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Changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme .

This month sees changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) The Government will now pay 70% of employees' usual wage for the hours not worked, up to a cap of £2,187.50. In August and September, this will reduce to 60% of employees' usual wages up to a cap of £1,875.Employers will need to pay the 10% difference in July and 20% in August and September so that they continue to pay furloughed employees at least 80% of their usual wage for the hours they do not work during this time, up ...

New Sauce of Investment

Kraft Heinz have announced that they will be investing $199m (£140m) in a UK food manufacturing facility over the next four years.In the firms biggest expansion  of a manufacturing site outside the US in more than 20 years the plans for the plant in north west England would see ketchup, mayonnaise and salad cream made in this country. In what the company say will be one of the largest investments in UK manufacturing since Brexit, the plan will create up to 50 new full time jobs.The Kitt Gr...

Work Smarter, not Harder

Even in normal circumstances, this time of year can be incredibly stressful for people working in accounts. We can't always avoid working long hours or deadlines but we can change the way we approach these things.Maintaining good physical, emotional and mental health is key to productivity. It might be counterintuitive or difficult to justify self care during busy times, but you will be more effective at work when you can bring your body and mind back to a state of wellbeing. It you aren't takin...

New Year - No Big Deal?

As we start the first full working week of 2021, businesses who buy or sell within the UK have to comply with the new Brexit regulations. The UK and the EU have agreed that there will be no taxes on each other's goods when they cross borders and no limits on the amount of things that can be traded. So what affect will the regulations have on business? In a word - paperwork. Traders in England, Wales and Scotland will need to make customs declarations as if they were dealing with countries elsewh...

Virtually Christmas

HMRC have confirmed that the annual parties' exemption (s264 ITEPA03) will apply to the costs associated with virtual parties in the same way that it would for traditionally held parties. Subject to the normal conditions of the exemption being met, the expenses of hosting a virtual event, including providing entertainment, equipment and refreshments principally for enjoyment or consumption by employees during the event, will be exempt. For annual parties or similar annual events, no liabili...

Hamilton Races to the Record Books

Lewis Hamilton made Formula 1 history following his incredible 92nd career win in Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix. His 7th world championship title seems certain to follow this season. A much less certain result is the race to the White House in the upcoming US elections. Voters will decide on November 3rd whether Donald Trump remains in power for another 4 years. Joe Biden is currently  leading national presidential polls but as Hillary Clinton found in 2016, with the electoral college syst...

Furlough For Now

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is changing from 1st October 2020. From that date HMRC will pay 60% of usual wages up to a cap of £1875 per month for the hours furloughed employees do not work.  Employers must continue to pay furloughed employees at least 80% of their usual wages for the hours they do not work, up to a cap of £2500 per month. Employers will need to fund the difference between this and the CJRS themselves. The caps are proportional to the hours not worked so if...

VAT Returns to Normal

The VAT payments deferral scheme ended on 30 June 2020.  If you are a UK VAT registered business that deferred payments between 20 March and 30 June 2020 you should pay in full all payments that fall due after 30 June. Make sure you have set up cancelled direct debits in enough time for HMRC to take payment.  Any VAT payments you deferred between 20 March and 30 June must be paid in full before 31 March 2021 to avoid potential penalty. You can pay or make payments towards your deferred...

Hair Offensive

The use of any language or behaviour designed to cause offence is never acceptable and anyone indulging in such should rightly be condoned. However it does seem that the most unlikely things can sometimes be a surprising cause of controversy.Case in point is the moustache of US ambassador to South Korea, Harry Harris (think Bert Reynolds, Tom Selleck)  Earlier this year South Korean commentators and politicians said the moustache evoked painful memories of Japanese colonial rule - 1910 to 1...

Common Senseless.

July 4th will see further easing of the lock down restrictions with social distancing now at 1 metre plus rather than 2 metres and indoor gatherings of 2 households allowed. July 4th will also see the welcome reopening of many facilities such as places of worship, cafes, museums and hair salons. Boris Johnson has said that "as we give people back more control over their lives, we will be asking them to follow guidance on limiting their social contact, rather than forcing them to do so through le...

On the Right Track?

Today sees the introduction of the new track and trace system which aims to lift the blanket lock down restrictions and move towards more localised, targeted measures.In keeping with the existing rules, anyone who develops symptoms of coronavirus must continue to isolate for seven days and the rest of their household for 14 days.  But from now on, everyone with systems should ask for a test online or phone to arrange a test by calling 119.If the test comes back negative, everyone in the hou...

Brave New World

The Accounts Place celebrated it's 5th birthday last week and we are rightly proud of what we have achieved during those 5 years. When we founded The Accounts Place we could never have anticipated the extraordinary circumstances in which we find ourselves today but as accountants and bookkeepers our role has never been so crucial. Our clients rely on us to provide the financial information they need when applying for loans etc and it is incumbent on us to be on top of all new regulations and be ...

Along for the Ride.

It is a common fallacy that small business need a bookkeeper merely to process paperwork in order to meet legal obligations and to enable the accountant to prepare the year end accounts. So why pay for a premium bookkeeping service when the mum at the school gates can probably do the job at a cheaper cost? After all every penny counts especially in these unprecedented times. It is precisely because these times are so unprecedented that it is more important than ever that business owners invest i...

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Fuelling Expectations

Oil prices have crashed in Asia by around 30% in what analysts are calling the start of a price war. Opec's 14 members, led by Saudi Arabia met with it's allies Russia and other non-Opec members on Friday to discuss how to respond to falling demand caused by the growing spread of the Coronavirus.  However the two sides failed to agree on measures to cut production by as much as 1.5 million barrels a day. Without such an agreement, Opec counties have very little incentive to restrain pr...

The Sound of Hooves

A quick glance at the news headlines could almost make you believe that you can hear the hoof beats of  the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Pestilence, War, Famine and Death. Just about every news item seems to be related to one of these - excluding Phillip Schofield of course. Even the England v Scotland Six Nations Rugby match on Sunday was more about battling the elements than the opposition. Fires, floods, Coronavirus and ongoing international conflicts; all of these unpredictable even...

Self Assessment - No excuses.

With the 31 January deadline for filing Self Assessment tax returns fast approaching, HMRC believe around 5.4 million workers have yet to file their returns and pay any monies owed for the 2018/19 tax year. Failure to meet this deadline risks incurring a fixed penalty of £100, plus additional daily charges after 3 months. HMRC accept that there may be extenuating circumstances making it impossible to meet this deadline, in which case they urge workers to contact them as soon as possible. Here a...

If you always do .....

Seasons greetings from The Accounts Place. We hope you all had a peaceful and merry Christmas.As the New Year beckons it is a good time to look ahead and make sure your business is in the best possible shape to meet the challenges ahead. Whilst the election result may help to bring a little stability to the economy, the future, particularly for small businesses will continue to be challenging until Brexit has been resolved. The key to being able to respond to any kind of change is knowing exactl...

Something to look forward to.

Floods, Brexit, General Elections, even Rugby - there seems little to celebrate in the news at the moment. However for accountants and bookkeepers across the country the good news is that there is only one day left before  the start of Xerocon 2019.Tomorrow is Day Xero (formerly Uni Day) an extra day of education before Xerocon opens on Wednesday. As always the agenda will be packed with motivational speakers, networking and product updates plus opportunities to catch up with the exhibitors...

Force of Nature

Typhoon Hagibis triggered floods and landslides as it battered Japan with wind speeds of up to 140mph. It made landfall on Saturday in izu Pennisula, southwest of Tokyo and moved up the east coast. Almost half a million homes were left without power. At least 30 people have been reported dead and many more are missing.The typhoon was not the only unstoppable force in Japan this weekend. Also cooking up a storm was the Japanese Rugby Union team who played an epic game against Scotland to finally ...

Shocking Resolutions

A recent report by the Resolution Foundation Think Tank found that about one in 20 workers do not receive paid holidays, whilst one in 10 do not get a payslip. The think tank says it's findings reveal the extent of illegal labour practices. Workers over the age of 65 are most likely to not have paid holidays, despite a legal entitlement to 28 days a year, or pro-rata for part-timers.  If also found that workers aged 25 and under are twice as likely to be underpaid the minimum age that any o...

Xerocon London 2019

Tickets are now on sale for Xerocon London 2019.  This unmissable event for any Bookkeeper or Accountant will be at ExCel, London on 13 - 14 November. In addition to product announcements, inspirational talks and networking opportunities,  Xero have now confirmed their headline speaker to be the renowned astronaut, Tim Peake. The first British astronaut from the European Space Agency to go to the International Space Station, Tim spent an incredible 6 years training for the mission. As ...

Dam Lucky.

Whaley Bridge residents appear to have had a lucky escape as operations to reduce the water levels in Toddbrook reservoir continue. Residents will not be allowed to return to their homes until the water levels drop to 25% which will take a few more days work. Once this is achieved the emergency phase of the operation will be over and contractors can then look at repairing the damage. For once the weather was on the side of the residents this weekend. Forecasters had warned of 30 - 40mm of rainfa...

MTD Deadline Looming

Making Tax Digital for VAT began on 1st April 2019. Under the initiative, most VAT registered businesses with a turnover above the £85k threshold have to keep digital records and file their VAT returns using HMRC recognised software such as Xero.For businesses whose quarterly VAT period started on 1 April 2019, the first deadline for filing returns under Making Tax Digital is 7 August 2019. Businesses paying VAT via direct debit need to be signed up with HMRC by 29 July 2019.Making Tax Dig...

British Airways Facing Sky High Fines for Data Breach

If anyone is still thinking that GDPR is simply a box ticking exercise, the news today that British Airways have been fined £183m for a data breach first disclosed in September 2018 should make you think again.The previous record fine imposed by the ICO was £500,000, levied on Facebook in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The increase in potential fines is as a result of a law change that now allows fines of up to 4% of annual turnover. For anyone in charge of cybersecurity at a maj...