Five top money-saving tips for the self-employed or business owners:
1. Make sure you get paid
Cash flow (or lack of) is the biggest killer for businesses. Cash is king!
Up-front part-payment is far more common than you think
If you can, try and get new customers to pay half now and half when you’ve delivered the contract. Up-front part-payment is far more common than you think.
You don’t want to go down the tubes because your customer agreed 120-day payment terms with their customer when you’re working to 15 days. New customers are great, but a customer is only a customer as far as your accounts are concerned once they’ve paid you.
2. Don’t miss tax deadlines
Fines these days are pretty big for all sorts of things, so avoid penalties by getting your returns in on time.
To give you an idea, failing to submit year-end accounts in a timely fashion to Companies House could result in a fine of over £1.5k. You’ll be facing a minimum £100 fine if you’re late with your personal tax return plus penalties for late payment of interest charges for late VAT returns.
3. Concentrate on the important things – stay focused
It’s very tempting and easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of running a business and to forget that you’re in business to earn money.
Ask yourself: “Is what I’m doing going to earn me money?” If not, why are you doing it?
4. Know what expenses you can claim
Expenses have really been in the spotlight recently, but providing they are wholly and exclusively for the business you’ll be fine. Knowing what you can or cannot claim can help reduce your company’s tax liability.
Alternatively, if you’re not careful it could land you in hot water with HM Revenue and Customs.
5. Register your business (for new businesses)
If you’re a new business, you must register your company within three months of trading with HM revenue and Customs. Failure to do so will result in a fine of £100.
