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When Should I Register for VAT?

Most businesses make what are known as ‘taxable supplies’. You have to register for VAT in certain circumstances, usually when your income above a particular level. You can also decide whether to voluntarily register your business. In this guide, I’ll answer the question ‘when should I register for VAT?’.  

Aside from the small number of businesses that are VAT exempt and so cannot register for VAT. For the vast amount of businesses there are three scenarios to consider:

  • When you must register for VAT;
  • When you don’t have to register, but it makes commercial sense; and
  • When your turnover is approaching the VAT threshold and you have to decide whether to register to be compliant with the law, or make less money to keep your business below the VAT registration limit.

Not all supplies are ‘taxable’ – insurance commissions and medical services, for example, fall outside of the scope of VAT and some are ‘exempt’. Some supplies are ‘taxable’ but charged at a lower rate. For example, the supply of domestic heating has VAT charged at 5%. VAT is charged on books and magazines but at 0% (zero rated supplies).

When You Must Register for VAT

If your taxable supplies are more than the VAT registration threshold of £85,000 (from 1 April 2017) you are required to register for VAT and account for tax on your supplies. The £85,000 threshold applies over a twelve month rolling period. This is not a fixed period like the tax year, calendar year or even your accounting year, it is any period of twelve consecutive months. The ‘standard rate’ of VAT is 20%. There is a ‘deregistration threshold’ of £83,000.

VAT is compulsuary if you make taxable supplies over this threshold, so if you are getting close to it, it is a good idea to keep a ‘rolling total’ of your turnover. You need to it up for each twelve month period, for example January to December, then February to January, and so on. Once required to register, you have 30 days to notify HMRC of your need for VAT registration.

VAT is either added to, or forms a part of your turnover, and you pay this over to HMRC after deducting VAT you yourself have been charged on business supplies. If your customer is a business, they can usually reclaim this VAT, and so neither you nor they are any better or worse off. If your customer is the end consumer, they can’t reclaim this VAT. This VAT becomes a cost to your business; you become a tax collector for the government.

HMRC operate ‘shadow economy’ teams and analyse information from your personal and corporation tax returns in an effort to counteract VAT evasion. The penalties for failure to register can be high, in excess of the ‘culpable tax’, so it’s a good idea to stay on top of your turnover figures. You must apply for registration as soon as it appears likely you’ll be over the registration threshold in the next 30 days.

When You Don’t Have To Register For VAT But It Makes Commercial Sense

When you charge VAT to your customers, they can only reclaim this VAT against their supplies if they themselves are a VAT registered business. This means that if your customers are consumers, for example the general public, or ‘exempt’ businesses, like doctors, the VAT you charge will be a cost to your customer.

What this means is that when you become VAT registered, either you, your customer, or both of you, will be bearing the burden of the tax. If you can pass this cost on without pricing yourself out of the market, your business will not be affected by this decision. If, as is likely, you won’t be able to pass this full cost on, then you’ll need to change your prices to reflect this.

When it makes no sense to register for VAT

Suppose you are a mobile hairdresser who turns over £15,000 a year. If you are not VAT registered, then that turnover all belongs to you (apart from the tax and national insurance on your profits).

The effect of registering for VAT is that this £15,000 is treated as being inclusive of VAT that has been charged at 20%, meaning one sixth (yes, one sixth) of the £15,000, or £2,500, is ‘output tax’ which you have to hand over to HMRC. Your income is therefore £15,000 less the £2,500 which is £12,500.

As your customer is the consumer, or end user, they cannot reclaim this VAT themselves so you cannot put up your prices to compensate for this. Although you can reclaim the VAT on your costs, for example hair dressing supplies and accountancy, the amount of VAT you can reclaim (that you have been charged by other businesses) is going to be insignificant.

Thus, for small businesses where your customer is not a business that can reclaim VAT, voluntary VAT registration can damage your business’s health.

When it makes sense to register for VAT

As you can reclaim the ‘input tax’ on expenses, it is often a good idea to register for VAT if your customer base comprises other VAT registered businesses. You can pass on the VAT you have to charge to your customers, who will themselves reclaim it, and you in turn can reclaim the VAT you are charged.

On a commercial note, your being VAT registered can lead the customer to believe your business is bigger than it Is in reality. Being established is an important way to win confidence. VAT registration will show the customer you’re above board and established.

If your business is ‘zero rated’ for example you earn your income from sales of printed materials or food (not hot take-away food, which is subject to different rules) there is VAT to pass on to the customer. The benefit is that you will be able to reclaim the VAT on your costs, which improves your bottom line.

When You Have To Make Less To Earn More

Imagine you have a business selling clothes to the public, and your turnover for the last eleven months is £84,000. If you take just £1,000 more, you will be liable to register for VAT and have to charge VAT from the time you were required to register. You can only deregister if your turnover in the twelve month rolling period is less than £83,000, so registration and a quick deregistration may not be a viable option. What does this mean for you?

As you sell to the general public, you cannot pass on the VAT you have to pay to your customers, because you price competitively. Although you are charged VAT by your suppliers, you make enough profit on what you sell to make say a 50% profit margin while you are not VAT registered. The effect of having to register for VAT means you have to pay over more VAT than you can reclaim.

This means you will have to ‘absorb’ the VAT yourself and, in this example, your business is £7,083 worse off. If your turnover had no related supplies to offset your VAT, the cost to you could be £14,166. Ouch.

The lesson to take from this is there are circumstances where you may have to think carefully about what you are doing with your business and whether avoiding VAT registration through a self-imposed hiatus is something you may wish to consider; if your income falls below the threshold, you don’t have to register.

In Summary…

  • When your turnover is more than £85,000 in a twelve month rolling period, you are obliged to register for VAT. You have 30 days to notify HMRC of this;
  • Watch your turnover, if you go above the VAT registration threshold, registration is compulsory. There may be occasions when you wish to avoid going over the registration threshold, because if your customer base is the public you will end up footing the bill;
  • If you are a business that makes supplies to other businesses or are a business that makes ‘zero rated’ supplies, consider voluntary registration. Consider how VAT registration affects the perception of your business to your customers;
  • If you are a small standard rated business serving the general public, VAT registration should be avoided unless your turnover is at or above the compulsuary registration threshold.

This is a general overview of a complex area. Nothing in here constitutes advice although the information in here is to our best knowledge and belief. If you have any questions you’re welcome to drop me an email Miranda@MJY-CA.com.

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Simplified Business Expenses and How to Claim Them

In my earlier post on ‘Simple Sole Trader and Tax Accounts‘ I explained how important it is to keep good records of your business expenses. Sole traders and partnerships (with no corporate partners) can claim what are known as ‘flat rate’ expenses, if you so wish. You don’t have to claim these, but the option is there. Remember, you will still need to keep records to justify your income and any other expenses.

Flat rate expenses can be claimed for:

  • Business cost for vehicles;
  • Working from home; and
  • Living in your business premises.

Remember, you cannot claim expenses twice. So if you are already claiming capital allowances on a motor vehicle, or for the travelling costs already, you cannot claim these again using the flat rate scheme.

Cars and Goods Vehicles

Yoi can claim a flat rate mileage allowance as follows, remember you will need to keep a record of the journeys you make, as well as your mileage reading at the start and end of your accounting year. (As is often the case, ‘simple’ is a relative concept!).

You may claim mileage as follows:

  • Cars and goods vehicles, 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles; then
  • For mileage over 10,000 miles, 25p per mile.
  • Motorcycles have a flat rate of 24p per mile.

So, if you travel 12,000 business miles a year in your car, you claim:

  • 10,000 miles at 45p a mile, £4,500; and
  • 2,000 miles at 25p a mile, £500.
  • This gives a flat rate claim in your accounts of £5,000.

If you use more than one vehicle, for example a car and a van, you can use different methods for each vehicle, say the flat rate expenses for the car and the actual costs for the van. What you can’t do is chop and change; you have to stick with whatever method you use for each vehicle.

Working from Home

If you work 25 hours or more a month from home, you can claim a monthly flat rate. This rate excludes telephone and internet access, which you claim separately based on the business proportion of the actual cost:

  • 25-50 business hours a month, £10/month;
  • 51-100 business hours a month, £18/momth; and
  • 100 or more hours a month, £26/month.

You work out the hours for each month, so say January to October you worked 30 hours a month from home, then November 60 hours and December 125 hours, you’d claim:

  • January to October, 10 months at £10/month is £100;
  • November, £18 and December, £26;
  • Total £100+£18+£26 comes to £144.

The maximum claim is £312 for the year.

Living at Your Business Premises

This final ‘flat rate’ method is less common, applying to guest houses, bed and breakfasts and small care homes, where you are using your home as your business premises. This is more a method of finding the ‘private use’ proportion of the business expenses, rather than an expense claim in itself.

First, journey work out all your actual expenses as normal. What you then do, is deduct an amount from the expenses to reflect the number of people, including yourself, who live at the business premises as follows:

  • One person, £350 a month flat rate;
  • Two people, £500 a month flat rate; and
  • Three of more people, £650 a month flat rate.

So, you work out your expenses as normal, and then deduct from these costs an amount to reflect who lived with you throughout the year.

As an an example, suppose the business expenses of the guest house you and your partner run were £21,000 for the year. As there are two of you, for the full year, you will have to deduct 12 months at £500, which is £6,000 from these expenses, so claiming £15,000 for the year. If the other person is there only part of the year, you can work this out ‘pro-rate’.

So, in the example above if your partner joined you half way through the year for six months, your calculation would be 6 at £350 plus 6 at £500, £2,100 plus £3,000 is £5,100. Assuming expenses were £21,000, you claim £21,000 less £5,100 which is £15,900.

There are some circumstances where these flat rate expense allowances sell you short. HMRC have produced a handy interactive guide to help you check if simplified expenses work for your business. Of course, if you have any questions you’re welcome to drop me an email Miranda@MJY-CA.com.

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Where Do I Start With Marketing? 

There once was a time when having an advertising budget meant you looked to the local newspaper or the Yellow Pages. While both these mediums still have value as part of a structured marketing campaign, alone they are unlikely to yield much in the way of customers. 

When I first set up my accounting business back in 2000, I advertised in two places: I spent around £360 participating in a Yellow Pages composite display advertisement, and £7 on a listing in a small internet-based directory of accountants interested in international tax. 

I did not get a single enquiry from the Yellow Pages, but the £7 I spent on getting into that little directory was the best £7 I have ever spent.

This £7 sent to me someone who worked locally to where I bought my first office space. He was several years behind with tax returns and thought he needed an elaborate solution to avoid being dragged away and locked up. We met, and I listened, and we worked out what needed to be done to bring his affairs up to date. I spent some time talking him through everything and reassuring him that he wasn’t going to prison and that everything was going to be okay. 

The result was happy customer who recommended us to his colleagues and friends, and seventeen years on many of these people are still valued clients of my firm. There are two positive things I learned from this experience:

  • The best investment you can make is in your existing customers; and
  • If you need to connect with new business, go to the internet. 

The internet has changed everything, it is the engine that makes the biggest companies in the world what they are: if you go back to 2000 when I decided to work for myself: Google wasn’t yet two,  Facebook was almost four years away and Twitter six. How things change.  

Google cornered the market in targeted advertising in the late 2000s, gathering its demographic information from search histories. Facebook, however, did even better; by giving the public a social networking interface that allowed people to connect, make friends and pursue their interests on a single web platform, Facebook convinced the general public to give them all their demographic and marketing information, in exchange for community. And this is why Facebook is the most efficient marketing platform available today.

It is easy and free to give your business a presence on Facebook, this gives you a mechanism to drive targeted businesses and individuals to your own business. You can then research or outsource paid campaigns which will help you to market your business to your customers, in a cost efficient way that gives your business tangible results. Most importantly, Facebook allows you to begin and then maintain a relationship with your customers.

What more could you want?

To find out how I can help you or your business, drop me an email Miranda@MJY-CA.com.

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How Ronnie James Dio Changed My Life

This post on the third anniversary of Dio’s death originally appeared on the Terrorizer website.

Ronnie James Dio was, without a doubt, one of the greatest, and most important frontmen heavy metal has ever had.

Dio in the gatefold of 'Rising'
Dio in the gatefold of ‘Rising’

Dio changed my life. I was around 12 years old and tape-traded with a school friend. I was given a C90 cassette tape with Rainbow’s ‘Rising’ on one side and Rush’s ‘A Farewell To Kings’ on the other: the tape itself was a copy of a copy, and there was some compression at the start of side two of ‘Rising’ that I came to believe was part of the recording.

These two records have shaped my life, all that has ever interested me since is music. Three years after the passing of the man himself, I’m privileged to write about what Dio’s music means to me and present you with my own playlist of Dio’s music from his time with Rainbow.

After Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple in 1975, he formed Rainbow with four members of Elf, who had supported Purple on tour. Rainbow was essentially a Blackmore solo project with each album never having the same line-up and only one constant, the ‘Man In Black’ himself. Dio recorded three studio albums with Rainbow and with the release of ‘On Stage’, there were five 1970’s canonical Rainbow albums (including the Dio-less ‘Down To Earth’ in 1979):

  • ‘Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow’
  • ‘Rising’
  • ‘On Stage’ (live)
  • ‘Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll’
  • ‘Down To Earth’ (with Graham Bonnett on vocals)
Dio on one of the record sleeves in the 'On Stage' packaging
Dio on one of the record sleeves in the ‘On Stage’ packaging
Blackmore and Dio inside gatefold of 'Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'
Blackmore and Dio inside gatefold of ‘Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow’

The importance of Dio’s contribution to Rainbow cannot be overstated, as singer, lyricist and frontman, he was a conduit of the early ‘Bach ‘n’ Roll’ that Blackmore pioneered, in Terrorizer #135 (September 2005) Damien wrote “when the roots of power metal are accurately traced one is inexorably drawn to Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and the sophomore 1976 masterpiece that is ‘Rainbow Rising’. This inspired work of genius has it all: fantasy artwork, lengthy epic gargantuan guitar solos, classically inspired riffs and arrangements, swirling synths, soaring vocals, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and lyrical content built around myth, mystery and magic.”

For these four albums, Blackmore and Dio were the constant members of the band, and together they produced a songbook of unrivalled power, influence and melody. The songs I have chosen to demonstrate Dio’s work from this period have been selected to showcase more Dio’s skills as a singer and lyricist, rather than Rainbow as a band, per se. The difficulty in doing this, though, is because he and Blackmore were a team who produced great music: in this context the singer, the guitarist and the band are inseparable, as Damien continued “the lyrical subjects are grandiose and the execution weighty… between them, guitar maestro Blackmore and vocalist Ronnie James Dio wrote the book.”

‘Self Portrait’ from ‘Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow’ (1975)

'Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow' with the Oyster imprint.
‘Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow’ with the Oyster imprint.

I bought this record on it’s ‘Oyster’ imprint around 1985 from a junk shop in Manchester, having had a Polydor reissue for some years before. For me, the highlight of the album is ‘Self Portrait’. It has a(n unusual for rock ‘n’ roll) 6/8 time signature and boasts mind-blowing lyrics, a beautifully melodic guitar solo and a wonderfully clear vocal performance.

“Paint me a picture
Of eyes that never see
With flashes of lightning
That burn for only me”

(‘Self Portrait’, Blackmore/Dio)

‘A Light In The Black’ from ‘Rainbow Rising’ (1976)

‘Rising’ is the album that changed my life, or rather one of them: my copy has pen lines around the ‘Rainbow’ on the cover where I’d traced round it to transcribe the logo to stitch onto my denim jacket (a jacket which I sold in 1985 to finance a ticket and coach trip to see Deep Purple play Knebworth on their ‘Perfect Strangers’ comeback tour). This is an absolute pile-driver of a song including some utterly brutal drumming by Cozy Powell, unison scored instrumentation section, mystical lyrics and a rousing, crashing finale.

The iconic cover of 'Rising'
The iconic cover of ‘Rising’

“Breathed the air before
Heard the thunder roar
Never knew it was for me
Always looking down
Lost and never found
Eyes that looked but not to see
All my life it seems
Just a crazy dream
Reaching for somebody’s star
Like an open door
That you’ve passed before
But you’ve never had the key”

(‘A Light In The Black’, Blackmore/Dio)

‘Catch The Rainbow’ from ‘On Stage’ (1977)

I bought my copy of ‘On Stage’ in 1984 from someone at school. For years, this was the only live Rainbow album and drew on material from the first Rainbow album and ‘Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll’, only referencing ‘Rising’ briefly as part of a medley (’Starstruck’). ‘Catch The Rainbow’ occupied the whole of side two of ‘On Stage’. The track was on Rainbow’s first album and draws heavily from Hendrix’s ‘Little Wing’, Dio introduces the song “‘Catch The Rainbow’ is this song” and Blackmore leads into a prelude based on Bach’s ‘The Well-Tempered Clavier: Prelude In C’ – which he was used again and again with Rainbow, including it in ‘Weiss Heim’ and it often surfaced in live performances of ‘Difficult To Cure’, itself based on the famous choral melody of Beethoven’s 9th symphony.

Beautiful, tender wistful lyrics compliment the gorgeous instrumentation (which includes a mellotron) and Dio’s vocal performance is outstanding: it is often the reworking of Purple’s ‘Mistreated’ that makes it to Rainbow compilations, but Dio’s force as a frontman is better evident nowhere else than on this track, as he screams “Catch the rainbow, and ride the sky.. make it shine, shine, shine, shine, shine, SHINE, shine shine… shine for you and I…!”

“When evening falls
She’ll run to me
Like whispered dreams
Your eyes can’t see
Soft and warm
She’ll touch my face
A bed of straw
Against the lace”

(‘Catch The Rainbow’, Blackmore/Dio)

‘Rainbow Eyes’ from ‘Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll’ (1978)

'Long Live Rock 'n' Roll'
‘Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll’

This is the closer from ‘Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll’; the lyrics are forlorn and introspective with an almost autumnal sense of loss. This album marked the departure of Dio from the band (the album itself was born from an environment of personality clashes and personnel shifts) and, as you’re about to read, he went on to Black Sabbath (as Rainbow was heading in a much more commercial direction). This ballad includes a chamber arrangement and, of course, drops hints-a-plenty of Blackmore’s own future with Blackmore’s Night.

“Summer nights are colder now
They’ve taken down the fair
And all the lights have died somehow
Or were they ever there”

(‘Rainbow Eyes’, Blackmore/Dio)

To find out how I can help you or your business, please drop me an email Miranda@MJY-CA.com.

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Why I Love to Play Guitar

I started playing guitar when I was sixteen, of course within a year I’d formed a band and was scaring the life out of our neighbours. Before she passed away, my grandmother used to always tell me:

I will never forget watching you and your friends carrying those drums, cymbals, guitars, speakers and everything else to the bus stop and getting on the bus with all that musical equipment, it’s one of my favourite memories…

I still laugh at the thought of us getting all that equipment on a municipal bus, to travel all the way into Altrincham from Sale (dormitory towns south of Manchester); this is what being a teenager is all about.

My video above is of my playing a section of Dire Strait’s ‘Telegraph Road’, a piece I have loved since I was a teenager. The bands and musicians who originally got me into music were Blondie, Rainbow, The Smiths, Rush, Kate Bush, Hendrix, Bowie, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Queen, Iron Maiden and Dire Straits. 

The more music I discovered, the more I loved, getting into the 1980s alternative and goth scene was great fun, it gave me the chance to look ridiculous and hang out with a social group of people with similar interests. In my early 20s I started listening to more ‘arty’ and progressive music, which now forms much of my musical diet. 

I’m very much an amateur guitar player, it comes about more from what I have said about needing to achieve something; learning a new piece of music or a new style is such a satisfying process, and of course as a creative outlet music cannot be bettered. The sheer achievement of mastering a piece of music you love is incredibly satisfying, and remember it looks pretty flash when you’re at a party and someone pulls out a guitar, and yiunget your three and a half minutes of fame. 

So, three great reasons to play a musical instrument:

  • It’s fun;
  • It’s creative; and 
  • It helps keep you sane. 

The great thing about guitar is that you can teach yourself. Give it a try!

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About Me

I am Miranda Yardley. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant way back on 1 April 1994 and have been a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants since 2004. I started my accounting business in June 2002 and until 2014 worked from Central London.

In my time, I have worked as advisers to manufacturing companies in the sectors of women’s fashion, electronics and light engineering. I have worked extensively with recruitment agencies,  including advising on cash flow management, tax compliance and technical aspects of non-UK workers and clients. I love small businesses, particularly small businesses with cool ideas.

My interests outside work are music, mathematics and long- distance running. I also enjoy photography (the images on this site are all taken by me). I have an active social life in and around the London and Southend-on-Sea LGBT scene (I am transsexual) and the London alternative music scene (which explains my flamboyant dress sense).

My life philosophy is that we all need balance. I enjoy both working hard and working for myself, and in order to do this we all need to have things to do that keep our moods positive and make sure that even if you’ve had one of those inevitable occasional days from hell, you can go to bed knowing you have at least achieved something.

Music is one of my life’s greatest loves, my musical tastes are very broad, although I listen to a lot of rock music (here is how Ronnie James Dio changed my life) I also enjoy pop, classical, jazz, experimental and electronic, and a whole world of sounds many others have described as ‘unlistenable’. You can follow mirandayardley on Spotify here. I also love to play guitar, here is why.

Some years ago, I started running initially as a way to lose weight, I have become passionate about both diet, running and weight loss (I even considered doing a personal training qualification!). You can read more about how I lost 60lbs in weight through diet and exercise here.

To find out how I can help you or your business, please drop me an email Miranda@MJY-CA.com.

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How I Lost 60lbs Weight in Nine Months

Miranda Portrait

Early 2012… fat tummy, fat face.

From July 2012 to March 2013, eight months, I lost 60lbs in weight and went from a size 20 to a size 10. 16 months later, the weight is still off, and like many people who’ve done something they’re proud of, it’s impossible to shut me up about it.

That said, I’ve had so many conversations with people over the last 10 months along the lines of ‘wow that’s amazing how did you do it?’ and I say ‘well it was hard work and a long story, I’ll blog it’ and I keep meaning to blog it and never do(!) so, anyway, here’s a blog.

BackStory

In July 2012, I weighed myself and found out I weighed 215lbs, at 5’10” tall this equates to a body mass index (BMI) of 30: I was borderline obese. Never in my life did I think I would be obese.

Knowing me, you wouldn’t think it, if I say so myself I held it well. I made my own excuses why I was a size 18-20 (‘broad shoulders’ and other forms of denial) and I led myself to believe that 30 minutes of walking and 20 minutes of cycling a day constituted an ‘active lifestyle’.

Chips

Chips! – my favourite!

I also love high carbohydrate fatty food, like chips, crisps and restaurant curries. As I’m chocolate/cake/sweets/biscuits agnostic, I kidded myself I had a healthy diet. And I like a drink. Again, a little self-deception meant drinking 4-5 times a week meant ‘I’m not much of a drinker’.

If I have a healthy diet and an active lifestyle, can I really be obese? Well, yes: if I weigh almost 15 ½ stones and I’m 2 inches off 6 foot tall: I’m fat.

Epiphany

So, there you go, three things I lied to myself about: that I was not fat, that I was active and that I had a good diet. And that day in July I woke up to my own self-deception.

You probably have your own reasons for wanting to get fit or lose weight, well the good news is, you can: you are, however, going to have to do three things to make this work:

  1. Follow what I say: what I did works. This may sound arrogant however I know this because I have done it. There are whole industries and a million urban myths built up around dieting and fitness, almost all the advice I was given when I was dieting (by ‘professionals’ as well as friends! – sorry, you know I love you all!) turned out to be utter nonsense, and usually, I believe, the result of wishful thinking and the sort of denialism that led me to believe I was in a better shape than I was.
  2. Recognise you will have to make the emotional decision that you are going to change everything about your lifestyle to make it work. This means stopping smoking, drinking and eating anything that has a high calorific value. Just so you are aware, a balanced diet is important but this does not mean that a balanced diet makes fattening food make you less fat. You put on weight if you take in more calories than you use (2,000 a day for women, 2,500 a day for men). To lose weight you have to consume less than you use. Don’t even think of pretending otherwise.
  3. Set yourself exercise, food (calorie) and weight loss targets. Stick to them, do not bend them: these rules are not meant to be broken, they are meant to make you lose weight. Rule-bending, wiggle-room and ‘tiny little treats’ are self-deception and if you are going to lie to yourself about this, you are not ever going to lose weight or get fit. This is a fact. Get used to it.

Oh, and enjoy yourself.

Here are some free resources to help you get through your own weight loss program:

BMI Calculator

A lot of bullshit is talked about BMI, usually ‘how it doesn’t apply’ or ‘there are other ways of measuring your body’s health’. Whatever. If your BMI is over 30, you need to do something about it. And whoever you are, you need a BMI of less than 25. Weigh yourself accurately and find out your height, accurately. Plug the numbers in, and then find out what you need to do. It’s black-and-white.

BMI Calculator

Recording your Net Calorie IntakeMiranda Thinner

www.MyFitnessPal.com is amazing. Sign up and get the app for your phone. Log everything. There are other apps, I know, but I’ve not used them. I do however know this worked. I cannot praise it enough. It will set you a net calorie target and help you achieve it. Prepare for some difficult truths: like to lose 2lbs a week requires a net intake of 1,200 calories a day, that a slice of bread is 10% of your daily net calories and that cheese is the work of the devil. Life is hard!

It’s a social network, so you can encourage your friends to join and give them encouragement. I’m on there, (mirandayardley or Miranda@DarkArtsLtd.com, add me).

Recording Your Exercise and Fitness Goals

Again there are other products on the market, but sign up to www.MapMyRun.com which will allow you to map, measure and assess calories burned for runs, walks and bike rides. If you like your food, you will want to squeeze every single calorie out of your exercise.

Again, it’s a social network, so you can encourage your friends to join and give them encouragement. I’m on there too (mirandayardley or Miranda@DarkArtsLtd.com), add me.

To find out how I can help you or your business, please drop me an email Miranda@MJY-CA.com.

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Why You Need to Make a Business Plan

Whatever you decide to do, it is a great idea to come up with a business plan, even if this is only for yourself. There are many pro-forma plans available online, and they will lead you through completing the plan, see for example the very useful business plan section on the Gov.UK website.

The business plan will help you by:

  • Helping you to understand yourself, by writing your ideas down and committing them to paper, you can see whether they make sense;
  • Helping you to understand what makes your business unique and why people would want to choose you above anyone else;
  • Helping you to understand the market in which you operate, by understanding your competitors and any financial or other barrier to entry;
  • Helping you to understand your cost base, for both your fixed costs (premises, administration, tools of the trade) and variable cost (of the things you make or buy to sell, or the time you charge out for services);
  • Helping you to understand what you need to do to make the business a viable concern, to do to reach ‘critical mass’;
  • Helping you to understand how you will manage the expected growth of the business and plan for this, including planning for consequential changes in tax compliance;
  • Help you to plan for and understand how you wish to exit the business, either as a sale, succession to a relative or partner, or just winding it up and realising the assets. This is called an ‘exit strategy’.

Many small business owners review their business plan every few months, using it as a tool to benchmark their business. The process of updating the plan and including into this your experience and newly acquired knowledge from running the business makes the plan better, stronger and more useful; you will have a better idea of where you are going and how you are going to get there.

Usually a business plan will contain the following broad sections:

  1. Executive summary (a one or two page summary of your plan);
  2. A description of your business;
  3. A description of your products and services;
  4. Your sales and marketing strategy;
  5. Description of your business operations;
  6. Details of your management team;
  7. Business development;
  8. A financial summary, including cash flows, income, profit and borrowing projections; and
  9. Details of your exit from the business.

Many people commission a business plan for a specific purpose, often when raising money from a lender or investor. A business plan like this often needs help and support where a lender or investor requires you to produce a spreadsheet model of your business so it may evaluate the business viability as part of the lending or investment decision.

Even if you need help with the accounting, the business plan is still your document; it is your business and nobody has a better idea of your own vision than you do. This is your plan, it’s what you are going to do and how you’re going to make it happen.

By working through your business plan, you will ask and answer difficult questions and through this get to know your business better. You will also have a clear idea about how you will exit your business, what it will take (because most of the time you can’t just walk away from it), and what you will get when you leave: either by a sale or realising assets.

To find out how I can help you or your business, please drop me an email Miranda@MJY-CA.com.

(I will be adding links to the business plan ‘contents’ list to explain what each section means in more detail).

 

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Thinking of Working for Yourself?

People decide to work for themselves for many reasons. Some have a big idea, and seek finance, staff and premises to help them to make their big idea reality. Others may turn a hobby into a modest source of extra income, for example by buying and selling goods on eBay, or making money selling bought stock at car boot sales.

Many trades or professions can allow you to work for yourself, either as a full-time occupation or in your spare time, giving control over how much time you spend working and how much money you can earn. Whatever it is you decide to do, you will likely need help from a professional accountant and tax adviser, which is where we come in.

I love talking with people about their big, small and interesting ideas. As well as helping you understand your obligations to register your business with HMRC, I will talk you through the best vehicle for your business (sole trader, partnership, limited liability company or partnership) and advise you on your other obligations, for example insurance, data protection and health and safety risk assessments.

Most of these obligations are easy to comply with online and can be done by yourself with only the statutory annual fee to find, for example with Data Protection. Others are more detailed, insurance is itself a complex and complicated area and requires specialised advice. I will always be happy to advise you on your need to hold insurance, and assist you in preparing proposal forms and reviewing any quotes you may source.

There are different legal forms of business, for example sole traders, limited companies and partnerships. The format your business should take is generally dependent on size, for small amounts of income and expenditure the sole trader is the easiest format to manage.

If you are to have many employees and the business is to be large, or you need the benefit of limited liability, then the limited liability company many be most appropriate. These have different tax and accounts filing deadlines and rules for how the business owner is taxed. The documents you have to file will be more detailed and your record keeping will need to be better.

I will always help you to identify the best and most cost-effective solution for your requirements. To find out how I can help you or your business, please drop me an email Miranda@MJY-CA.com.

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Simple Sole Trader and Tax Accounts

The simplest accounts are just a single piece of paper with income, expenditure and profit. These simplest accounts are best for small sole traders with income of less than £80,000 and no need to account for stocks or debtors.

These accounts, which would form the basis of your self-assessment tax return, are quick and easy to prepare if you have done much of the ground work yourself, like keeping a list of invoices or sales, and working out what your expenses are.

Some people manage this with a notebook, others prefer to use a spreadsheet. Either way, I will help you to find out what works best for you, and even show you how to use a spreadsheet if necessary. I will also help you work out the best system to help me to use these records as the basis for preparing your income and expenditure account, and tax return.

There is a benefit to you of keeping your own books, in that you will have a good idea of how much money you’re taking and spending, which makes it easier to manage your own finances and plan for the tax bill when it arrives, or keep track of your income to see if you are close to the VAT registration limit (£85,000) or the deregistration limit (£83,000).

The secret to good administration is organisation. If you are able to update your records monthly or even weekly, it will make both your life and my job easier: there’s nothing worse than having to hunt for missing receipts, reconstructing records of cash you’ve taken or anguishing over the money you were sure you spent but can’t tie to an invoice. 

It is important that you can demonstrate your reported income is complete and that your expenditure can be evidenced. If you keep on top of your record keeping and can demonstrate that you take your responsibility to keep proper books and records seriously, this will significantly reduce the risk of problems should HMRC review your tax return. 

Remember, your accounts will not only be needed for HMRC, you may wish to buy your own home or borrow money for something else, these accounts will help you to demonstrate you are able to afford the borrowing you are proposing. If your records are up to date, you can give the lenders and their underwriters better information quicker, especially if you are seeking to borrow more money because your business has grown since the last time you had your accounts prepared. 

Of course, electronic record keeping with a spreadsheet or even a Google Sheet you can share with your accountant is the best and most convenient way for many people to keep their books (you can also update these ‘on the fly’ with your smartphone or tablet!) however many people will carry round a notebook, writing everything down. Really, it’s whatever is best for you. 

These types of accounts work best for very small businesses, for example:

  • Taxi drivers;
  • Window cleaners;
  • Hair dressers (who ‘rent’ a chair);
  • Bookkeepers;
  • Small eBay traders;
  • Music or academic tutors; and
  • Many more!

Once you have nailed keeping simple records, it’s easy to evolve your system as your business grows. 

To find out how I can help you or your business, please drop me an email Miranda@MJY-CA.com.