Blog Posts: December 2011

In case you’ve missed it from 1 April 2012 all VAT registered businesses must submit their VAT return and pay any amounts owing electronically. There’s expected to be a last-minute rush by businesses not yet using the online facilities. To be honest we’d recommend switching as soon as possible so you don’t face a last minute panic when you’re forced to file online. Actually there are some advantages to the online VAT submission and payment system. The system has....

I was reading the results of a survey recently which looked at how equipped entrepreneurs are to succeed in business. The results were somewhat surprising. Fail to plan and you can plan to fail! In this survey 16 per cent of entrepreneurs didn’t have a written business plan. Now, I’m no advocate for the kind of business plan you might learn how to write in business school. But I am in favour of a set of measurable goals and detailed strategy outlining how the goals will be achiev....

Solar Energy will form an increasing part of the UK power supply over the coming years. This is especially true as a consequence of recent UK and European legislation which requires that 30% of UK electricity is provided from renewable sources such as solar and wind. As only 5.5% of power comes from such sources at present there is significant growth to be expected in the renewable energy sector. In April last year the government introduced a 25 year feed-in tariff to encourage greater invest....

Chancellor George Osborne delivered his Autumn Statement on Tuesday with a mixed reception. The statement coupled with the latest forecasts for the UK economy from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) although containing few surprises has been generally welcomes by business leaders and most business owners. Cutting through all the detail the following highlights form the relevant points for businesses:Economy OBR 2011 economic forecast revised down to 0.9% from 1.7% 2012 forecast rev....