UK Tax Compliance

The word “tax” in the UK and usually everywhere else creates a feeling of problems, dislikes and general discomfort.  In the UK it is essential that individuals and businesses adhere to the country’s tax laws.  Failing to do this can lead to a heavy financial reprimand or in the most severe cases even imprisonment.

Tax in the UK comes as part and parcel of everyone’s everyday life.  The most common form of tax which must be paid by every working person, including self employed people who are earning over a certain amount per year, is income tax. If the person is earning less than the tax threshold amount, no income tax will be charged.  The higher amount a person earns per annum is dependant on how much tax they will need to pay, a higher earner will be placed in a higher tax band, therefore they will pay more tax, it is important for legal reasons to declare all earnings which are taxable, including wages, income from renting out accommodation and even interest on a person’s bank account.  Other common for of taxes in the UK is Value Added Tax or VAT, it is added to the price of most items we buy in the shops or the supermarket and most business goods which involve a transfer of goods or services.  If a business reaches a certain financial point, they will need to register for VAT and charge it on top of any goods or services they sell.  Proper VAT records must be kept and sent away quarterly.

It is very important that UK resident comply with the tax laws such as income, VAT, inheritance and council.  Most people don’t like them but there is nothing we can do about it except for adhere to the laws if you want to stay out of trouble.

For impartial & independent financial advice contact Source IFA.

How To Attract The Perfect Tenant.

In this current financial climate finding tenants for rental property is not as easy as it used to be. Let alone ones that will respect your property and pay on time. Luckily there are a large variety of ways that you can attract the kind of tenant you are after using a successful advertising campaign.

Property Advertising doesn’t have to be a problem if you get the right people to do the work for you. Information is available online about how you can attract people into renting your property. If you have the money then it is advised that you get in contact with a professional company who will be able to advertise your property to its optimum capability.

A professional company will use different types of media in which to advertise your property they are as follows:

· Newspapers – Generally where people look first for property advertising be it for sale or rental. Placing an ad in a paper can be expensive but this depends on how long you run the advert for (1 day, 1 week or longer?) The type of paper (tabloid, broadsheet or local) and how big the advert is (1 sq inch, half a page, whole page) The best idea is to generally allow the advert to run for 3-4 weeks so that you can get in the best possible tenant for your property and not just the first one to call! You will also want to find out if you can advertise on the newspapers website as well.

· Online Advertising – A lot of people that look for property advertising may not be local and will possibly be from the other end of the country or maybe even a different continent! Online Advertising allows you to show off your property to a larger audience, the charge is usually cheap or even free and allow a lot more information to be passed on to the possible tenant.

· Apartment Guides – A cheap way of advertising your property is through apartment guides. Allowing a lot more information space than a newspaper and are free which means that people will pick them up on a whim or specifically for renting/purchasing a property.

· Rental signs – An easy, effective and obvious way to advertise your property. All you need to do is put the sign up outside your property with details on who to contact and where to go. The only negative is the sign only attracts possible tenants from a specific area.

These things can all be done yourself but to attract the correct tenant for you it would be advised to talk to a professional company for your property advertising needs.

Find The Right Recruitment Advertising Agency

If you are a company looking to recruit some of the finest people in your sector then you need to make sure that you advertise your job role effectively. You can either do this yourself or if you’ve got the money (and sense!) then you will go with a professional company do help you with your advertising needs. Here are some of the things that you will expect to see from a top recruitment advertising company.

  1. Make an advert that catches attention and is easy to read – Stats and research show that people remember red, read black and white and see yellow. Upper and lower cased serif typefaces are generally read easier (this is what newspapers use!). If possible don’t use capitals or “creative” typefaces, basically anything that will make it hard to read or remember your advert.
  2. Describe the job role properly – The possible applicants need to know what they need to do to apply for the role. What skills, experience and background is needed. Avoid filler and make sure you get your point across. The best recruitment advert is one that attracts the right applicant.
  3. State who you are and what you do – What you need here is a couple of brief sentences about the company and what it does. If you don’t discuss these points the possible candidate may get suspicious and not apply for the role.
  4. Give a phone number and email address – Conduct a phone interview with each of the applicants and you should soon find who is deserving of a face to face interview. If you expect a lot of people to call then maybe place an answering machine on that line and you can call back when you have the time.
  5. Don’t offer an interview to every applicant – Similar to the point above, make sure that your interviews test the applicant with tests on knowledge and skills. Be sure to ask 3-4 questions in the phone interview so that you can create a list of strong candidates.

In conclusion finding the right candidate can be a tricky and expensive process, and that’s when it’s successful! Planning and writing a decent advert can be difficult and time consuming, so my advice would be to make sure to contact a professional in the recruitment advertising sector who will be able to help with all your needs.

Reclaiming UK Bank Charges

Although the banks are ignoring any current claims until the High Court has sorted through the battle, soon enough people in the UK may be able to begin requesting the refund of bank charges applied to their bank accounts, debits cards and credit cards. If this does go through the Courts, people that claim their refunds may be needing to find a new bank as banks are threatening to close the accounts of any of their customers that file for these charges to be refunded to them. If the banks lose this in the Court system, they could be facing refund claims from their customers from as far back as six years, except in Scotland where they can only go back five years. If someone is interested in filing one of these claims but does not have time there are many companies such as Easiest Claim that offer this service for a percentage of the refund. You might want to go ahead and set up a new bank account before you file or claim, just in case.

5 ways to get a promotion

Bored with the run of the mill accountant jobs and banking Jobs and want to get a promotion to something more exciting, take a look at our handy tips to help you on your way.

1. Adapt to your situation

If you are flexible about your career path and flexible about your next step, your chances of being promoted are much higher.

2. Go the extra mile

Bosses will look to promote people who are doing a good job, but they will also be looking for people who take initiative and taken on tasks outside of their current job description.

3. Show no fear

Bosses tend to promote people who lead, because these leaders usually have strong opinions and know how to express them even if it means upsetting a few people along the way.

4. Learn new skills

Picking up a new skill could be more beneficial to you than a small pay rise. You should ask to work on innovative projects which will require extra training meaning you will gain more skills and make you more valuable.

5. Believe in yourself

If you don’t believe in yourself, you will find it hard to climb up the ladder. Make sure you believe you are good at what you do and people will be able to detect this.

The secret to being your own boss

Are you tired of the 9 to 5 slog that is affectionately known as your job? This post aims to give you some advice on how to make it in the big bad world of business on your own.

Most men dream of setting their own rules and not answering to anybody, but government statistics show that one in ten new businesses fold after a year. So here are some tips for taking the plunge into being your own boss.

being your own boss

Writing a business plan

This may be fairly obvious, but you need to make a thorough plan on where you need to spend your time. Putting your goals onto paper lets organise your thoughts and allows you to come back and refer to it. Thankfully people have helped this process by developing software; Paloalto (paloato.co.uk) is one of the leading pieces of business software in the UK.

Getting your timing right

Business is all about timing, you need to be aware of current trends and capitalize on opportunities in your desired industry. Once you have detected a gap in the market start planning away.

Make sure you are secure

Before you quit your job and go on your own, you should save up some funds, around six months of your salary should be sufficient. You should also start building a potential user base, which will help you when you start the business and will look good to investors.

Acquiring funds

You should have established how much money you need from investors or a grant in your business plan. The general advice seems obvious, the more the better. Sites like bussinesslink.gov.uk can provide ideas on additional sources for getting funds.

Naming your business

Once you have sorted out your funds from investors, its time to name your business and register it with Inland Revenue. You need to think long and hard about the business name as it will affect marketing your company. Bussinesslink.gov.uk will give advice on the areas surrounding registering your business.

Location, Location, Location

You may decide to work from home while your business is small, but if you are going to rent somewhere to work from, you should start looking for locations as soon as possible. A location can make or break businesses, but usually more important if you are a retail business. You should still consider the location of your business when thinking about image and costs.

Taking the final step

Ideally you should hand in your letter of resignation about a month before you decide to leave. Then you should try and get worked booked up for when you start and if possible, get some of the money paid upfront as cash is extremely important for any business. When you start out, you want to make sure you have more cash coming in than going out.

If any of this sounds like a lot of work but you still want to be your own boss, why not consider a franchise opportunity. There are some great opportunities if you decide to take up a lettings franchise.

The secret of writing a great CV

When applying for banking jobs or accountant jobs your CV is the first time a potential employer will come in contact with you, so you should utilise it as a marketing tool and make a good impression. Before you start writing, you should ask yourself, where you are and where you want to go, what experience and qualifications you have and what your strengths and weaknesses are.

Format

  • You should keep your CV under 3 pages
  • Put personal details at the beginning
  • Work experience should go in reverse chronological order
  • Use bullet points to break up the CV
  • Print on high quality white A4 paper
  • Use examples of managerial and leadership success
  • Honestly is the best policy as if you get caught it will make you look bad
  • Be as positive as possible about previous work

Content

  • Draft out your CV and make sure you get some friends or colleagues to proof read it for you
  • Outline instances where you have instigated a particular concept or project
  • Talk about how you took this project from start to conclusion
  • Detail unique skills that you possess that will make you stand out from the crowd

Your finished CV should be printed on high quality A4 paper, but many employers will ask you to submit your CV by e-mail. When submitting your CV by e-mail you need to remember to use standard fonts and a universal file type like Microsoft word.

Most employers will require you to send a covering letter, but we will save that guide for another post.

CV