Seahaven Accountancy

Email Marketing on a Shoestring

seahavenaccountancy — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 21:54:47 +0000

Sendblaster is a handy little block email sender that sits on your desktop.The free edition comes complete with a selection of templates ranging from e-cards to e-newsletters but is limited to 100 contacts. A PRO version can be bought for a moderate sum.

If you’re running a club or society or you just want to send an newsletter, Sendblaster offers a free Newsletter Software edition.

Please consider that the European Directive 2002/58/EC requires mandatory “opt-in” modules to gather the customer emails for email marketing and newsletter subscription.

Companies Act 2006: an update

seahavenaccountancy — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:00:41 +0000

Somewhere in this blog is a promise to update you all on the subject of the Companies Act 2006. Well, here goes…
After the best part of a decade in the making, the Companies Act 2006 limped its way onto the statute books in November 2006. Its main claim to fame is that it’s the largest piece of legislation to be autographed by a British monarch. In essence, the Act simply codifies existing company legislation (sets it out) and marries the Act with modern business practise. Crucially, it recognises that most UK companies are family-run and scraps some of the formalities suffered by such businesses under previous Acts. Here’s list of benefits (as perceived by HM Government).
In February 2007, the Government published a timetable for the implementation of provisions under the Act with an original deadline of October 1 2008 for full compliance with the new legislation.
Last month, Stephen Timms, Minister of State for Competitiveness, made a Written Statement to Parliament that the deadline for the final implementation has been put back one year to 1 October 2009. It should be noted that the implementations of the Act scheduled for April 6 2008 will go ahead as planned, namely the requirement for a small limited company to appoint a secretary on incorporation is confined to the history books and a reduction in filing date for the company accounts from ten to nine months.
For a more detailed description of Companies Act 2006, visit my earlier post.

Pre-Budget Report

seahavenaccountancy — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:59:46 +0000

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS POST IS POST HAS BEEN WRITTEN FOR INFORMATION ONLY. YOU ARE ADVISED TO CONSULT A TAX SPECIALIST BEFORE INVESTING IN CAPITAL EXPENDITURE.

“Simplification” was the recurring theme of Alistair Darling’s first Pre-Budget report.

In addition to announcing sweeping changes to the tax relief given on the disposal of assets (“Taper Relief”), Mr Darling gave notice of changes in legislation to prevent amongst other things; Income Shifting, re-routing of employer pension contributions to new companies and using tax relief to delay urgent fire safety improvements on buildings.

Here’s a quick overview of the report:

Change to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) regime from 6th April 2008 in which the rate of Taper Relief is simplified to a flat rate of 18% for the disposal of assets and the abolition of Indexation Allowance (a method of tax relief to offset the cost of inflation incurred on an asset).

Share identification rules have been simplified. With the changes to taper relief and the scrapping of the Indexation Allowance, from 6th April 2008 all shares of the same class in the same company will treated as a single asset. Certain anti-avoidance measures will stay in place.

Please note that the annual exemption will remain in place. For the current tax year 2007/2008 this stands at £9,200.

Mr Darling announced the start of a ’significant programme of tax simplification’. To get the ball rolling, three reviews will begin this autumn involving the HM Treasury and the HMRC who in turn will consult with businesses to see how a number of tax policies can be simplified.

To begin with, these reviews will focus on the following;

how to simplify VAT rules and administration in the UK and the EU

how anti avoidance legislation can best meet the aims of simplicity and revenue protection

how to simplify the corporation tax rules for related companies.

Tax relief for pension contributions. Employers generally get tax relief against their taxable profits for contributions paid to a registered pension scheme. Relief is given for the accounting period in which the contributions are paid.
Tax relief for some large contributions (above £500,000) may be spread over a period of up to four years. This system has been abused by some employers by routing these contributions through a new company. To combat this the government has announced that legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2008 to ensure that the rules that spread tax relief for large employer pension contributions relative to their contribution in the previous year cannot be circumvented.
Takes effect for payments made on or after 10 October 2007 under binding obligations entered into on or after 9 October 2007.

Fire safety capital allowances. From April 2008 capital allowances for expenditure on building alterations, made in response to a notice from a Fire Authority, will be withdrawn. This is an attempt by government to prevent businesses delaying vital safety work in order to get a prohibition notice simply to claim the relief. Note that relief for expenditure on fire safety equipment such as fire alarms and sprinkler systems will continue to be available for all businesses.

VAT and housing. Currently VAT is chargeable at 5% on renovations or alterations to residential properties that have been empty for at least three years. From 1 January 2008 onwards this reduced rate for VAT will apply only to renovations or alterations carried out to residential properties that have been empty for at least two years.

Income Shifting. In July 2007 Mr & Mrs Jones of Artic Systems Ltd won their long-running case against the HMRC in the House of Lords. The Jones’ crime had been to split their company’s profit equally between them as dividends and then arranged to be taxed separately as individuals. Since Mr Jones’ income ( and therefore his taxable income) was higher than that of his wife, the HMRC maintained that this action constituted a form of tax evasion.
Unsurprisingly, the UK government spat out its dummy and announced that it will shortly be releasing for consultation draft legislation to take effect from next April. Note that the legislation is only concerned with tackling income shifting where earnings arising from company dividends or profits from partnerships.

Company cars and the fuel scale charge.Where a car is provided for an employee’s private use, a taxable benefit arises which is based on the list price of the car and its CO2 emissions (at present the percentages range from 15% to 35% for most vehicles). Discounts are available for environmentally friendly cars and from 6 April 2008 a 2% discount for cars will be introduced that have been manufactured to run on E85 fuel.

Where fuel is provided free of charge to an employee for private motoring then a fuel benefit tax charge arises based on the percentage used for the car benefit and a ‘multiplier’, which is at present stands at £14,400. For 2008/09 the figure will increase to £16,900.

National Insurance Contributions (NICs). In the last budget the Chancellor announced major changes to the limits between which NIC are payable. From April 6th 2008 the Upper Earnings Limit (UEL) – the point at which earnings are subject to NIC at a rate of 1% will be increased by £75 per week above indexation.
Similarly, from next April the upper profit limit for Class 4 NIC for the self-employed will also increase by the same amount. From April 6th 2009 the UEL will be set at the rate at which the higher rate of income tax is payable.

Tax relief for business cars: an Update. A second discussion document about business expenditure on cars in March 2007 and the treatment of cars for tax relief was issued by the government. Subsequently, the government has issued a summary of responses to the above proposals. Many respondents concur that reform is needed but no agreement has been reached. Therefore, the government has not yet issued how it plans to reform this area of tax relief.

Statutory Holiday Entitlement & National Minimum Wage

seahavenaccountancy — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 19:59:37 +0000

Statutory Holiday Entitlement increased from 20 days to 24 daysfrom 1 October 2007 for an employee working a five-day week (Pro-rata for part-time staff).

From 1 April 2009 Statutory Holiday Entitlement will increase again to 28 days for an employee working a five-day week.

National Minimum Rates also went up on 1 October 2007.

The rates are now as follows;

Development Rate for workers aged 18 – 22 years is £4.60 per hour

Development Rate for 16 & 17 year olds is £3.40 per hour

The Adult Rate is now £5.52 per hour

Accommodation Offset is now £30.10 a week (£4.30 a day)

Note these rates only apply to periods worked from 1 October 2007.

Peacehaven & District Chamber of Commerce

seahavenaccountancy — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 11:09:30 +0000

Seahaven Accountancy are proud to be a founder business of this thriving new business forum.

Formed in February, the Chamber has already grown to over 40 members drawn from businesses of all sizes and commercial sectors.

Its popular weekly Breakfast Club is famed for its relaxed atmosphere and warm welcome. The club is an excellent vehicle for members to promote their businesses and attracts 20 members regularly. Attendees can and do ‘do business’ in complete confidence.

The Chamber hosts meetings for night owls, too. Quarterly meetings give members a chance to catch up with Chamber affairs, network with fellow members and listen to a talk on a business-related issue.

From this month, the Chamber will also be hosting an informal open networking evening on a monthly basis. Aimed at providing networking opportunities for small tradespeople, retailers, women business owners and business start-ups in a friendly and encouraging environment, this event is open to all trading locally and will take place tea-time to catch people as they head home from work.

Visit the Chamber website to learn more of the Chamber’s activities.

Service with a Difference

seahavenaccountancy — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:28:07 +0000

Seahaven Accountancy firmly believes that our customers, existing and potential, have a right to discuss the financial affairs of their businesses at times that suits them, and this includes weekend and evening appointments.

Luckily for our clients, Seahaven Accountancy has long offered weekend and evening meetings and consultations.

Yesterday (Sunday) we met up with a young couple who have only just started up in business. A hectic work schedule and with child care issues during the week to consider, they were delighted to find an accountancy practice that could meet them outside of normal office hours.

Likewise, we at Seahaven Accountancy were only too happy to give a free initial consultation over lunch at a local pub overlooking the river at Exceat.

If you would like to learn more about us and the services that Seahaven Accountancy offers, take a look at our About Us page before you leave this site.

Accountancy Software

seahavenaccountancy — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 12:46:29 +0000

A bewildering array of accounting software is available. A recent visit to the Amazon site revealed a list of 215 different accounting and payroll packages (excluding personal accounting software).

Your choice of software should not be based solely on price. Read the box to ascertain if the software is appropriate to the current needs of your business. To make your investment in an accounting software a worthwhile one, you should consider the following:

* What management information will you need regularly?
* If you are an employer, do you require a payroll package?
* Do you need to track movement of stock?
* Do you trade abroad? Do you sell in one or more currencies?
* Do you want to computerise job costing?
* Need to raise invoices?
* How many people will need to use the software at the same time?

The most popular packages are: Sage, Quickbooks, MYOB, Iris and TASbooks. To save you the trouble, I would strongly recommend that you choose a package from one of the above. Quite simply, all other accountancy software is little more than a calculator fronted by (nice) graphics.

Here’s a quick overview of the three most popular accountancy packages:

Sage

Sage Instant Accounts is designed for start-ups, sole traders and small businesses, who have limited IT and accounting skills and who are, therefore, looking for an easy-to-use solution. It offers all of the usual accounting ledgers and they do your double-entry bookkeeping for you. Instant Accounts Plus comes with all of the above, plus basic stock management and two user capability. Instant Accounts Financial Suite combines the accounts package, plus payroll capability. Instant Business Suite offers the accounts and payroll packages, plus ACT! (Sage’s contact management package). Prices start at £110 + VAT for the basic Instant Accounts package, rising to £203.40 excluding VAT.

Sage Line 50 is the UK’s most popular small business package. It is a powerful system which will accommodate increasingly complex requirements as a business grows. It will cover almost all accounting needs, from VAT returns to credit control, and offers a wide range of management information and reports. It is backed by excellent customer support, advice and training. It integrates with other software and offers industry-specific add-ons and provides comprehensive data storage and full security. Prices start at £525 + VAT for the single company version.

Pros and cons
Most bookkeepers are familiar with Sage but if you’re willing to have a bash at it yourself then there’s a number of courses available to you. First class telephone support. Price tag is a little offputting. A little less user-friendly in places than its rivals.

MYOB Mind Your Own Business

The strength of this Australian import lies in its compatability with both Apple Mac and PC (Windows).

MYOB products:

MYOB BusinessBasics
Resembles an automated cash book. It will help you keep your bank accounts in order, track expenses, create sales invoices, maintain customer information and provide the reports you or your accountant need for VAT reporting. Ideal for one-man bands or organisations that do not require a great deal of management information. Price £67.23 + VAT + Delivery.

MYOB Accounting
Aimed at the small business, MYOB Accounting provides full-featured, integrated accounting in a package that includes nominal ledger, chequebooks, sales and purchase ledgers, payroll, item stock, jobs management and a contact card file. Integrates a direct link to Microsoft Excel and Word. Possible to upgrade to multi-user platform. £199 (excluding VAT) + delivery.

MYOB Accounting Plus
Includes all the features of the MYOB Accounting package PLUS it will write cheques, create invoices and track your money and stock. With additional features time billing, multiple currencies, multiple price levels, emailing of invoices, reports, plus links to Word and Excel. Multi-user. This package costs £299 + VAT + Delivery.

Advantages & Disadvantages

Competively priced given the range of features. Cross-platform capability may be a bonus to some. Telephone support is mostly good. Try before you buy with a 30-day free trial A little disappointing that transactions included on the VAT reurn cannot be flagged directly but rather the software accommodates this by allowing the user to lock down the period for which the VAT return has been processed. Thus achieving the same objective as ‘flagging’ transactions.

Quickbooks

Developed by US software developer Intuit Quickbooks comes in four varieties:

QuickBooks SimpleStart
Like MYOB BusinessBasics this is an automated cash book since it lacks features such as balance sheet, purchase and sales ledgers. It is aimed at first time users of business management software. Interactive tutorials help you create invoices, post receipts, print cheques, pay bills, manage your VAT and generate reports. £79.95 + VAT.

QuickBooks 2004 Regular
Deigned with start-ups in mind. It offers set-up wizard and tutorial, invoicing and VAT management, automate stock control, data back-up and integration with Word and Excel. £149.95 + VAT. If you need payroll facilities you can opt for QuickBooks 2004 Regular + Payroll for £199.95 + VAT.

QuickBooks 2004 Pro
As above only featuring advanced VAT and budgeting features, multi-currency and multi-user capability. It also offers ‘inventory control’ and customisable reporting. £299.95 + VAT (£349.95 + VAT with payroll).

QuickBooks 2004 Premier includes all of the above, plus more advanced budgeting and forecasting, business plan creation, time/job costing and remote access features. £449.95 + VAT (£499.95 + VAT with payroll).

For and Against
A popular package considering the range of features on offer. Competively priced, these packages come with Intuit’s 60-day money back guarantee. Developed in the United States, some of the terminology and methodology may take some getting used to if you already have experience of other packages. Screen based help is OK, but product is let down by its telephone support.

Better Payment Practice Policy

seahavenaccountancy — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 12:29:32 +0000

Late Payments threaten the cash flow of small businesses.

Show your commitment to better payment practice by enlisting on the Pay On Time scheme. As well as receiving a free logo to display on your business website and stationery, there’s an abundance of good advice available online.

Oxygen Office Suite

seahavenaccountancy — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 11:46:53 +0000

One of my clients has been recording financial transactions on the Microsoft Works spreadsheet that comes bundled in with new PCs. However, from the perspective of an Accountancy professional, the Works’ spreadsheet is a waste of both the Hard Disk space it occupies and the RAM required to run it. You could fall into the trap of upgrading to the powerful but expensive Microsoft Office suite or you could consider the leading Open Source equivalent.

Formally known as Open Office Professional, Oxygen Office is a powerful office suite along the same lines as Microsoft Office. The best thing about it? IT’S FREE.
I’ve been using this software for about a year and I find I’m using it more than my outdated version of Microsoft Office. I could rant and rave about this software but the Open Office site does a much better job of it.
Unlike the Microsoft product, you can download as many copies as you wish and incur no additional license fees.
What’s more you can burn as many copies of the program (or source) to CD or DVD for distribution to your colleagues as you want – you can even sell it for a profit without paying royalties.
Unlike its Microsoft equivalent, Oxygen Office allows the user to open, edit and save documents created by a variety of Office suites (including Microsoft Office!), which means that you can still share documents with people still locked into Microsoft products.
Still not convinced? In the UK, the Open Office suite is currently used by the British Army and Bristol City Council and, from 2008, Birmingham City Council. Across Europe, Open Office is the office suite of choice of the French Parliament and civil service and most city councils in Germany.

FREE PDF Converter

seahavenaccountancy — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 11:02:24 +0000

I came across this free PDF converter just this weekend. Simply download the software, together with the converter (Ghostscript) and you can easily change your Microsoft documents to PDF format via the File>Print command!