Whenever I talk to business owners I always advise them to measure the numbers that are most important to them and their business.  This isn’t just the turnover and profit type indicators, but the underlying measures that exist in every business.

If I’m advising other business owners to do this, you’d expect us to do the same with our business, right?

For us, one of the most important measures in our business is our customer happiness score.  After all, this determines how likely our customers are to continue to work with us and how likely they are to recommend us to their business contacts.  Each month, we ask our clients for their feedback…..Our score for May was 9.3 out of 10.

Whilst the festive season is almost upon us, business owners are strating to look towards 2011, how they can reward their key people and save tax at the same time.

I’ve put below our “top 12 tips” for keeping your key team happy, whilst at the same time reducing your tax bill.

1. Put on a free staff party (or parties) costing up to £150 a head (incl VAT).  More details here
2. Provide free bicycles for travelling between home and work
3. Offer a free company mobile phone
4. Introduce a childcare voucher scheme
5. Provide a free car parking space at or near the place of work
6. Pay long service awards of £50 to anyone who has worked at the company for over 20 years
7. Introduce free or subsidised meals in your staff restaraunt
8. Offer free eye tests & glasses.  More details here
9. Make company contributions to pension schemes
10. Introduce free directors liability or professional indemnity insurance
11. Offer a free healthscreening session
12. Offer welfare & counselling services

With all of these ideas, you need to ensure that the paperwork supporting the implementation is done correctly.  If you’d like any more information on any of these ideas, or if you’d like help implementing them, please do give us a call.

If the Taxman calls you and suggests he should visit your business as part of their Business Assurance programme, should you agree?

The Taxman is offering to visit new businesses to help them understand what sort of business records they should be keeping. During the visit the Tax Officer will ask the business owner how they record sales, purchases and expenses, how they handle cash, and how they calculate and record drawings or remuneration.  Your answers to these questions will be recorded by the Taxman and amount to a “Compliance check”, which is another way of saying “enquiry into your tax affairs”

What may not be recorded is any advice given by the Taxman in answer to your own questions. For example, you may ask: ‘Is this expense tax allowable?’ If the taxman gives the wrong answer, and you act on it, you could be penalised in the future for getting it wrong. There is no comeback on HMRC for these errors!

Penalties for errors in tax returns are now dependent on your behaviour, so it is crucial that the Taxman does not form the impression that you have a careless approach to keeping business records.

 If you are offered a business assurance visit, we suggest that you either politely decline, or ask us to be present to ensure you are not tricked into saying something that may incriminate you in a future tax investigation. For any advice you need, talk to us, not the Taxman!