are You Falling Into This Advertising And Image Trap?
I know I was going to make the next post about manual bookkeeping but whilst we were away last week I couldn’t believe the huge number of businesses that had fallen into this obvious advertising and image trap. Website hosting is so cheap and easy these days that it is no wonder most businesses have some form of online presence,
Holidays Are Here – Hooray!!
Yes it’s true – it is that time of year again. The family are dragging me kicking and screaming down to the south coast and beyond for the Stewart family annual holiday. The dog and cat are safely in the kennels, the fish are nice and clean with a food block about to be launched in the morning when we
I’ve Joined PayPerPost to help pay for my blogging habit!
You may have noticed over the last month my blog has undergone quite a few changes, both in appearance and in the frequency of posting. As I now enjoy spending a little more time developing my blog I looked for some ways to earn some income from it to help me justify the time spent. A large part of my
Why You Need Insurance For Professional Fees In A Tax/VAT Investigation!
Did you know you could get insurance cover for this? Do you know why you need insurance cover for this? Do you know that a poorly defended Tax investigation could bankrupt you? Do you think this could never happen to you?? OK. Enough questions, what about the answers? – Oops, that was another question! Let me answer the questions in
Why Use A Certified Bookkeeper Instead Of Doing Your Own Bookkeeping?
As a member of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers I am often asked why a small business owner needs to use an outside bookkeeping expert, rather than doing the bookkeeping themselves to save money. This is an easy question to answer because it is a “no-brainer”. There are times in your life when only a qualified expert will do. For
Do You Write Lots Of Articles On Your Computer??
Over the last few months I have written quite a few blog entries and articles for publication in various places. I really enjoy this work but I had started to find that using my “old” method of writing using notepad++ was becoming more difficult. The reasons for this are many but I think it mainly came down to distractions. Last
Have You Tried Being A Customer of Your Business Lately??
This may sound odd – but have you looked at how you treat your customers recently? I was discussing this earlier today with a client whose business has stagnated after he moved into a new office last year and we were looking at possible reasons why that would be. We looked at the products he was offering, how he was
