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Limited Company Checklist for Hiring Your First Employee

Hiring a staff member for the first time is an exciting chapter in company progress, but it comes with several responsibilities and requirements. In this checklist, SAS Accounting runs through the steps one at a time, helping you ensure you are prepared for everything from running payroll to complying with employment laws....

HMRC Targets Taxi Drivers in Latest Tax Investigation

It's no secret that HMRC has been clamping down on income tax declarations and late payments to recoup the huge amounts of government spending over the last few years. We reported way back in December 2010 that HMRC was back in action, refocusing on recovering unpaid taxes and scrutinising potentially incorrect declarations. The latest group to catch the tax office's eye is taxi drivers, particularly where more and more drivers are becoming self-employed workers and declaring earnings made throu...

What to Do If You're Struggling to Pay Your Bounce Back Loan

Around 1.56 million UK businesses applied to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), one of several government measures to support companies struggling to remain viable during the pandemic. Loans were available up to £50,000 without a personal guarantee and with no repayment required for the first year - the government paid the interest for the initial 12-month period. While the initiative proved successful and prevented numerous insolvencies, many businesses have found that trade hasn't recovered ...

What Does Inflation Mean for UK Businesses?

Inflation reports are difficult to avoid in the current economic climate, and millions of businesses are concerned about what it may mean. Today, SAS Accounting explains the basics behind inflation, the likely impacts on commerce, and how you can prepare for the months ahead!...

What Are the Tax Efficiencies of Swapping to an Electric Car?

Electric cars are becoming increasingly popular, with soaring fuel prices and the growing availability of charging stations - but they may also be advantageous from a cost perspective, particularly for businesses. Hybrids and fully electric vehicles tend to be slightly more expensive than conventional fuel-powered cars, but favourable tax treatments may offset that expense. Along with purchase incentives for private buyers (available on new electric cars), organisations that offer their staff co...

Cash Flow vs Profit: Why Both Are Essential for Business Money Management

While most business owners and self-employed professionals know that cash flow and profit are two (very) different things, there is often an assumption that if one is fine, so is the other. Unfortunately, this misconception can be a core driver in insolvency, where a company appears profitable but doesn't have the requisite working capital to meet its obligations. In this guide, SAS Accounting clarifies how cash flow and profit differ, why both are equally important, and how to manage cash flow ...

Advice for Businesses Coping With Debt

Every business in every sector may have periods where they experience cash flow challenges, loss-making quarters, or difficult trading seasons - but things can become extremely hard to balance when your organisation is coping with debt. SAS Accounting is not an insolvency practitioner, but we support numerous local companies and understand the complexity and associated stress of handling liabilities. This guide includes a list of guidelines and potential solutions to run through the range of pra...

Could Your Business Claim the 130% Capital Allowance Super-Deduction?

The SAS Accounting team regularly highlights tax schemes and allowances that seem to fly beneath the radar - and the super-deduction is one of the most favourable (yet under-utilised) tax incentives ever offered. As part of the drive to boost economic growth, from 1st April 2021, businesses can claim a capital allowance deduction of 130% against investments in plant and machinery. That means every £1 of investment receives a £0.25 government bonus, although the scheme is only valid for two yea...

Your April 2022 Tax Year-End Business Checklist

We've bumped and bounced our way to the end of another tax year - and getting ahead of your administration and accountancy tasks is a great way to start the new tax period as you mean to go on! The SAS Accounting team is always on hand to help and appreciate that it can be an overwhelming challenge if you're dealing with payroll returns, issuing P60s and filing self-assessment documents all at once. Our guide below lists all the steps you need to tick off your year-end tax list, whether that coi...

Calculating the Optimal 2022/23 Director's Salary

Although we've mentioned this briefly in our guide to Preparing for the 2022 Tax Year, we've created this more detailed post to explain how the ideal director's salary is calculated for the 2022/23 tax year. In the year ahead, the optimal payroll structure for company directors with the greatest tax efficiency is £11,908 per year, £992 per month or £229 a week. This figure was slightly different in the original SAS Accounting article but has been adjusted because of the changes anno...

Preparing for the 2022 Tax Year: Wage Increases, National Insurance & Balancing Director's Pay Structures

We're just a couple of short weeks away from the start of the 2022/23-tax year, and there are a fair few changes to be mindful of if you're planning your payroll or cash flow for the months ahead. SAS Accounting has collated a list of the enquiries we're receiving and wanted to address those key questions, centring on: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates.Amendments to employer's statutory payments.Pinpointing the ideal director's salary rate for this tax year. With frozen income...

Making the Most of the UK Marriage Allowance

The news may be dominated by rising fuel, energy and cost of living prices, but there are several ways to streamline your tax liabilities and claim allowances to soften the blow. One under-utilised option is the Marriage Allowance, open to either married couples or civil partners, with a limit equal to 10% of your Personal Allowance - so £1,260 for the 2021/22 tax year. Today we'll run through how the allowance works and why it could save you up to £1,220 before we hit the end of the current t...

The Benefits of Cloud Accounting for Busy Businesses & Remote Working Teams

Although it seems (dare we say it!) that most UK business sectors are slowly returning to normal, we're also now accustomed to a far greater prevalence of remote working. Besides video conferencing and digital meetings, bookkeeping becomes somewhat trickier for fast-paced businesses when there isn't a dedicated accounts team member in the office every day. SAS Accounting has long advocated for cloud accounting for several reasons - not least that it makes admin tasks faster, more secure, and all...

The Countdown to MTD for VAT: Are You Ready?

While Making Tax Digital (MTD) has been postponed for income tax submissions, the 1st April 2022 deadline still applies for businesses registered for VAT. The change means that even businesses with turnover beneath the registration point (£85,000) need to file according to the digital tax legislation. This regulation has been compulsory for companies over the threshold since 2019. SAS Accounting has published a Making Tax Digital Checklist previously. Still, given the upcoming deadline, we thou...

HMRC Announces Greater Flexibility in 2020/21 Tax Returns

While self-assessment tax returns for the 2020/21 tax year remain due by 31st January 2022, HMRC has announced a series of measures to try and relieve some of the strain on businesses, which continue to be impacted by the pandemic. Although submission and payment due dates haven't changed, there is greater leniency for late payments, which may support thousands of self-employed businesses. However, the caveat is that while late payment penalties may not be payable, interest certainly is. If you ...

How to Account Correctly for Christmas Spending

As we come towards the end of 2021, it's undoubtedly been another difficult year for millions of UK businesses. While the pandemic hasn't yet dispersed, many employers and managers are keen to treat their clients and reward their staff, taking this festive period to celebrate their achievements and resilience. The media has demonstrated how vital it is to be mindful of Christmas events and celebrations. Still, for SAS Accounting clients, the focus will be on ensuring all gifts and seasonal items...

Preparing for Employment Costs in 2022

With multiple changes to tax bands, minimum wages and National Insurance contributions, the new 2022 tax year will require more amendments than usual for employers. In this guide, the SAS Accounting team explains some of the core changes to be aware of and factors to build into your workforce budgetary plans for the year ahead. Preparation, as always, is key, so please get in touch for further advice about any of the information included here or for assistance calculating the effects on your mon...

The Big News From the Autumn Budget 2021

The autumn budget was always going to focus on economic recovery, with Brexit and the Coronavirus pandemic in the background. With inflation hitting 3.1% in September and predicted to reach 4% over the next year per the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), many people and businesses are concerned about factors such as higher energy costs. Sunak's raft of measures on 27th October offers some good news, with potential reductions in business rates and 50% discounts for critical sectors - but the...

Guide to the National Insurance Contribution Increases from April 2022

Recent headlines have been dominated by the news of National Insurance increases and a new health and social care tax - but when will our contributions rise, and what does it mean for your business? Let's recap exactly what's changing, by how much, and when. If you need any support budgeting for tax increases or revising cash flow forecasts for the year ahead, please contact the SAS Accounting team for further assistance....

The Final Month of Furlough: How to Prepare Your Business

After a full year and a half, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, or what's become universally known as furlough, ends this month on 30th September. While around three million people are now back to work, there remain many businesses that are just starting to resume normality. Many more companies have been taking advantage of flexible furlough, where staff work part-time and are on furlough pay for the remainder, which will also cease. In this guide, the SAS team summaries the key steps for em...

The Final Month of Furlough: How to Prepare Your Business

After a full year and a half, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, or what's become universally known as furlough, ends this month on 30th September. While around three million people are now back to work, there remain many businesses that are just starting to resume normality. Many more companies have been taking advantage of flexible furlough, where staff work part-time and are on furlough pay for the remainder, which will also cease. In this guide, the SAS team summaries the key steps for em...

Making Tax Digital: Your Company Checklist

All UK businesses have doubtless heard of Making Tax Digital (MTD). While MTD isn't mandatory for all VAT returns until April 2022, the SAS Accounting team regularly hears from clients concerned about the endless reminders and wanting to know what they can do to prepare! The great news is that companies over the VAT threshold of £85,000 are already using MTD to submit their returns. That means many of the initial glitches have been ironed out. In this blog, we'll run through how MTD works and w...

Claiming Limited Company Owners Expenses When Working From Home

Over the last year, the work from home revolution has transformed the way many businesses operate. It's also common for limited company owners to put in extra hours away from the office or to operate primarily from home. Inevitably, that means some of your work is carried out at your private residence, which might be: BookkeepingPreparing correspondenceWriting reportsPaying billsA home workshop Whether you're a limited company owner working some of the time remotely, or a business owner with a h...

Back To Work: The Changes Ahead for the Furlough Scheme

The Job Retention Scheme seems to have been around forever, and something around eleven million workers have benefited from over the last few months. Now, furlough isn't suddenly falling off a cliff (the scheme runs until September 2021), but it is about to change. Here we've summarised how the initiative will start tapering off and what to plan for in the weeks ahead....

Help on the Small Business Road to Recovery

Aside from the slight stumbling block on the 'lockdown route map', most British businesses are now back at work or expecting to reopen in the next four weeks. However, the SAS Accounting team works with hundreds of small companies and sole traders, some of whom feel that they face a substantial mountain to climb to get anywhere back to pre-pandemic profits. If that sounds familiar - don't feel you're alone! There are vast amounts of anxiety across the sectors, with furlough support coming to an ...