Small Business Matters

HMRC records checks campaign halted

HMRC has announced that its business records checks scheme is on hold and will be relaunched with a “fresh approach” early in the next financial year, following a review.

The review, which included discussions of the pilot programme with trade and professional bodies’ representatives, recommended that the checks are more targeted in future, linking to available education and support.

Accountants and business groups had argued that business owners were being harassed by a pilot version of the scheme. HMRC was also accused of going after small businesses while turning a blind eye to huge unpaid tax bills from big businesses.

Small business news round-up (4/2/12)

We search out key small business news stories and articles each week so you don’t have to, leaving you more time to spend on running your business.

Want to keep up with regular small business news, features and tips, why not subscribe to our blog by RSS or email?

HMRC records checks campaign halted

HMRC has announced that its business records checks scheme  is on hold and will be relaunched with a “fresh approach” early in the next financial year, following a review.

The review, which included discussions of the pilot programme with trade and professional bodies’ representatives, recommended that the checks are more targeted in future, linking to available education and support.

Find out more

Builders most likely to make mistakes on tax returns

Those in the construction industry are seen as the most likely to provide incorrect information on their tax returns, according to a survey of accountants.

In a poll by Bloomsbury Professional, a third of those questioned regarded builders as high risk due to frequent use of cash payments and poor bookkeeping.

Find out more

More than one million will face tax fine, says HMRC

Just over one million taxpayers face a penalty of £100 for failing to submit their self-assessment tax returns on time. The figure of 1.1 million is the lowest since online filing first started, and compares with 1.4 million last year and 1.6 million the year before.

Q&As with the Prime Minister - Part one: Tax and big business, credit easing, young entrepreneurs and more

As you may know, Prime Minister David Cameron recently visited the Intuit UK offices for a PM Direct event.  It was a great day and very informative.

For the benefit of those that didn't attend, we’re going to publish all the Q&As in a short video series. Here’s the first part.

HMRC and tax for small and large businesses

Business and finance as part of the school curriculum

Credit easing

SMEs winning government contracts

Investment funding for young entrepreneurs

What do you think of David Cameron’s comments? What would you like to have asked him?

 

February tip: Get professional advice

As part of our monthly calendar tips, our tip for February is:

If you don’t already have one, get an accountant and talk to them about financial management.

To find a QuickBooks ProAdvisor in your area, visit quickbooks.co.uk/february

Here’s why:

You’ll save time and stress

Successful business owners know it's best to focus on what they’re good at, rather than struggling on with something they could pay an expert to do better in half the time. Time spent tearing your hair out over tax forms is time away from doing what you do best – running your business and generating income.

Even if you’re comfortable filling in all the relevant paperwork yourself, with an accountant you’ll have the peace of mind that you’ve filled in everything you need to and that you’ve filled it in right. If you make a mistake you’ll certainly be asked by HMRC to correct it, taking more of your time. However, in the worst case scenario, a tax inspector may want to look over all your financial records

HMRC gives two-day leeway on Self Assessment tax deadline

HMRC has agreed to effectively push the 31 January Self Assessment tax return deadline back to 2 February this year.

The reason is that HMRC strike action is planned for 31 January, meaning that there may not be enough staff on hand to deal with last-minute queries.

HMRC has confirmed: “To make sure our customers are not disadvantaged if they cannot get through to HMRC's call centres on 31 January, we will not impose any late filing penalties for people who file their Self Assessment returns on 1 and 2 February.”

HMRC says that the SA deadline remains midnight on 31 January but that it will treat all returns that come in by midnight on 2 February as though they were submitted by 31 January. No one will have to pay interest on payments due on 31 January that are paid on 1 or 2 February.

HMRC Acting Director of General Personal Tax, Stephen Banyard, said: "We've always been very clear that we want the returns - not the penalties. For that reason, we don't want anyone who can't get through for help and advice on 31 January to be disadvantaged in any way."

Will you have to prove it?                    

Some tax experts have questioned whether HMRC might make people prove that they could not file on time because they were awaiting a response to a legitimate last-minute query.

Small business news round-up (28/1/12)

We search out key small business news stories and articles each week so you don’t have to, leaving you more time to spend on running your business.

Want to keep up with regular small business news, features and tips? Why not subscribe to our blog by RSS or email?

HMRC Self Assessment returns – two more days to file and pay

HMRC has agreed that customers who can’t get through to HMRC's call centres on 31 January because of strike action will have a couple more days to submit their returns. Late penalties will not be imposed for people who file their Self Assessment returns on 1 and 2 February, the HMRC has said.

The SA deadline remains midnight on 31 January. However, HMRC will treat all returns that come in by midnight on 2 February as though they were submitted by 31 January. No one will have to pay interest on payments due on 31 January that are paid on 1 or 2 February.

Find out more

Set up your business in a Government department, says Cameron

Entrepreneurs will be allowed to set up their companies in empty Government offices, David Cameron has said this week.

QuickBooks Tips and Tricks: Getting around QuickBooks 2012

In this regular QuickBooks Tips and Tricks series we’ll provide lots of information, including video tutorials, expert advice and more, to help you get the most out of your QuickBooks software.  

Want to keep up with regular QuickBooks tips and tricks as well as small business news, features and insights? Why not subscribe to our blog by RSS or email?

Previously we’ve provided an overview of QuickBooks 2012and a handy quick-start guide. Today we’ll look at navigating around the software.

Don’ forget that you can try QuickBooks out for yourself for free.

If there are any QuickBooks tips, tricks or features you’d like us to cover, please let us know and we’ll do our best. Similarly, if you have any tips of your own, please send them in. 

 

Last call for Self Assessment tax returns

It’s that time of year again – the Self Assessment tax return deadline is looming and completing it really can’t be put off any longer.

If you haven’t submitted your Self Assessment return yet, you really must act now. HMRC has issued a reminder to small businesses who haven’t yet sent in their Self Assessment return, making clear that:

• It must be submitted online
• It must be submitted by 31 January

And don’t forget, 31 January 2012 is also the deadline for paying any tax you owe for the 2010/11 tax year.

If you send HMRC an online return after this date, or you file a paper return, you will receive a £100 penalty – even if you have no tax to pay or you pay your tax on time.

The penalties don’t stop there either:

2012: A small business wishlist

By Anthony Teasdale

It's not often the self-employed ask for help – after all, by our very nature we’re extremely self-reliant. But with an economic downturn that shows little sign pointing in the opposite direction, there's a few things that could benefit a significant number of us in the year ahead.

As someone who runs a small business myself, here's what I'd like to see take hold in the coming months…

Small businesses working together 

Five years ago, banks were queuing up to give small business loans or extend their overdrafts, confident that they’d get their money back – and more – soon enough. Today the situation is very different, with loans increasingly difficult to obtain. In Coventry, a group of business meet once a month to talk with local banks about how they can get finance – and it’s the numbers of people joining forces that gets the banks to listen. Ask around your area and see if anyone else wants to do the same. 

Is anybody out there? Why getting feedback is important (and a little request for your feedback!)

Feedback is important for your product or service but it’s easy to get so swept up in the day-to-day business of working that you don’t find the time to ask whether you’re actually giving people what they want.

If you don’t ask for feedback you’re unlikely to make the best improvements quickly and you might only hear about the bad things when people make a complaint – by which time it’s often too late. In addition, people are more likely to speak up when they want to complain, and quite understandably so. By soliciting feedback directly you’ll find out what you’re doing right so you can keep on doing it or even do it better.

You can get feedback in all sorts of ways, such as surveys, focus groups and social media monitoring and at Intuit we’re doing a bit of that ourselves just now through Zuberance.