Mark Wrigley – smart money
A series of regular advice columns from Mark Wrigley, Peterborough’s smartest accountant (he’s got a nice suit)
November 2011: Successful Selling
The Coventry RICOH Arena, home of the Sky Blues, hosted the annual 2011 conference for the Institute of Sales Marketing and Management and this month I was privileged enough to attend on behalf of GreenStones. This is the second time we have attended the event and would recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their sales and marketing.
The first speaker was Don Hutson from America who helped demonstrate how to conduct sales negotiations based upon selling value not price dropping.
Dr Graeme Codrington was very interesting when he showed the differences between the UK generations and how sales techniques that helped some buy would not be of value to another generation.
Sharon Drew Morgen challenged those present to help the buyer, not just by selling, but they must consider and facilitate the buying process.
The former Deputy Prime Minister Michael Portillo was very entertaining with stories from politics but also helped explain the importance of selling in today’s economy to lead the country from recession.
Gavin Ingham gave us his 5 P’s of great presentations: Positioning, Planning, Practice, Passion and Performance. Gavin had the top tip from the day for me, “Tell people what you are going to tell them, tell them and then tell them what you have told them.”
Alice Beer from BBC Watch Dog demonstrated how ethical sales should always be considered company policy and how in the long term it will improve the company image and lead to more sales through recommendations.
Overall the conference was excellent value for money and I am already using several of the techniques demonstrated.
I will be attending the conference next year, please contact me if you would like me to source you a ticket also to come with me. The Institute also produces a bi monthly magazine, “Winning Edge” if you want to keep abreast of the latest developments in sales and marketing.
Mark Wrigley is a client manager at GreenStones.
October 2011: Do you really want to give the taxman £447,675?
Frightening isn’t it!
That’s how much on average someone earning £25,000 a year pays in taxes over their lifetime. This is an average when you include income tax or self employment income tax or corporation tax, national insurance, value added tax, stamp duty, inheritance tax, fuel duty, the list is pretty much endless these days. If you earn more than £25,000 in business or employment the tax bill will be even larger. We all have to pay our fair share of taxes, but there is no reason why you should pay more than your fair share.
GreenStones would like to offer you a copy of “TaxAbility” your easy to use tax busting checklist. In just 7 pages it reveals 57 powerful ideas to shave many pounds, perhaps even many thousands of pounds off your tax bills. Just think, even if you can only shave 5% off your tax bill, that saving could be an extra £22,384 in hard cash to invest or spend and enjoy during your lifetime. If you earn more than £25,000 in business or employment the potential tax savings could be much larger.
GreenStones have many examples when we have saved clients far more. This is an amazing opportunity and will only take a few moments of your time.
Mark Wrigley is a client manager at GreenStones.
August 2011: HMRC to educate new businesses
If you have recently started a new business you may be in line for a call from HMRC under their new pilot scheme. HMRC have announced a telephone education strategy in which they will call new business owners “to offer to talk them through some of the main things they need to know as a new business and to signpost them to the available help online”.
These telephone discussions are aimed to be general as the staff making the calls will not have access to the individual’s tax affairs or any of the live systems. The topics which can be discussed include most areas of business tax, including record keeping and the construction industry scheme.
You may still get these calls even if you have appointed a professional adviser although we understand that HMRC will limit the number of questions they ask in these circumstances to areas which are not covered by their adviser. It is HMRC’s aim to provide these telephone calls for purely educations purposes, but if having received such a call there is anything you would like to discuss further, please feel free to give us a call on 01733 371180.
Mark Wrigley is a client manager at GreenStones.
May 2011: VAT Invoice Accounting or VAT Cash Accounting?
The date for Value Added Tax (VAT) on a sales invoice is declared on the VAT return period in which the invoice is issued and VAT on purchases can be claimed in the VAT return period in which you receive the purchase invoice, this is called VAT Invoice Accounting.
If you select to use the VAT Cash Accounting Scheme the VAT is declared and paid in the VAT return period in which you receive the money when your customer has paid you. Also VAT cannot be claimed on your purchases until you have paid for them.
Cash accounting can be beneficial for your cash flow especially if your customers are slow to pay. It is also good for cash flow and administration purposes if you have bad debts. Standard accounting for VAT, you have to pay the VAT on the debt even if you never receive the payment from your customer and then later reclaim under the VAT bad debt rules. Using the Cash Accounting Scheme, you do not pay the VAT if your customer never pays you. The Cash Accounting Scheme may not be for you if you regularly reclaim more VAT than you pay, or if you buy a lot of goods and services on credit.
You cannot use cash accounting if:
- you are not up-to-date on your VAT Returns and VAT payments
- you have been convicted of a VAT offence or charged a penalty for VAT evasion in the last year
- your VAT taxable turnover is over £1.35 million per year
Maintaining good records is essential with accurate listing of current debtors and creditors.
Mark Wrigley is a client manager at GreenStones.
January 2011: £5,449 tax saving on a new BMW. Happy new year!
I HAVE found a really useful car website www.carpages.co.uk/co2/ with all the required information for analysing company cars. For example the BMW 3-series 320d Efficient Dynamics model has a CO2 emission rating of 109g/km meaning it could qualify for 100 per cent capital allowances.
New cars purchased after 1 April 2009 with CO2 emission ratings of less than 110g/km if part of the company initial annual investment allowance could be entitled to 100 per cent capital allowances. This could effectively save 20 per cent corporation tax (small companies rate) on the price. For example, the BMW model above list price £27,245 would reduce corporation tax by £5,449.
The critical factor is the CO2 emissions rating of less than 110g/km as any higher would result in only 20 per cent capital allowances or even 10 per cent if over 160g/km.
This is new technology however and only a few car makers have achieved this level so far. May be worth waiting another year for more options and even better cars and engines. There would still be a car benefit and a possible fuel benefit also for the employee and the company, given the low CO2 rating this would be fairly sensible.
Mark Wrigley is a client manager at GreenStones.
December 2010: could you have a lost bank account?
DID you realise that there are billions of pounds of unclaimed financial assets in the UK: old bank accounts, pensions, life assurance and investments. Yet any cash that is yours should still be available for reclaiming all you need to do is fill in a form – and it is free to do all you need to do is log onto www.mylostaccount.org.uk.
This is a FREE service brought to you by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the Building Societies Association (BSA) and National Savings and Investments (NS&I) bringing together their three tracing schemes into one website and one application form.
All three provide comprehensive coverage of their respective areas:
- The BBA scheme covers 43 banks that take retail deposits in the UK
- The BSA scheme covers all 50 UK building societies
- The NS&I scheme covers all National Savings and Investments products as well as the old Post Office Savings Bank accounts.
So for ten minutes of your time it could be worth having a quick look, a lost account of your own or an inheritance from a deceased relative or family member there could be money just sitting there waiting for you!
Mark Wrigley is a client manager at GreenStones.
November 2010: OK recovery, so what now?
THE dictionary: “An improvement in the economy marking the end of a recession or decline.” OK so the economy is getting better, great, but the real question is what will it take to get back what was lost? Well the politicians and the banks you might say have a lot to do. So what part do small business owners play in the recovery? A very big part.
If you want your business to recover or gain fully from the economic recovery the most important thing is to take action. Please remember, action is not learning, action is not knowing, action is not talking, action by you not someone else is required and that action is now not later.
What action? Well more profit, but profit is just the result of:
More income. Make sure your prices are right and increased where possible. Contact all your clients to check they are aware of all your services/goods and ask them for a referral at the same time. Get all your team trained in selling and play a game.
Less Costs. Check your biggest five costs and review. Be prepared to ask for discounts or deals, payment terms, cut wastage, review all terms. There must be some efficiency savings in terms of more outputs from fewer inputs in your processes, review systems and seek best practice and best service.
Mark Wrigley is a client manager at GreenStones.
October 2010: how to explode with growth (sounds messy)
EVERY business is made up of a series of processes that converts inputs into outputs. One of the keys to making your business more successful is to identify your most important processes, and then do everything you can to improve that process/system so that you get more output from every input. It’s as simple, and as difficult, as that!
So look at each process. Understand how it works and what it delivers. Decide whether you need it. And, if you do, experiment with ways to improve the rate at which it converts inputs into outputs. What are the most important processes in your business? What ideas, techniques, systems or even new words will improve that key process?
Unfortunately the answer is “you won’t know until you try.” But even trying out new ideas isn’t enough, because you won’t know whether the trial (or ‘test’) has been a success unless you measure (or even better score!) it properly. What you can measure you can test, and what you can test you can improve.
Mark Wrigley is a client manager at GreenStones.
September 2010: tax credits
We are still spotting clients that are entitled to tax credits but have yet to make a claim. This may be due to a dip in business income from the recession or changes in other circumstances.
Tax credits are payments from the government that you may be legally entitled to. If you’re responsible for at least one child or young person who normally lives with you, you may qualify for Children’s Tax Credit. A separate tax credit is available if you work, but earn low wages, you may qualify for Working Tax Credit.
Tax credit claims can only be backdated for three months so make sure you claim early. If your circumstances change it can affect the amount of money you should be getting, so please ensure you contact HMRC as soon as possible. Tell them about all changes especially income changes, give accurate estimates where possible.
Mark Wrigley is a client manager at GreenStones.
August 2010: benchmarking
WOULD you like to copy the successes of the most successful UK businesses in your industry?
Well you can with benchmarking. Benchmarking enables you to compare your performance against other businesses within your sector. It tells you what you are doing well, and less well compared with other similar businesses. It will highlight your business strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats to your business. It can be a great tool to start business planning for the next accounting period.
It is an extremely valuable management information tool. So valuable, in fact, that I believe every business should access high quality benchmarking information every year. There are various benchmarking products available, some obviously are better than others. The key is to measure your business against similar sized businesses, in exactly the same business sector, perhaps the same geography area.
Benchmarking is a great first step in finding the gaps in your performance. And it will help you to identify and focus on your weaknesses, which may turn out to be easy fixes and quick wins.
Mark Wrigley is a client manager at GreenStones.
June 2010: Cry Freedom!
The coalition government has launched its public consultation on which laws the public would like to change. The idea is to create a more open society, restore Britain’s traditions of freedom and fairness. To free society of unnecessary laws and regulations both for individuals and businesses.
Now is your chance to have your say, so take this opportunity and make a difference. The site gives you the chance to suggest ideas and rate ideas on how we can do this. Your ideas will inform government policy and some of your proposals could end up making it into bills to bring before Parliament to change the law.
So if there are any laws or regulations you’d like to change, then first, check if there are any similar ideas here already and then add your comments to it and rate it to move it up the list. If it’s not here, then add it. Try to suggest ideas for removing laws and regulations, rather than ideas for creating them, so the law becomes less complex and intrusive.
Any tax ideas I would appreciate a warning in advance to pro actively advise our clients!
http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/
Mark Wrigley is a client manager at GreenStones.
