TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR BUSINESS!

We were finally getting over the financial crisis when Covid struck. Then, in the trough of the worst economic downturn in 300 years, we discovered that recovery was driving the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) to new heights and the job market into a frenzy.?In the wake of that, it became clear that the recovery was overheating and that we were facing a period of rising inflation and industrial action.

Russia’s war in Ukraine made things worse. It has not only meant human suffering, but it has also affected the entire global economy, driving up the cost of food and energy. It adds to the hardship for those on a low income and means serious food security risks in the world’s poorest economies.

The economy has always had its ups and downs, but its resemblance to a roller coaster is currently more marked than ever with the news of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation and the race for his successor.??Businesses of every size face challenges that are now suppressing growth. A business might have a great product or service, but without a strategic plan to help it define, articulate, and communicate where it is going, it will be at the mercy of outside events. We encourage our clients to take some time to think long-term about their business and to establish goals or targets that they can control.

A plan starts with identifying and accessing opportunities within your market and should address how your business is going to evolve to meet the challenges of today and the future. The plan gives your business purpose and it answers questions about your long-term goals.

The first step is to look at five important areas:

1. Think long term – invest time in understanding where the market is going and what this means for your customers. Short-term decisions do not help grow a business.
2. Having a good value proposition is essential – this states the relevance of your product or service, what it does and why customers need it. What is yours??
3. Expand your reach – what is your target customer and what do you need to do to let them know you exist and that your product or service is relevant to them?
4. Growth means new people, systems, and (maybe) different ways of doing things. Grow at a pace you can manage.
5. How will your marketing get your value proposition to relevant customers?

Once you have taken some time to write out your plan and where you want your business to be in (say) 2 years, the next step is to work out a marketing program with actions to make it happen.

A marketing plan is a business document outlining your marketing strategy and tactics. It is often focused on a specific period (i.e. over the next 12 months) and covers a variety of marketing-related details, such as costs, goals, and action steps. But like your business plan, a marketing plan is not a static document.

The plan should outline:

1. How you are going to keep existing customers happy and returning to buy more often.
2. What the goals are for getting new customers.
3. The marketing methods you are going to use to achieve points 1 and 2.

We specialize in helping our clients manage their businesses. We do this by preparing and updating detailed forecasts, using the latest and most powerful software.?

Please talk to us about strategic planning. We can provide a template so you can do this yourself or work together with you to produce estimates for a variety of scenarios and help you take control of your business!

Attracting and retaining key staff with share incentives

In the increasingly competitive job market, it is important for employers to attract and retain talented people to help them grow their businesses. More and more key staff would like the opportunity to participate in the equity of the organization that they work for and employers that do not offer such opportunities will be at a disadvantage when looking to retain and recruit.

In the case of companies, there are currently four HMRC ‘tax-advantaged’ schemes that provide employees and employers with income tax and National Insurance (NIC) advantages. These used to be referred to as “HMRC approved” schemes but HMRC, although helpful, no longer provides an approval service. The onus is now on the company or its professional advisers to ensure that the scheme complies with the specific legislation, which can be complex. The four tax-advantaged schemes are currently:

Share Incentive Plan (SIP) and Save As You Earn (SAYE or Sharesave) schemes, which generally need to be made available to all employees after a qualifying period.

Schemes more appropriate for SMEs are the Company Share Option Plan (CSOP) and the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) share option scheme, as these are discretionary schemes that allow management to award options to selected employees and directors that the organization is looking to incentivize.

Shares acquired under these four schemes are generally free from income tax and NICs. Depending on the scheme used, the employer may also qualify for a corporation tax deduction for the difference between the price paid by the employee for their shares and the market value.

The scheme of the first choice, provided the company qualifies, is currently the EMI share options scheme as it allows the employee or director to hold options up to ￡250,000 of the employing company’s shares based on the market value when the option was granted. The shares, once acquired, potentially qualify for CGT business asset disposal relief when sold, and thus the first ￡1 million of gains would be taxed at just 10%.

The acquisition of shares and securities in connection with employment, other than through one of the four schemes outlined above, are commonly referred to as ‘unapproved’ or ‘taxed’ schemes. This means that neither the employee nor the employer benefit from any income tax or NIC advantages. This could result in a significant income tax and NIC charge.

Please?contact us?if you would like to discuss introducing a share incentive scheme to help you attract and retain talented staff.

Charging the correct rate of VAT

The VAT rules are becoming increasingly complex and businesses need to ensure that the correct rate is applied to the goods and services they supply.

HMRC have recently updated its guidance on VAT rates. It provides a list of goods and services which you can check to determine which rates of VAT apply and which items are exempt or outside the scope of VAT:?VAT rates on different goods and services – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The guide is not a comprehensive list, and you may need to check the appropriate VAT Notices that deal with certain supplies in more detail. We can of course assist you if you are unclear on the correct rate to apply. Read More...