Every manager needs to be well acquainted with the performance of their employees. It’s an essential part of the job. You can’t make any effective changes if you don’t know who is lacking and why they aren’t reaching their full potential. A lot of managers, including us from MAUS Business Systems, use staff performance software to help them keep track of many employees and their progress over time. These programs come with their own pros and cons.
So, you’ve done it. You’ve had an idea, you’ve launched a business, it’s even started to grow. Congratulations; you’ve cleared your first set of hurdles. But what do you do next? You have information coming at you from every angle. Demands on your time are growing and your available time is dwindling. How do you know which information matters? And how do you keep the momentum going, or even build to the next level? Every business is different, but some requirements are universal, and some data should never be overlooked.
If you’re a business owner attempting to expand your brand and client base, millennials can be an attractive choice. It can be difficult to figure out how to start appealing to this new base. Even precise timelines for millennials are hard to pin down, but the general understanding is that the youngest of them are finishing college and the oldest are approaching 40 years of age. Thankfully, pinning down their tastes have been a bit easier than pinning down their age demographic.
Every time you create content for an email campaign, a landing page or an advertisement, you want the copy to be powerful enough to convert visitors to sales. Our detailed guide for small business owners covers seven ways to create content that has a bottom-line impact and generates more leads.
As only 57% of businesses have recently reported that they are ready for the Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT deadline, we want to ensure that small business owners are prepared for the future of accountancy. Essentially, the industry is in a period of transition where businesses with an annual turnover over the current VAT threshold of £85,000 (as of 2019/20) are required to digitalise their VAT accounts.
Reviews can be an important part of attracting new customers for small businesses, and most consumers now utilise reviews and ratings to give them guidance on whether or not to use the services or products on offer.
Businesses often think of training as a benefit for the employee – a way to build skills and level up in their career. Sometimes this kind of thinking hinders companies, especially small ones, from offering comprehensive training and implementing training programmes. However, this narrow view only harms businesses, big and small, in the long run.
Readers question: I have set up my own catering company at the moment and I am doing the food in a large Irish bar in Edinburgh. I will be paying my employee and buying all the food stock etc. My query is, would I be better off being an employee of my company and paying tax NI as normal with the addition of employer NI, or would I be better to take dividends monthly as my salary, my salary will be £40,000 per annum.
January 31st has now passed. Most people spent the arrival of February with their tax return submitted well in advance, while others were exhausted after rushing to file it. And a few will have missed the deadline altogether.
Digital Marketing: simple or complex? Broken down, the principals, the channels and the objectives are pretty straightforward. Designing the right strategy, however, is where things become a little obtuse. All channels need to work in conjunction, and require constant attention, while your tactics need to evolve as your data does. On all channels, knowing and understanding your audience is essential.
We are still not sure what kind of Brexit we will get. Even assuming a ‘good’ Brexit, will we be thrown into another recession? Will history repeat itself and, if so, what will this mean for start-ups, SMEs, and investors?
Readers Question: I was wondering how do I record refunds that I give to clients for services not received in my accounts. Should I amend the invoice or does it go on my expenses side?
For any business to prosper, whether it be a small start-up or a global conglomerate, instigating a good ethic of teamwork is absolutely essential. Having good teamwork in a company can improve morale, build productivity and ultimately result in a happier, more effective and ultimately, more successful workforce and business.
When you are busy and know you have money coming in it can be tempting to avoid the question: Is my business truly making a profit? You start a business with a purpose in mind and achieving that requires profit whether the aim is to support your family through to changing the world. Often the purpose is undermined because the business owner does not know enough about how to create the profits they need.
Each business will have a set of company values and a company culture that is adhered to by the majority of their employees. It’s important as the boss and the business owner to set these values and culture as they need to go hand in hand with your business brand and image. Although these are internal matters, it helps your employees stay in tune with your business brand. For example, if you are preaching gender equality, your company values and culture need to reflect and support that.
A company retreat can seem like a pre-paid vacation to some and yet another work obligation to others. Companies today are recognising more and more that company retreats are highly valuable for the morale and overall productivity of their employees. At the same time, companies that have never run a retreat before may not be entirely sure where to start.
Readers Question: I do fostering and am classed as self-employed and I have an accountant that deals with my accounts and also my personal allowances with the tax office. I am thinking of running a property business – buy to let and set up a limited company. Will I need a different accountant to deal with my small business company hence 2 accountants?
History has a habit of looking unfavourably towards individuals and corporations who don’t hold up to the scrutiny of modern morality. This is evidenced by the demonisation of all slave traders, colonisers and sexual exploiters of history, who often were simply doing what was ‘perfectly legal’ in their period of history.
It’s fair to say that cruelty-free is having its moment. From animal welfare and non-animal testing to veganism, increasing numbers of people are demanding transparency from businesses in terms of their practices.
Here are some tax and finance tips which could help you save money as a limited company owner, based on our experience of running limited companies, and dealing with accountants and tax advisors over the past 15 years.
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