As a business owner, you have probably heard the saying that states the only two things in life that are certain are death and taxes.
For businesses of every size, the end of the tax year is one of the busiest times, and according to a study carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), small companies in Britain spend on average around half a billion pounds per year on tax admin.
Whether you’re a new business owner or have been an entrepreneur for some time, the end of the financial year is renowned for being an incredibly stressful time. We’ve put together some tips to help you plan for the new tax year and be ready once April comes around once again.
Take Stock:
The first question that you should ask yourself is whether your business goals for the last financial year were met. If not, ask yourself why. Take the time to go over the processes that went well, determining what could have been done better, and also figuring out what you can avoid helping things run more smoothly next year. Paying some attention to the successes and failures of the last year will help you better learn from them and apply the lessons to the upcoming year.
Deal with Debts:
Being in debt can bring your business down quickly, so you should ensure that dealing with any money your company owes is a top priority for this new tax year. Along with that, you should deal with any debts that are owed to you by your customers; if there are debts that cannot be recovered, then getting them written off should be a top priority. By writing off debts that customers are unable to pay, you’ll then be able to reclaim any VAT that you have paid to HMRC, but not received from the customer.
Stay Organised:
If you find yourself panicking at the end of the last tax year to find receipts and other documents needed to do your tax returns, then learn from that this year and try to be a little more organised. Don’t leave it until the last minute to dig out all your paperwork; instead, use a basic filing system or scan all records to your computer to create easy-to-reach electronic copies.
Hire an Accountant:
Lastly, bear in mind that hiring the services of an accountant can be an excellent investment when it comes to dealing with taxes. If you did your own taxes last year as many entrepreneurs found it an incredibly stressful feat, trusting the work to a trained and an experienced financial specialist will be well worth it. Along with that, your accountant will also be able to provide you with information on lowering your tax bill, or point you in the right direction of reputable lenders, such as https://www.merchantmoney.co.uk/finance-tax-vat-loans/, if you’re in need of finance to pay your tax or VAT.
If you found these tips interesting, we’d love to hear from you.