Top 5 Tips For Successful Home Working

Some of us are used to working from home but for others the Coronavirus crisis is providing them with their first opportunity for a new way of working.

Working from home often seems like a great idea but it can be tricky to stay focused and remain productive... and after all, being productive is very, very important to everyone - to business owners who want to survive, to team members who want to keep their jobs and to society in general which has to continue to function after the crisis is over.

So here are our top five tips to make working from home a success.


Get up, get dressed, get out

Humans love routine.

We set our alarms for the same time everyday (we then snooze them for the same number of times), we do the same things every morning.  We even take the same journey to work every day.

It may seem very tempting to roll out of bed a bit later and fetch up in front of the PC still in pyjamas.

Try to avoid this.  

Set your alarm for the same time and try to follow your morning routine as closely as possible.  Of course, you won't be commuting to work but leave the house for a walk at the same time.

Psychologically by following the same routine you will be preparing yourself for work.

Separate work from home

If possible have a separate place in your home so you can 'go to work'.

When you are 'at work' be in your workplace.  When you are on your lunch break or at the end of the day switch off your PC and leave work.  Close the door on your work space.

If possible, at the end of the day, go for a walk.

This will give you the psychological separation which will allow your mind to switch off from work.

There will be distractions

Being at home you will be surrounded by things you like doing.  Watching TV, playing on a games console or checking out social media.

Make it hard (or at least harder) to get distracted: lock away the things that might stop you being productive.  Put the games console away and unplug the TV... sign out from social media.

Allow yourself a time when you will indulge yourself - but stick to the time and then get back to your work space.

Finally, set some rules with family members - for example, if the door's closed, don't come in, I'm working!

Stay connected

In these times when we are being asked to self isolate we do tend to focus on the word 'isolate'.

I know it's obvious but the isolation in this case is physical.  There are lots of ways to stay connected to the rest of your colleagues.

Don't be shy when you need to speak with someone; pick up the 'phone to your boss or even schedule a video call.  Zoom is a brilliant free app that allows you to have a 'meeting' with more than one person at a time.

Schedule in calls with your boss, too, so you can go over the work you have done and what you are still to do - set yourself goals and share them - and share the results too!

Stay out of the kitchen

One of the the things that people say when they first move out of an office into a home work space is they were shocked about the number of visits they made to the fridge.

It is very easy to graze, especially when you get distracted.

If you think you'll be a grazer, fill your fridge with healthy snacks.

By extension home working may make eating more a temptation; it may also lead to less exercise.  More food and less exercise could have a catastrophic effect on your waistline.

So force yourself out for a walk at least once a day but preferably at the start, in the middle and at the end of the day.

Finally - enjoy it.  At home we try to create an environment we like to live in.  Having the opportunity to spend more time in that environment is a bonus so don't be too hard on yourself and stay focused.

Some Changes to Road Fund License, Benefits In Kind and Cars Generally

‘Should I buy a car through my company?’

It’s a question we’re often asked and often it’s just not clear cut.

The Benefit In Kind you pay personally is often outweighed by the potential for a company to arrange finance more cheaply.

Claiming 45 pence per mile personally can often be more beneficial than having the company pay for individual motoring expenses.

Having said all that, some changes are afoot, especially if you want to join the electric revolution.  The changes reflect the government’s desire to drive down CO2 emissions and to encourage fleet managers to clean up their act.

So, from 6^th April 2020 for the 2020/21 tax year the Benefit In Kind on most electric vehicles drops from 16% to 0%.  It then increases to a minuscule 1% and 2% over the next two years. 

After that it’s a bit less certain but clearly this is a huge incentive to at the very least consider the electric option.

But what about the other side of the environmental coin… the fossil fuel guzzling gas monsters.  Or, in other words, petrol and diesel cars.

Well, from 1^st April 2020 all new registrations will have their new official emissions figures.  A lot of cars are going to show an increase which in turn could well affect the Road Fund License and Benefit In Kind calculations.

I think you can probably see what the government is trying to get at here… so, if you’re wedded to the idea of petrol or diesel it might well be worth taking a pre-registered or stock vehicle.

If you’re a titan of the new environmental age then you might want to consider an electric vehicle after 6^th April…

As always, if you’d like to talk through your options do drop us a line or give us a call and we’ll happily talk through your business options.

You can get us on: 0131 202 9888

or email us on: westedinburgh@taxassist.co.uk

Making Tax Digital

Well, it finally arrived on 1st April and without that much of a fanfare...

But it's here with us nevertheless.  Making Tax Digital is live and compulsory although for the moment only for VAT registered businesses with turnover of over more than £85,000... with a few exceptions.

Other VAT registered business, corporation tax and even personal tax will be coming on stream with MTD over the next couple of years.

Like anything new we're experiencing a wide spectrum of responses... from the 'great, this is a brilliant new system' to the 'I'll just keep doing it the way I used to do it' (which isn't an option, by the way).

The main change for the moment is the way that businesses file their VAT returns.

What this means is that a business has to use Functional Compatible Software to file their VAT returns.

What is Functional Compatible Software?

Well, in lay mans's terms - which, to be entirely honest, is the only way I can understand it - it's software that can communicate directly with HMRC and can receive information from HMRC in return.

The software could be one piece of software or linked software.  But if it's linked it has be via what's been dubbed a 'digital connection'.  So an upload of information directly from a bank feed to a bookkeeping package is a digital link.  A copy and paste from one spreadsheet to another isn't.

In a practical sense this is a pretty major change.  What used to happen with VAT returns is that we'd calculate the VAT figure - either on spreadsheets or in cloud based bookkeeping systems - and then we'd type to same information into HMRC's website.

And it's this typing that HMRC is keen to get rid of.

What's going to happen in the future is that VAT returns are going to be compiled on Functional Compatible Software (or on a platform which has the same functionality) and filed directly to HMRC.

With me so far?

No?

Okay - if you are subject to MTD you essentially have two choices.  Either you start using a cloud based bookkeeping system which has been signed off by HMRC or you buy what's known as Bridging Software.

Bridging Software is a piece of code that is embedded in a spreadsheet which allows it to communicate with HMRC.

What's our stance on this (I think) I hear you ask?

Well, bridging software is fine but there's a cost attached and that cost only gives you the ability to file your VAT returns, in other words to do what you already do.

However, cloud based bookkeeping software has a cost but gives so many enhanced features that will save you time and effort (such as hooking up your bank accounts so that all you do is categorise and match transactions) that we believe in the vast majority of cases a move from spreadsheets to digital bookkeeping is the best thing for a business.

If you'd like to find out more about our cloud based bookkeeping and enhanced data capture software just give us a buzz and we'll arrange a demo with you.

0131 202 9888

Come Dine With TaxAssist

So another year (to be fair only the second year) of Come Dine With TaxAssist has come to a close.

Just to give you a little bit of background so you know what on Earth I'm talking about:

Each Autumn we run Come Dine With TaxAssist.  Team members either pair up with other team members, husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends or even just mates.

We then randomly draw names out of hat and the pairings are up against two other groups.

Each group hosts the other two who then score them out of ten for food, entertainment and overall how much they enjoyed the night.

This time round we had an Australian and s*%t jumper night which just happened to be on hallowe'en and therefore (obviously) involved dookin' for miniatures... obviously.

We had French Night which featured some pretty terrible French Cafe music and charades.  One of the films was Free Willy... I leave to your imagination to work out how that one was mimed out.

There was Oriental Night with some pretty fantastic cooking and finally, last week, Eighties Night.

Eighties Night involved a fair amount of plastic jewelry, espadrilles, leg warmers and Lycra!

It also featured two game shows from my youth - Bulls Eye and Play Your Cards Right!

All brilliant nights out; this year the team have really thrown themselves into the event and loads of effort was put into each evening by both the hosts and it has to be said the guests.  Amazon has done very well out of us this year.

Except for Eighties Night... Richard seemed to have most of his outfit already in his wardrobe!

So all that's left now is to announce the winners which we'll do at our Christmas Night out.

All just a bit of fun through the Autumn and in the run up to Christmas but I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who put in so much effort to make this year's event such a good one.

Onward and upward next year with even more couples taking part and more 'interesting' and varied themed nights!

Scams - people pretending to be HMRC

Be careful out there people...

The scammers and ne'er do wells are out and about trying to con you out of your hard earned...

You may have heard of these two scams before but a timely reminder is probably in order.

Just to re-iterate - HMRC will never get in touch with you by email about a refund or money that needs to be paid to them.

So, this is how the two scams work:

Someone pretending to be HMRC will either call or email and say that you are due a refund.  If it's a call they'll ask you for your bank account details so a refund can be made.

If it's an email it will either ask you to click a link and enter your bank details or respond to the email with bank details.  In both instances horrible things will happen to your PC...

Sometimes the email received looks pretty convincing but often it just doesn't look right; it doesn't have the right layout or privacy message and often the English isn't very good.

The real giveaway, though is if you hover (DO NOT CLICK) over the email address - it may say HMRC in the description but when you hover it comes up with something completely different.

So, the real HMRC will never ask for your account details this way.  If a refund is due it will either be paid to account details submitted with your tax return, by cheque or there will be a refund via PAYE in your salary.

The second scam is even more worrying.

Someone pretending to be from HMRC will call and say that you have an unpaid tax bill that has to be paid today if you are to avoid enforcement action.  Sometimes it's by email.

Usually the amount isn't very much - maybe £300 - £500 - and the person on the other end of the 'phone will ask you to make a payment by card immediately.

Over the 'phone.

Or face dire consequences.

HMRC will never ask for money in this way.  If you are concerned that a call may not be from HMRC ask for some proof over the 'phone or tell the person that you will hang up and call in to the HMRC public telephone numbers.

NEVER GIVE ANY INFORMATION AWAY.  YOU MAY GET ASKED FOR YOUR NATIONAL INSURANCE NUMBER TO PROVE WHO YOU ARE.

DO NOT GIVE IT.

The best plan of action is simply to hang up because the more you engage with these people the more they will sound credible and you'll doubt yourself.

If you are really unsure about whether it's HMRC and you're one of our customers - give us a call - 0131 202 9888 - and we'll call HMRC for you just to set your mind at rest.

And the people the scammers are targeting: older people and students.

Please share this blog to get the message out there.

What's on in 2018 (or at least what's left of it...)

Is time pinging by really fast for anyone else?

Or is it just me?

www.xmasclock.com (just saying)

Actually I know the answer to that question.  Everyone I ask says that 2018 has flashed by like no other they can remember.

It was summed up neatly when I overheard one of our team (who's 24 (when I was 24 years old Friday seemed like a lifetime away on a Monday morning)) talking to a colleague.

'Monday morning, again!' said the colleague with a bit of a sigh in her voice.

'I wouldn't worry about it,' says our 24 year old, 'it'll be Friday again in five minutes!'

And I get the sense that time isn't going to slow up just yet, especially when there's so much to get through in 2018 - and into 2019 if I'm honest.

Okay, so let's start with tax (well we would, wouldn't we).

Having delayed its introduction for a year Making Tax Digital is very much on the radar again - and HMRC have confirmed that the new process for reporting will go live from April 1st 2019.

Without doubt, no more delays, it is happening... according to HMRC.

I actually learned what HMRC is trying to do with Making Tax Digital the other day.  They want to become the most digitally enabled tax authority... in the World.

Nice

The first group of businesses to go live with Making Tax Digital are VAT registered limited companies... and companies with turnover of more than £85,000 even if not VAT registered - because they are making non-VATable supplies for example.

What MTD means is that companies and eventually just about everyone, will have to submit returns to HMRC four times a year and then submit a consolidating return, too.  It all has to be submitted digitally.

Over the first year returns will simply include the headline figures.  In future HMRC will have access to the background workings...

With Making Tax Digital on the horizon it's time to start the conversation again and we'll be out to all our customers who are affected by the new legislation with suggestions, plans, communications and processes... we'll do it bit by bit over the next five months.

Ahead of our communication about MTD if you have any questions get in touch - it's better to know!

What is a Trusted Adviser?

There's a lot of talk about change in the accountancy profession at the mo... although I guess that's true of any profession or indeed any walk of life.

Traditionally accountancy has been about historic data; getting a bunch of figures relating to income and expenditure that may have happened up to 21 months previously, knocking them into shape and creating a set of accounts for a customer to sign off.

But things are changing... or more accurately... have changed and will continue to change.

The phrase I hear a lot is 'from computation to consultation.'

I think I understand that.  Accountancy used to be about adding things up then taking them away to arrive at a figure - typically a profit or loss and as a result a tax bill or refund.

But customers are getting much more demanding - quite rightly so - and are looking for their accountant to provide much more than simply a set of accounts.

They want contact, information, help, advice and so on.  They want a 'Trusted Adviser'.

Apparently.

I thought I understood what one of those was but when someone asked me the other day I fumbled around for an answer for a few minutes before smiling weakly and sloping off to another meeting.

So, I did some research and I was pretty encouraged by what I found...

Firstly, a Trusted Adviser (I'll call them a TA from now on) is asked for by name and clients will seek them out for advice that goes beyond what might be expected.

For example, I was asked the other day about whether a customer could afford a new piece of machinery.  Something, as an accountant, you might expect to be asked.  On the same day I was also asked if I knew someone who could help fix a coffee machine and what would be a good rate to pay for dog walking.

In other words - the relationship isn't just technical.  There's the technical element in it, but it's more about a wider world view.

When asking about, our customers also said they liked the fact that we dress relatively casually - no pin striped suits for us.  That's because we want to like our customers not different from them.  We are business owners first and foremost and can fully appreciate the stresses and strains of running a business.

Other things that I discovered about TAs include 'communicating beyond the question'.  In other words, not just answering the question that was asked but giving the answer context and perhaps even exploring alternative solutions.

Business acumen is needed by a TA, big picture thinking, being technically strong as well as confidence in problem solving.

But the thing that separates TAs from any other 'service provider' is called Customer Thinking.

And that means thinking about any given situation from the customers point of view; asking the question 'how would I feel about that if I were the customer?'

And that's a TA