Using Our App

Our new app has all the things you'd expect from an app...

Funny pictures of the team, useful documents in a library, calendar, telephone numbers and so on.

But the the thing we're most proud of is the Expenses Module.

The Expenses Module allows you to keep track of your day to day expenses and your mileage... and it's all completely simple.

Here's an example.

First thing first - you need to download the app which you can do from the App Store or Google Play by searching TaxAssist Awesome.  (I know, I know - an app developer with a sense of humour!

You can get into the Expenses Module in one of two ways.

Ont he front page of the app there's a box called 'Expenses' - tap this.  Or int he top left hand corner of the screen there are three lines.  Tap on these and a menu opens - the Expenses Module is listed fairly near the bottom of your screen.  Just tap on the word.

Once you've done this, the Expenses Module opens.

To Add an Expense

Tap 'Add and Expense'.

The first time only you'll need to add your name - either yours or your business.  Once you've done this tap on each white box to complete the process:

• Date of Expense - this brings up a calendar.  We suggest you add an expenses as soon as it's incurred
• Supplier - just a short description.  So if it's your lunch, for example, just type 'Greggs'.  (Other sandwich shops are available!)
• Category - this will bring up a menu - simply select the expense type.  For your lunch it would 'Travelling expenses'
• Amount - add in the amount.  This is the total you paid including any VAT which is specified on your receipt

All good so far?

Here comes the really clever bit.

If there's VAT applied to whatever you've bought tap 'Yes' box to the next question.  If there isn't, tap 'No'.

It doesn't matter whether you're VAT registered or not yourself.  Confirming that VAT has been paid will simply separate the VAT element out on the CSV file that gets sent to us.

Finally, if you have the receipt tap the final box 'Yes'.  You will then be prompted to take a photo of the receipt.  The app then attaches the photo to the expense.

You can throw the receipt away.

Finally, finally REMEMBER TO TAP 'SAVE' IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER!

Choices

Once you have a number of expenses you might want to submit them to someone.

If we're looking after your bookkeeping, accounts or your personal tax return you'll need to send your expenses to us.

You can do this once a month, quarterly once a year... whenever.

And it's really easy to do.

Back on the front page of the Expenses Module click on the button that says 'Export All'.

You will be prompted to select a date range for the expenses you wish to export.

When you've entered the date range you need, tap 'Export'.  The default email where your expenses will be sent is us... but you can change that to whatever email address you want.

So, you could send the expenses spreadsheet to yourself for your own records!

Next week, I'll talk you through the Mileage Calculator... which is brilliant, too.  Of course, feel free to get in touch if you'd like some help with it before next week.

0131 202 9888.

To download our app visit the App Store or Google Play:

Mortgages

Pretty often, in the past, we've been asked if we 'do' mortgages.

'Well, no...' we always replied, because we didn't 'do' mortgages; we simply referred on to other people.

Then, one day, a customer of ours called us in a state of what I can only call apoplexy.

Not at us, fortunately... but at his mortgage broker.

He'd just learned that he'd been turned down for a mortgage because of his situation.  Essentially his situation is that he's a director of a limited company, pays himself a small wage and takes dividends for the rest.

Standard stuff, but the mortgage broker didn't understand this, submitted an application based a very small wage without explaining the full circumstances and lo and behold, his client got rejected.

Painful... and not a nice conversation for us to have, either, even though it was nothing to do with us per se.

But we have this rejection to thank for what we did next.

Find My Mortgage is a new mortgage broker based in our offices in Corstorphine, Dunfermline and Goldenacre.

You can find out a bit more about the business here: https://www.facebook.com/findmymortgage/

Here are the essentials.

Find My Mortgage is run by Neil Johnston.  The FMM philosophy is simple - to make finding the right mortgage for any given set of circumstances as easy and as stress free as possible... they would even go as far as saying 'enjoyable'!

And this philosophy runs through everything Neil and Richard do.  From the very simple things - you won't find a pin striped suit nor a a tie between them - to the more fundamental.

For example, how they get to know you and your circumstances, what you're trying to achieve and what would work best for you.

Find My Mortgage has access to the whole of the mortgage market and they can help you find the right mortgage quickly and efficiently.

So, here's what we would really love... if are thinking about:

1. Moving house or buying your first home
2. Reviewing or renewing your Buy to Let mortgage (whether it's fixed rate or variable interest)
3. Consolidating some debts into one loan
4. Building an extension for which you need to borrow some money

Please do give Find My Mortgage a buzz on 0131 441 1000.

How to Choose an Accountant

I do recognise that I may be biased but I have some pretty clear ideas about accountants, how to choose the right one for you and what your accountant should do for you.

So I thought I'd write about it and you can make your own mind up about my potential bias.

Let's get cracking, strangely, with what accountants shouldn't  be doing to encourage you to sign up with them...

What they shouldn't be saying is something along the lines of 'Come to us because the accounts we produce will be accurate...'

That's a bit like going into a motor dealership and the sales person saying 'Buy this car, all four wheels are entirely round...'

I mean, when you think about it, what's the alternative?  A car with three round wheels and a square one?  An accountant who produces inaccurate accounts?

Accurate accounts are the minimum that any customer should expect.  After all, the end product - a tax return, VAT figure or set of accounts - should all be the same, notwithstanding interpretation of the rules and the odd mistake.  They all come from the same raw materials: the records provided by the customer.

How do you make a choice, then?  Because, unless an accountant explains why they're the best choice for you and/or your business there's only one thing that will really drive your decision: price.

And we all know cheap does not mean the best.

To help make the choice here are my top six tests for choosing an accountant:

1. First and foremost, do you actually like the accountant you are thinking about signing up with?  After all, you might well be asking them for advice... and even better, they could actually be proactive and call you with some ideas.  If you get on well with your accountant, you have a good relationship with them, then you are more likely to receive relevant advice because the accountant knows more about you and you are more likely to respect (and take) the advice given.
2. Will you have a named contact - someone who you can build a day to day relationship with so you know who to call and you don't have to explain the same things over and over again?  Of course, it's not always possible to speak to the same person every time (they might be allowed holidays) but in general terms it really helps.
3. It may sound a little silly but do you actually like going into the office?  Are the people friendly and do they seem genuinely pleased to see you.  A lot of practices measure their staff in chunks of time and so they don't have time to invest in a bit of banter... once again, if you enjoy visiting your accountant's office you are more likely to on a regular basis and you are more likely to get the advice you are looking for.
4. Are your fees fixed?  If you are charged by time this can make things difficult - you might not know how much you are actually going to be charged and it might make you more reticent about calling or visiting...
5. Is your accountant investing in technology?  Do they have their own app for completing expenses claim forms, for example?  Do they promote a cloud based bookkeeping system such as QuickBooks?  And here's another easy test - do they have two screens on every desk?  If they do they are probably investing in technology which is very, very important.
6. And finally, do you get the impression they want you to succeed?  It's a bit difficult to tell, but if you asked would they put your business card out in their office?  Do they invite you to networking events from time to time?  If you asked them for a recommendation to another business, do you believe they would be able to do it?

Ultimately, of course, the choice depends on what you, the customer want and need from your accountant, so if the person your sitting in front of you asks 'What are you looking for from your accountant?'  You're probably onto a winner!

Our New App

I've been banging on about our new app for a while but it genuinely is just around the corner.

And we're really excited about it... for a number of reasons.

But mostly because our app is not just a pretty face, it serves a genuine purpose which should make your life as a business owner easier... and, if I'm entirely honest it'll make our lives easier, too.

So, I (kind of) hear you ask - what's so useful about your blog?

Well, apart from all the other stuff you usually get on apps from accountants - things like a directory so you can get in touch with us really easily, fabulous pictures of the team, some documents and an outline of the tax year... I can hear you all glazing over from here.

Apart from all that there's a really neat Expenses function.

The Expenses function allows you to do a couple of things.

Firstly you can record expenses... the app allows you to make a note of the amount and categorise the expense.  You can then take a photo of the receipt and get rid of it.

Secondly, you can record your mileage.  Just put in your start location, destination and whether it's a round trip or a trip with multiple stops and click a button.

Okay - all well and good.  But here's the really good bit.

Every month you can hit a button and our app wraps up all your expenses, turns them into a spreadsheet, attaches the photos of your receipts and emails them to us.

And you can do the same with your monthly mileage claim.

But now for the quid pro quo - the bit that makes our lives just a bit easier... but only if you're on QuickBooks (our cloud based bookkeeping package).

The spreadsheet we get from your app is already configured so we can directly upload to QuickBooks.

That means a couple of things - we can get information to you quicker and more efficiently.  In turn this means you can be better prepared for whatever your finances throw at you.

The second thing is that we are starting to make the collection of information from you easier and easier - something we're really keen to do.

Now to the rub... we need something from you!

We're actually looking for 10 volunteers to download the app and use it and report back on how they find it.  It should be too onerous, just tell us really briefly what works, what doesn't and what else you'd like to see.

If you'd like to be a Guinea Pig, just email richardlambert@taxassist.co.uk and he'll do the rest.

Celebrity Friends...

I have a stupid and ridiculous but still pathological aversion to 'celebrity'.

You know the sort of thing I mean; Rylan (is that how you spell it?) who was on the X Factor a couple of years ago.  He's what I would call a celebrity: but why?  When all is said and done, he's a celebrity for being a rubbish singer... albeit, he's still a better singer than me.

But then again, I'm not a celebrity.

There's no rhyme nor reason to my aversion - I've never met Rylan or any other celebrity for that matter - and he might well be a perfectly nice bloke.  In fact he probably is...

It's just that to me, there's no substance, just ambition.

I don't know where my aversion comes from, either.  But I can remember when it first manifested itself.

I used to work for a high street bank that shall remain nameless, but listened very well.  My second branch was in a city that had a quite a big football club (which will also remain nameless for reasons that will become obvious in a little bit) in the old first division before the days of the Premier League.

My job was on the front desk dealing with all sorts of queries and questions; everything from what's my balance to can I have a loan.

Anyway, one day two famous footballers came in with their attendant WAGs.  I recognised them straight away but decided, for whatever reason, to keep stum.

One of the footballers swaggered (yes, swaggered) up to the front desk.

'Are my wages in?'  He demanded in a particularly demanding voice.

On the inside I bristled.  But on the outside I was very calm.

'I'll check for you... what's your name and who do you work for?'

His eye brows shot up and his footballer friend (whom I also recognised as an international player started laughing.

Anyway, player one told me his name and gave me his employer... saying it as though I should know it (which I did) just because he was a famous footballer.

Now it was my turn to ham it up.

'Really?'  Says I, 'you work at the football club?  Do you know any of the players?'

Hah, slam dunk, right between the eyes and victory was mine.  His colleague was now properly laughing and the WAGs were waving their shoulder pads at me in annoyance.

Then I checked his wages.

Three wins and a draw in a month, played in every game, scored in two of them.

Even back in 1988 his month's wages amounted to... £28,000

Blast.

Now, don't get me wrong, I strongly believe that if someone can command a high salary because of what they do whether they save lives, create jobs or they entertain millions, that's all well and good... I begrudge no-one their salary.

But please, please can we back up ambition with talent before we celebrate celebrity?

Booking.com

Don't get me wrong... I really like booking.com.

I like the way the website and App interact with each other and with me... I like the way the booking process works and I even like the (pretty constant) suggestions of places I might like to visit.

And I certainly like the prices.

For example, I've been doing a bit of work in London recently.  My work has been based near the Royal Albert Hall and, as you can imagine finding somewhere to stay nearby was proving to be, shall we say, pricey.

So, booking.com to the rescue.

It took a bit of searching but I eventually found what looked like a very nice four star hotel called the Park Grand in Bayswater, just the other side of Hyde Park - a pleasant 20 minute walk from where I was working.

And, even better, it was 50% off on booking.com.  Now, I have to say that didn't make the single room I booked exactly cheap, but at least it was a realistic £100 a night instead of the advertised £200.

I fetched up on Sunday evening at the hotel and experienced booking.comism for the first time.

It's a bit like sexism but funny rather than simply wrong.

First of all checking was fine and I was allocated room 019... 'round the corner to the lift, sir'.

So I went to the lift and went up.

First mistake.

I walked back down to the ground floor and kept following the signs - down into the basement.  And there I found room 019.  I have to say it had everything a room should have.  A wardrobe, single bed, desk and shower room.

But no floor space... almost literally.  I could stretch my arms out and touch both walls... but, okay; after all I was really only going to sleep in the room.  It was comfortable enough.

I went back to reception to check what time breakfast was in the morning.  But it occurred to me to ask: 'does my room come with breakfast included?'

The same guy who checked me simply looked me straight in the eye and said:

'Booking.com.  No, sir'.

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.