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Category: Micro Business

Helpful Accounting Software

Posted on by Shaper Accountants

Here’s our top tips on how to spend £55 plus VAT a month on software and apps to run your business, save you time & help you see your financials.

What do you get for that?

£55 Xero combo

£20 – You get time saving efficiency on your bookkeeping by using the Receipt Bank app.

Receipt Bank currently charge about £20 a month to process 100 items. They base this on an average 3 monthly usage, so you can submit more, but you could pay more if your volumes increase or are higher than you estimate. The Receipt Bank app helps with your bookkeeping, by making the process faster, more automated and you get a scanned copy of the item sent to your accounts, making transactions trackable, meaning VAT queries are easier to deal with and the phone camera app means you can snap and go with those coffee receipts.

That’s about 9 large lattes a month.

£20 – You get standard Xero accounting software. Easy to use, dashboard up front, bank feeds and more. You get up to date accounts.

This is the full price and Xero run plenty of offers lower than this. You get automated bank feeds, sales and purchase billing, all the reports you need for analysis and you can add-on over 400 different software apps that suit your business, as and when you’re ready. So you get straight forward popular accounting software, top level of data security, you’re able to scale up when you need too and you’re ready to compete with all firms.

That’s about another 9 large lattes a month.

£15 – Gets you the simple cashflow forecasting software called Float. You get Control.

Float sucks your accounting data out of Xero and then you add in your forecast numbers. With this price band you get 3 planning scenarios, so you can look at what if? situations, like if you need new staff, or plan to invest in machinery. It’s live and up to date with your actual data and you get control of the cash and an ability to plan bigger or smaller dreams.

That’s another 7 large lattes, from the Coffee Shop on the high street, and no pastry to go.

2 of the business life changers above come with a free phone app to enhance functionality, and you can access anytime. All 3 have a help line, and lots of on-line tutorials, as well as free trials. This means anyone, any size can access this Xero Combo and run their business themselves, or with an accountant.

So, that’s our 3 top tips to save you time, get you on-line storage for your paper, give you real time live accounts that you can see on you mobile phone app, and gives you the power of cash flow forecasting and cash scenario planning.

Pretty good for the price? Or you could get a large latte every day instead. Tough one.

latte challenge

 

Starting a business with a friend

Posted on by Shaper Accountants

Starting a business with a friend or family member?

What do you need to know about being a shareholder?

Shareholders agreements

If you raise finance by selling shares in your business, have you thought through all the implications?  What is a Shareholders’ Agreement and do you need one?

You might like to know that many limited companies choose to draw up a shareholders’ agreement to deal with any potential future issues.

What is A Shareholders’ Agreement?

It’s a legal document that outlines the rights and responsibilities of shareholders, regulates their relationship with one another, confirms how a company should be managed, and clarifies the way in which decisions can and cannot be made. It lays out the rules.

You’ll find this is useful document to put in place because it covers exceptional events like the death of a shareholder, which can create a number of problems for the remaining shareholders.

A shareholders’ agreement usually contains a provision of pre-emption rights of existing shareholders – which requires available shares to be offered to existing shareholders before anyone outside of the company.

If no such agreement is in place, you may find shares can be offered to individuals who lack the necessary business knowledge and experience to support the company’s vision or business plan. This could have a negative impact on the control of the remaining shareholders and, ultimately, the success of the business.

Shareholders agreement

Our Top reasons for having a shareholders’ agreement in place

  • An agreement provides greater protection for limited company shareholders by allowing more specific provisions than those contained in the standard articles of association.
  • Provisions or arrangements can be included that apply to individual and current shareholders only  – the provisions in the articles are generalised and apply to all current and future shareholders.
  • An agreement provides an effective framework for resolving disputes between shareholders.
  • Unlike the articles, a shareholders’ agreement is a private and confidential document that the public has no access to.
  • An agreement shows the unity and stability of the shareholders, which can be appealing to banks and investors.
  • An agreement can protect the interests of shareholders and their beneficiaries in the event of the death of a shareholder.
  • A Shareholders agreement can provide better protection for the rights and investment value of minority shareholders.
  • The agreement outlines dividend policies and distribution of profits.
  • An agreement can specify decisions that require a 100% majority vote of the shareholders.
  • It can clarify the particulars of pre-emption rights.
  • An agreement allows shareholders to restrict the powers of company directors.
  • An agreement can be used to set out the terms of a director’s salary.
  • It usually provides for the regulation and restriction of the allotment or transfer of shares.
  • An agreement can outline the terms of selling or closing the company.

How to arrange a shareholders’ agreement

Usually, a shareholders’s agreement should be discussed and drawn up as soon as a company is formed in order to minimise disagreements and internal conflicts further down the line, but it is still possible to introduce one, at a later stage.

Standard shareholders’ agreement templates are available on-line and you can also create bespoke agreements with a variety of legal companies on-line.

We recommend consulting a solicitor for the most appropriate and up to date legal advice. We always advise that you set up a Shareholders Agreement if there’s more than one shareholder.

For more info e-mail info@shaperaccountants.co.ukaccountants.co.uk or call 01603 516 304 for a free chat

Are you an overwhelmed Micro Business?

Posted on by Shaper Accountants

Recent research undertaken by cloud accounting software FreeAgent, says:

Micro Businesses accounting software

Many micro-businesses are totally overwhelmed by the burdens of tax and their accountancy obligations.

Also over 600,000 micro business owners are missing tax deadlines. If that’s you, do not panic. There is always help available.

The key factors that will lead you to be in this position are:

  • Poor organisation
  • Inadequate systems
  • An inability to get your hands on your financial data – fast.

You will find your business life is far simpler if you bite the bullet and invest in good cloud accounting software. It does usually, mean a monthly fee, but it will save you time, worry and effort and pay back fast. Even the smallest business with few sales needs to keep good, accurate records of costs. The research found that 17% of those surveyed did not have immediate access to their accounting data. Stress and anxiety about your accounts are a key indicator that you need to get conventional systems in place – fast.

Organisation is key here, and no amount of paper lists and excel spreadsheets are going to serve you well. The more difficult your accounting system is for an accountant to handle – the more it’s likely to cost you to get it put right and turned into your annual accounts.

Nowadays there are several accounting software packages at affordable prices and they link to your business bank account. This is now mainstream for micros and small businesses – with creatives and start-ups leading the way. Although good, easy software with bank statement uploads can work for some – although this may become too slow for you, as your operation grows.

When it comes to tax returns, many business owners feel anxious. If your records are up to date, and on an accounting system, you can do a Self-Assessment Tax Return or even a Corporation Tax Return yourself – but most business owners will, at some point ask an accountant. There’s always the added concern that you may be missing out on tax relief, or you may not have claimed all that you can. Getting a HMRC fine for late filing can often add to the anxiety of not having your business accounts in order.

If you use software like Free Agent (aimed at the contractor or micro entity) or Xero (aimed at the micro/small & medium business) your accountant or bookkeeper can see and manage your data for you – making it far less painful to file your taxes and your annual accounts.

Many micro businesses are benefiting from the sheer power and joy of using accounting software and seeing their business on a dashboard – this is no longer the domain of the big players only. Affordable, accessible and free to trial – bring on the game changers and get control of your business – fast.

You can contact us or follow us on TwitterMicro Business - Accounts and Tax

or e-mail info@shaperaccountants.co.ukaccountants.co.uk for advice.