Small Business Support

BUSINESS TAX PLANNING

Tax can seem onerous, but with our effective planning it can be mitigated and give you the peace of mind that your business is tax compliant. At any stage of your business lifecycle, from start-up to exit, we’ll tailor our tax planning advice to match your situation and ambitions.

As well as making sure you meet your tax obligations, our advice can maximise your cashflow to help you build your business or allow you to extract the rewards you seek tax-effectively. By thoroughly understanding your business, our experts will align their advice accordingly and save you the need to invest heavily in an in-house tax resource.

EMPLOYEE SHARE SCHEMES

Employee share schemes, which give equity to potential and existing key talent, can be very effective incentives. They need to be restricted to the people you value most (or perhaps could otherwise not afford) to avoid giving away too much equity away and diluting your shares. There’s a range of different schemes and the various tax treatments can be complex, hence the need for specialist advice before you make your decision.

Share schemes can be used for employees or if you need to tempt consultants or advisors to collaborate on your projects. Not all schemes will be suitable for both these purposes or for your company; we can talk you through the differences. Schemes can award Ordinary shares straight away or as Options to be exercised later (at a significant event or at exit). Options have qualifying criteria, so we’ll need to check that your company can offer them.

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS

Organising regular management accounts may initially seem an extra burden and expense, but they will more than repay you – providing a clear view of your business performance, enabling better decisions and guiding your growth plans. Measuring your business performance regularly is vital. Management accounts provide valuable information about your operations, so you can make informed decisions on the future of your business. They are also the foundation of your business forecasts and financial projections, allowing you to monitor and plan your working capital and cash requirements.

Financial institutions such as banks often require timely and accurate accounting information in the form of monthly or quarterly management accounts. We can prepare regular management accounts, financial projections and attend finance meetings with you to report on the accounts, and provide key strategic advice to help you grow your business.

NEW BUSINESS SET UP

There’s much to consider when you’re starting up in business, not least the ‘vehicle’ you use to trade. Our team will help you decide and guide you through the process, with expert support and advice. Starting a new business means there’s plenty to think about. An early and important decision to make is what type of trading vehicle will be right for you. For some, the simplicity of being a Sole Trader or even a partner in a Partnership will be ideal. For others, a Limited Company or Limited Liability Partnership will best suit their needs. Your choice will impact your tax liability, so we’ll talk you through the pros and cons of each route, to help you decide.

Should you want to set up a company, we provide a fast and efficient company formation service. We can set up your new company or Limited Liability Partnership within 24 hours, with all the associated legal documents completed for you.

OUTSOURCED BUSINESS SERVICES

As a start-up or SME, there will be times when you need extra skills – to deal with a surge in business, for a new project or pitch or because you’re all already working flat-out. Yet you don’t have the time or can’t justify or afford the expense of recruiting more people.

For all these situations, the answer is our outsourced business services. You gain from access to our highly talented, experienced and resourceful people, who will bring their knowledge and a fresh insight for the period you require. Our outsourced business services cover all the areas described below and you can benefit from them individually or in any combination to suit you. We can assist with:

• Secondments and project support
• Digital accounting
• Payroll and Employment

CLOUD ACCOUNTING

Digital accounting can provide time-saving, cost-effective and convenient support for your business. From outsourced bookkeeping, business, and financial advice to easier updates, we’ll help implement the cloud system that delivers the most appropriate solution.

By introducing to and integrating you with cloud accounting software, we can spare you time-consuming accounting work and give you easier access to your essential information.

Cloud accounting takes your bookkeeping, transactions, and business bank data online, integrates it all seamlessly into powerful yet easy to use software and gives you easy access 24/7, whilst protecting your information with effective encrypted security.

Through better visibility, you’ll get a clearer understanding of your finances and improved piece of mind through real-time checks on your income and expenditure, receiving timely information efficiently through bank feeds and automation.

In the cloud, your data is backed up automatically and all your automated users see the same up to date information, meaning easy and secure collaboration with colleagues and your expert Sagars advisors.