Our thoughts and musings

It’s Friday night and you’re in the pub after work for a drink (remember those?). Your friend is on about their brand-spanking new BMW 3 Series with the heated seats and fancy alloys. “Yeah it’s part of the perks of becoming Operations Director”, they say. Meanwhile, you’re thinking of your old, tired-looking motor parked on the drive at home that has been slowly destroyed inside by the kids. Lo and behold, the motoring Gods answer your prayers and later that month you’re offered your own business vehicle. You think, “fantastic, but should I get a company car? IS it actually

Now comes the annoying answer – it depends. So allow us to take you through our process when pricing for an engagement.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a seasoned employee or a fresh-faced apprentice; it’s always crushing to see how much tax has been taken from your monthly payslip. The looming spectre of the Taxman has even made it into popular culture, with both The Beatles and The Kinks once taking a swipe (although with the size of their bank accounts, they probably don’t miss the money as much!).

It’s the age-old dilemma that puzzles business owners around the world and is a question we often receive from clients. Should you pay yourself a salary or dividends?

Now we love Xero. A bit strong maybe, but we decided some time ago that we were going to be a 100% Xero practice. Mainly due to the fact that we wanted to be really, really good at using just one accounting package which we could heartily recommend to our clients.

One of my inspirations is Pete Adeney, aka Mr Money Moustache. Having retired at the grand old age of just 30, he’s since started a personal finance blog. How did he do it? By saving hard and planning effectively. His website is massively popular and now extends far wider than personal finance, encompassing issues such as family, business and general well-being.

For some years, you could be forgiven for thinking that the government didn’t want people to have company cars. The benefit in kind (BiK) tax rates on company cars have steadily been hiked and now are as much as 37%. A mid-range BMW 3 Series could cost £400-£500 a month in tax alone.

Goodbye 2020! Good riddance. 2021 can’t get any worse so here’s to the good times!

To maximise the return from Profit First, it’s generally required to set up a number of different bank accounts in order to allocate the cash received. This can present a challenge owing to the monthly fee most UK banks charge for using their accounts. One of the principles of Profit First is frugality, so if a bank charges £5/ month and you have 5 accounts, that’s a bill of £300 a year. Definitely something we’d rather avoid.