How your staff can become ambassadors for the business Your company’s brand is one of your most valuable assets. It’s what differentiates you in the marketplace and cements your reputation. When employees believe in the brand, a business will prosper. So here are a dozen quick tips for ensuring...

Watch out. HMRC is getting tough, writes James Dawson. And technology is playing an ever-increasing role in investigations. You might be surprised to hear that investigations into self-assessment taxpayers have been one of the fastest growing revenue streams for HMRC. In fact, £1.4bn was collected in 2016/17 – a...

The first instinct of many accountants may still be to pick up the phone to clients, argues Emma Woods. But increasingly, forward-thinking firms are making use of Skype for Business. It may be the ideal way to communicate with your own professional adviser. Outside our workplaces, we’ve all become...

The P11D benefit charges on company vans are generally much lower than company cars and where private use of the van is merely incidental to its business use by the employee, then there is no taxable benefit at all. Which begs the question… when is a company van not...

More and more businesses have made the transition to cloud-based accounting platforms such as QuickBooks, Xero and SageOne, writes Jo Waddicker. This new approach to accounting, together with a range of apps, offer benefits that have not been as readily available to accountants and their clients until now. Apps...

Normal expenditure out of income is a way of ensuring that your loved ones benefit financially from your success. And the seven-year IHT rule related to the transfer of assets doesn’t apply, explains Mark Sheen. You’re probably already aware that inheritance tax is a hefty 40% on estates valued...

The government’s Tax-Free Childcare scheme, operational since April 2017, is designed to help working families with their regular costs. Eligible parents can open an online account to pay for registered childcare. For every £8 you pay in, the government will add an extra £2, up to a maximum of...

High-profile cyber attacks – such as the one which affected 300,000 devices in 150 countries, including the NHS, in May 2017 – help to focus the minds of all businesses on potential dangers. Here are his five key pieces of advice to help you protect your own organisation. 1.UPDATE...

Is your residential investment owned by a limited company? If so, it’s important to factor in the tax implications. Although there’s no problem with using a limited company to purchase property to let, you need to be on guard as an investor. When the ‘Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings’...