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Data Protection Laws Are
Changing!
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect on the 25
May 2018. It’s a single set of rules that is designed to protect the personal
data of individuals in their private, professional or public life.
The regulation will change the way your business can collect, use and
transfer personal data. You will need to know where data is stored and you
may even need to change the way data is collected and how you respond to
requests about personal data you hold.
For SME’S this means you will need to take some steps to demonstrate
you’ve taken the GDPR seriously as there are significant sanctions and
penalties for non- compliance, including fines of up to 4% of a business’s
turnover.
What do you need to do now to make sure you are compliant?
A good start would be to look at your current approach to managing
customer data and what and where it is held and document this. Then:
The new regulations apply to
all businesses that hold personal data whatever the size. If you would like
to know more and get a copy of our GDPR checklist for SME’s then please
contact us.
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A blog for Small Business & Contractors in the UK to help with their Marketing and Accounting needs!
Friday 31 March 2017
Are You Ready for the New EU Data Protection Laws?
Friday 24 March 2017
Digital Tax is Coming!
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued plans to make businesses file quarterly information with them. How individuals and businesses interact with HMRC is changing.
Keeping your financial records will become increasingly digital and most businesses, the self-employed and landlords will need to use software or apps to keep business records - the days of manual record keeping will be over!
There are exemptions, but for most businesses with turnover above £10,000 you will need to start planning for Digital Tax now.
So, what’s the good news?
We’ve teamed up with a major Cloud software company to provide our clients with the best possible fully compliant accounts package, and there are significant benefits to your business if you use our recommended package:
• It’s on the cloud so you can get a clear view of your finances any time any place;
• You will never need to do back- ups of your accounting software ever again;
• Run your business from work, home or on your mobile;
• It automatically grabs bank receipts and payments in real time;
• Use your mobile to photograph purchase invoices and expenses and upload these to the software; and
• Automatically generate and submit VAT returns and other reports with one click!
Just suppose you could see your results, who owes you money, who you owe and your business bank balance 24/7 from your smart phone!
Over the next few months we will be contacting all our clients to discuss the new HMRC rules and to demo how easy the new system is. In the mean- time, if you are “Good to go”, contact us and we will be delighted to help you comply with Digital tax and streamline take your business to a whole new level.
PJ | ☎ 020 89310165 | ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com
Keeping your financial records will become increasingly digital and most businesses, the self-employed and landlords will need to use software or apps to keep business records - the days of manual record keeping will be over!
There are exemptions, but for most businesses with turnover above £10,000 you will need to start planning for Digital Tax now.
So, what’s the good news?
We’ve teamed up with a major Cloud software company to provide our clients with the best possible fully compliant accounts package, and there are significant benefits to your business if you use our recommended package:
• It’s on the cloud so you can get a clear view of your finances any time any place;
• You will never need to do back- ups of your accounting software ever again;
• Run your business from work, home or on your mobile;
• It automatically grabs bank receipts and payments in real time;
• Use your mobile to photograph purchase invoices and expenses and upload these to the software; and
• Automatically generate and submit VAT returns and other reports with one click!
Just suppose you could see your results, who owes you money, who you owe and your business bank balance 24/7 from your smart phone!
Over the next few months we will be contacting all our clients to discuss the new HMRC rules and to demo how easy the new system is. In the mean- time, if you are “Good to go”, contact us and we will be delighted to help you comply with Digital tax and streamline take your business to a whole new level.
PJ | ☎ 020 89310165 | ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com
Thursday 23 March 2017
How to Manage Business Mistakes?
No matter what type of business you run, mistakes will happen. All employees make mistakes. However, the key to resolving the situation when things don’t go to plan is to manage your team and the actions they take, effectively.
When things go wrong, stop and analyse the situation. How big is the mistake? Is it one that should not have been made but can be rectified? Or did it cost your company hundreds of thousands of pounds?
If a team member makes a mistake, hopefully they will own up to it. If not, you may have to raise the issue with them. The key at this point is to communicate clearly and in a professional manner. There is no point getting angry and shouting at people. Instead you should outline your expectations.
Discuss the mistake with your team member and ask them what they think they can do to rectify the situation. Outline that the most important thing right now is to come up with an effective remedy rather than pointing out whose fault it was.
If the mistake is a one-off occurrence, you should outline to your team member that the main thing is to learn from the experience in order to avoid it happening again. If the team member in question has made various mistakes in the past and it is becoming a regular issue, then perhaps it is time to consider getting HR involved. Maybe the individual is making regular mistakes because they aren’t properly qualified for their job or perhaps they just aren’t suited to their current role.
As a manager, you should think about what type of leader you are and what you want to accomplish. Do you want your team members to be scared of you or do you want to encourage them and support their actions? As a manager you can’t be their friend but you can be supportive. A supportive manager will use mistakes as a learning opportunity for the team.
If your firm's current culture for handling mistakes is not one that encourages learning or growth, it might be time to update your strategy. The best modern businesses use mistakes as an opportunity to step back, look at a process and find a better way of doing things. This type of approach helps to identify best practice, minimise the chances of similar mistakes happening again and may even create a better, more efficient way of managing parts of the business.
When things go wrong, stop and analyse the situation. How big is the mistake? Is it one that should not have been made but can be rectified? Or did it cost your company hundreds of thousands of pounds?
If a team member makes a mistake, hopefully they will own up to it. If not, you may have to raise the issue with them. The key at this point is to communicate clearly and in a professional manner. There is no point getting angry and shouting at people. Instead you should outline your expectations.
Discuss the mistake with your team member and ask them what they think they can do to rectify the situation. Outline that the most important thing right now is to come up with an effective remedy rather than pointing out whose fault it was.
If the mistake is a one-off occurrence, you should outline to your team member that the main thing is to learn from the experience in order to avoid it happening again. If the team member in question has made various mistakes in the past and it is becoming a regular issue, then perhaps it is time to consider getting HR involved. Maybe the individual is making regular mistakes because they aren’t properly qualified for their job or perhaps they just aren’t suited to their current role.
As a manager, you should think about what type of leader you are and what you want to accomplish. Do you want your team members to be scared of you or do you want to encourage them and support their actions? As a manager you can’t be their friend but you can be supportive. A supportive manager will use mistakes as a learning opportunity for the team.
If your firm's current culture for handling mistakes is not one that encourages learning or growth, it might be time to update your strategy. The best modern businesses use mistakes as an opportunity to step back, look at a process and find a better way of doing things. This type of approach helps to identify best practice, minimise the chances of similar mistakes happening again and may even create a better, more efficient way of managing parts of the business.
Wednesday 22 March 2017
Become A More Effective Manager
In the current
economic environment, businesses are demanding more and more of their managers.
Here are some tips to help you to become a more effective manager.
The
best managers are those that step back and let their team do their job without
standing over the shoulders. You can’t do everything yourself. Instead, assign
each member of your team personal objectives and empower them to succeed. Give
them the opportunity to make decisions; set up regular weekly or bi-weekly
catch up meetings, then step back and let them get on with it.
One
of the most common complaints from employees is that their managers simply
don't talk to them. They communicate when they hand down projects or tasks, but
they’re often unreachable day to day. A great manager will always be available
when one of their team members has a question or concern, and they will always
make an effort to reach out and ensure employees have everything they need to
get the job done.
Stop
and think before reacting. Act based upon sound principles, not emotion (which
could be heated at the time). Avoid getting sucked into the emotion of the
moment. Try to proactively manage difficult situations so that you address
problems before they become bigger issues.
Try
to understand things from the point of view of others. Listen more than you
speak and try to avoid jumping to conclusions. Take notes – this helps you to
listen actively. Note questions as you go along and keep them for the end of
the meeting. You may find that your questions are answered by others as the meeting
progresses.
Communication
is key. Providing feedback helps your team to continually improve. Hold regular
meetings with team members to assess projects and check-in with them. Seek
mutual benefits in every interaction. Negotiate so that the result offers a win
for both or all parties. Seek a cooperative arena, not a competitive one.
Win-win situations are mutually beneficial and satisfying.
Make
time to sharpen your axe. Take care of yourself and consider your physical,
social, emotional, mental and spiritual needs. Making time to rest, recover and
refresh will make you more effective and less stressed in the office.
Saturday 18 March 2017
How to Embrace Innovation for your Business?
It seems there is a new way of doing business being created every week. Disruptive, technology driven, new business models are constantly being developed by the likes of Uber, Skype, Amazon and Air BnB.
Your business might hold an established position in the market today but that doesn’t mean that you and your management team can be complacent.
Disruption and commoditisation have impacted most industries and we are now seeing new players coming into traditional markets and establishing a disruptive model and capturing significant market share. This trend is only going to continue.
So what can you do, as the leader of your business, to minimise the impact of a potential disruptive new player entering your market?
It is difficult to constantly create new products or services. However, perhaps you could consider how best to commoditise some of your firm’s existing product or service offerings in order to increase profit margin and efficiency. This could also help you to improve customer experience – by making your services faster, easier to access and so forth.
When it comes to innovation, you don’t have to constantly re-invent the wheel. While creativity is usually associated with thinking outside the box, the fact is that few ideas are 100 percent original. The most brilliant (and often most profitable) business ideas are usually variations of an already existing theme rather than completely new concepts.
Netflix didn’t create a new industry. They just took the business model that had been so successful for Blockbuster Video and created a new way for customers to rent films - online instead of through a video shop. As Steve Jobs once said, “Creativity is just connecting things.” What sets creative people apart is that “they are able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.”
If you want to embrace innovation in your business, you need to develop an environment that encourages creativity. Your staff should be empowered to explore new ways of delivering products or services.
Experimentation should be encouraged and your office should have collaborative workspaces in order to allow people to sit down together, work as a team, solve problems collectively and create new solutions. In addition to this, your business should celebrate innovation through recognising those team members who find new ways of doing things. Whether that is a bonus for implementing a new innovation or perhaps celebrating the delivery of new innovations with a team night out. The key is to encourage your team to be creative, find new and better ways of doing things and keep innovating.
Your business might hold an established position in the market today but that doesn’t mean that you and your management team can be complacent.
Disruption and commoditisation have impacted most industries and we are now seeing new players coming into traditional markets and establishing a disruptive model and capturing significant market share. This trend is only going to continue.
So what can you do, as the leader of your business, to minimise the impact of a potential disruptive new player entering your market?
It is difficult to constantly create new products or services. However, perhaps you could consider how best to commoditise some of your firm’s existing product or service offerings in order to increase profit margin and efficiency. This could also help you to improve customer experience – by making your services faster, easier to access and so forth.
When it comes to innovation, you don’t have to constantly re-invent the wheel. While creativity is usually associated with thinking outside the box, the fact is that few ideas are 100 percent original. The most brilliant (and often most profitable) business ideas are usually variations of an already existing theme rather than completely new concepts.
Netflix didn’t create a new industry. They just took the business model that had been so successful for Blockbuster Video and created a new way for customers to rent films - online instead of through a video shop. As Steve Jobs once said, “Creativity is just connecting things.” What sets creative people apart is that “they are able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.”
If you want to embrace innovation in your business, you need to develop an environment that encourages creativity. Your staff should be empowered to explore new ways of delivering products or services.
Experimentation should be encouraged and your office should have collaborative workspaces in order to allow people to sit down together, work as a team, solve problems collectively and create new solutions. In addition to this, your business should celebrate innovation through recognising those team members who find new ways of doing things. Whether that is a bonus for implementing a new innovation or perhaps celebrating the delivery of new innovations with a team night out. The key is to encourage your team to be creative, find new and better ways of doing things and keep innovating.
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