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Richard Mathews , CEO at the Swindon-based firm – which offers accountancy , property law , and wills and probate services – suggests starting the year off with a review .
“ Early in the year is always a good time to review your business plan as a lot of activity occurs in the first six months ,” he said . “ Thereafter , there is generally a lull through July and August before things pick up again in September through to late November . If you are considering a marketing strategy it is wise to bear this trend in mind , as you don ’ t want the two to three month lead in time to complete as the year starts to quieten down .”
Seeking professional advice ultimately saves time and costs . If you ’ re planning a relocation or need support with a commercial property issue , then obtaining legal advice at the beginning is essential .
Mary Hoffman , director of legal services at Optimum Professional Services , added : “ If property or leases are involved in your plans , these are issues where complications can
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arise and forewarned is forearmed !”
The 2017 Budget was a fairly soft ride for business owners but there are a couple of sectors that will need a close eye keeping on them , as consultation programmes are being undertaken during 2018 .
The first is the contractor market where HMRC continues to review how this should be treated . Currently , the rules applied to contractors working in the public sector from April 2017 have not been imposed on the private sector , but the Chancellor ’ s comments clearly indicate the current tax treatment of contractors is under review . Richard warns private sector contractors to keep themselves aware of the consultation , as changes seem inevitable . Optimum Professional Services assist many contractors and Richard Mathews says this is a vital area for the UK economy , offering a flexible workforce and anybody potentially affected can ask Optimum for advice at any time .
The second area is small businesses and
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VAT . This was heavily documented in the run up to the Budget as an area of risk , with the VAT registration threshold of £ 85,000 under review . In the end the Chancellor chose to freeze the threshold but only for the next two years – suggesting this issue has not gone away .
With the end of the tax year looming , on April 5 , now is the time to consider any tax planning beforehand . Richard said : “ It is important for all business owners to review the opportunities that this time of the year offers and at Optimum we will be talking with all our clients to ensure individuals take advantage of what is available .”
Finally , HMRC is pressing on with the Making Tax Digital programme , although the implementation appears to now be delayed until 2020 for Income Tax . However for VAT , the original timetable of April 2019 will continue although this probably will not affect many , as nearly all businesses already file their VAT online .
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Richard Mathews
Richard said : “ If you are not yet filing your VAT online please let us know as we are happy to help you to change over .”
If you would like a pre-tax year end discussion , to talk about commercial property legal issues , or any other accountancy-related topics , call Tracey Heath at Optimum on the telephone number detailed below , or visit our website .
For more info : www . optps . co . uk
01793 538198 info @ optps . co . uk
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