The October blog

Oct 29, 2014 | Uncategorized

 

Budget or bust

We have seen in the last week the impact of an unexpected bill, £1.7 billion to be precise and the gasps of surprise all round as the EU seek to claw back additional monies from the UK.

 

Al well run or managed business will attempt to anticipate future costs so as not to be caught out in this way. It’s also important to know what you are committing yourself to with long term agreements.

 

The government have produced a very quick guide to cash flow and forecasting on YouTube . Whilst simple in format it does cover the importance of considering not only the profit forecast but the cash flow arising from that trading activity.

 

Just as we often budget for Christmas shopping, it is certainly important for every business to know what its future likely income and outgoings are. You need to start with sales but then work down to the cost of producing those sales and finally the total amounts of overhead you need to cover.

 

The timing of payments for many small businesses is crucial, not getting paid till after your suppliers get paid will need an injection of funds by you or external borrowing to tide you over

 

The actual process of sitting down and working out future cash flows is not difficult but it is important to be done realistically. Most software packages such as Xero or Sage will help you (provided you are using the software fully) by projecting forward. In turn, you need to agree credit control procedures and stick to them.

 

The Government have received some criticism about the extra EU bill; it is in the rules apparently but, like many of us, they have poor long term memories or don’t read the small print.

 

For more advice on budgeting and cash flow you can visit our website articles or come to our next workshop on the 26th November at 8.00am

 

Cash flow forecasting, to read more click here

 Accelerator Club: Getting to grips with Cash Flow and Payment Cards 

Our next Accelerator Club workshop will be on the 26th November, at the new time of 8.00am till 9.30am. 

With Christmas and the New Year fast approaching this session will look at the importance of cash flow forecasting and budgeting in your business. Have you got the cash put by to pay the tax bills in January? What about that new van or new employee you desperately need. Can you afford it?

Having worked out what you likely cash flow is, how can you make sure you get paid on time?

 

Our special guest will be Tony Berry, from First Data Group. He will give us a short presentation of the options open to businesses to accept card payments. 

Tony will guide us through this decision process so whether a micro business or a more substantial entity, there are cost effective solutions available.

The workshop is free and we may even treat you to a bacon sandwich and coffee. To book call the office, visit our events page or go to Eventbrite.

 

For advice on improving credit control click here 

 

 Personal Saving – for now, not to be read in 25 years

You may not be in business and may need to review your personal finances. Our guide to personal budgeting and retirement in particular, can be found here.

 

Tax Return Reminder – act now!

The last day for paper returns is this Friday. After that date tax returns have to be submitted electronically by January 31st.

If you are an employee or pensioner and want any underpayment up to £3,000 collected by a coding adjustment in 2015/16 you must submit your completed return online by the 30th December this year.

 If you are wanting us to prepare your tax return, we need the data as soon as possible. If you have a friend or colleague to whom completing a tax return is an extremely painful process, we would love to help them out. Call the tax team on 020 8460 0543

And finally

For those of you with an interest in the media, the latest book from Nick Robinson could be a must for the Christmas stocking. A summary of one passage in the book can be found here

A fascinating insight into a feud between Sir Winston Churchill and the BBC. In this age of multi-channel TV and 24 hour news it’s hard to imagine that Churchill was only interviewed by the BBC ten times between 1930 and 1939.

A reminder to all of us, we have access to channels of communication that great statesmen would have been astounded by, yet are readily available to boost our business. Use them wisely!