PAH Accountants

This week we have a guest blog from Geoff Davis of GRD Credit Control Services. Geoff is producing a series of Top Tips on credit control and how to ensure you get paid on time.  His weekly series will follow the process of making the decision to allow credit all the way through to debt recovery action. In this guest blog Geoff highlights tip number one -

DON’T OFFER CREDIT

OK – surprising perhaps for me to recommend this but there is very often a view, particularly from newer businesses, that they must offer credit to their customers. This is not the case and you need to consider the industry you are in.

If you are a plumber’s merchant supplying only to the trade then to compete you will have to offer credit terms. If you

It sounds sordid but it’s true. Following a period of negotiation and review of various accounting systems, PAH accounting has decided to become an affiliate partner of Kashflow.

Kashflow is a web based package and is designed specifically for small businesses. Being web based it has the advantage of being accessible from anywhere. You are always using the most up to date version of the software. It also doesn’t need to

Guest Article

This blog has been written by Roland Millward, who runs a Mortgage Brokerage and a business training company. Roland also runs a very popular online Wiltshire Directory – www.wiltshireway.co.uk.

Many people would love to start their own business. You may be one of those people. What prevents you from starting one?

For most people the answer would be that they don’t have enough capital and cannot borrow enough money to start. But do you need money to start? There is a principle called ‘bootstrapping’ where you will start a business using the

Salary versus Dividend is often a topic that comes up when creating a Limited Company. I have tried to detail below a simplistic view of the order in which an owner managed business can extract funds from a company. For an ideas on the potential tax savings of incorporation you can use our Limited Company versus Sole Trader calculator

If you are an individual running a business, creating a company can often be a good way to set up. The main issue that arises is that the business and you as owner/ manager are separate legal entities. As a result the profits made by the company belong to it. There are therefore a few simple steps in order to extract money most tax efficiently from a

I don’t read many business books. Generally I feel I have a good handle on business and how it works. I have a great network of contacts for business advice and help when needed. However, I felt compelled to read this one.

This has been written by the Managing Director of 4Networking, the largest joined up business network in the UK. As a member of the network I have met Brad on a few occasions and been intrigued by his stories.This book really is an extension of that.

It explains the story of how Brad went from quitting his high level marketing job to becoming a top rated speaker

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, announced his proposals to help small businesses in his pre-Budget report on Wednesday 9th December.

There is to be a committment of £500m for a capital growth fund. This will be used to support small businesses and is an extension to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme.

A tax aid for small companies was given by further delaying the 1% increase in corporation tax for profits under £300k. The rate will therefore remain at 21% until at least April 2011.

As anticpated, VAT will go back to 17.5% from 1st January. You will need to ensure that your accounting

It has been been a great week this week. I have been at the Business Startup Exhibition at London Olympia with the team from Bizpro. They are a virtual assistant business run by Managing Director Kerry-Anne Orr. She asked me to go along and help to promote their business. There is a lot of synergy between Bizpro and PAH Accounting, our services compliment each other well, so I was only too happy to help out.

She enlisted the help of Simon West and Carl Wheatley of Nett Sales Resource. They were the geniuses behind the Hawaiian theme. That’s right we had a Hawaiian themed stand at a Business exhibition! One of the key things that Bizpro

Alistair Darling , Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that he will present his Pre-Budget Report at 12.30pm on Wednesday 9th December.

The Pre-Budget Report is becoming a more significant event in the political calendar; with a general election just around the corner, this year’s statement will be of particular interest. Look out for announcements regarding VAT.

Mr Darling is also expected to outline his plans to aid economic recovery, as well as providing details on how he intends to reduce public debt.

Check this website a day or two after where PAH Accounting will be blogging with all the relevant information to affect small businesses.

This is not a normal boring Accountancy Blog post today (however, read through to the bottom!)

Through business networking with the 4Networking group I have recently come across a man called Mike Buss. Mike is an ex serviceman on a mission. He is an endurance athelete who is attempting to break several world records. He runs marathons with 40lb packs on his back! Check out his Website, some of the things he is

So you’ve decided to start your own business! You’ve taken the plunge and thought ‘I know what I want to do’. Thats the easy and first step. Detailed below is a review of a few considerations and tips that you should think about when setting up your business.

Consider your business structure

You will need to decide what is going to be the best structure for your business. Do you want to be a Sole Trader or a Limited Company (Or LLP, Parnership!).  There are different taxation, legislatory and administration implications with each. It may also be that your target customers/ potential suppliers may rate your credibility higher if you are a Limited Company. It is also possible to protect a business name if you set it up as a Company. If you are unsure about