Dealing with Auditors

Even the most law-abiding business owners get nervous when the Inland Revenue decides to conduct an audit on them. It takes a lot of time to prepare for an audit and you will likely need to work closely with your accountant so it won’t be cheap.

Small businesses are around three times more likely to …

Invoicing Tips For Small Businesses

Whenever your business sells a product or provides a service, you need to provide an invoice. Invoices not only inform the customer how much they need to pay, but also give you and your customers a record of the tax related to that sale.

There is certain information that you should always include whenever invoicing …

Finding Alternative Sources of Finance

This week’s survey from the Institute of Directors (IOD) suggests that nearly 60% of UK businesses were refused credit from their bank in 2009. Despite the Government having spent billions of pounds on quantitative easing in the past year, it seems that not much of it is actually making its way to small businesses …

Managing Your Small Business Assets

Anything that your small business owns is considered to be an asset and should be listed as such on the Balance Sheet. Some assets are intangible and are not physically owned by the business (e.g. stocks or patents). The cash and inventory that the business owns at the moment is referred to as …

Improve Your Cashflow Management

Cashflow is often described as being the lifeblood of small businesses. Without careful management of cashflow a business can quickly get into financial trouble. A lack of cash can be hard to remedy, especially if the business needs to purchase supplies before it can make further sales. Without additional investment or a …

Focus on Your Small Business Goals

It can be extremely difficult to keep focus on your business goals, especially if you are starting to become successful very quickly. Losing focus on what you are trying to achieve will often result in a loss of momentum for your business and can affect your decision making process. This is the main …

Keeping up-to-date with your Small Business Banking Online

With the help of OnlineOffice, it has never been easier for you to get an instant overview of all your banking activity, wherever you are in the world and at whatever time you choose.
The Banking section of OnlineOffice is the main hub for all activity relating to your bank accounts. This will include deposits, payments, …

Recording Income & Expenditure Online for your Small Business

The Nominal Ledger (sometimes known as the General Ledger) is the main accounting record for any business using double-entry bookkeeping. It usually lists accounts for current and fixed assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, gains and losses. It is often divided into two sections – the left hand showing debit transactions and the right listing credit …

Preparing Your Small Business for the VAT Change

Despite a continuing recession the UK VAT rate is set to switch back to 17.5% on the 1st of January 2010, after having been reduced to 15% for the past 13 months. It would be sensible for small business owners to prepare for this right now, before the Christmas break.
You need to make your customers …

Why Working Online With An Accountant Will Benefit Your Small Business

One of the greatest benefits of OnlineOffice is the way it allows you to work collaboratively with your accountant, wherever they are based. Many accountancy firms are quickly realising that using online software gives them a great advantage over the competition.
It is a legal requirement to keep accurate financial records relating to your business. …

Online Small Business Accounting Software with a Difference

Do you hate accounting and bookkeeping like most small business owners do! You don’t make any money by doing your accounting and any small business accounting software only costs money. The new breed of online accounting software promises to be cheaper and more efficient – and who would we be to disagree with that. But …

Managing Your Small Business Day-to-Day

Keeping your business running smoothly requires discipline and efficient time management. It’s easy to get bogged down with tasks that seem urgent and postpone activities that might not seem to require an immediate response. The following tasks should be scheduled into your working week and stuck to! Postponing something by half a day can make …