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Free Guides for new and growing businesses from HRBS - fixed fee accountants and business advisors

Welcome to tips.hrbs.biz

Keith Silman, Managing Director of Yorkshire fixed fee accountants and small business specialists High Royd Business Services Limited Hello, my name is Keith Silman and I would like to thank you for taking the time to visit our free hints and tips resource here at tips.hrbs.biz .

HRBS is a firm of pro-active accountants based in South Yorkshire with clients all over the UK.

Free tax saving guides.

The guides have specially written to provide jargon-free help and support to all of you either in business, currently thinking about making the first step into self-employment or considering "Going Limited".

All of the tips and documents on our website are provided free of charge and without any obligation to become a client. They are provided as general guidance and do not constitute professional advice.

You will notice a few advertisements and external links on the site, particularly in the tax-deductible expenses article. They have been specially researched to give you offers, discounts and other ways of reducing your costs that you may not already be aware of.

Recent Guides (click the link to open in a new window).

VAT for affiliate marketeers

The VAT rules as they apply to UK affiliate marketeers are quite complicated. In particular, what needs to be taken in to account when checking whether or not you need to register for VAT. Read this free HRBS.biz guide to see how the UK VAT rules affect you.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

Adwords, Microsoft Adcenter, Facebook And VAT Registration

The current VAT registration threshold is £70,000 of "taxable supplies" for the preceeding 12 months (changed from £68,000 on 1 April 2010). To calculate your taxable supplies, non UK expenditure on advertising and other services should be added onto your UK turnover. This is because, for VAT purposes, these services come under the Reverse Charge rules, and VAT is accounted for by the recipient of the services (ie you, the customer) in their VAT return.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

VAT Flat Rate Percentage Changes January 2011

The HRBS.biz easy to read guide to the standard rate VAT increase to 20% from 17.5% and changes to the UK flat rate scheme percentages and how to use them in your business. To help you we have listed the old and new flat rate VAT percentages. If you are in your first year of VAT registration, a 1% discount is available off the flat rate percentages.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

EC Sales List (ECSL) for services supplied to other EU member states

As of 1 January 2010, the requirement to report to HMRC the value of sales to other EU member states was extended to include services whereas it previously only applied to the sale of goods. The ECSL rules applies to all VAT-registered businesses in the UK who supply goods and/or services to a VAT-registered customer in another EU country. The ECSL is a statistical return, usually submitted quarterly, used by the UK government to prepare intra-EU sales figures. Read this guide to find out how to complete your ECSL.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

Self Assessment Tax Return Checklist 2009-10

To help you collate the information you need to prepare your self assessment tax return for 2009/10 we have prepared a useful checklist for you to download. HM Revenue & Customs must receive your tax return by 31 January 2011 to avoid a penalty. The earlier you prepare your accounts and tax return the better. You can claim any refunds promptly to help your cashflow and where tax is due; you will have plenty of time to plan your tax payments.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

Planning for your self assessment tax bill

The UK tax year is 6 April to the following 5 April. So the tax year 2009/10 ends on 5 April 2010. If you are self employed or a limited company director you will need to complete a self assessment tax return. Although the deadline is 31 January for e-filed returns, we recommend that you complete your tax return and submit it to HM Revenue & Customs as early as possible.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

Tax deductible expenses

This tip gives a brief list of the types of expenditure you can claim, some of which you may already be deducting, some may be new to you and applicable to your business. As a general tip, if you are using a credit card to pay for business costs, have a separate one in your name for business use, so that your personal expenditure is kept out of the business. Cashback or Reward cards are ideal, especially if you pay them off in full.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

UK VAT Flat Rate Changes January 2010

The HRBS.biz easy to read guide to the standard rate VAT change from 15% to 17.5% and changes to the UK flat rate scheme percentages and how to use them in your business. To help you we have listed the old and new flat rate VAT percentages. If you are in your first year of VAT registration, a 1% discount is available off the flat rate percentages.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

Tax rates and allowances

Click here to read our guide to the personal and company tax rates and allowances for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 tax years as updated in Alistair Darling's Budget of 24 March 2010. The VAT registration threshold changes on 1 April 2010 to £70,000 from £68,000 . If your taxable supplies for the preceeding 12 months exceed the threshold you must register for VAT.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

How to register your new PAYE scheme

This article and video gives easy to follow, step by step instructions on registering a new PAYE scheme with HMRC. A new scheme can be registered either online at www.hmrc.gov.uk , by telephone ( 0845 60 70 143) or in writing. Once your scheme is registered you will receive notification of your new scheme in writing and it will be given two reference numbers.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

How to choose your accountant

An accountant is not a legal requirement but you may consider that some external expertise may be helpful to keep you on the right side of the UK tax authorities, maintain proper accounting records and advise you on how to minimise your tax and National Insurance.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

Online accounting systems

Online accounting software, known as "Software As A Service" (SaaS) is accessible via your web browser via a secure session. Thats it! No software to install, no backups, no hardware upgrade required.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

Save Tax and National Insurance with your limited company

It is possible to reduce your (UK) personal tax and national insurance by running your business via a limited company. The amount you can save will depend upon several factors including the company's profitability, your personal circumstances and the amount of funds you wish to withdraw from the business.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

Maximise use of your basic rate tax band

We recommend to all our clients that they maximise the use of their basic rate band. This can be done by declaring interim dividends to take total taxable income upto the maximum at which the basic rate will still apply. As dividends have a 10% tax credit attached, this tax credit can be used to effectively pay your personal tax liability on the dividend.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide

Thinking of starting a business?

If you are turning a hobby into a business or starting a whole new venture, here are some tips to help you get up and running without falling foul of the (UK) tax authorities. You will need to register with HMRC as a new business within 3 months of starting to trade. Otherwise you will be fined £100 (or more if they find out about you before you register). Registration is quite simple and can be done over the phone.

Click here to read this HRBS.biz guide


Smooth Slider

HRBS are small business specialists.

We provide a high quality, pro-active service at a reasonable fixed fee to clients all over the UK.

Our philosophy is simple ... we support new and developing businesses.

We help our clients to use suitable accounting systems and controls so that they know how their business is performing and have the information available to minimise their tax and National Insurance bills.

Competitive, fixed fees.

Our fees are very competitive and are published here on our website, unlike most firms of accountants who keep their fees under wraps.

"Keith is quite simply a breath of fresh air! Keith's innovative fixed priced accounting allows us to easily plan our accountancy costs for the year ahead. Fast response times, efficient systems and reliable and accurate information give us the confidence to get on with our business rather than worry about accounting. I have no hesitation in recommending Keith (HRBS) and his services and feel pleased to have finally found an accountant I don't begrudge paying for!"

Consistent, personal, pro-active service.

All accounting and taxation work is done by a qualified and highly experienced accountant, and not delegated to unqualified staff nor outsourced as is increasingly the case with many accounting practices.

You are guaranteed a consistent, personal service from an accountant who takes an interest in you and your business.
"Choosing HRBS was a really good business decision. My previous accountants used junior and inexperienced staff and my contact at the firm often changed which meant that no one had a handle on my business or even seemed interested!"

"I deal with Keith directly. He has quickly identified ways of improving my profitability whilst at the same time reducing my admin load ... very important for a one-man business like mine."

Quickbooks and Microsoft Accounting

We are Authorised Professional Advisors for Quickbooks and Microsoft Office Accounting, providing training and support for their desktop software packages.

Microsoft Office Accounting Express is free and through our partnership with Microsoft, you can download a special HRBS customised version of Microsoft Office Accounting Express here.

We offer online accounting software.

Our partnerships with Winweb and Liberty Accounts enable us to provide the right online accounting software for your business. Online accounting is platform independent so you can use it with PC, MAC or Linux and do your book keeping or check your accounts on the move from a laptop or internet cafe ... wherever you are in the world.

We provide support and guidance to make it extremely easy and cost effective for you to keep your books up to date online. Our Liberty Accounts users submit VAT and PAYE returns from within the software. Simples!

The more you take control of your accounting systems, the better informed you are about your business enabling you to plan for your future.

Lower fees ... better service.

Some of our clients have reduced their fees by over 30%, have more pro-active support and above all, understand more about their business than they did with their previous accountants.

If you currently use a city or town centre firm, consider how often you have face to face meetings, whether you really need your accountant to be local and, above all, whether you want to pay higher fees to subsidise their high profile offices.

Online and remote accounting and email could be good for you, your pocket ... and the environment.

We help you to understand your business.

Our aim is to help you to run your business more efficiently and profitably. My approach to business is hands-on and we will help you understand how to run your business and take control of its (and your) future ... and, as an added bonus, save tax and National Insurance whilst you do so.
" The first year as a company director was a learning curve which Keith made much easier with clear advice, this made the transisition from part time affiliate to full time company director much easier. Since the company formation, I have sought advice of all kinds of other issues (from a company car to medical insurance), from which I have received sound financial advice."

We provide a full range of accounting and tax services.

Our services have been designed to support our clients, taking the burden of day to day administration away from them, so that they can focus more of their time and skills on developing their business.

We can take care of book keeping, payroll, VAT returns, liaise with HMRC throughout the year, prepare management accounts, calculate dividend entitlement and provide all dividend documentation as well as preparing the year end accounts, tax returns, computations and PAYE returns etc.
" You have been an exceptional help to me and my business, going above the call of duty to assist me in the understanding and processes of running the financial side of a business."

Contact us for a free, no obligation chat.

To find out more about what we can offer to you and your business, feel free to visit our main site at HRBS.biz, contact us by email or if you can spare 5 or 10 minutes, give me a call on 01226 379000.

If you'd like to know how much you could save by changing your accountants to HRBS, please fill in our form and attach a copy of your accounts, spreadsheet or accounts reports. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Once again, thank you for visiting and I look forward to working with you.

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