You finally get to be your own boss and focus on what you're good at and be free from office politics, the bureaucracy of filling in endless forms or being sent in all directions.
One of the most important decisions you will make as a business owner is choosing an accountant to help you with your business.
Accounting is such a broad subject it can feel like a minefield you need to cross to take control of your business.
Keeping track of income and expenditure is vital to the financial health of any business, as is complying with the demands of the taxman.
Are you thinking of going self-employed as a Sole trader / partnership or setting up a business as a Limited Company? Knowing your trade is only half of running a successful business.
When you are new to self-employment, you have a million and one things to do and normally bookkeeping isn't at the top of the list.
The first results of the 'Test and Learn' phase of the Business Records Check (BRC) that HMRC recently commenced have started to come through.
It's easy to find yourself a 'busy fool', working on all the items on your to-do list and losing sight of your end goal.
HMRC have a penalty regime for Tax Returns which results in a taxpayer facing penalties if they are submitted after the deadline.
Operating your business as a limited company instead of a sole trader or partnership can have a number of benefits, not least of these being a range of opportunities to save tax.
Feel like you're forever checking for payment, or chasing your clients? Here's some help to get your invoices paid on time.
Completed a job and invoiced your client but haven't been paid? Sadly for many small businesses, this is a common occurrence.
At The Entrepreneurs Mentor, I offer a free report, consisting of quick fire easy to answer questions to help business owners identify what they need to make a change for the better.
The most popular set-up for self-employed workers nationally is operating as a sole trader, who makes up 59 per cent of the UK’s self-employed workforce.
Having your own business can be fantastic: lots of creative ideas, a new found energy and positivity, an opportunity to make some great business decisions with some financial reward!
In these challenging economic times, it is even more critical for SMEs to keep a tight rein on the finances and to plan accurately for the future.
The HMRC can come knocking on your door about any of the following government taxes: personal income tax and corporation tax, capital taxes (such as capital gains tax and inheritance tax), value added tax (VAT), excise duties and stamp duty land tax, environmental taxes such as Air Passenger Duty and the climate change levy, National Insurance contributions, child benefit and some other forms of state support including the Child Trust Fund, payments of Tax Credits and so on.
