Good accountants can be used as a key tool for growing your business, so here are our top five ways to get the most from them.

Give them the right information

In an ideal world your accountant would follow you around, recording and considering all of your financial transactions and advising you of the tax implications.

Fortunately, accountants generally don’t have the time or desire to stalk their clients 24 hours a day. Unfortunately, they depend on you to give them a complete and accurate summary of your financial year!

A good accountant can usually draw out the relevant information with some basic questions, but the more effort you put into the basics, the less time you’ll have to spend on getting what you actually came for – an informed opinion on how you did with your finances from a tax perspective, and advice on how to minimise your taxes going forward.

So in simple terms, your first step in getting the most out of your accountant is to create an accurate and concise snapshot of your finances.

Tap into their networks

>As a small business, it is likely that the accountant you’re using is also working for a host of other businesses. Ask your accountant if they’re willing to initiate networking opportunities between you and other clients. This could lead to business deals, partnerships or a support network of people facing the same problems as you.

Value their advice

Your accountant will have expert knowledge of not only your business but of others like it. This means they can help you uncover ways of expanding your business and reducing your costs, as well as indicating areas where you need to spend more. It’s likely that any problem you face will be familiar to an experienced accountant, so they will most likely know how to solve it. Trust them!

Never lie!

Doctors can save your life, lawyers can save your freedom and accountants can save your livelihood, so always tell them the truth. Accountants need to know every fact about your business so they can work out how much tax you pay and how your business can make the maximum amount of profit. If you lie to them about your finances, this could lead to mistakes in your bookkeeping and possibly even the downfall of your business.

Arrange regular catch ups

Accountants usually have a large number of clients, meaning you can’t rely on them to contact you all the time. You should arrange to have monthly meetings or weekly phone calls with them, allowing you to discuss any problems you have before they gets too big. If you delay speaking to them and then dump all of your difficulties on them at the end of the tax year, problems may escalate and cause a last minute panic.

 
Check out our accounting support hub for more help and resources, or to ask a tax question.

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Is it worth hiring an accountant?

Building a new business from the ground up isn’t easy and requires a business plan, patience and hard work. All fun stuff! In the early stages of building a business, any spare money is likely a miracle which then gets channeled into something else because hiring an accountant is not at the top of everyone’s priority list, but maybe it should be?

Using their knowledge and experience

Knowing what is claimable and making your money work for you is crucial for any start up business wanting to grow and find stability, and this is where an accountant can be extremely useful.

Add to that the fact few people have experience of dealing with HMRC; in fact most new small businesses are setup by people who have been in permanent employment most of their working lives, so it’s a steep learning curve. Managing that experience can be much easier with an accountant on board.

Finding a cheap accountant

So where do you start? This all depends on your own needs and preferences. It’s time for some research!

Some accountancy firms operate purely online, offering a low cost accountant service online. The services are mainly targeted at small businesses and offer a full range of accountant services at affordable prices.

Just because someone offers their services as ‘cheap accountants’ doesn’t mean that the quality of services will be low. The fact that most cheap accountants are online based gives them the ability to reduce their costs to businesses because they haven’t got the overhead costs of a firm paying high-street rates for their offices.

Another advantage to hiring an online accountant is the fact your search is not limited to a local search. Your choice is spread across the UK. You could be working in Devon, but using an accountant in Birmingham because everything is done online and all communications are across email, phone and mail.

Bringing an accountant on board to your new business makes sense and will help you build a platform on which to grow. It will free up time that might be spent on bookkeeping for you to focus on bringing in new business or promoting your services. Start getting quotes and see who fits within your budgets and what services they offer.

 
Find more help in our online accounting hub, and learn more about how to find the right accountant for your business.

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Registration for VAT

A business must register for VAT when its turnover in any 12 month period reaches the registration threshold, which is currently £90,000. It is possible to register on a voluntary basis, as this can sometimes be beneficial to the business. For instance, early registration means a business which pays more VAT on purchases than it collects on sales is able to reclaim the difference.

Rate of VAT

There are three rates of VAT – zero, standard and reduced. The standard rate is 20 per cent, while the reduced rate is five per cent. The most commonly used rate is the standard, which is applied to most of the services and goods in the UK.

There are some goods and services that are zero-rated, including food other than hot food in a takeaway or restaurant meals. Other zero-rated items include clothes and shoes for children, newspapers and books, and public transport, along with other items.

The reduced rate is applied to car seats for children, sanitary hygiene products, and fuel and power for domestic use. There are many other items that attract a reduced rate of VAT. Check out HMRC’s guide to different VAT rates, and when to use them.

VAT exemption

There are some goods and services that are exempt from VAT altogether. Among those are insurance services, the provision of credit, education, and most of the services provided by dentists or doctors.

What’s the difference between exempt and zero-rated?

There is a difference between zero-rated and exempt items, although the rate for both is effectively zero. If a registered company sells zero-rated services or goods, it can’t charge any VAT but it can claim back the VAT which it has paid on its expenses. If goods are exempt, no VAT is charged but the company is unable to claim back anything paid on the expenses.

How do I report VAT?

Businesses which are VAT registered must complete a VAT return on a regular basis. This tells HMRC how much VAT you have charged on sales, and how much you have paid on your purchases. This helps them work out whether you need to pay the difference to them, or reclaim it.

Get an instant quote for accounting support with your VAT return, or ask an accountant a free tax question.

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How can marketing help?

After spending money on initial set-up costs such as workspace and website design, marketing can sometimes feel like an afterthought and less important. Managing Director of Platform Black, Caroline Langron, says, “I would clearly identify what you are trying to achieve from marketing ahead of meeting with agencies. Ask your peers how they market and who your direct competitors are.”

The Partnership Lead at the Start-up Loans scheme, Alex Mitchell, recommends creating a ‘Love Mark’ – a business that creates passion for the customer. Mitchell says, “Social media is a great way to engage but it is only part of the solution. If you are B2C I would suggest creating a small group of local customers who are brand advocates and could help raise awareness.”

Another strategy for promoting your business is by tapping into Facebook’s targeting capabilities. Chris Barling, founder of mobile invoicing app Powered Now, says “If you already have a reasonable number of customers, I would look into Facebook lookalike advertising. This enables ads to be placed in front of people who are similar to your current customers.”

How to go about finding a mentor

Mentors can help you to grow your business, and hopefully they will have experienced similar bumps in the road. Finding a mentor who can help can often be quite challenging. Alex Mitchell, who runs his own social enterprise called Causarma, says he has been quite targeted in the mentors he’s chosen.

“I’ve been open in going to somebody I feel I could learn a lot from, and then asking them directly. The worst they can do is say no! I have done this by attending relevant events, researched on LinkedIn. Targeting someone who has been through a similar journey to you – but it doesn’t have to be in the same sector – is key.”

Dannie-Lu Carr is an actor and founder of The Five Gateways, a coaching company that helps women step up for their own business breakthrough moment. She thinks that rather than seeking a mentor, businesses should focus on doing an excellent job, and then ideally, a mentor will notice them. “Self-belief that you are more than capable of getting to a good standard without a mentor is important.”

Take a step back

Sometimes taking your foot off the accelerator can speed up the growth of your business. Barling says that if you are ambitious, then you can never really step back. However, he suggests pausing to review is vital: “There is absolutely a need for a periodic review of what you’re doing, and sometimes when you’re growing fast there’s a time to take your foot off the accelerator and let cash flow, process or recruitment catch up.” Turner agrees: “I think it’s healthy to come up for a breath every so often and pause to reflect and reassess what you’re doing and why.”

So take a step back. Do you need to increase your networking or focus on social media? How can you create the perfect conditions for your business to grow?

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We realise how mentally and physically exhausting running your own business can be and have put together a few tips to help you to remain sane and achieve your entrepreneurial goals.

1. Restore Energy Levels – In the early stages of running a business you often run off pure adrenaline. Soon enough your tank of energy is going to run out and you’ll require a quality rest every night in order to be productive. If you find it difficult to get several hours, focus on quality rather than quantity.

2. Time off – Its many people’s dream to run their own business and have the freedom to take off time whenever they want. It sounds great, but the reality is that starting and growing a business doesn’t begin at 9am and end at 530pm – it can consume every ounce of energy and time you have left if you let it. If you suddenly find yourself on the verge of a burnout, take time off!

3. Eat Well – When time is not on your side, fast food is extremely convenient. The combination of sitting at a desk all day and eating junk food or even no food at all can result in you feeling sluggish and can have additional effects on your weight. Preparing healthy meals days in advance is a great way to eat healthy while still having a convenient fast meal when you get chance to swallow.

4. Be Active – We all know that sitting at a desk all day in front of a screen is not healthy for us. Entrepreneurs are so focused on reaching their goals that sometimes everything else in your life gets pushed to one side. An hour of physical exercise daily is a great way to keep you feeling fit but also to take a break from your daily business activities!

5. Hobbies – When you finally get the chance to take some free time to yourself make sure you have something planned. If you don’t have hobbies or an activity planned, whether it be playing golf, painting or going for a run guess what you’re going to do? Work on your business!

6. Comfy workspace – A supportive chair, standing desk and lots of natural light can create a pleasant and comfortable area to work in. Make sure everything around you is organised and you’ll feel more positive about the daily tasks ahead.

7. Socialise – When building an empire it’s often easier to push socialising to the bottom of your list of things to do. Sometimes entrepreneurs want to remain in their creative zone and focus 100 percent of their effort and time into building their dream. This isn’t healthy or necessarily the most productive. You need to interact with friends and family, and forget about business and work.

8. Working Hours – Establish a time that you will stop working each day along with when your working week ends, and stick to it. Essentially you need a curfew for when you stop working for the day. You will notice that you’ll begin to start each day refreshed and become more productive.

9. Communication boundaries – Thanks to technology you can now stay connected to your business 24/7. However, this can create added pressure which can implode your business/personal life balance. An ideal solution is to set communication boundaries.

10. Remain optimistic – You are going to be thrown curve balls on a regular basis as a business owner. Regardless of the situation you need to remain optimistic and positive. Negative thoughts never breed positive results and your business will become vulnerable from the moment you start to have doubts.

Remaining sane as an entrepreneur isn’t easy, but using the following tips can help to keep you on the right track both mentally and physically.

Please like and share this article to help other entrepreneurs remain sane this year!

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Regardless of the industry that you are in, detailed planning and the right perspective for your business is vital for growing in a sustainable way. We have put together a list of steps you can take to manage your small business in a sustainable manner.

Business growth

To a certain degree you can plan for the growth of your small business and work out how to manage it when the time comes. However, no one is ever quite sure when that growth will happen. For this reason, it helps to have a few ‘what-if’ scenarios that you can turn to when an exciting growth opportunity arises.

You can start by identifying some key indicators that will help you to determine when a surge in growth is happening. An increase in sign-ups for your services or a surge in sales is an obvious indicator but what about all of the things that lead to that increase? Are you receiving more interest on social media, is there a news article about your company, exposure at a conference? Having a baseline of numbers will help to ensure that your systems can handle your growth.

Customer focus

As you start to see your business grow it can be easy to get even more controlling over what happens and you begin to take your responsibility to your customer’s demands even more seriously. However, perspective matters. Your business isn’t all about you – a surge in customer demand may mean you’re not able to run it the way you would like to. You may lose some of that control, and for a period of time flexibility and the right attitude towards customers is vital.

Be realistic

In some cases you may have to turn down business opportunities because your business is currently unable to meet the increased demand. It does not mean that your small business is a failure, it is simply confirmation that the demand is out there when you are ready to handle it in a sustainable and smart way. Be confident and when necessary take the decision to step back and plan properly to meet the demand and move forward.

We’d love to hear what your small business success stories are! Please like and share this article if you found it useful.

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We get that running a small business is not easy. As a small business owner it can sometimes be difficult to get things done. In order to see results that benefit your business we have compiled a list of time-saving tips!

Prioritise 

The key to prioritizing your daily tasks is to write them down in a list and rank them in order of importance. By doing this you will be completing each task in order of importance and urgency allowing you to stay on top of your workload.

Delegate

Are there other people who can do certain tasks, such as admin? Delegation allows you to remove yourself from the “noise” of the business and allows you to take a step back and think about the overall strategy and vision that you had when you first started the business.

Find a Freelancer!

Instead of dedicating part of your team to market research why not invest in the services of an external freelancer? Using specialist freelancers will ensure you have experience and dedicated professionals focused on the specialist tasks. This will provide you extra time to your principle operations, saving you both time and money.

Compare prices

Price comparison websites are a great tool for finding the best deals on things such as insurance, appliances, courier services and many more. By comparing prices it could significantly reduce the day-to-day costs of operating a business, allowing you to increase profit margins or price your services more competitively.

Go to the cloud

By moving business processes to internet-based services instead of running them on site, such as payroll and bookkeeping you will not only have greater access from wherever you are and whenever you need it, but you will also reduce the time spent on such tasks.

We would like to hear what tips you have for saving time whilst running your small business! Or if you liked our article then please like and share it.

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