A funny old time...

It's a funny old time in business at the moment...

What with the Brexit* vote and the potential for (yet another) referendum, this time for Scottish Independence, there's quite a lot going on.

And, it seems to me, there are a lot of people, mostly politicians - all of whom are an awful lot smarter than me, talking about uncertain times ahead.

But I don't see it.

This is my philosophy on things:

No matter what happens the sun will come up tomorrow (although it might be behind some cloud) and it will go down again at the end of the day.  That's certain.

And, do you know what?: people are still going to need their haircut and to have a cup of coffee on their way to work.  They need their front rooms decorated and their showers fixed.  They need new carpets and their cars still need an MoT.

Who knows what will happen in the political world tomorrow?  I for one have decided not to worry about it and I'm not going to think about what might happen if this or that occurs because that way will only lead to more uncertainty.  And my uncertainty won't help anyone I know.

I truly believe that how these days pan out is down to us - us who work in small businesses delivering service, building things and doing things for customers day in day out.

Why do I think like this?

Well, I'm lucky enough to meet lots of people doing lots of things in business.  We have every business you could think of as clients from scientists to builders and singers to tailors.  And there's business out there for everyone.  I've heard 'experts' predict that there might be 15% fall in business (whatever that means).

I don't believe that but even if there was, it means 85% of business is still being done.

So, let's just stop talking about uncertainty and get on with doing business and it will be better for everyone.

I've got another idea.  Let's build a big wall (at least a metaphorical one) around politics and let them think the big thoughts, talk about things endlessly and worry about uncertainty whilst we just crack on with things.

But then, I guess that's we always do isn't it?

As a final point, I would say that I know my view is overly simplistic but simple is good sometimes.

*I've been trying to find relevant and useful information on Brexit and what it means definitively...   And I can't find anything.  That's because it doesn't exist.  No-one knows what it means so I can't help thinking we can create anything we want out of this situation.

Time

I live in Edinburgh...

And life is pretty fast paced.

I get into work about 9 in the morning.  I look at my watch and it's 5 to 1 - lunch time.  I look again and its quarter past 5.  I look for a final time and it's 7.30.

Every day is like that, without fail.  Even the weekends go by in a flash and I certainly can't believe that it's the middle of June - the year only just seems to have got going and I'm thinking about booking the team's Christmas dinner!

Has anyone else noticed how life seems to be going by faster and faster?  I've worked out exactly why this happens.

Think about this.

When you are 10 years old - 1 year of your life equals 10% of the time you've been alive - a big proportion.

But when you're 50 (which I virtually am) 1 year of your life represents only 2% of the total - hence it goes by a lot quicker.

I said to Renee last year (2015) 'time is flashing by so quickly - 2014 went by in a blur.  We really need to slow 2015 down.'

She just looked at me with a withering stare, shook her head and said, 'You idiot... it's November!'

Fair point.

Anyway, to the point of this blog.

Last week Renee and I went to visit my Mum and Dad who live in a little place called Oulton Broad in Suffolk... Oulton Broad is the only Norfolk Broad that's not actually in Norfolk.

We arrived Monday evening and by Tuesday afternoon we'd noticed something very strange.

Time was moving much slower.

I got up about 8 and a bit later I looked at my watch.  It was only half past 9.  In Edinburgh it would have been 1pm.

We went walking, walked for hours along the banks of the River Waveney and still arrived in Beccles before lunch.

I looked at my watch later in the evening: 9pm!

How could this be?  Is there some time shift somewhere around King's Lynn?  After all, it can't be anything to do with having time off because Saturdays in Edinburgh flash by just as fast as a week day!

So what is it?

And can it be bottled for later?

Because I sure as eggs are eggs know that I need to slow down time some how.

Any suggestions?

Let Property Campaign

Whatever we think of HMRC, bless them, I have to say I believe they are entirely fair.

At least they have been in my dealings with them.

A little black and white, maybe, but entirely fair nonetheless.

A little bit difficult to deal with, sometimes, but entirely fair.

A little intransigent, I grant you, but entirely fair.

That's why I'm a bit surprised at the HMRC Let Property Campaign (LPC).  A whole unit has been set up within HMRC to make the campaign run smoothly and in my dealings with them they have been excellent.

Just to recap what the LPC is all about.

Some people own a second property which they let out to tenants.  They receive rent from their tenant and if the income received is more than the allowable expenses they make a profit.  This profit is taxed... as long as HMRC knows about it.

That's why, with a very few exceptions, everyone who rents out a property needs to fill in a self assessment tax return every year to declare this profit.

However, for whatever reason, some people don't do this.  They've forgotten they have the property, they don't think they need to fill in a tax return, the dog ate it and so on...

And once a tax return is missed one year and the world doesn't come to an end, the following year it's just a little easier not to complete a return and the next year is easier still.  

All of a sudden 10 years have been missed and now the weight of guilt begins to build up.  The person in question is just waiting for the letter, the 'phone call or even the visit (very unlikely) from HMRC to say 'you're nicked, mate'.

But all HMRC wants, being entirely fair, is everyone to pay the tax they are due and so the Let Property Campaign was born to make it easy for landlords to bring their affairs up to date (to quote the website).

There are two ways the campaign works.  A landlord can 'fess up' and get in touch with the campaign to say they have a property and they want to take part in the campaign.

Or...

HMRC gets wind of the property and writes to the landlord with a reference number and inviting them to come clean.  And, by the way, if you have a property you haven't declared this is getting more and more likely as the landlord registration scheme really kicks in.

Option 1 (fessing up voluntarily) is preferable from a fines point of view but in either case the process is simple enough: work out what level of profit you made by renting out the property over however many years you've had it, select the level of penalty you believe you should pay, work out the interest that's due and make an offer to HMRC.

They'll check your figures and either say 'yes' or 'no' depending on whether they believe you.

Once they agree and you pay everything becomes formal and that's it.

You get to sleep easy again.

We've completed quite a few of these now for a customers and we do all the negotiation with HMRC and even fill in the forms.

If you need any help or even just want to talk through your options, get in touch: 0131 202 9888 or via Facebook:

facebook.com/accountantsedinburgh

Techno Wizard...

... I ain't.

But techophobe neither.

I sit somewhere slap bang in the middle.  I like technology for what it can do but not for technology's sake if you see what I mean.  I need someone to tell me what's possible...

Let me give you an example.

I was at a networking event several years ago and I was talking to an IT guy.  Unfortunately I'd exhausted the subjects of weather, football, politics and quantum physics so I thought I'd better ask him something about IT.

As I said this was a few years back so the I-Pad had been about for a while but wasn't very widespread yet.  This is what I heard myself saying:

'I can't really see the point of an I-Pad, can you?'

This was the response I got:

'Your I-Pad will occupy the space between your I-Phone and your laptop.'

'Uh-huh?  Really?'  Says I nodding wisely and wondering what possible response to give because I wasn't actually aware of the space between my I-Phone and my laptop.  'Is there a space between..?'

'Oh, yes,' says the IT guy before wandering off, clearly bored with my conversation.

The next week I was away working.  And, along with many sad gits I was having breakfast on my own in the hotel restaurant.  I didn't want to just stare into space whilst waiting for my eggs so I was watching the news on my I-Phone when I looked around at my fellow saddos.

And lo and behold they were watching the news, too... but on their I-Pads.  There was a space between I-Phone and laptop after all!

Up to date now - well, a few months ago...

I had the thought that we need to move with the times and have our own app...

And I was asked the inevitable question by my co-directors: 'Why?'

Errmmm... to improve client engagement and facilitate the transfer of information (I seemed to remember from the blurb the app development company sent to me.)

There was a sad shaking of the heads and a very quiet moment...

But after a while as we started thinking about what our own app would look like we found the reason to have one and started the ball rolling.

I am delighted to tell you that our very own app is going to be launched in a few weeks.

It will allow us to chase people for records, send information that will be useful and relevant, tell people about us... but it will also keep track of mileage claims and expenses, sending the info to us at regular intervals.

More details to follow - but we're excited about this one!

Buy1Give1

I guess very few experiences are genuinely life changing.

Sometimes we go through an event and it changes our attitude to something, or we enjoy (or hate) something so much we decide to do more (or less) of it in the future...

But rarely does something affect us so profoundly that everything changes.

I actually had one of those experiences in April at the ActionCOACH Business Excellence Forum conference.

Generally speaking the conference was great with lots of inspirational and motivational speakers with brilliant business ideas.  I came back with a notebook full of them and some of them I've even acted upon.

But there was one speaker, called Paul Dunn, who talked about things guys at these conferences tend to talk about.  Things like making lots of small changes instead of trying to make whacking great big ones and so on...

But then he started talking about a... I hardly know how to describe it... a movement he's involved with called Buy1Give1.  Sometimes shortened to B - 1 - G -1.  Not Bigi as someone once said!.

Buy1Give1 struck a chord with all three of us directors and I think it made an impact for different reasons.

For me giving to charity is a complicated thing (in my mind).  After all, who do you give to, how much and how do you know it gets to the right place?  I occasionally will text in a donation in response to a TV advert but I'm put off doing this by the telephone calls that inevitably follow and I usually give something at Children In Need time.

For me, though, B1G1 gives us as a business a fantastic opportunity to make impacts which we control.  We control how much we spend and it's amazing how a few dollars can make huge impacts on peoples' lives when given in the right way.

For Renee, I think it was to do with the fact that B1G1 gives us a reason to create impacts and as we create more impacts we build stories that we can share... (and please note the language - it's not about giving to charity, it's about impacting someone's life).

For Rowena it was more about the opportunity to include the team, to provide them with budgets and opportunities to make impacts by contributing to one of many, many projects there are available.

B1G1 makes it very easy for me to have an impact on someone's life who hasn't been as fortunate as I have.  It also gives me a reason and a way of doing it regularly, quietly and in a small way without the need or requirement for a grand gesture.

And I like that.

It's not for everyone but if you'd like to see how it works visit www.b1g1.com

Thank you.

Corporate Difficulties

I try not to rant too much in these blogs but my unwritten rule is about to be broken.

I shan't name names unless you force me to but you won't be able to get anyO2thing from me.

Whatever you say won't make me Talk Talk, it doesn't matter how Hot your Point is you just won't be able to make me Volvo.  Did I say Volvo?  I meant talk.

So, we got new 'phones recently and as part of the deal I had to send the old 'phones back... which I did in the bags provided.

I then got a letter saying that if I didn't send the 'phones back my account would be debited with £661.  Of course, I rang to complain and the guy at the nameless 'phone company said 'nope, the 'phones had arrived and all was okay.'

The next letter to arrive said they had our 'phones and would be charging me £52.50 for damage to a case.  Fair enough - there was a dent and a chip.

Then I checked my bank account and £661 had been debited.

So, of course, I called.  There was a profuse apology and a promise to refund me £661.  Immediately?  No.  In 10 to 15 days.  Working days!

How is that fair?

But then I suddenly thought to myself 10 days later that I hadn't had the refund... except I had - my O2 (ooops - there, I've spilled the beans) account had been credited but I should have been told that I had to call again to get my bank account refunded.

I asked for the refund - guess how long before I'll get it.

Yep... you're quite right.  Another 10 to 15 days!  O2 could have my money - more than £600 - for nearly a month... and they took it incorrectly.  Some would say 'stole'... but not me of course.  Just some.

Talk about incensed.

And talk about Talk Talk.

I got an email that said I was moving out of my house and other people were moving in and didn't want Talk Talk anymore.

First I'd heard of it - I ain't moving and I hadn't been in touch with said company.  Could it be anything to do with data being stolen and other companies taking advantage?

Just asking.

So, I called.  The first two people clearly didn't understand:

'So, you wanted to leave Talk Talk and now you've changed your mind..?'

'No, I never wanted to leave in the first place.'

'But it says on our system that we have a termination request.'

'Well it didn't come from me.'

'Who did it come from then?'

'How the bloody hell should I know?'

'Please don't use offensive language...'

The third person said they'd sort it, which I didn't believe and lo and behold a letter turned up on Saturday saying our service would be terminated on 29th January.

So, another 'phone call which, to be fair, seemed to sort things.

I just wouldn't try to call me at home on the 29th January - just to be on the safe side, you understand!

Feeling Good

I've never found someone's wallet lying on the pavement... until today, that is.

I was walking Barney down to the office about lunchtime (and I know what you're thinking when I say that - but I wasn't skiving) and there it was.

Just laying in the middle of the pavement, with plastic cards scattered about it.

The mix of emotions I felt when I saw took me completely by surprise.

My first thought was: what a pain, I need to do something about this.

My second thought was guilt as I picked up the wallet... in case someone thought I was half inching it and my third thought, when I saw the family photographs was 'poor bloke'.

But once you've picked up a wallet, what do you do with it?  It felt wrong to put it in my pocket but what else was I supposed to do?

I looked round in vain for someone to hand  the problem off to... if only there was a passing police officer I could give it to.  But there was no-one.  Government cuts you see; there just aren't the same number of Bobbies on the beat as there used to be.

So I tried the shop outside which I found the wallet.

Nope, they didn't know who it was either.

There was only one thing for it; I was going to have to go through the wallet to look for some kind of contact details (more guilt at doing that) and lo and behold there was a business card for a local car dealership.

So I rang it on the off chance and got a lucky break: the guy was a customer of theirs.  The receptionist left a 'phone message for him and an hour later he called me.  Half an hour after that he came to the office and collected his wallet.

As I thought, it was the pictures of his wife with their grandson that he was most worried about losing but all's well that ends well and bloke and wallet were reunited.

And then I thought - what kind of muppet am I that a) my first thought was 'what I pain, I need to do something about this' and b) I felt guilty for picking up the wallet in the first place in case someone thought I was nicking it?

But, there you are... even being a muppet doesn't necessarily stop good things from happening.