Talking to your clients – The rules on tax relief for pensions

The rules on tax relief for pensions were changed not that long ago and may have affected a number of clients. Well, they look set to change again, to reduce the annual allowance (AA) to...Read more

RTI and annual schemes

Further to our blog in March regarding the payment of owner-managers, HMRC have issued guidance on RTI and annual schemes, including clarification of the requirements and operating annual PAYE schemes in real time (www.hmrc.gov.uk/news/rti-annual-schemes.htm) ....Read more

The cash basis is here to stay – it won’t be going away

The original proposals last year to introduce a cash basis measurement of profit for the small unincorporated business were met with howls of protest from our representative bodies. They concluded that the proposals were rather...Read more

FSA replaced by FCA – so what’s in a change of initial letter?

Since yesterday was a bank holiday in the UK, today is when the financial world begins to adjust to the demise of the former city regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The body has been...Read more

Remind your clients before HMRC automate the process

That personal relationship with your clients is a big part of what your day to day work but there’s never enough time… ...Read more

Academy Accounts Return March 2013

Attendees at our March Academies Update Conference will have taken note of two ‘soon-to-be-confirmed’ financial reporting requirements for academies. ...Read more

Childcare changes ahead

The Government has announced new tax incentives for childcare. Once fully implemented, the Tax-free Childcare Scheme will be worth up to £1,200 per child. ...Read more

The future of UK GAAP arrives

Earlier today, the FRC issued FRS 102, the accounting standard designed to replace virtually all previous standards for non-small entities in the UK and Ireland. The new FRS joins FRSs 100 and 101 to complete...Read more

Tax is never simple but some small charities can get some ‘free’ money

Following consultation, the Small Charitable Donations Act 2012 (SCDA 2012) became law in December 2012. The scheme is referred to in all official documents as the ‘Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme’ or GASDS and it...Read more

RTI and owner/managers

Now that the self assessment dust has settled, thoughts have turned to (no, not holidays) but the start of RTI. We have been inundated for requests for places on our PAYE, Benefits and NI update...Read more

Hello Micro – UK consults on adopting Micro-entities Directive

Late last night, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills issued a consultation on a long-awaited topic – the introduction of Micro-entity provisions in the UK. ...Read more

Will we see even more changes in tax rates and allowances in the Budget?

The Chancellor surprised many of us by using the Autumn Statement to increase the personal allowance from April 2013 even more than was originally planned. The £9,440 allowance is well on the way to the...Read more

Dr No!

HMRC have been targeting the travel costs of NHS consultants doing private work for many years. However, in what may well be seen as a test case and after an enquiry lasting more than seven...Read more

Legislation to be introduced to apply a cap on income tax reliefs claimed by individuals from 6 April 2013

Following consultation, legislation is to be introduced to apply a cap on income tax reliefs claimed by individuals from 6 April 2013. Many clients will not be affected but what do you need to know...Read more

Never a dull moment on the charity front…

I’m delighted to have been asked to talk at Mercia’s forth-coming charity conference in London and the East Midlands. For all accountants who have, or would like to have, charities amongst their clients there’s lots...Read more

Benefits of online and offline marketing activities – getting the most of joined up thinking

In our last blog we covered the general question of Return on Investment (ROI) and how overlooking traditional marketing techniques in place of on hand analytics may not get the best out of your marketing...Read more

Lies, damn lies and analytics! How do you get return on investment (ROI) for your digital marketing efforts?

The question of return on investment  (ROI) has always been a tricky subject to address and the ambition most of the time is to try to monetise that return, but is this a correct approach?...Read more

Annual investment Allowance rises to £250,000 – but how do you calculate how much your clients can spend on plant and machinery and get immediate tax relief?

The tenfold increase in Annual investment Allowance (AIA) caught everyone by surprise and is obviously good news for clients. However, its introduction with effect from 1 January 2013 has brought with it complex provisions for accounting...Read more

Reduction of share capital

Since 1 October 2008, private companies have been able to use a simplified share capital reduction process without Court approval. The provisions allow, for example, a company to return share capital which is in excess...Read more

Talking to your clients – Employer provided car changes

Tax is an ever changing world but some changes are more important to clients than others.

Whilst you will be aware of the technical issues it is easy to forget, and find the time, to focus...Read more

Paper or Pixel?

As a graphic designer, I consider printed material to be very important to me. There's nothing better than seeing your own work in print. But in comparison, moving with the digital age is also important,...Read more

Some of our most memorable moments in the world of Social Media

2012 has been a great experience sharing information with you all and seeing the replies, retweets and comments, which makes doing Social Media worthwhile. There have been some memorable moments and we’d like to share...Read more

Talking to your clients – Security for payment of PAYE

Tax is an ever changing world but some changes are more important to clients than others.

Whilst you will be aware of the technical issues it is easy to forget, and find the time, to focus...Read more

Talking to your clients – Capital allowances for fixtures

Tax is an ever changing world but some changes are more important to clients than others.

Whilst you will be aware of the technical issues it is easy to forget, and find the time, to...Read more

Effective Business Relationships

Following on from our last blog about turning clients into advocates, we looked at how you could work with your existing clients to create new business. In this blog we focus on relationships and personality...Read more

3 Steps to successful Social Media

You maybe already either in the starting or growth stages of your social media experience and may have got there by learning about it through the internet, a training course,  from within your firm through...Read more

Turning clients into advocates

In our previous blogs we explored the themes of service standards, client feedback and complaint handling. In the third instalment of our delivering service excellence we look at how we can turn our client into...Read more

Dealing with complaints

We continue our blogs on the subject of service excellence by looking at how to deal with complaints...

Many of us grow up with the idea that mistakes are bad, linking our self-esteem with continued success....Read more

Service Standards and Client Feedback

Following on from our last three blogs about “Delivering Service Excellence” we continue with some useful insights into five key areas to help you create a plan for service excellence.

...Read more

12 months on – Our experience of Social Media so far…

16 August 2011 was a key milestone in our Social Media history as we officially launched our presence by posting our first blog.
...Read more