Articles & Tax News

As an entrepreneur you can increase your chances of making the right decisions and succeeding once you understand the basic concepts of some business-related subjects such as Economics, Marketing, and Operational Management, among others. Finance and Accountancy are crucial business subjects to be learned. In my opinion, all business subjects have the same value. That

PAYE or Pay As You Earn Scheme is HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) system to collect Income Tax and National Insurance from employment in UK. Any business which intend to employ staff under Employment Contract (written or verbal agreement) needs to register for PAYE scheme before preparing the first payslips for their employees. They need

There’s no secret formula for you to follow to start up your own business. At least, I never saw one. I think it’s fair to say that when we break down any process into different phases, it helps us explain how that process works. For this reason, I like to divide the business creation process

National Minimum Wage Communication   As you may or may not know, every April a new financial year starts in the UK, and with it comes several updates in taxes, contributions, allowances, so on… The National Minimum Wage (NMW), the minimum hourly rate that almost all workers in UK are entitled to, is part of

MTD will change the way you manage your business. Get in touch for more info about how we can help you move to online accountancy seamlessly: 0207 328 8338 or info@verticeservices.com

I’ve always wanted to write about this business issue. Over the last 10 years, I’ve suffered from busyness, especially as my business has grown and more and more colleagues have joined our team. In my 20s, I read a lot of business books which taught that to build a successful business, you had to find

In the last 10 years, I have been asked the question “Should I still persist in my business?” a couple of thousand times. Having participated directly in the startup of many businesses, both in the UK and overseas – and indirectly, in another hundreds more around the world – my opinion is that there is

I learned how to play draughts when I was 7 years old and I’ve been fascinated with the game ever since. Draughts is a board game for two players. It involves diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and compulsory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. It is a strategic game – luck does not affect

Fake ‘HMRC’ tax refund emails are once again flooding inboxes. We’ll show you how to spot a fake tax rebate email. According to Wikipedia, “Phishing is the attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and money), often for malicious reasons, by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication“. And the time when bogus emails were poorly

The basics of VAT Value Added Tax (VAT) is a widely used term in the business world, but a few people understand how it works or where it is applicable. In simple terms, VAT is a consumption tax levied on the sales of products or services. It is termed as an indirect tax since businesses

Do you know whether or not you need to submit your tax return? So you better check it out before you miss the deadline.

On 22nd November 2017, the Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered the Autumn Budget 2017. Mr. Hammond tried to send a positive message during his Budget speech, but his announcements particularly did not convince ordinary people who have been affected by Brexit long period of uncertainty. Any product or service being sold in UK is becoming more

From all of us, the Vertice Services family, to the clients and business partners who are part of our lives.

Want to register your company in the UK? Company registration is easy. We make this process simple and fast for you, and we can also help with opening your bank account. Call us at 0207 328 8338 or email at info@verticeservices.com.

No-one can be expected to predict the future – but as tech-savvy human beings, we must always keep up to date with the pace of technology. We must constantly evolve as quickly as we can to avoid being left behind. Managing a business is no different: being behind means being out of business.

In my opinion, lack of funding is the main reason many startup businesses fail or do not even start trading. I have seen many potentially successful businesses in financial difficulty because the entrepreneur did not calculate how much money was needed to set up the business and keep the business trading, especially in the first

New entrepreneurs always ask me how long it will take them to start up their businesses. I usually ask them as many questions as I can in order to give a more accurate answer. During our first consultation, I often realise that entrepreneurs have not done enough research or initial study in the market to understand where their businesses will be heading to.

Glamorous holidays abroad, luxury watches and Friday nights out all feature in HM Revenue and Custom’s (HMRC) list of the most outlandish expenses that customers tried to claim back on their Self-Assessment returns.

Most of the entrepreneurs I know are very good salespeople. The vast majority of business owners I have been in contact with tell me that they attach more importance to selling to a potential client than finding the ideal client for their business. But in my opinion, attracting, finding and reaching out for the right

Imagine you’ve had a business idea recently. You’ve prepared your business plan and you know how much money you will need to invest in your business to launch it. But you’ve realised that you don’t have enough money to start. You think about how other entrepreneurs have overcome the same financial challenge when they started

We know of many successful entrepreneurs who started their business from home. Steve Jobs from Apple is perhaps the most famous example. I have given advice to many people in the UK looking to start their business from home. The first thing you need to be aware of is that you can’t start just any

Does your business suffer from an increase or decrease in sales during particular days, weeks or months? If it does, you are not alone. Most of the businesses I have given consultancy or get involved with in a way or another suffer from seasonality.  Factors such as the weather or holiday periods can affect your business performance. Seasonality

On 8th March 2017, Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of Exchequer delivered his first and last Spring Budget (as from next year the Government will only delivery one Budget per year and it will delivered in the autumn season). The Spring Budget was very short in comparison with previous ones with only 28 main announcements. Philip

On 2nd January 2017, HMRC revealed ten of the most bizarre excuses used by unscrupulous bosses found to have underpaid workers the National Minimum Wage.

From April 2017, HMRC has announced significant changes for the amount of VAT that many small businesses will have to pay in UK. This will affect vast majority of businesses that use the VAT Flat Rate Scheme but spend very little on goods, including raw materials such as companies providing services to their clients. The

I have seen many unusual excuses from Self Assessment Vertice Services clients. Each year HMRC receives a number of unusual excuses from Self Assessment customers who didn’t complete their tax return on time. Some of them are very funny, please see below:

Being happy and living a fulfilling life is a personal desire shared by each of us. Even though most of us don’t write down our personal and business goals in any form of proper document, we all have a list of personal wishes and desires. Our actions today will influence what we will achieve tomorrow.

I am sure that, as your business grows, the number of employees will also increase and quite often you will have some sleepless nights thinking “what the hell I am doing?”. You go to bed at 11:00pm and at exactly 2:00am you are still thinking how you will be able to manage and make some

Do you know anybody who had a successful business for a couple of years and all of a sudden closed it down? Have you heard a business owner complaining that after years of reinvesting money back into the business they are earning less money or even running at a loss? Do you know any business

How many times have you asked yourself how other people can do so many activities when they have the same amount of time that you have? I have already asked myself this question many times, and I am very interested in the subject. I don’t see myself as having the best time management skills in

On the 23rd of June 2016 the UK made the decision to leave the EU. As predicted by many economists the UK is now going through a period of uncertainty. The GBP currency has plunged almost 40% reaching  its lowest value since 1985. The UK stock market has also been hugely affected and UK companies

How many times have you visited a company and you didn’t feel very welcomed, starting by the company receptionist? I am sure it happened to you many times. In my opinion, the first 5 minutes that your client is in touch with your company are the most important and is the breaking point in their

We are aware that some of our clients have received text messages and/or emails promising tax refunds. These messages, supposedly sent by HMRC, are fraud. Do not disclosure any personal information via SMS, email of phone in reply to these messages (examples below).

On this edition of Business Room we welcome Mr. Antonio Pragliola, director of Godfathers Location Solutions, which have been working in the film, television and advertising industry for over 20 years. He tells us his inspirational story, how he started his business and how he became a successful businessman.

Pretty Muddy is one of a series of events organised by Cancer Research UK (cancerresearchuk.org). Their objective is to raise awareness and funds for research into all 200 types of cancer. The events are all women-only and we are more than pleased to see our team of Angels engaged and ready to get their hands

Have you ever thought in merging your business with that of your competitor?   Perhaps you have. In my opinion the only way to bring two competitors together is if the real synergy between the two companies participating in the merger creates value which is greater than what each individual company brings to the table on

When I was young I used to hear from older people that working for a big enterprise used to mean a big salary, benefits and satisfaction. After 10 years running a small enterprise with almost 50 employees it is clear to me that working for a SME can bring you better rewards than its counterpart.

There were a record 5,4 million private sector businesses at the start of 2015. According to the federation of small businesses (FSB) 99.3% of all the private sector at the start of 2015 were small businesses and 99.9% were small or medium sized businesses (SMEs). In 2015, there were 1.3 million employing businesses and 4.1

You only realize the importance of understanding the real meaning of terms such as: working capital, cash flow and operating cycle, when your business is going through financial problems. The lack of funds in your business bank account might be a problem during the business start-up, growing or declining phases. During the start-up phase, it

What are the benefits and cons of registering yourself as a Self Employed person? What taxes do you have to pay? These are very frequent questions and we’ll answer them all in 6 minutes.

On Thursday 23rd of June 2016 the UK will vote either to remain in or leave the European Union. According to the Government voting to leave the EU would create years of uncertainty and potential economic disruption. This would definitely reduce investment and cost jobs in the UK. The reason why voting to leave could

The Chancellor has presented his Budget to Parliament on 16th March 2016. During the Budget speech Mr. Osborne has promised many times to “put the next generation first”. Here’s a summary of what was announced:

Before you invest thousands of pounds launching a new business, you should think carefully and do your homework first. The chances of your business being successful increase when you plan cautiously before spending money. In my opinion, starting a business without a plan is a waste of money. There is a well-known phrase that states:

For me, a business partnership is similar to a marriage. Marriage could be seen as a legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their children, as well as society in general. Individuals marry for many reasons, including legal, social, emotional, financial, spiritual and religious purposes. Now, starting a

From 01st April 2016 the Government’s new National Living Wage will become law. How is this going to affect you? From 01st April 2016 you must pay all employees aged 25 and over the National Living Wage rate (NLW), which is currently set at £7.20/hour and is mandatory, not optional.

The way dividends are to be taxed is to change from April 2016 and will see basic-rate taxpayer subject to a new levy of up to 7.5%. The Government expects to raise £6.8 billion over the next five years by replacing the dividends tax credit with a tax-free dividend allowance of £5,000, with higher taxes

After reading more than 500 books about business and listening attentively to more than 3,000 business owners in Vertice Services Accountancy and Consultancy (www.verticeservices.com), I’d like to take a closer look at the issue of what makes some business people more successful than others. I am very passionate about this subject and enjoy a lot

What is the Autumn Statement? In the United Kingdom, HM Treasury makes two statements each year to parliament upon publication of economic forecasts: the Autumn Statement and the Summer Statement. The duty to publish twice annual economic forecasts was created by the Industry Act 1975, with the first such publication occurring in December 1976. Osborne’s

Since setting up my first business, I have been concerned with increasing my company sales. A sale is the exchange of a commodity or services in return for money or the action of selling something. After advising many businesses I realised that having customers and selling to them is the only way to keep your

On July 8th 2015, Chancellor George Osborne delivered the Summer Budget 2015. If, like many, you were enjoying a summer holiday overseas you may have missed it. If so, you will find this article of interest. Every year, I wait anxiously for the government budget. I like to read it and carefully study all the

Before I set up my first business, I researched the reasons why start-ups fail. The statistics didn’t worry me. The high rate of businesses that fail in the first year of existence didn’t scare me either. The  main reason for my lack of concern was that I simply couldn’t find a reliable source to prove

What is the relationship between HMRC’s new initiative “HMRC is closing the net on tax dodgers” and “HMRC sees biggest digital self-assessment ever?” (A report published by HMRC on 2nd February 2015). New technology, access to data and extra staff means HMRC can find tax dodgers easier than ever before. During the week before having

Do you know how the government has spent your money? Do you think the UK government has spent your money in a fair and effective way? These are important questions which we should all know the answers to. In January, we received a lot of calls from our clients regarding a letter they had received