Business Support

An experienced entrepreneur has taken up a key role to promote the needs of small businesses to government and ensure suppliers seize the benefits of the Procurement Act.

Shirley Cooper OBE, former chair and president of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, met Parliamentary Secretary Alex Burghart for the first time as Crown Representative for small businesses earlier this month. 

They discussed priorities for the next 12 months, with a focus on the implementation of the Procurement Act in October, which will see further benefits for start-ups and small businesses wishing to work with the government. These include simpler processes, greater transparency and access to opportunities, as well as strengthened payment terms which will maximise value for money and innovation in the government market.

Ms Cooper will lead on the overall relationship between the government and small businesses, making sure the government gets best value from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and that they in turn have the best possible opportunity to work with the government.

Shirley Cooper OBE said:

"I am delighted to take up this role and build on the work of my predecessor, Martin Traynor.

I look forward to working with colleagues across Government to make sure small businesses can seize the fantastic opportunities available to them in the public procurement process.” 

She will build on the work of Martin Traynor OBE, who is retiring after a five-year tenure in the post which culminated in the reforms of the Procurement Act 2023. 

Ms Cooper will also support the commitment to, and delivery of, increasing central government spend on SMEs. This spend has risen every year since 2016/17 and stood at a record £21.0 billion worth of work in 2021/2022. The Government spends around £300 billion every year on procurement.

She will be an advocate for small businesses, promoting their agenda both in government and externally. 

Most small business owners are happy, from a financial point of view, if sales are in line with expectations. And there are obvious grounds for this conclusion, after all, if sales dry up there are no funds feeding into cashflow.

Unfortunately, top-line sales are just one aspect of a business that measure bottom-line profitability.

To keep an eye on profitability traders must also monitor costs, and to monitor costs effectively businesses need to create a forecast or budget of future costs and compare actual costs with these numbers.

We encourage business clients to create forecasts on a rolling basis so they can see, in detail, how sales and costs are trending over the next year.

To round off these trading forecasts businesses also need to plot the effects of profit growth on their balance sheets.

Balance sheets gather the profits for the current trading period, add this to any retained profits brought forward and capital you have introduced, and display how this represented by the business assets and liabilities. For example, the value of fixed assets (plant, equipment and vehicles) and current assets (money owed to you, stocks etc), plus bank balances; less liabilities (loans, taxes due, bank overdrafts and so on).

Your balance sheet rounds off your management accounts reporting and together with a statement of profits (compared to forecasts) and cash flow provides you with the financial reporting to manage your business effectively. Making sure your sales are on track is one key indicator of financial well-being, but it is not a complete picture.

If you would like to consider setting up and managing your finances on a regular basis, please call.

If you are considering selling or buying to or from companies based outside the UK, you may well be overawed by the plethora of regulation you are required to be familiar.

As a first step, you could make use of the GOV.UK website and access HMRC’s “digital assistant”. You could use this to find out about:

• getting an EORI number 
• importing your personal belongings
• looking up commodity codes, duty and VAT rates
• trading with Northern Ireland

Take a look at this support page: https://www.gov.uk/business-support-helpline

If the digital assistant cannot help you, you can ask to transfer to a webchat with an HMRC adviser, if they are available.

You can call HMRC for help with questions about:

• importing
• exporting
• customs reliefs

If you think you have been charged too much, find out how to claim a repayment of customs charges in the ‘If you’re charged too much or return your goods’ section of the Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad guide.

Telephone: 0300 322 9434

Opening times: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

And if you prefer to have something in writing, you can send a letter for help with questions about importing, exporting and customs relief at:

HM Revenue and Customs — CITEX Written Enquiry Team
Local Compliance S0000
Newcastle
NE98 1ZZ
United Kingdom

Include your VAT registration number and the name and postal address of your business.

As an employer, the tax and employment responsibilities you have for your staff will depend on the type of contract you give them and their employment status.

Contract types include:

• full-time and part-time contracts
• fixed-term contracts
• agency staff
• freelancers, consultants, contractors
• zero-hours contracts

There are also special rules for employing family members, young people and volunteers.

As an employer you must give employees:

• a written statement of employment or contract
• the statutory minimum level of paid holiday
• a payslip showing all deductions, such as National Insurance contributions (NICs)
• the statutory minimum length of rest breaks
• Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
• maternity, paternity and adoption pay and leave

You must also:

• make sure employees do not work longer than the maximum allowed
• pay employees at least the minimum wage
• have employer’s liability insurance
• provide a safe and secure working environment
• register with HM Revenue and Customs to deal with payroll, tax and NICs
• consider flexible working requests
• avoid discrimination in the workplace
• make reasonable adjustments to your business premises if your employee is disabled

Companies House have issued an update on their first implementation of changes brought about by The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. We have copied in the relevant comments made in a recent blog post.

Companies House are aiming to introduce the first set of changes on 4 March 2024. The introduction of these changes needs secondary legislation and so this date is still dependent on parliamentary timetables. It will not be earlier than 4 March 2024.

The changes include:

• greater powers to query information and request supporting evidence;
• stronger checks on company names;
• new rules for registered office addresses;
• a requirement for all companies to supply a registered email address;
• a requirement for all companies to confirm they are forming the company for a lawful purpose when they incorporate, and to confirm its intended future activities will be lawful on their confirmation statement;
• the ability to annotate the register when information appears confusing or misleading;
• taking steps to clean up the register, using data matching to identify and remove inaccurate information; and
• sharing data with other government departments and law enforcement agencies.

Three items that will need your consideration before 4 March 2024 are:

1. If you are still using a PO Box address as your registered office, you will need to change this. You can still use a third-party agent’s address if they meet the conditions for an appropriate address.
2. From 4 March 2024, there will be a new requirement for all companies to give a registered email address to Companies House. This email address will not be published on the public register. From 4 March 2024, new companies will need to give a registered email address when they incorporate. Existing companies will need to give a registered email address when they file their next confirmation statement with a statement date from 5 March 2024. Companies House online services will prompt you to supply a registered email address when you file your next eligible confirmation statement.
3. When you incorporate a company from 4 March 2024, the subscribers (shareholders) will need to confirm they are forming the company for a lawful purpose. You will also need to confirm the company’s intended future activities are lawful on the confirmation statement. The intention of these new statements is to make it clear that all companies on the register, new and existing, have a duty to operate in a lawful way. Companies House may act against your company if they receive information that confirms you are not operating lawfully.

Leaving aside tax planning issues all businesses should be considering business planning opportunities if they presently have an accounting year end date of 31 March 2024.

For example:

• Do directors need to review year end bonuses or final dividends?
• Have capital expenditure budgets been considered? Should large investments in acquisition of new assets be completed before or after 31 March? What are the tax implications?
• Based on recent management accounts, what changes can be made in the final months of your trading year to improve liquidity, profitability and solvency?
• Start considering now how you will approach your bankers or business funders for continuing support next year. Are current challenges likely to result in a cashflow difficulties?

We have two months to consider your planning options. Once the 31 March 2024 Rubicon is passed, many planning options will disappear.

Many firms have a 31 March year end, but this heads up to have a pre-yearend review apply to all businesses, whatever their accounting date.

There are enough negative economic challenges at present and making the most of planning options before the end of your trading year makes sense.

Please call so we can organise a planning session with you.

Industry leaders have welcomed the Government’s new Critical Imports and Supply Chain Strategy, safeguarding UK supplies of critical goods such as medicines, minerals and semiconductors.

In a press release issued 17 January 2024, The Department for Business and Trade said:

“More than 100 top UK firms, including pharmaceutical and manufacturing leaders and business representative bodies like the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and the Critical Minerals Association have contributed to the strategy to ensure it helps develop resilient and secure supply chains that protect both their business and the consumers who rely on them.”

This issue has taken on critical importance now shipping is disrupted in the Red Sea.

Ross Baker, Chief Commercial Officer, Heathrow said:

“Heathrow connects the UK to 95% of the world’s economy and facilitates imports of the high value, time-critical goods that British industries like pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and technology rely on. We welcome Government initiatives that make doing business in the UK easier and more efficient, from shoring up supply chains to streamlining cargo processes at the airport, so Heathrow can meet growing demand to import and export across the globe.”

UK Chamber of Shipping Commercial and Governance Policy Director, Katrina Ross, said:

“We welcome the UK Government’s focus on critical imports and supply chains through the publishing of this strategy. 95% of UK imports and exports are moved by sea, and our sector’s challenges should be considered as part of the move to build supply chain resilience and to help deliver the UK and global net-zero ambitions.”

The beginning of a new year is an opportune time to undertake basic business planning. One aspect that needs continuous management is to protect your business capital.

The downturn in global trade continues to be affected by the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and now the disruption to movement of goods in the Red Sea. This is compounded by persistent inflation, high interest rates and consequent increases in costs.

In the face of these challenges what can beleaguered business owners do to protect their capital base and be in a position step back into the ring as and when consumers start to edge out of their front doors and start spending?

Here’s a few ideas for you to think about:

1. List all of your fixed costs, those that you have to pay even if you have no income coming in and cancel as many as you can that can be re-established when markets open up again. Obviously, many will be tied to contracts that cannot be broken. In which case:
2. Contact suppliers, landlords, service providers etc., and see if you can negotiate a moratorium on payments for a period, a reduction in payments or the cancellation of contracts.
3. When this work is done rework your business plan for the next year and speak to your bank or other sources to secure any cash required to meet the likely dips in cash resources.
4. Importantly, start to think about waking up your business when consumer interest in spending starts to increase demand for your goods or services.

And finally, speak to us. There is no substitute for sharing this planning process with your professional adviser. We know your business. We know how you have burned the midnight oil to develop your business and the problems you have overcome along the way. We can, and we want to help. Call now so we can start to consider your options.

The government Valuation Office Agency have issued the following warning to business owners who may have received unprompted approaches by an agent offering to negotiate a reduction in their business rates bill.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is urging businesses to protect themselves from rogue business rates agents.

New rateable values for business properties came into effect in April 2023. Councils used these new values to calculate business rates bills. Businesses can challenge their valuation if they think it’s incorrect. They can use a rating agent do this.

But some rogue agents submit inaccurate information. This could result in penalties or increased rates bills. Be cautious of anyone who guarantees they can secure big business rates reductions.

Gary L Watson, Institute of Revenues, Rating, Valuation Chief Executive, said: 

“We strongly advise businesses do their own research and explore different options before appointing an agent. Make sure you choose your own agent – don’t let an agent choose you."

As Christmas arrives the week before the calendar year-end, many of us will enjoy a week’s shut down and have time to relax and enjoy the break with our family and friends.

The break also gives us time to consider our plans, personal and business, for the coming year.

Readers of this post who have not seriously considered their finances would be well advised to dust off their laptops and evaluate their “what-if” choices for 2024.

• If your present income exceeds your outgoings will that enviable state of affairs continue?
• How will you be affected by continuing upward pressure on prices?
• Is it time to consider creating new income streams?
• If your planned outgoings exceed your planned income, how will you fund the shortfall? From savings, by drifting into debt?
• And don’t forget to include debt repayment in your cashflow forecasts.

We have all experienced tough economic challenges as the effects of the banking crisis, Brexit, COVID and the war in Ukraine have impacted our daily lives. High inflation, high interest rates and a depressed economy are a direct result, and it is not clear if 2024 will see a significant reversal in these trends.

And so, if you get the time, give a little serious thought to your prospects for 2024 over the coming holiday. The scouting maxim, be prepared, comes to mind. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.