Yes folks, here we are again. We have a 3rd and 4th lockdown grant. The government have announced the UK will be in lockdown from the 5th Nov to 2nd Dec 2020. This will be devastating for a lot of small businesses who were just getting back on their feet. The good news is there’s more money available through the self employment income support scheme grant. The bad news is they will only cover 55% of your profits at best versus 80% for furloughed employees. Oh, and a lot of businesses won’t qualify for them at all. Are self employed folk really 30% less important than employees? Let’s take a look at how it all works.
I’m a big fan of challenger banks in the UK. The big players have caused enough problems over the years and competition is always a good thing. Today, by popular demand, I’m taking a look at Starling Bank. Is this the final nail in the coffin for traditional high street banking?
If there’s one thing that the Covid pandemic has highlighted it’s that we’re far from ready for an ‘all online’ approach to running our daily lives. We’ve entered the weirdest phase so far in our juvenile approach to handling sensitive customer data. We’re now positively encouraging people to send personal information via 3rd party public forums, such as Twitter or Facebook. This would be fine if it wasn’t for two things: a) it’s a 3rd party and b) it’s a public forum. Not only is this a terrible approach to customer service but it’s also dangerous and massively short sighted. Is it time to stop using Twitter as a free CRM platform?
Did you know you can take remote payments using Zettle? In this article I’m taking a look at the ‘Pay-by-Link’ feature. Is it any good and how can it benefit your business? This is great for businesses who are used to taking face-to-face payments who are rapidly evolving their business model to handle more remote ways of working. In this article I’ll step you through taking remote payments from customers.
The 2020 budget has been long awaited. Delayed due to Brexit shenanigans, scuppered by a general election, complicated by a change of chancellor and then almost entirely wiped out by a global pandemic, this has been a hard one to get across the line. Across the line it is and Rishi Sunak did an admirable job. So what does it all mean for you hard working self employed folk out there? Let’s find out!
The 2020/21 tax year in the UK runs from 6th April 2020 to 5th April 2021. Tax returns for this tax year are generally due by 31st January 2022. Here are some of the most common at-a-glance figures you might find useful for the next tax year.
Being able to accept credit cards is essential for any modern business. Cash is dead and moving with the times can transform a small business – it did for me! Today I’m going to take you through how to use a Zettle card reader – from initial set-up to configuration of more advanced features such as barcode scanning and more.
At the time of writing we’re approaching the start of the 2020’s. Physical cash is dead. Everyone wants to pay by credit card or contactless technologies. It’s more professional and it means you no longer need to be an unpaid credit facility for your customers. Money can circulate around your business faster and this can massively promote growth, especially in the early days of self employment. In this article we’re asking the question, is cash finally dead?
There are few things in life more stressful than a tax audit. Just when you think you’re on top of things that little brown envelope comes through the post and inside is an ominous looking letter. Not printer on the usual white paper but instead on a scary looking grey paper. At the top of the letter is says “Check of Self Assessment tax return for the year ended 5 April 2013” (in my case) and it’s accompanied by a leaflet “General information about compliance checks”. You’re being audited by HMRC and it’s time to put your record keeping to the test.
I worked in the IT industry for a long time, eventually running the cloud computing division for a relatively large IT company. I can tell you with absolute certainty and from first hand experience that we’re sleepwalking in to a situation that will be massively detrimental to small businesses. If your business relies on software of ANY kind, which is essentially everyone, then this article is relevant to you. It’s your duty as a business owner to understand these issues and plan ahead accordingly.