Monthly Archives: June 2021

Hot Business News Today

Basics of small business accounting: tips and tools for beginners

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Alice Feilden on Small Business
Small business accounting can be daunting. But, this handy guide will help in getting your small business accounting right from the very beginning.
Step one: Know what’s required
It’s important to keep financial records from the very beginning of a business, no matter how incidental the expenses or how rudimentary the system. Companies based in the UK must be listed on Companies House and businesses must be registered with HMRC. Make sure to organise a financial record-keeping system too, which is legally required, and set up a business bank account. This will allow your business to take out a loan, use a business credit card and take card and online payments from clients.
Step two: Understand bookkeeping and accounting
Small business bookkeeping and small company accounting are often confused with one another or taken to mean the same thing. But they’re not! Bookkeeping is the process of recording and reporting company finances and acts as a small but crucial part of basic business accounting.
By extension, accounting is the process of analysing and examining financial information to create a business strategy, establish forecasts and make decisions.
As a small business, it’s worth first getting to grips with the fundamentals

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Tax advantages of a limited company versus sole trader

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Haydn Rogan on Small Business
Being a sole trader means that you run your own business as an individual and are essentially self-employed. This is the most popular way of trading in the UK, with almost 60 per cent of businesses opting for this structure.
By contrast, a limited liability company is a separate legal entity to you, with separate finances.
Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, and anyone starting out in business will need to decide what will work best for them.
Here, we look at some of the major differences in terms of legal liability, taxes and bureaucracy.
Also see: Should I go sole trader, partnership or limited company?
Liability
A key advantage of a limited company structure is that it ringfences your personal assets. If your business fails or is sued, you will only lose any investment in the business and won’t be personally liable for meeting charges such as litigation costs or damages from your own finances. Although, in some cases, lenders may require personal guarantees.
As a sole trader, you and your business are one single legal entity. You are personally liable for any debts and liabilities you incur in the running of your business, including taxes, putting

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

What are business rates? A guide for small businesses

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Sophie Attwood on Small Business
What are business rates?
Business rates are one of the UK’s oldest taxes; its origins can be traced back to the Poor Law of 1601. Business rates can be roughly defined as the tax paid for the occupation of a non-domestic property. They approximately correspond to 50 per cent of the annual rent of the property. Business rates are based on a specific value, known as “rateable value” and all commercial properties are valued on the same day.
Non-domestic rates or business rates are the way that those who occupy commercial (non-domestic) property contribute towards the cost of local authority services. They are administered and collected by local authorities. Under the business rates retention arrangements introduced in April 2013, authorities keep a proportion of the business rates paid locally. However, business rates are a controversial tax as they represent one of the biggest overheads for business.
Who sets non-domestic rates?
Business rates are set by central government more specifically the Valuation Office, an agency of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The VOA calculates your business rates based on “rateable value” (RV). It compiles and maintains a full list of all rateable values. The rateable value of

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Do I need to pay business rates working from home?

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
At the height of the first wave of the pandemic last April, nearly half of the working population were working from home. Since then we’ve had a succession of lockdowns, with the government now encouraging people to stay WFH until July 19 2021 and possibly beyond. But do you have to pay business rates if you’re working from home?
For freelancers, sole traders and the self-employed, not much has changed. But others new to home working will be asking which taxes they do have to pay, including business rates.
Do I need to pay business rates working from home?
You do not usually have to pay business rates for home-based businesses if you:

Use a small part of your home for your business, for example if you use a bedroom as an office
Sell goods by post

You may need to pay business rates as well as Council Tax if:

Your property is part business and part domestic, for example, if you live above your shop
You sell goods or services to people who visit your property
You employ other people to work at your property
You’ve made changes to your home for your business, for example converted a garage into a beauty

Read more...