Digital & Tech

Yesterday, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt presented his second Autumn Statement, but with a very different tone to the gloomy announcements made this time last year. The Chancellor announced initiatives with a massive focus on pushing growth in the economy. The main question you’ll all no doubt have is… “how does it affect me?”, let’s take a look…

Updates for October 2023 including: The importance of accurate forecasting and utilising cloud accounting software. Associated companies and quarterly corporation tax payments. The upcoming budget report and rumours surrounding IHT.

Protection insurance is key to protecting your future. Are you aware of the options available to you and are you certain there are no loopholes of gaps in your cover? We explore the differences between Life Cover, Critical illness cover and income protection and the benefits of seeking guidance from an independent financial advisor can help you to ensure you have sufficient cover.

Many businesses are keen to find efficiencies, streamline processes and drive profit and productivity, is the answer in your accounting software?

What does it take to build a successful business? We look at one of the most fundamental requirements- the right mindset.

There are many challenges to running your own business. Find out which ones we’ve come across and how we’ve overcome them.

We look at how effective invoicing and how automated systems can help you to get paid faster by your customers.

Are you building your own business or looking to climb the corporate ladder? How many hours should you work? Is a four hour work week possible? If not what is realistic for success?

Are you planning on, or in the process of, developing a video game? Have you considered one of HMRC’s creative industry tax reliefs, Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR) – you could be missing out on additional tax relief of up to 20% of qualifying development costs!

Free money!! Every company director loves a tax rebate, particularly when you have incurred expenditure on a project and someone tells you that not only is this expenditure tax deductible but for the same money spent you can get additional tax relief of 130% on the expenditure and either get a lovely big tax rebate by trading in losses at 14.5% or reduce your tax liabilities down significantly.

Having run an accountancy practice for almost 30 years I have had the good fortune to meet literally thousands of business owners. Many have created great companies but many others have unfortunately failed. Reasons given for failure are numerous. Many are genuine such as Covid or an unforeseen bad debt resulting in severe cashflow problems. Most however are due to a basic misunderstanding of what is required to create a successful business.

The pandemic has had a dramatic effect on all our lives over the last two years. Businesses have had to adapt quickly to a changing environment. One area that may have been overlooked is the need to review your health and safety compliance.

Year by year the net has been closing in on individuals who fail to declare their incomes. The latest attack focuses on digital platforms such as Airbnb and similar online accommodation sites, tax and private hire services, food delivery services, freelance work, shopping platforms for resellers etc….

The new super deduction will run for two years from 1 April 2021 and is a radical new “super-deduction” of 130% for investment in new plant.

After years of filming, I have never explained how I make my videos until now. Here at Friend and Grant a lot of the content we produce is one person speaking to a camera, so I thought this would be a good place to start.

2021 started with another lockdown for UK businesses, which means that most consumers will continue shopping and searching for services online. If your target audience is the public you will know how important it is to promote your business online. But how do you know if your website and social media channels are optimised to appeal to and convert your target audience, your customers?

If building a business was so simple then why do almost half of businesses which set up fail within the first 5 years? Construction is even worse with 2 out of every 3 startups failing in the first 5 years! It isn’t the lack of cash but this is often the nail in the coffin. It all started on day 1 with the failure of the business owner to understand what is really involved in becoming a successful business owner.

Automation can prove beneficial for businesses, but what’s involved and where do you start?

We understand that the majority of businesses are operating differently. Our virtual approach to providing you with support and training on cloud accounting solutions means that your finance function does not have to stop.

Zoom is a top-notch online video conferencing service provider for business users which we highly recommend from personal experience.

There is no doubt that the setting up of your own tech business is extremely appealing to many people. Who wouldn’t want to be the next Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs?

Most of us are familiar with the term “first mover advantage” but sometimes the “fast follower” is the winner.

The off-payroll working rules, known as IR35, were introduced in 2000 to ensure that individuals who work like an employee, but through an intermediary such as a company, pays similar taxes to other employees. Important changes are being introduced in April 2020. There has been a lot of press recently (and most of it negative) stating how many businesses are going to be badly impacted by the changes.

Making the Most of Alumni Networks. Whether it’s your University classmates or the colleagues you trained with at your first firm, we all have an alumni network.

We're often asked this question by our fast growing clients. Losing a key team member could have a major impact on your business. One solution we love is the Enterprise Management Incentive Scheme.

If you need funding for your business and want to attract investors, why not look at SEIS and EIS? They're tax schemes authorised by HMRC and provide generous tax incentives to the investor.

Mark Devaney & Laura Wills, directors of e-commerce site, Hardcloud.com share their ‘do’s and don’ts’ about launching an e-commerce business. Whether you are starting out or already have an e-commerce; these are great tips.

Every successful businesses has a special formula; they’re obsessed with innovation - it's in their DNA. There are several great tax breaks for companies that innovate.

For those business owners seeking success there is nothing more frustrating than finding that key person only for them to leave you. So how do you lock in key members of your team?

Businesses are missing out on a huge tax windfall if they conduct Research & Development and don’t claim the additional tax relief – over 250,000 successful claims have been made to HMRC