What to consider while scaling up your small business?

Increasing the scale of a business is easier said than done. If your business objective is to scale up, you need to consider the people aspects, strategy and financials.

People make the firm

People determine a company’s success, and hiring the right people is critical. Hiring a team of great people will help to solve most of the problems the business encounters as it increases in scale. As such, you should invest time and money into the hiring process to find the best professionals to take the company to the next level. Screen candidates not only for their skills and knowledge, but also for their personality and how well they fit the mission, values and culture of the firm.

Once you have hired the best team, you need to make sure that you keep them. You and your management team should communicate openly, recognise and reward their achievements, and give them the tools and training they need to succeed.

Follow a simple strategy

In the words of Albert Einstein, “Everything should be made as simple as possible - but not simpler.” Businesses need a strategy to succeed, but it shouldn’t be complicated. The very best strategic plans are 1 page of A4.

The strategy should include the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the business, the company’s core values and mission. As the focus is to scale up and grown the firm, the strategy should include high-level goals for each quarter, and year. Once you have finalised the strategy, ensure that you communicate it effectively so that everyone in the firm understands what the objectives of the firm are and what they need to do to achieve the overall goal of growing the business.

Manage risk (and cashflow)

Like anything in life, businesses encounter unexpected storms from time to time. As such, the management team should manage risk effectively in order to ensure that the firm’s growth strategy isn’t derailed by unforeseen market forces.

Cashflow is very important when trying to increase the scale of a business. As such, unnecessary outlay should be avoided. Instead, the firm should focus on building up cash reserves which can be used from time to time to assist the business in achieving its growth strategy.

Contact us if you have any questions or need business help:
PJ | ☎ 020 89310165 | ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com

Hiring Multilingual Staff

Are businesses that employ multilingual staff getting ahead of their competitors?

Thanks to technology and globalisation in business, the world has become a much smaller place. Access to international markets is now easier than ever, thanks to ecommerce, the internet, etc.

Big multinational businesses recognise the importance of language skills. McKinsey counts more than 130 languages spoken across its staff, and offers a bursary scheme to those who wish to learn another language before joining the firm. Another example is Unilever, which estimates that up to 80 of their 100 most senior leaders speak at least two languages.

The obvious benefit of hiring multilingual staff is better communication with clients and contacts across the world. Although English has become the international business language, having employees who speak other languages can only be beneficial to an international business. Most people prefer speaking in their native language. If you are contacting other companies to work with, or customers in other jurisdictions, multilingual staff will be able to communicate in their native language, which makes the process easier and makes your firm come across as more professional and gives the impression that you are more of a “global business”.

A report from the European Commission a few years ago stated that “a significant amount of business” was sacrificed because of poor language skills across Europe. The report identified that as much as 11 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses had lost a contract as a result of their poor language skills.

So, if your firm is targeting international business, you should try to recruit employees who are multilingual. They will be able to help your firm to understand how complicated communication between two cultures can be, including knowing which areas require sensitivity and which areas call for being more direct. They will also be able to help your firm to adapt its business development efforts, website, marketing materials, etc. to the target market. These team members can also assist the firm as multilingual proof readers, in order to ensure quality and consistency of external communications in your target markets.

Wearable technology - What you need to know!

Wearable technology is one of the biggest trends in IT and tech at the moment. The consumer market has embraced wearables such as smart watches and virtual reality headsets. However most businesses are still developing their strategies for making the most of the wearable technology trend.

While attention to wearables is widespread, adoption is not. From Google to Fitbit, Jawbone and Apple, wearables are garnering plenty of interest. Some early adopters in businesses are using the Apple Watch or Samsung Gear to monitor emails or manage their calendar while on the go. Others are using it to remind them to move about or to walk around the office throughout the day in order to burn a few calories.

Wearables are far from ubiquitous in the workplace just yet though. While the technology has developed quickly, businesses remain hesitant to integrate the devices into their everyday operations.

One of the reasons for businesses to consider adopting wearable tech is its ability to streamline normal business operations and improve a company's productivity. Whether it's a pair of smart glasses that help to guide a warehouse employee along the most efficient route or sensors that help employees more quickly reference needed information to complete a task, wearables allow businesses to improve efficiency in task management.

On the health and wellness side of things, many companies are now offering employees fitness trackers, coupled with incentive programmes, to encourage healthier lifestyles both in and out of the workplace. Healthier employees are often more productive and less frequently absent, and can save their employers on health care costs. For example, Fitbit offers a corporate wellness program to partner with companies trying to promote employee well-being.

Wearable tech is also changing how consumers interact with businesses. Some firms are exploring wearables in the form of targeted advertising and simplified payment services through the use of "near-field communication" (NFC) chips. This encourages improved communication with customers and also makes consumer data easier for businesses to gather.

Latest UK Tax News & Updates!

Income Tax Not CGT On Property Sale

Finance Act 2016 brought in new rules to ensure that overseas property traders and developers are subject to UK income tax or corporation tax when they dispose of UK properties from 5 July 2016. However the way in which the legislation is drafted may catch some buy-to-let landlords.

The new rules treat UK property sales/development of land as part of a trade and therefore potentially taxed at income tax rates up to 45% instead of the 28% rate that would apply to capital gains. There would also be class 2 and class 4 national insurance contributions due if the transaction is deemed to be part of trading.

The transaction is taxed as trading if:
a) One of the main purposes in acquiring the land was to realise a profit on its disposal; or
b) One of the main purposes in acquiring the property which derives its value from land was to realise a profit on its disposal; or
c) The land is held as trading stock; or
d) One of the main purposes of developing the land was to realise a profit on its disposal when developed

There will be no change in tax treatment for individuals or partnerships already operating as property dealers or developers.

However, it is felt that those buy-to-let investors who acquired a property with a view to ultimately selling on at a profit may be brought within the scope of the new rules by condition (a).

100% Tax Relief For Low Emission Cars To Continue 

Currently 100% capital allowances are available when a business buys a motor car with CO2 emissions of no more than 75 grams per kilometer. Legislation has now been passed to reduce the threshold to just 50 grams from April 2018 but also to continue the tax relief for 3 years until 2021.

Normally motor cars only receive a writing down allowance at the rate of 18% or 8% on a reducing balance basis, which means it can take several years to get tax relief for the cost of the vehicle. The cost of a low CO2 car can therefore be immediately written off against business profits.

Note: The motor car must be new and bought either for cash or on hire purchase to get the 100% tax relief.

Where the car is provided for use by a director or employee of the business then there would be a Benefit in Kind taxable on the individual based on the CO2 emissions and original list price of the car.

Another 100% Tax Relief Ends Next Year - Act Soon 

Currently the business premises renovation allowance provides 100% tax relief for the cost of renovating a commercial property located in one of the 2,000 or so designated disadvantaged areas, provided it has been out of commercial use for at least 12 months. The premises should then be brought back into commercial usage or rented out to a business to use within its trade or profession. Unfortunately this generous tax break is due to end in April 2017 so get in quick if you are considering renovating such a property. It may be an office block, factory or warehouse that you already own or a property on the market that has been out of use for at least 12 months.

Typical qualifying costs would include building works, architectural and design services, survey and engineering costs, planning application costs and other statutory fees. The works must now be completed within 36 months of the expenditure being incurred as many renovation projects involved the payment of certain costs in advance.

Provided the premises are retained for at least 5 years there is no claw back of the tax relief given.

Proposed Changes To UK Domicile Rules

Where an individual is resident but not domiciled in the UK there are special rules that apply to that person's overseas income and capital gains.  Plus only their UK assets are charged to inheritance tax. The government has been consulting this summer on possible changes to the rules from 6 April 2017.

Currently the UK domicile rules provide that where an individual’s father is non-domiciled then his children automatically take on the father’s domicile (domicile of origin). However, it is proposed that from 6 April 2017, an individual is deemed domiciled for income tax and capital gains tax  if he meets either of two conditions:

• was born in the UK and has a UK domicile of origin. The individual must also be UK resident in the tax year under consideration.
• must have been UK resident for tax in at least 15 out of the 20 years preceding the tax year under consideration.

The 15/20 year rule will also replace the current 17/20 year rule that currently applies for inheritance tax so that there is a common definition for all three taxes.

Inheritance Tax Implications Of New Domicile Rules

Individuals who are domiciled in the UK are subject to inheritance tax (IHT) on their worldwide assets wherever situated. Non-UK domiciled individuals are currently only subject to IHT on their UK assets.

Classic planning for non-doms was to hold UK assets, particularly UK houses, through an offshore trust or company. The consultation on proposed changes suggests that such a structure will be ineffective in future with the underlying UK house being chargeable to IHT.

These changes are extremely complex so please contact us if they are likely to affect you.

Penalties for Careless Errors in Accounting Records

Where additional tax is payable as the result of an HMRC enquiry and it is shown that the additional tax is due to poor accounting records, the maximum penalty that can be imposed is 30% of the additional tax for failure to take reasonable care. Where the error is deliberate, the penalty will be between 20% and 70% of the extra tax due, rising to 100% where the matter is deliberate and concealed by the taxpayer.

We can negotiate lower penalties on your behalf as the penalty can usually be reduced if we tell HMRC about the error. HMRC may make further reductions depending on the quality of the disclosure and if we help HMRC work out what extra tax is due.

It is also possible to have the penalty suspended if the introduction of internal controls or additional checks can minimise the risk of the error recurring.

We can of course work with you to introduce procedures to minimise the risk of errors in your accounting records so that such penalties do not arise in the first place.

Contact us if you need more information or business help:
PJ | ☎ 020 89310165 | ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com

New Inheritance Tax Rules, VAT Flat Rate & Advisory Fuel Rate 2017

Passing On The Family Home

New inheritance tax rules for passing on the family home start on 6 April 2017 and many people have a New Year’s Resolution to either make a Will or update their Wills. This new relief should be taken into consideration when drafting your Will and we can work with your solicitor to make sure it is tax efficient.

From 6 April 2017 a new nil rate band of £100,000 will be available on death where your residence is left to direct descendants. This is in addition to the normal £325,000 nil rate band and will increase over the next 4 years to £175,000 in 2020. You may recall that when this was originally announced in summer 2015 the chancellor said that a married couple should be able to pass on their family home worth up to £1 million free of Inheritance tax.  The rules are fairly complicated and HMRC have recently issued guidance on how the new relief will operate. We can review your personal circumstances to ensure that you take advantage of all relief that you are entitled to.

Downsizing To A Smaller Property

One of the features of the new inheritance tax rules for passing on the family home is that the relief is protected even when you downsize to a smaller property.

For example if a married couple currently live In a large house worth  £800,000 and downsize to a flat worth £300,000 they could give away some of the proceeds during their lifetime and yet still benefit from inheritance tax relief based on the higher valued property.  They could even sell up completely and move into a rental property and get the inheritance tax relief!

This would very much depend on the timing of such planning and, as mentioned above, the rules are very complicated so contact us to discuss how this can apply in your family circumstances.

More on the New Higher Vat Flat Rate Percentage

As covered in the Autumn Statement newsletter a new VAT flat rate of 16.5% applies from 1 April 2017 for “limited cost traders”. This is being introduced as HMRC believe that the current system is being abused by some businesses providing their labour but who have very few costs.

The flat rate scheme was originally introduced as a simplification measure for small business as they merely pay a percentage depending on the type of business to their VAT inclusive turnover. For many businesses this process takes about 5 minutes but in future they may have to add up all the input tax on their expenses and deduct that from the output tax on their sales which will often take a lot longer!

Take for example a training consultant who bills his clients £100,000 a year, £120,000 inclusive of VAT. Using the flat rate scheme he currently pays 12% to HMRC = £14,400.  If the VAT inclusive cost of his goods for the year is less than £2,400 (2%) excluding capital expenditure, food, fuel, vehicle costs then he would have to pay £19,800 to HMRC!  It would almost certainly be beneficial for him to stop using the flat rate scheme.

If you are currently using the VAT flat rate scheme contact us to discuss whether the changes will apply to you.

Advisory Fuel Rate For Company Cars

These are the suggested reimbursement rates for employees' private mileage using their company car from 1 December 2016. Where there has been a change the previous rate is shown in brackets.

Engine Size	Petrol	Diesel	LPG
1400cc or less	11p		7p
1600cc or less		9p
1401cc to 2000cc	14p (13p)		9p
1601 to 2000cc		11p
Over 2000cc	21p (20p)	13p	13p