Are you just starting your business and so working two jobs at once while your new enterprise gets off the ground? This can make it very hard to be productive when time is precious, so it's important that you plan your time and use those all important hours carefully. Every hour you work can bring you profit, and so a wasted hour can not only put you behind but cost you money too. So how can you organise yourself to get the best use of your time, skills and work practices? These tips will work very well right through to when you work full-time on your new business.
Prioritise your work - don't just do what you think will be easiest. You must prioritise your time so that the most important jobs get done first. You can't afford to miss deadlines, upset clients or make mistakes due to rushing. This is especially true when launching a new business when every customer is bringing you all important cashflow. New clients now might become important long-term customers, so you need to keep them happy from day one.
Possible Tax Savings for Sole Traders
While many sole traders may think they are saving money by carrying out their own bookkeeping, research carried out by Unbiased.co.uk has shown over half might actually be missing out on tax savings because they are not using professional accountants for their bookkeeping. Of those surveyed, just over half admitted to doing their own accounts and a fifth of micro-businesses (which consist of 1-9 employees) were also taking a DIY approach to bookkeeping. Clearly it is a risky route to take, especially with the HMRC crackdown on poor small business accounting, which could land business owners with a hefty fine.
Response to FT article about changes to pension contributions
Whilst the announcement about pensions was really nothing new yesterday, it seems to have grabbed the headlines much more than when Labour talked about it.Most commentators recognise that something needs to be done about pensions, but changing people's attitude to saving for retirement is difficult. Dare I say it, but this 'enforced' pension contribution is probably a step in the right direction.
However, with the majority of the population employed by the micro and small business sector, the burden upon employers in terms of administration and contribution cost is therefore significant. And, coupled with the possible change in maternity pay legislation, will all these additional costs prove a deterrent for micro and small businesses to expand and therefore fuel the economy?
