If you’re looking to grow your business, you might consider expanding your service offerings. Adding additional services is a good way to increase your profitability, diversify your income and expand your market. But
Balancing customer experience against your budget is a difficult task. You need the right amount of staff working to keep customers happy, but not so many people that workers are standing around looking
Starting a business means you’ll be in competition with other companies that already exist. It’s actually a good thing if you have competition to go up against. Competition pushes you to be innovative.
Starting your own business requires enough capital to ensure you can pay your bills until your company turns a profit. Depending on the type and size of your business, you may need thousands
The unfortunate reality is most business owners don’t take proper holidays. Usually this is because their business relies on them and they don’t have the support to keep the business running without them.
After several delays, the VAT domestic reverse charge for construction services is due to come into effect on 1 March 2021. If you’re not sure what this means for your business, read on
Thinking about retirement can be stressful. You need to plan for how long you think you’ll be retired, what lifestyle you’ll want to lead, and approximately how much you’ll pay to maintain your
Knowing the value of your business is vital should an unexpected buyer come along, and the timing is right for you to sell. You’ll want to get the best price you can so
Having total control over your finances can give you an amazing sense of freedom. However, it takes a lot of discipline and hard work for you to be able to achieve this. In
Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000, the Chancellor has announced, as England enters its third coronavirus lock down. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has
It’s important to identify and monitor the key drivers of your small business to boost profitability and cash flow. Boost profitability by recognising your key drivers Identifying the key drivers of your business
The success of any business, large or small, depends largely on nurturing an efficient, productive workplace. While improving employee productivity should be always be a priority when the ultimate goal is a sustainable
The daily processes and transactions involved in operating a business can mean long hours of repetitive tasks and occasional oversights due to human nature. Automating these tasks can result in significant savings in
Long-standing customers form the backbone of a strong, well-established business. Make it your mission to ensure that the vast majority of your current customers stay with your business for many years to come.
Dealing with risk is an inherent aspect of business management. The way you prepare for risk is the most important factor in determining the longevity of your enterprise. Businesses of all sizes have
1. Build credibility quickly Why should people buy from a new business? Your first challenge is to overcome their doubts by building trust and credibility quickly. Some tips: Promote your skills and experience,
Think of your business plan as a roadmap designed to point the way to your current destination, knowing that where you land may not be your ultimate endpoint. After all, things are constantly
Very few small businesses have a huge marketing budget to work with. Fortunately, there are a number of simple, free, and low-cost ways to get the word out about your company that are
When you’re a small business owner, you get used to people giving you advice. Sometimes you seek out their insights while other times they share whether you want them to or not. While
As a small business owner, you’re likely always looking for ways to achieve more. Maybe you made a New Year’s resolution about it. You might have resolved to make more money, find more
The start of the year is the perfect time to dust off last year’s business plan and set some new goals for the future. While some entrepreneurs love planning, others feel overwhelmed by
Taking out a business loan may be your first plan of action for financing business growth. But there are excellent reasons to consider other options for finding capital to expand your business. For
Many small business owners tend to handle their own accounting and bookkeeping, especially when they’ve just started out. However, keeping track of the finance-side of the business– everything from income to expenses to
Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000, the Chancellor has announced, as England enters its third coronavirus lock down. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has
Now is definitely a good time to revisit your business plan for the next year. We know that writing a plan can feel like a big effort so we have created a template to make it easier.
While there has been a lot of talk on how to avoid contracting the virus and how businesses can operate safely to adapt to the current conditions, this article will focus on helping you manage the financial aspects of your business to survive COVID-19. Read on for our tips on cushioning the impact on your business.
Lack of clear goals. Start by setting clear 12 month goals, then break these down into 90 day goals. Your actions each day should be steps towards achieving those 90 day goals, which
As accountants, we’re always helping our clients find ways to reduce their overhead costs – one of the seven ways to grow your business. Did you know that your accounting fees are an
As you can imagine as a result of recent announcements, we at Fortuous are extremely busy and we are trying our very best to assist as many of the business as possible. The
Over the weekend, Boris Johnson announced a second national lockdown to take effect from this Thursday until 2 December. In light of this, the furlough scheme, which was due to end on 31
So many things are wrong in any business at any time and how ever well managed it may be, the phenomenon of ‘entropy’ sets in immediately. (Entropy is sort of like Murphy’s Law
With so many small business owners struggling to access support, we wanted to make finding information easier. Now you can answer 11 quick questions and government support checker will tell you what you’re
The Job Support Scheme (JSS) will open on 1 November and run for six months, until 30 April 2021. The government has said it will review the terms of the scheme in January
Working from home You may be able to claim tax relief for additional household costs if you have to work at home on a regular basis, either for all or part of the
If you are looking to exit your business or have a future plan to do so, you need a strategy. When you sell up, you want your business to have as much inherent
The UK Government is continuing to offer support to businesses as they wrestle with the aftermath of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and their latest offering is the Kickstart Scheme. This scheme is perfect
Having clean, up-to-date information and data about your customers is a vital part of running your business. But recording, tracking and accessing this customer information can be tricky if you don’t have the
The government announced that they will be providing £20m worth of grants for small businesses to upgrade technology. SMEs are now able to access a small business technology grant between £1,000 and £5,000.
In many countries all over the world, small businesses are crucial to the economy. That is more prevalent now than ever in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Now that lockdown measures have
Whether you’re in full lockdown, restricted trading conditions or back to ‘business as usual’, there’s still real uncertainty for London business owners. We are trading in challenging times at the present, and knowing
The difference between cash basis and accrual basis accounting comes down to timing. When do you record revenue or expenses? If you do it when you pay or receive money, it’s cash
In the context of the Covid-19 outbreak, the duty to remove or minimise health and safety risks in your London small business has become increasingly difficult. When lockdown measures ease, London SMEs will
The Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) supports businesses that have been required to close due to temporary COVID-19 local lockdown restrictions imposed by the government. The Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) supports businesses
Once your small business gets to a certain size and turnover, there’s real value in assessing the company structure and learning how to make things more tax-efficient. Setting up a holding company is
The statement of cash flows, (also known as the cash flow statement), shows how your business has generated and used cash (and cash equivalents) within a specific time period. For each of the
In recent weeks the direction of discussion surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has turned to the measures and strategies for coming out of lockdown and what this means for businesses. For many businesses, of
The government has announced small businesses that already pay little or no business rates will be eligible for a one-off coronavirus grant worth up to £3,000. For a commercial property with a rateable
After the shock of going into lockdown and either temporally closing or moving business operations to working from home, it’s time to consider your business’s next steps. How you support your customers and
During the ongoing corona virus crisis, many sectors are seeing income either disappear completely or drop to dangerous levels. To be able to navigate the future path of your cash flow, you need
Supporting small and medium-sized businesses during coronavirus This scheme will help small and medium-sized businesses affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) to apply for loans of up to £50,000 This scheme isn’t available yet and
Paying Tax Is An Inevitable Part Of Doing Business The more your income grows, the more tax you’re liable to pay. You’re rewarded for your success with a bigger tax bill. While
How you access this scheme? CBILS is available through the British Business Bank’s 40+ accredited lenders, which are listed on the British Business Bank website here. Note: Not every accredited lender can provide every
Who can claim Any UK organisation with employees can apply, including: businesses charities recruitment agencies (agency workers paid through PAYE) public authorities You must have created and started a PAYE payroll scheme on or before 28
The UK government will guarantee £330 billion of bank loans to firms to stop them from going bankrupt during the coronavirus outbreak, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said. Speaking at a press conference alongside
The government will meet the cost of coronavirus statutory sick pay (SSP) for small businesses with up to 250 employees for 14 days, providing over £2 billion for up to two million businesses.SSP
The government has announced small businesses that already pay little or no business rates will be eligible for a one-off coronavirus grant worth up to £3,000.For a commercial property with a rateable value
In a crisis, the ability for your staff to work remotely could, quite literally, be a lifesaver.But how do you set up your team to become remote workers? And what are the key
Whatever your business, it’s likely that COVID-19 will be impacting you. You may be dealing with stock shortages, exporting issues, disrupted travel plans or a sales downturn due to tourist drop off. The
It’s a shocking truth, especially for new restaurateurs: Food and labour costs usually range between 62%-68% for every pound in revenue, with profits only reaching between 2%-6%. With razor-thin profit margins, restaurants can’t
Financial years vary from country to country as per their existing taxation laws. In the UK, the tax years are different for individuals and companies. Individuals Start Date: 6th April of the current
Not Filing tax returns to HMRC At time we have observed that people get themselves registered for self employment for one reason or another without realising that it becomes compulsory for them to
Mary runs a small beauty salon in east London with a small team, offering first class hair, beauty, grooming and aesthetic treatments . As the business started to grow, Mary had neglected the financial
A local wholesale paint supplier had been a client of their accountant for eight years. The relationship had traditionally been around year end tax and compliance. Two years ago, the accountant discussed the
You have probably heard of a self-assessment tax return. But what is it, and how do you know if you need one?
Sarah and Tim own an independent home entertainment retailer, selling televisions, music systems, phones, computers, games and consoles and other consumer electronics. Having completed their year-end accounts and tax work, the accountant presented
It is perhaps the biggest political shakeup of the UK since World War 2, but while there are many words discussing hard Brexit, soft Brexit, politician’s performances and failings, what does it really
The R&D Tax Credit Scheme was introduced in year 2000, the idea behind it to encourage investment in research in UK based companies and attract new, innovative businesses to the country. The scheme
Running a small business is hard work, much harder than anyone ever gives you credit for. It requires you to master many skills and take responsibility for so many aspects of running a
On the off chance that you are bootstrapping, or beginning an independent venture on a constrained spending plan, you have presumably invested some energy attempting to make sense of where you can cut
HMRC can now confirm that under Making Tax Digital: businesses will now be able to continue to use spreadsheets to record receipts and expenditure, which they can then link to software to automatically generate
The tax year is from 6 April to 5 April the following year. You’ll need to send a tax return if, in the last tax year: You were self-employed. You got £2,500 or
Whether you are starting your own business or looking for a new accountant, the search can be frustrating.After all, when it comes to handling money, you need someone that you can trust. Experience
There are over 340,000 accountants in London today. Have you considered hiring an accountant to help your business? If so, how do you know you’re making the right choice, and how can you
The human brain is a magnificent organ, capable of storing an estimated 2.5 petabytes. Petabytes are bigger than gigabytes. Yet, no person can remember everything–especially when it comes to tax laws and how
Many small business owners are entrepreneurs who went into business seeking freedom, a better lifestyle, more money or simply because they wanted to run their own show. Financial acumen is rarely high amongst
Formal and Informal Systems All businesses have systems. They make the wheels of your business turn. Some systems are formal but many are informal. Systems that are informal can keep your business wheels
Scenario A well-established barber shop in a small town was hit hard when a new barber moved into the area and set up shop. Having held a monopoly prior to the arrival of
Ever heard the expression “time is money”? Well, it’s never more true than when it comes to making changes to your business. While change is not something that most people embrace quickly or
A healthy body demands routine checks and examinations. So does a healthy, thriving business. No matter what stage your business is in, to keep it going you must check its systems, pay attention
If you don’t know, your customers surely don’t. More importantly, if you don’t know, you won’t be able to tell your customers why they should choose you over your competitors. Answering this simple
David, the sole practitioner of a legal firm, found that his revenue had stagnated and he was consistently facing cash flow problems. David was jolted into action by a frank conversation with his
“What’s the difference between water and steam? At 99 degrees water is merely hot, at 100 degrees it turns to steam and can move locomotives. Just one degree—a one per cent change—makes the
Running a business without a business plan is like rock climbing blindfolded. Your chances of making it successfully to the top are slim. And the process will surely be a death-defying one. Contrary
Consider it polygamy of sorts. But if you want to stay in business long and prosper, you have to commit to your customers. It’s no longer enough just to satisfy them. The quality
It’s rare that Accountants are spoken of as examples of great marketing. So please indulge us as we share with you a wonderful campaign run by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England
