SME late payments surge: How to mitigate the impact

The issue of late payments has become a growing concern for small businesses. Recent data from Xero Small Business Insights reveals that, on average, payments were made 7.3 days late between April and June 2024. This is an increase of 1.8 days from the previous quarter. This marks the largest quarterly increase in late payments…

How to keep your business afloat amid rising HMRC pressures

Recently, there has been a significant increase in company closures due to petitions from creditors, particularly HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). In 2023, forced closures rose by 63 per cent compared to 2022. This spike is mainly due to high interest rates making Covid-era debts hard to manage, along with HMRC’s backlog of cases. Many…

Worried about a new tax bill? A guide for pensioners

Recently, many pensioners received surprising news: a tax bill for the first time. This stems from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) decision to send letters to over 140,000 pensioners, who have taxable income but are not filing Self-Assessment. In total, 560,000 pensioners will receive letters, covering the 2023/24 tax year. Why is this happening? The…

Audit rules are changing – Get ready

In a bid to ease the regulatory burden on businesses, new thresholds for classifying company sizes have been announced. This change, introduced by the previous Government, could allow around 132,000 businesses to skip mandatory audits. Under the current plans, which may be subject to change, companies will be able to benefit from the threshold changes…

The Budget is coming – It is time to prepare

The first Budget of the new Labour Government has been announced to take place on 30 October 2024. Ahead of the budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that spending cuts worth £13.5 billion will be required over the next two years. She explained that this was due to the scale of the previous Government’s overspending,…

King’s Speech – What did he say? Why does it matter to you?

King Charles delivered his speech to Parliament last month following the election, setting out the priorities of the new Labour Government for the months ahead. The speech included 40 pieces of legislation that the Government plan to implement. To help you understand what the next five years may hold, here are the details of all…

Management buyouts – An alternative approach to exit and succession

When developing your business exit and succession strategy, you must consider all possible avenues, including those which might not seem so obvious. A management buyout (MBO) is one such approach that has gained traction for its flexibility and the ability to leave your business knowing that an experienced team is in place to run it….

What the summer may mean for your business

Whether the hot weather lasts or not, summer is here to stay, bringing with it seasonal challenges and opportunities for business owners. You may think summer is business as usual, but many companies face disruption and delays due to: More people taking holiday than at other times The heat disrupting transport or the supply chain…

Total Income Tax and NI income hits new high

HM Treasury has taken £77.2 billion in Income Tax and National Insurance (NI) since April 2024 – signalling the effect of the freeze in the Personal Allowance and Income Tax bands and thresholds. Taxpayers have seen two landmark cuts to employee NI payments, falling from 12 per cent to 10 per cent after the 2023…

Invoice fraud becoming a significant problem

Invoice fraud, affecting one in three companies, involves deceptive practices that trick businesses into making payments to fraudulent accounts. As fraudsters’ techniques become more sophisticated, businesses must understand their tactics and the potential impact on operations. Here are some common techniques used by fraudsters: Fake invoices: Fraudsters create counterfeit invoices that appear legitimate. They might…