Business News

As an entrepreneur, you will understand the need to remain competitive and ahead of the curve. But, when it comes to tech, we understand that for some business owners, tech is not always their best friend!

If you are struggling with clunky software, there is a better way. By embracing the latest tech you will not only make your life easier but also ensure your business runs more smoothly.

Because, let’s face it, life’s too short to have to keep ‘turning it off and back on again!”

Whether its cloud software to access your business finances in real time, 24/7 or the latest apps to help your enterprise really move up a gear, the team at CHC can help.

What is an app stack and why do I need it?

An app stack is just a fancy name for a set or ‘stack’ of software tools that work together to achieve a common purpose. A stack of applications offers workflow-enhancing programs which will help you manage your tasks.

Software integration

If your existing software refuses to dovetail smoothly, chances are you will benefit from our software integration service.

There are thousands of cloud tools to choose from. As accountants, we have no agenda except to help your business run more profitably so we will tell you which cloud technology you should invest in to help revolutionise your business, as well as which ones to avoid.

Business process automation

Is your business running like a well-oiled machine? How is your business fitness – is it lean and healthy or a little flabby?

Utilising the latest technology-enabled automation of complex business processes can streamline your operations, helping you to deliver and improve service whilst managing costs.

By integrating your older legacy systems with new software, or putting in place a unified single system you will unleash your full potential.

Implementations and data migration

We have experience helping businesses of all sizes from various sectors and will take care of the entire implantation process from start to finish, ensuring your data migration is expertly managed with the minimum of down-time.

We offer a complimentary meeting so that we can map out your business requirements and processes and recommend the app stack that will provide optimisation at every level. For more information visit our website or to book a complimentary meeting, please get in touch with us.

Where grants claimed under the self-employment income support scheme (SEISS) do not correspond with records held by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), it will auto-correct 2020-21 tax returns and issue a new SA302 calculation to both taxpayer and acting agent.

Corrections may be necessitated if:

• The grant amount was omitted;
• The amount received appears in the wrong box on the return; or
• Where HMRC believes a taxpayer was not eligible for the SEISS because of missing self-employment or partnership pages.

If your return is auto-corrected to include details of an SEISS grant, but you did not receive a grant, you should speak with your agent or HMRC immediately as this could point to fraudulent activity.

2020-21 self-assessment tax returns should accurately report the first three SEISS grants, as the grants are taxable in the tax year that they are received.

HMRC has only been auto-correcting returns since 19 June, meaning that any received before this date will still require manual input and so the wait time for processing these may be longer.

If you receive notification that your tax return has been auto-corrected, you may choose to either accept the correction and amend the return, if appropriate, or dispute it.

If you intend to dispute a correction, you should ensure this is notified to HMRC within 30 days of the correction notice and in writing, where possible.

A careful review of your records, and the right professional advice where necessary, should enable you to determine the applicable response.

Where you have received any SEISS or other taxable grants, we should be made aware of these to enable us to accurately prepare your tax returns. If you would like to know more about our tax, accounting and business services, please contact us.

Link: Tax returns auto-corrected for SEISS grants

With predictions that the UK economy is set to grow at its fastest pace in 80 years and could recover to its pre-pandemic size by the end of this year, SME owners are feeling more optimistic and are keen to invest in growth.

However, they are also frustrated by the mix of financial options open to them, according to a survey from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and The Corporate Finance Network (CFN).

Their wish to invest is buoyed by the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which show UK gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter is estimated to have increased by 4.8 per cent, which is now 4.4 per cent below the pre-pandemic level at the end of 2019.

There have been increases in services, production and construction output over the quarter, with the largest contributors coming from wholesale and retail trade, accommodation and food service activities and education.

This will be a boost for the large majority of SMEs who are now planning for expansion, with new research from Paragon Bank showing that six in 10 are increasing their innovation budget compared to pre-Covid levels.

More than 75 per cent of business owners list innovation as a key priority to recovery.

But they say they are struggling for financial help in the form of overdrafts and other options like mortgages and leases.

This has not been helped following the winding down of many of the Government-backed support schemes. They are also frustrated at being unable to find the right blend of financing for success.

According to the joint survey this has caused mental health problems with bosses feeling more stressed and anxious.

The difficulties of obtaining finance could not come at a worse time as they are desperate to get back to some normality and go for growth in the future.

If you are struggling to access the finance needed to help your business grow, our team of corporate finance experts can help. To find out more about our services, please contact us.

Link: SMEs feel confident but frustrated by lack of financial backing

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has warned that debt collection will resume as the UK emerges from the pandemic and it will be contacting taxpayers who have fallen behind with their taxes.

HMRC says it will take an understanding and supportive approach to dealing with those who have tax debts or are concerned about their ability to pay their tax.

During the pandemic, HMRC tax debt collection was put on hold. But on 30 June 2021, HMRC announced that it was restarting its debt collection work as economic activity resumed.

In its latest announcement, HMRC stated: “If you can pay your taxes then you should do so – but if you are struggling, we want to work with you to agree a plan based on your financial position.”

HMRC will be contacting all taxpayers with outstanding debts to discuss payment options and they have been warned they must respond to these notifications as soon as possible.

Taxpayers may be offered a short-term deferral, with no further action to collect the tax debt until that time has lapsed.

As part of agreeing to Time to Pay arrangements with businesses, HMRC will also talk about other forms of support they may be eligible for.

HMRC added that it will take an understanding and supportive approach to dealing with those who have tax debts or are concerned about their ability to pay their tax.

It also warned that it will do everything it can to help businesses with temporary cash-flow issues to survive as the economy grows, but where businesses have little chance of recovery, it has a responsibility to act – not least to protect viable businesses in their supply chains.

If you are contacted by HMRC about tax debts it is important that you seek advice at the earliest opportunity. Our experienced tax team at Clemence Hoar Cummings can help you review your options and communicate them to HMRC. To find out more, please contact us.

Link: Debts owed to HMRC due to COVID-19

Thousands of employees who have started a new job after the 28 February 2020 will not be able to benefit from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and may need to be laid off or sacked to help businesses cut costs.

To be eligible for the scheme, which covers 80 per cent of a furlough workers employment costs up to £2,500 per month, an employee must have been on their company’s payroll on 28 February.

The loophole in the Government’s much-lauded measure means that newly appointed staff members will not have their wage covered and will instead have to rely on their employer paying them.

As many companies are looking at ways to reduce their costs during this challenging period fears are growing that many will have no other option but to lay new employees off or terminate their employment, as long as they are allowed to do so under existing employment law.

Treasury guidance states that employers can re-hire staff that have already been made redundant and still claim the subsidy.

However, it is understood that the CJRS doesn’t apply if the worker has voluntarily left their post already.

A Treasury spokesperson said that those who are not eligible for the scheme “will be able to access a range of other support – including an increase in the Universal Credit allowance, income tax deferrals, £1bn more support for renters and access to three-month mortgage holidays”.

The Government has confirmed in its guidance for the operation of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) that employers will not be at risk of breaching minimum wage rules where they opt not to top-up the wages of furloughed employees.

The CJRS was announced by the Chancellor shortly before the Stay at Home rules came into effect and enables employers to apply for a grant in respect of 80 per cent of the normal wages of a ‘furloughed’ worker, plus the cost of Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and employer’s minimum auto-enrolment pension contributions on this amount.

Where a furloughed employee is paid the relevant rate of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) or National Living Wage (NLW) or near to those rates, the Government has confirmed that you may still reduce their pay the 80 per cent rate, without breaching minimum wage rules.

The guidance states:

Individuals are only entitled to the National Living Wage (NLW)/National Minimum Wage (NMW) for the hours they are working.

Therefore, furloughed workers, who are not working, must be paid the lower of 80 per cent of their salary, or £2,500 even if, based on their usual working hours, this would be below NLW/NMW.

However, if workers are required to for example, complete online training courses whilst they are furloughed, then they must be paid at least the NLW/NMW for the time spent training, even if this is more than the 80 per cent of their wage that will be subsidised.

Complicating matters, the rates of the NLW and NMW change today (1 April 2020).

However, it is unclear whether this means that the value of the grant for workers on either NLW or NMW and who were furloughed in both March and April will vary in line with the increased rates.

The changes are as follows: