Ray Stewart Articles

Why You Need Insurance For Professional Fees in a Tax-VAT Investigation! - Click To Read Article
Did you know you could get insurance cover for this? Do you know why you need insurance cover for this? Do you know that a poorly defended Tax investigation could bankrupt you? Do you think this could never happen to you?? OK. Enough questions, what about the answers?

Why Use A Certified Bookkeeper Instead Of Doing Your Own Bookkeeping? - Click To Read Article
As a member of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers I am often asked why a small business owner needs to use an outside bookkeeping expert, rather than doing the bookkeeping themselves to save money. This is an easy question to answer because it is a “no-brainer”. There are times in your life when only a qualified expert will do. For example, if you are about to undergo brain surgery...

Why Do So Many Business People Ignore The 80-20 Rule? - Click To Read Article
I was discussing Richard Koch's book "The 80/20 Principle: The Secret of Achieving More with Less!" with a client yesterday and it became apparent that lots of business people are either not aware of this concept, or do not know how to relate it to their business. Richard says that 80% of our results come from 20% of our activities. This can be seen to be true in just about any business I have had any involvement with as an Accountant and is something I continually tell people to look out for.

Who Is Likely To Succeed In Business? - Click To Read Article
I am in a privileged position in the work I do. I come across people at all stages of their business lives and so have a good awareness of which people will succeed, or not. I am surprised regularly by people about to start a business. When we sit down to discuss their plans, I find out they don't have any! They have a vague dream about running their own business and a few ideas to try to get them going but what about in 3 months time, 6 months, 12 months or even longer down the line? No idea! We will see how it goes!

Why Outsourcing Your Accounts Department Is A Really Good Idea! - Click To Read Article
Having an independent bookkeeper for any/all businesses has many advantages, not least the fact that the Tax Office approve wholeheartedly with the idea. Why is that??……. Well, the fact that a business owner is not doing his/her own books removes a lot of doubts about the reliability of the records. There have been many proven cases where manipulation of the records can, and has been, done by the owner. Having a different person involved doesn’t remove the general thought that things might not be as they seem, but it certainly helps a great deal.

What Sort Of Business Uses A Bookkeeping Bureau? - Click To Read Article
There are many possible answers to this question, from ignorance of bookkeeping to the proprietor focusing exclusively on the business growth leaving no time for other activities. However, this article will focus on the size of business - as a rule of thumb. Most of our bookkeeping clients seem to fall into a certain size bracket.

What Bookkeeping Software Package Should You Use? - Click To Read Article
I am well aware that there are few places for you to go and ask questions about the different accounting packages that are available. Not many of you have an accountant in the early days of business so where do you go for unbiased and expert advice on the choice of bookkeeping package? Do you ask friends and colleagues? Do you wait for months until you find a review in a magazine of 2 or 3 packages and use that? Or do you go to one of the large computer stores and look at what packages they sell and pick one of those?

VAT - When 15% should be 17.5% - Click To Read Article
VAT is one of the taxes that is mostly ignored and certainly misunderstood. A simple statement by the Chancellor about a rate change from 17.5% to 15% should be straight-forward to implement... shouldn't it???

Some Tax Tips Every Employee Needs To Know About. - Click To Read Article
Not every employer reimburses employees the full tax free amount they are entitled to under our tax legislation. This article explains what an employee can rightfully claim tax free against his PAYE income, how exactly he can do it, and what evidence is needed to substantiate the claim later.

Should You Panic If You Have No Books To Give Your Accountant? - Click To Read Article
This is a question that rears its head from time to time here in the office. My initial reaction is “Why not?”. Occasionally there is a reasonable reason for the lack of evidence of someone’s business activities. It may be that the business has grown really quickly and they haven’t been able to keep up. They may have only just started the business and don’t know the first thing about bookkeeping and are seeking help. Sometimes there has been a known disaster such as a major flood or a fire. However...

Self Assessment...Do You Really Need An Accountant To Deal With This?? - Click To Read Article
This article examines what benefits are gained by using a qualified professional to handle your tax affairs for you. Not using an accountant for your tax matters is akin to doing your own minor surgery on yourself to save the cost of a surgeon. I hope you would never dream of doing that - so why then would you risk getting into strife with the Tax Office just to save a few quid. Any accountant can more than justify his fee and can save you money on your tax bill that you will never have thought of. After all...if you were expert in tax you would be a tax consultant - not running the business that you are.

Questions You MUST Ask Before You Appoint A Bookkeeper - Click To Read Article
The decision to let go of your business bookkeeping is not one that people take lightly, after all, you are letting a stranger into the inner sanctum of your business and private life, and your finances. So how do you know that they are trustworthy, responsible, discrete, accurate, professional and competent?

Recession - What Recession?? - Click To Read Article
According to the media and the government we are heading into the worst recession for nearly 20 years. But the business people I talk to are not experiencing anything like the gloom and doom that the media dish up every morning on the news. Even if we were, would it really mean much to the average business??

Nothing Has Changed With These Adverts! - Click To Read Article
Are you still advertising in the old fashioned way. Name, address, phone number and a few services you offer? If you are, you must break free from the mould in these difficult times and try a different way of getting your message across. This article offers a hint at how you can achieve this and by doing so multiplying the response you achieve from each advert many times over. Try it - what have you got to lose? All marketing is a test all the time...

Is Your Business Still Heading Towards The Goals You Set At The Start? - Click To Read Article
Every business owner needs to step back a little every so often and critically look at their business; the way it performs; the service it offers; the prices charged and ensure it is still running directly towards the ultimate goals that were in your head when you first set it up. When did you last check yours?

How Do You Find A Quality Bookkeeper? - Click To Read Article
A new client recently told me of the problems he had trying to find a good bookkeeper and I thought it was a topic that may be worth sharing with you here. When you get to the point in a new business venture that keeping the books yourself becomes an intolerable extra burden on already stretched time resources, how do you source, test, trial and finally secure someone to do the bookkeeping for you?

How Long Do You Need To Keep Your Business Records? - Click To Read Article
This question comes up a lot here at the office. I am asked at least 3 times a week as there seems to be lots of confusion out there in the “real world” amongst business people. The answer is it depends… If you just complete a Self Assessment Return each year as a consequence of having a company car or other employment benefits, then you should keep your paperwork relating to your claims and expenses for...

How Do You Write Compelling And Successful Headlines? - Click To Read Article
Headlines are really important parts of our adverts. If you send out a letter, a website, an advertisement, a blog post and the headline is a good one, the subsequent text will be more likely to be read and acted on. However, if the headline is weak, then the chances are slim that anyone will be bothered to read on or act, no matter how good the rest of the item is. So…what makes a good headline?

Have You Tried Being A Customer Of Your Business Lately? - Click To Read Article
This may sound odd - but have you looked at how you treat your customers recently? I was discussing this earlier today with a client whose business has stagnated after he moved into a new office last year and we were looking at possible reasons why that would be. We looked at the products he was offering, how he was conducting his marketing, what factors locally had changed, was the "credit crunch" likely to be an influence, and so on..

Free Yourself From Drudgery And Add £000's To Your Profits At The Same Time! - Click To Read Article
Like most people that go into business on their own, your number 1 priority is the product/service that you established their business to sell/provide. In the early stages of business all your energy is taken getting the business up and running and the records, apart from sales bits, will probably take a very back seat for a long time. The fact is that running a business in the early days involves so many hats for you to wear. You have to be the sales director, buyer, production department and quality control. You also have to become a receptionist, office clerk, helpdesk manager, operation manager, filing clerk, photocopy expert, letter writer, envelope stuffer and stamp licker. It is no surprise to anyone that the day to day bookkeeping gets overlooked!

Does a recession signal the end of your business? - Click To Read Article
As the world plunges into another recession, lot's of small business owners are starting to worry that their business may not survive. It will certainly fold if you do nothing extra or fail to adapt your existing strategy to new trading conditions. So, your option is to fight back. Learn more marketing tactics, re-look at your existing tactics, make sure you are testing everything and monitoring every result. Make your business survive and come through these harder times fighting fit and trading better than ever.

Do You Know Who Your Target Audience Is? - Click To Read Article
It is surprising how many businesses are just advertising to all and sundry. They don't even realize how many resources they are wasting by adopting this approach. When the concept of Target Audience is mentioned to them they reply "everyone is my target audience - right" - Wrong. Marketing is more effective when you put the message exactly in front of the people who are ready, willing and able to buy your product/service at that moment.

Can I Claim These Expenses In My Business? - Click To Read Article
There have been a few questions recently about certain types of expenditure and whether or not they are tax deductible so I thought I would put them publicly here in case anyone else was also wondering. As a rule of thumb, an expense has to be something directly incurred in the running of your business. You need to be able to prove that you spent the money wholly, exclusively and necessarily in connection with the business.

Big Brother Is Watching You! - Click To Read Article
This article focuses on the need to be full and frank in your disclosures of income from all sources when tax time comes. It isn't just prospective customers who are looking at your on-line activities and never, ever boast about big contracts or jobs that you've won if you really haven't. You may find the Tax Authorities looking for the income from that boast on next years tax return - and if it isn't there - watch out.

Are You Falling Into This Advertising And Image Trap? - Click To Read Article
Whilst we were away last week I couldn't believe the huge number of businesses that had fallen into this obvious advertising and image trap. Website hosting is so cheap and easy these days that it is no wonder most businesses have some form of online presence, and proudly include the website name and email address in their marketing materials. And I hasten to add that is a good thing. Unless......

5 Simple Ways To Improve Your Marketing And Boost Your Business Profits - Click To Read Article
Marketing is the cornerstone of successful business. Without marketing there are no customers, and therefore, no business. In my work I come across many small businesses. Usually, when the owners are asked about their own marketing efforts, the simple reply is they are too busy to devote time to it and anyway, as they are so busy, they do not need to do any marketing anyway! This attitude highlights the one simple truth that stifles any possible growth in a small business, the owner of the business IS the business. What I mean by this is that if the proprietor is on holiday, off sick or even dies, the business immediately stops. No one else is around to pick up the threads and carry on.

10 Common Bookkeeping Misconceptions That Your Accountant Doesn't Want You To Know The Truth ABout!! - Click To Read Article
Bookkeeping is one aspect of business that everyone I come across seems to dislike with a vengeance. Personally, I cannot understand that because I love bookkeeping! However, over the years, I have continually bumped up against people who have the following “points of pain” with bookkeeping:-


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