Staff shortages: increased wages to entice workers could mean higher prices for customers
Due to the ongoing staff shortages caused by the pandemic, UK restaurants have had to increase employee wages to entice chefs and waiters – which could mean higher prices for customers.
Digital platforms to report sellers’ income from as early as 2023
Digital marketplaces will be required to report the income of sellers from as early as 2023, it has been announced.
Help to Grow: Digital is now open
Is your business in the digital or Information Technology industry? The Government’s Help to Grow: Digital is now open for applications!
This initiative is part of two complementary programmes (one digital-based, one management-based) designed to help you learn new skills, reach new customers and boost your profits.
Help to Grow: Digital
Labour shortages could impact UK’s economic recovery, says experts
A recent report on the latest business trends suggests that despite the surge of hiring among UK firms in July, the lack of working employees could still threaten the UK’s economic recovery.
Government launches £750 million Live Events Reinsurance Scheme in wake of coronavirus pandemic
A Government-backed insurance scheme will support the events and hospitality sector recover in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, it has been revealed.
The report comes after the announcement of the £750 million Live Events Reinsurance Scheme developed in collaboration with financial services provider Lloyds.
Launching in September 2021, the uncapped cost indemnification scheme will cover a “wide array of live events” at risk of disruption due to Covid-19.
Management accounts give snapshot of business performance
There are important financial statements in every business including the profit and loss (or income) statement, the cash flow statement, and the balance sheet. Together, these documents provide important numbers and a snapshot of your finances.
To get the most out of these figures, many companies also produce management accounts – an in-depth analysis of the data. Management accounts aren’t mandatory – and there’s no fixed way to do them. But they’re invaluable.
For small business owners, book-keeping and accounting falls under the category of ‘necessary evil’. It’s a job that has to be done (or most likely outsourced) to meet your obligations.
Management accounts are a set of financial statements prepared either monthly or quarterly, which provide clear insight into the financial trading position of your business.
They aren’t required by law, and they don’t have to be filed with HMRC – but they’ll put you more in control of your finances than ever before, supporting the growth of your business.
Management accounts for small businesses typically include a profit and loss account, balance sheet, cash flow statement and a short report. You can put the accounts together yourself, or more realistically, an accountant can do it for you.
If you’re using a cloud accounting package like Xero, it’s easy to supply the necessary information to your accountant so they can produce the management accounts on your behalf.
Management accounts can:
- Monitor growth: You can compare your management accounts monthly, quarterly or yearly to accurately monitor not just your financial growth, but your performance as well.
- Plan for the future: You can more accurately forecast your future revenue, or make allowances for doubtful accounts. You might even spot seasonal differences in cash flow, so that you can plan around slower months in future.
- Motivate for funding: You can approach investors confidently, ready to answer all their questions about your business performance – whereas failing to show any will usually result in a swift ‘goodbye’.
- Optimise processes: If clients take a while to pay, you can improve your collection process, or make other credit decisions quickly. If you know which customers pay regularly, you can develop loyalty programmes and attractive offers to reward them.
Management accounts help you spot cash-flow problems before they happen, and help you analyse the money going out of your business. Could you cut your outgoings? Are you getting good value from your suppliers? Total business costs are of little value when managing a business – you need to know how and where that money is being spent.
With up-to-date information available each month, you can plan tax and dividend transactions with greater confidence. Management accounts for small businesses can help maximise the potential benefits of paying dividends rather than salary.
In addition, a regular review of your business finances means there’s no place to hide for malpractice.
Having regular management accounts produced reduces the amount of work required at year end normally reducing the cost of producing your annual accounts.
Fewest number of workers on furlough since scheme launched last year
Fewer than two million employees now remain on furlough as record numbers return to the workplace, a major study has revealed.
The research, published by HM Treasury, comes as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) draws to a close this September.
According to the figures, just 1.9 million workers were on furlough at the end of June 2021 – representing the lowest number of people on furlough since the scheme launched in March 2020.
This means that more than half a million employees returned to the workplace in May and almost three million people have moved off furlough since March. Read More
Future Fund: Breakthrough scheme – everything your business needs to know
The Future Fund: Breakthrough scheme will help innovative technology companies grow and bring new products to market in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Government has suggested.
The report comes after the initiative opened to new applications last week.
If your business is seeking investment, here’s what you need to know.
What is the Future Fund: Breakthrough scheme? Read More
Cloud app versatility delivers cost and time saving benefits
Cloud accounting has revolutionised the lives of hundreds of thousands of business owners.
Today it is reported that more than 50 per cent of small to medium-sized businesses are using the likes of Xero to keep their accounts in order.
For small businesses from hairdressers to garage owners and coffee shops, this can be a godsend, allowing them time to automate tasks to save time and money and all without the cost of installing expensive hardware and software.
In addition, there are a number of add-ons and apps that integrate into Xero to enhance what is already on offer. From apps that allow you to scan receipts to sending bulk payments effortlessly, Xero has an expansive list of add-ons ready to help automate your everyday tasks. They include:
Approval Max, which provides multi-role and multi-tiered review and approval automation workflows for purchase orders, bills, sales invoices and credit notes. It also helps you say goodbye to paper and email-based approval routing, ensuring fully automated approval workflows, spend control and regulatory compliance are all taken care of online. Read More
150,000 businesses owe HMRC £2.7 billion in deferred VAT payments
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reported that 150,000 UK businesses have not yet made arrangements to pay back deferred VAT payments, and therefore owe the department £2.7 billion.
As of 30 June 2021, nine per cent of the total VAT deferred by businesses during the covid-19 pandemic were unaccounted for, reveals information released by HMRC through a Freedom of Information request (FOI).
