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PurpleAccounts News |
| PurpleAccounts Fees Fixed Until 2011 |
We are delighted to announce that PurpleAccounts has made the decision to FIX FEES UNTIL MARCH 2011. (Fees as per October 2008 price schedule).
We have made this decision for two key reasons;
1. You know how much you are paying for the next two years, helping you to plan your cash-flows
2. You know precisely what services you are receiving from us for your fixed fee
We want to make life as easy as possible for you, whilst providing the reassurance and comfort that your fees will be fixed for 2 years!
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Priority Parking
PURPLEACCOUNTS would like to invite customers to make use of our dedicated customer parking space when you make an appointment to come in and discuss your accounts. The parking space is in the car park behind our offices - accessed by Fort Street. The dedicated customer space is the first on the left - a sign will be in place shortly, but please do not use any of the other spaces. The space needs to be pre reserved with us for obvious reasons simply by emailing sandra@purpleaccounts.com or enquiries@purpleaccounts.com, or phone 01624 618002. (Cars are parked at owners own risk - just to cover ourselves!)
Late Night Opening
PURPLEACCOUNTS are pleased to announce a new late night opening on Thursday evenings until 7pm. The aim is to provide customers with the option of popping in after the working day or being able to drop documents in when the town centre is less busy. Of course customers are welcome to email us at any time and we will try to respond out of hours where we can.
Purple Teams up with MBL
As part of our comprehensive range of services to our clients, PurpleAccounts is working in conjunction with a trusted local financial services provider to offer valued clients a full range of services including:
Individual and Company Pensions
Death in service cover
Key Person and Partnership Protection Insurance
Residential and Commercial Mortgages
Savings and Investment advice
Private Medical Cover
MBL provide free initial consultations and appointments at a time and place to suit you with no obligation. Other benefits to you are:
Completely independent advice from one of the largest providers in the Island
Competitive rates for insurance, mortgages and even legal fees
All advice is licenced, regulated and insured, so you are fully protected
Immediate appointments are available
Please email enquiries@purpleaccounts.com or call 01624 618002 for more information and to ensure you gain the benefit of special rates. |
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| Small Business Notes and News |
| Misinformation puts small firms off having a website |
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A new report shows than nearly half of all the UK's small companies still don't have a website because business owners are put off by the perceived time, effort and skill required to set up and maintain a website.
The survey showed that many business owners have been misinformed about the true cost and time needed to set up a website. Nearly half of firms without a website believed that it would not benefit their businesses but 80% of companies with websites said that it had brought in sales.
It also appears that those without a website were put off by the perceived costs. 25% of those surveyed thought the cost of buying a domain name and web hosting would be over £400, whereas in reality it can be done for well under £100. Or even less when using a site such as vistaprint, where it can be done for free at first.
A website can make it much easier for potential customers to find you and find out more about you. Even if you don't sell online, a simple 'brochure' website can provide potential customers with basic information about your company; where to find you, what services or products you offer etc.
If you're looking to sell online, or create an extensive business web presence, you will need technical help but these days a basic business website is pretty simple to maintain. Many web hosts provide 'off the shelf' style web site designs, and you can use content management systems to help you upload information to the web.
For the vast majority of small businesses, the benefits of a website will outweigh the time and financial costs of running one.
VAT - Basic Guide
Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax on the final consumption of certain goods and services and is collected at every stage of production and distribution. Most business-related goods and services will therefore be subject to VAT.
There are several VAT rates, the standard rate being 15% (this standard rate was reduced from 17.5% to 15% from 1st December 2008 until 31st December 2009 following the 2008 Pre-Budget Report).
Your company should become VAT registered if the value of your taxable supplies in the past 12 months or less has exceeded the current VAT registration threshold of £68,000 (from 1st May 2009 - previously it was £67,000), or the value of your taxable supplies in the next 30 days alone is expected to exceed this threshold.
This threshold applies for the 2009/10 tax year, and usually increases each tax year by £1,000 or so. It is important to remember that turnover is the amount of money going through the business, not just the profit.
Even if your business turnover lies below the current threshold, you can still register, since there may be business benefits in doing so (However, we strongly recommend discussing this with your Accountant).
Basically, a business will pay VAT on all purchases it makes (known as ‘input tax’) and then charge VAT on all sales it makes (known as ‘output tax’). If a VAT-registered business receives more output than input tax in a VAT period, it will have to pay the difference, otherwise the difference will be refunded if the business pays more VAT than it receives.
Once you are VAT registered, you will need to update your invoicing templates to take account of the additional tax you need to charge your customers. Most businesses will need to submit a VAT return every quarter and pay any VAT owed (or claim a refund). if you file your VAT return online, you will have extra time to pay. Your Accountant will manage this for you if your monthly service includes VAT.
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| Useful Articles |
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Spring Clean Your Small Business
TIME to give your business the once over. Trim unnecessary costs, become more efficient and gain and retain customers.
As winter is now well and truly over – spring is the perfect opportunity to spruce up your act.
The recession hits businesses in different ways. It could be falling orders, cash flow, staffing etc... Even if demand is there, customers want ‘cheaper, quicker, better ‘more than ever. Can you step up to the challenge? If you don’t someone else will!
With this in mind, it’s more important than ever to ensure your business is fighting fit. Fitter than the competition and fitter than it was before for a competitive edge.
10 ways to spruce up your small business:
1) Review
– Where are you now – where do you want to be? Where can savings be made? Be impartial with this one though – de clutter and look forward more clearly. Don’t cut important corners in the process.
2) Cut supply costs
– Examine the whole chain – end to end. There are massive savings to be made at the moment and even approaching existing suppliers to improve the deal you have can be worthwhile. Can you purchase strategically rather than ad – hoc?
3) Reduce spending
– Look at your internal costs. Eg, IT, transport etc..Don’t spend too much time reviewing costs – it could prove to be an ineffective way of actually reducing costs. Get a list of expenses and ditch the costs that you can, improve on those that are too high and keep only the essential elements. Concentrate on areas where you have the most to gain!
4) Take control of cashflow
– When the going is good it’s great and it’s easy to forget the importance of cashflow. Tighten your credit control – get hands on. In a small business it’s even more important to be cash positive. Don’t let customers use your business as a credit facility!
5) Stock – stuck?
– Tighten up inventory management and ratio of turnover to stock. Keep the inventory to a minimum without compromising availability.
6) Staffing – for those with a team, it is a good chance to review the balance of cost effectiveness and the ability to deliver the level of service required to keep you in the game. Tom Martin, Managing Director of Miracles says “
It is a basic but very effective management tool. Throughout the week ask your staff list everything they are doing on a daily basis and note the amount of time each duty took to complete. The results of which have many uses, for example staff who possibly thought they were over worked are able to show just how much they are doing… or not! On the flip side the manager is able to show staff they actually are not busy every second of the day etc. But most importantly you can immediately identify staff that are doing duplicate work, or staff who could possibly lose some work and take on similar duties from another employee to better focus their position.
Conduct annual Appraisals or Personal Development Plans. PDP’s can help identify staff training and development requirements..
Of course PDP’s are also a great way to spend one on one time with staff. Ideas and inspiration for the business are often obtained in these situations.
7) Use efficient processes– Investing in more efficient processes will increase your businesses health. Basically it means the team can do more without actually working any harder than they already are. Look for duplications in work, lack of procedures, bottlenecks, delays and also timing of invoicing. Identifying the problem is half the battle!
8) Consider outsourcing
Growing your business through the use of outsourcing can prove to be extremely beneficial if the relationship is managed correctly.
Using the services of a dedicated provider in areas such as call minding, finance, marketing, administration are not limited to large organisations. Owing to the fact that outsourcing providers operate on a larger scale, it gives you the flexibility to alter the level of service to fit your business requirements without having to worry about staffing issues and costs. Your business will also benefit from ‘economies of scale’ normally associated with processes being performed on a larger scale.
Further benefits like, consistency of workflow, best practice methods, professional knowledge all come as part of an outsourcing package.
“We are definitely seeing a trend towards outsourcing by small businesses here on the Island says David Parker of PurpleAccounts . Those businesses who have embraced the opportunity to outsource are experiencing accelerated growth due to the business owner being able to focus completely on growing the business, meeting potential clients, winning business, without becoming bogged down in paperwork. The benefits of outsourcing can be tremendous, however, a poorly managed relationship is ultimately the reason behind up to 95% of instances where the relationship does not work out. Ensure your outsourcing provider understands and fosters the importance of open and fluid communication to make optimum benefit from outsourcing.”
9) Location, location, location
– It’s worth shopping around for cheaper premises, you may even bag a bargain at the moment with rents falling. Sometimes it’s worth running an operation from home, for others, gaining a more prominent presence perhaps by sharing premises can do wonders.
10) Marketing makes money– now is not the time to cut out marketing. Those that make clever use of their budget – no matter how small will reap the rewards. Your money can go further with a review of all activity and how effective it is for you – which costs nothing. Don’t forget those existing customers – they are your greatest asset!
When managing a small team it is good practice to regularly ask your staff to conduct ‘Time In Motion Studies’.
11) Look after your clients
– look after your clients – so important I’ve said it twice
It’s far cheaper to retain an existing customer than to have to acquire new ones. Keep communicating – don’t take it for granted that they will stay with you. Believe it or not it’s the little things that set you apart. Quick responses, welcoming atmosphere, using the customers’ name and of course delivering on time, every time whilst exceeding their expectations. It doesn’t cost anything to do something right. Do something wrong and you will pay twice over.
By looking after your business and your customers in this way, you put yourself in a stronger position when the economic climate improves.
By H Parker MCIM
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