Setting up your own business is easy in some ways (announce you’re in business and, well, you are!) and really quite challenging in others (registration docs and record keeping, anyone?).

Before you know it, you can easily become swamped with all the little bits of admin that need doing, you might even be put off before you start trading!

Here’s our ten-step checklist for start-ups to help you see the wood from the trees and get on with doing what you do best:

1) Have you got the funds (plus a little bit extra saved in case of emergency)?

Starting a business … Continue Reading

Before the General Election NI was referred to as a ‘tax on jobs’, and essentially it is a tax, as once you have sufficient NI contributions to qualify for state benefits any extra payments will not entitle you to further benefits.

If you have paid in excess of the maximum NI contributions required for the tax year you can reclaim the excess amount. The PAYE system will normally ensure that you will not pay more than the annual maximum on your regular employment. However, if you have two or more concurrent employments in the tax year, or you are employed … Continue Reading

A recent survey has shown that many small businesses have a lack of awareness when it comes to the legalities of running their company. The study, by the Department for Business Innovations and Skills, shows that only 32% of small business owners feel confident in their understanding of employment law and their role as an employer.

Most worryingly, 34% of those asked think employment law obligations are ‘not relevant’ to their business, while 20% had concerns as to whether they were meeting these obligations- even if they understood them.

Employment relations minister Lord Young said: “We know that running a small business … Continue Reading

The tax-return deadline has been and gone and for many, getting everything in order for the dreaded day of reckoning, was a tedious ordeal. To avoid a headache in 2011, a belated New Year’s resolution should be to keep your books up-to-date for a stress free year-end.

For small businesses, keeping track of cash flow can be a struggle. With limited staff, or none at all, keeping on top of accounting often falls by the wayside in busy periods.

There are some simple steps you can take to make sure your business finances start, and end, 2010 in order.

• Set up a … Continue Reading

Today (2 February) sees the launch of the second National Apprenticeship Week, aimed at celebrating apprentices and promoting apprenticeships in Britain.

The apprenticeship scheme provides a real opportunity for employers to take on cost-effective labour who can be trained to meet the specific needs of their business. For apprentices, the scheme delivers paid, on-the-job experience at a time when University places are at a premium and tuition fees and the student loan means years of debt for graduates.

A recent survey on behalf of the Learning and Skills Council identified that the 76% of employers asked, stated that apprentices helped them … Continue Reading

With the 31st January tax return deadline looming ever closer, employees may be faced with an additional headache. According to the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIoT), the taxman has issued 25 million incorrect PAYE tax codes for 2010/2011 – double that of the previous year.

Blamed on HMRC’s new computer system, the blunder could see individuals hundreds of pounds short, depending on the level of their earnings.

Andrew Hubbard, president of the CIoT, warned advisors and their business clients to check their new codes. “Most people on PAYE are used to assuming that what the taxman sends them is correct, (filing) away … Continue Reading

The economic downturn may still be putting pressure on enterprise, but a quarter (26%) of small businesses are nevertheless giving a higher priority to environmental considerations this year, according to a report released by Abbey and Alliance & Leicester Business Banking.

16% of small businesses were found to have downgraded environmental issues this year in order to keep their firms afloat, with nearly half of them blaming the cost. In addition, 42% reported that they are held back from improving their environmental practices.

Around one in six (17%) have not been able to make their companies more environmentally sound, as desired improvements … Continue Reading

A leading business group has warned that small businesses will suffer if the Chancellor raises taxes on small businesses in the Pre Budget Report.

Raising taxes for small businesses would ultimately cost the UK billions of pounds and hundreds of thousands of jobs, according to a new independent report for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The report, by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), argues that increasing the burden of taxation on the country’s small businesses – which make up 99 per cent of all UK businesses – would plunge the economy further into debt and take its … Continue Reading

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called on the Government to put a stop to all new business regulation and simplify red tape if it is to seriously tackle rising unemployment.

The FSB believes that a freeze on new business regulation would create more than 300,000 jobs, and provide the economy with a second economic stimulus.

A survey of FSB members showed that nearly one in three businesses (27%) that wanted to expand said they were too scared to do so, because they were put off by complicated regulation. Of those businesses planning to down-size or close, 50% said their decision … Continue Reading

According to a new report from specialist business insurer Hiscox, 44% of SMEs are at risk of theft due to security lapses this summer.

The report found that just under half (44%) of small businesses say staff are more lax about closing windows, setting alarms and locking exit doors in the summer months of June to August, while one in five respondents (20%) have arrived at work to discover that a window or exit has been unlocked or the alarm is not set.

Hiscox have also revealed that small business owners are also failing to prioritise their security strategies. Despite high … Continue Reading