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Pension Liberation – Don’t do it
If you have a pension fund you could be targeted by companies offering you ways to access your pension fund before you are 55, this is known as ‘Pension Liberation’.
How pension liberation arrangements work
Typically, pension liberation arrangements involve transferring your pension savings from your existing pension scheme to another pension scheme to allow you to access funds early. The schemes are offered through companies, who make money by charging you a fee to do this or by taking money direct from your savings. Company representatives or advisers may be pushy and may say they can offer you a loan or advance or cashback from your pension. They may even offer to share their commission for doing this.
Sometimes representatives suggest that because of the excellent returns their new scheme supposedly offers, you’ll get an upfront reward or dividend. Whatever way it’s presented, if you end up getting cash you’re likely to be involved in pension liberation.
Converting a pension pot into cash can sound very attractive to people who urgently need money. However, don’t be tempted, as there are big tax consequences of accessing your pension early. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Very often the advisers say there is a legal loophole to get round the rules to give you money by transferring your pension pot to a different scheme. There is no legal loophole. Very few people can take money out of their pensions before they’re 55. If you can, it’s usually because you’re retiring on ill-health grounds such as a terminal illness and you must meet strict rules to do this.
If you liberate your Pension you personally will have to pay tax at a special fixed rate of 55% on the funds liberated. The 55% rate isn’t reduced if you are a lower rate tax payer or pay no tax at all.
In addition to the tax the Pension Advisory Service say that on average you will be asked to pay a fee of at least 20% by the company liberating your pension.
steve@bicknells.net
A time to pay!
Recently I have come across several service providers who are finding it difficult to get paid. This got me thinking about the psychology of payment.
There are clearly two sides to this particular coin – us and the client. We can be as much, or more, to blame as our customers for not getting paid, because of the way we think and act.
Firstly, as Brits we are sometimes embarrassed to talk to clients about fees and payment. Some business owners hide behind hourly rates, which means there is no upfront agreement about exactly what the client will be expected to pay. This means it is highly likely there will be disagreement and therefore delay in payment. Not only that, but disagreement about fees can leave a bad taste in everyones mouth.
Secondly, many service providers are slow to invoice, which means clients receive bills quite a long time after they have had the service. This sends a message to the client that the supplier is probably pretty well off and so doesn’t need the cash quickly (or the invoice would have been sent more promptly). Consequently it is more likely that payment will need to be chased.
Other suppliers do not make it clear what their payment terms are. Now, it is in clients interests to delay payment as long as they can (especially at the moment when many businesses are finding cash flow difficult) so if you are not clear on payment terms you cannot be surprised when payments don’t come through. Make sure your letter of engagement clearly states what your payment terms are and re-iterate these terms on your invoice.
Further to payment terms ask yourself the question ‘Am I a bank?’ If the answer is no (as I expect it is for anyone reading this blog) only give credit if it is absolutely necessary – and then ensure there is some allowance for interest in the price you are quoting! Otherwise, make your payment terms ‘payment on receipt of invoice’. You probably won’t get paid immediately but at least you can chase earlier.
I know business owners who don’t like chasing for payment, even if they have agreed a fixed price, invoiced promptly and have clear payment terms, because they think their good clients will think badly of them. This, in my opinion, is the worst ‘sin’ of all. Firstly, GOOD clients pay as agreed in the contract – a good client is not one who bitches about the agreed price and then fails to pay promptly. Secondly, we are business people who should expect to be paid for a good job done, so there is nothing to be coy about when it comes to asking for what you are legally and morally entitled to!
So, to recap:
1. Agree clearly with your client the exact terms of the engagement both in terms of job to be done and fee to be paid.
2. Bill as soon as the job is complete.
3. Be clear on your payment terms and give as little credit as possible.
4. Be professional! If money is owed to you do not be coy about chasing for it.
Fiona 🙂
10 tax allowances we fail to claim
In 2012 Unbiased.co.uk reported that £12.6 billion was unclaimed by UK tax payers, here is a list with some ideas:
- Income Related Tax Credits – Check and find out what you are entitled to – UK Benefits https://www.gov.uk/benefits-adviser
- Tax Relief on Pension Contributions – There are estimated to be over 4 million people not paying into a pension, auto enrolment should help to change that, this blogs explains the tax advantages http://stevejbicknell.com/2012/05/02/why-invest-in-a-pension-because-of-tax-relief/
- Tax Relief on Charity Donations – Are you using Gift Aid? are you a higher rate tax payer entitled to additional relief?
- Saving on Inheritance Tax – Many people don’t have a Will let alone any IHT planning!
- Making Use of ISA’s – Why get taxed on the interest on your savings if you could have an ISA? Its easy to get an ISA and you can still have access to your ISA savings if you need it, the current ISA allowance is £11,520 or £5,760 for cash ISA’s
- Child Benefit – Use the benefits adviser to check if you can claim – UK Benefits https://www.gov.uk/benefits-adviser
- Avoiding tax penalties and late filing – This just requires you to be organised, make sure you know the filing dates http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/deadlines-penalties.htm and get the information needed in plenty of time
- Savings on Capital Gains – The current allowance for 2013/14 is £10,900 (previously £10,600) for an individual many people seem to forget they have this allowance
- Making Use of Employee Share Schemes – The government love employees to have shares and this year introduced a new share ownership option http://stevejbicknell.com/2013/08/03/employee-shareholders-will-your-employees-want-shares/
- Income Tax and Personal Allowances – Consider who should own assets (and get income from those investments) – you or your spouse – so that you can minimise your tax liability
Steve@bicknells.net
Done your 2014 business plan yet?
A business plan proper contains lots of non-financial information, but all roads lead to the bottom line. A simple way of creating a budget from your other business assumptions is to do it in ….. wait for it ….. Excel.
With a row for each income/expense heading and columns for time periods (usually months) you can quickly put together a budget profit and loss for the next financial year. For some expenses particularly overheads you can refer to the current cost base, and depending on the nature of your business this can work for revenues too. If you have departments or divisions in your business you can have a budget sheet for each of them and total to get the big picture. Likewise for different product or service lines.
Once you’ve done this you’ll end up with something looking like this:
You can then do other things, such as looking at profitability, exploring the impact of sales or costs going up or down, work out your break even point, and create a cashflow budget.
Drop me an email if you’d like a copy of the spreadsheet template, and look out for other business planning posts in this series.
Chris Dixon, Eightoaks
chris.dixon@eightoaks.ltd.uk
20 ways to improve cash flow
Cash is vital to you and your business, lack of cash kills businesses.
So how can you improve cash flow:
- Prepare a detailed cash flow forecast, schedule your direct debits and standing orders, knowing how much cash you need and when will help you focus on where the cash will come from
- Invoice your clients as soon as you can, often small businesses invoice late and this just lengthens the time it will take to collect payment
- Get stage payments on large contracts
- Negotiate payment terms with your suppliers, try to at least match the client payment terms with the supplier terms
- If you are able to spread payments do it, for example, most insurance companies will offer you that chance to spread the payments over 10 months
- Adopt ‘just in time’ for stock items, don’t carry more stock than you need to
- Pay sales commissions only after the client has paid
- Change weekly payrolls to monthly where possible
- Sell assets you don’t need
- Sell obsolete and slow moving stock
- Consider paying mileage allowances rather than owning company cars
- Chase your debts
- Get a good credit rating as it will help you negotiate better supplier terms
- File your accounts and tax returns on time to avoid penalties
- Credit check your clients and agree terms based on their credit history and rating
- Diversify to smooth out seasonal trends
- Control your costs and reduce them where possible
- Make cash collection a KPI for your business
- Finance your fixed asset purchases
- Use Invoice Finance if your clients demand long terms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzXnmXv0uf4
steve@bicknells.net
EU VAT B2C – e services to be vatable where they are consumed
At the moment all businesses supplying telecommunications, broadcasting and e-services such as downloaded ‘apps’, music, gaming, e-books and similar services to private consumers located in other EU Member States (referred to as ‘B2C’ supplies) are taxed where the business supplier is established, which is simple to understand and implement.
In the Finance Bill 2014 this will be changed and from 1st January 2015 VAT will be charged in the country where the customer has ‘use and enjoyment’ of the services.
So lets say you are an American (normally zero rated) on holiday in France, even though you pay with an American credit card and buy from a UK supplier because you are reading your ebook in France, French VAT will apply. Sounds like a nightmare, doesn’t it.
To help with this HMRC are introducing the VAT MOSS (Mini One Stop Shop) and businesses can register from October 2014.
Unless businesses opt to register for MOSS, businesses that make intra EU B2C supplies of telecommunications, broadcasting and e-services will be required to register and account for VAT in every Member State in which they have customers. MOSS will give these businesses the option of registering in just the UK and accounting for VAT on supplies to their customers in other Member States using a single online MOSS VAT return submitted to HMRC. This will significantly reduce their administrative burdens.
- Examples of telecommunications services include: fixed and mobile telephone services; videophone services; paging services; facsimile, telegraph and telex services; access to the internet and worldwide web.
- Examples of broadcasting services include: radio and television programmes transmitted over a radio or television network, and live broadcasts over the internet.
- Examples of e-services include: video on demand, downloaded applications (or “apps”), music downloads, gaming, e-books, anti-virus software and online auctions.
HMRC VAT Place of Supply Link
If you supply e services its worth considering the accounting and pricing changes that you will need to implement and how you will incorporate the ‘use and enjoyment’ rules.
steve@bicknells.net
The Extreme Coupon frenzy, is it good for business?
Earlier in the year I saw Jordon Cox, 16, from Brentwood in Essex, on the BBC he scours newspapers and magazines for coupons and vouchers that offer special deals on food and household products.He bought £105 of groceries for £1.62, follow this link to see his interview http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22418225
So lets start by learning the lingo
- Bogo: Buy One Get One
- Peelie: A coupon stuck to a product
- Blinkie: A coupon station in a store
- Stacking: Using a store coupon with a manufacturers coupon – not all stores allow this
- Catalinas:Coupons printed at the cash register when you pay for your items
- Rebate: Mailing a receipt to a company to get a refund
- Overage: When the value of a coupon exceeds the purchase price of the item
Everyone loves a freebie or money off, but there seem to be so many sites offering vouchers its hard to keep track of what is on offer, for example I get e mailed deals from:
- Groupon
- KGB
- Wowcher
I have apps for:
- Voucher Cloud
- O2 Moments
- Vouchercodes
- Quidco
- Top Cash Back
Then there are websites like http://www.freebiesiteuk.co.uk/
That’s before you start cutting coupons out of magazines.
Pitney Bowes have produced a white paper on Coupons – April 2013:
The whitepaper, entitled ‘The Coupon Renaissance’, revealed that 76% of consumers would buy more from local businesses if they offered coupon incentives. With many small local businesses struggling in today’s economic climate, the figures offer a positive outlook that SMEs should capitalise on.
The surge in coupon redemptions is a relatively new phenomenon; with the current economic climate increasing popularity, the UK has witnessed a sharp 14.7% spike in usage since 2008**. The research also showed that an impressive 80% of consumers have redeemed a coupon in the last year, and half (49%) of customers redeem them as frequently as one per month.
The trend by consumers to use coupons to cut costs are likely to increase based on a report from Which:
More than half of Britons cannot cope on their current salaries with one in five forced to borrow money to buy groceries and other household essentials because of the soaring cost of living, a new survey revealed today.
One in four people revealed they’ve had to use their savings to buy food or other daily essentials while one in five have gone into debt to do this.
Another 10 per cent said they could envisage needing to borrow buy food in the future.
Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2110009/Which-report-reveals-millions-Britons-forced-borrow-buy-groceries.html#ixzz2SS0GEVyd
steve@bicknells.net
Is the UK doing enough to stop late payment?
Late payment kills businesses, it’s a fact.
Latest research shows that British SMEs are having to wait an average of 41 days longer than their original agreed payment terms before invoices are paid. (source: BACS)
Prime minister David Cameron said: “It’s not right that suppliers are not getting paid on time for the work they do and the services they provide. The government has already taken steps to help address this issue, but I am clear that more needs to be done to build a business culture across all sectors of the economy that sees the fair, prompt and reliable payment of suppliers become a core corporate responsibility.”
The government is to launch a consultation that will look at a range of issues including:
- how to encourage greater responsibility for payment policies at board level;
- what can be done to increase transparency around which companies are good payers and which ones are not;
- how the Prompt Payment Code can be strengthened;
- whether more can be done to enforce existing legislation, including the possible prohibition of “grossly unfair” payment terms;
- what can be done to encourage more companies to make use of their existing statutory right to interest for late payments;
- whether government can do more to help SMEs through new technologies and services like electronic invoicing and mobile payments.
| Prompt Payment Code signatories undertake to: | |
| Pay suppliers on time | |
|
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| Give clear guidance to suppliers | |
|
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| Encourage good practice | |
|
|
http://www.promptpaymentcode.org.uk/
steve@bicknells.net
Cash Accounting has arrived, but will it reduce your tax bill?
You can use the cash basis for Self Assessment Tax Returns (starting from 6th April 2013) if you:
- are a small self-employed businesses (sole traders and partnerships but not Limited Liability Partnerships)
- have an income of £79,000 or less a year (this is the threshold when you have to register for VAT)
You can choose to record your business income and expenses over the tax year in 1 of the following ways:
- using cash basis – record money when it actually comes in and goes out of your business (all money counts – cash, card payments, cheque, any other method)
- using traditional accounting (accruals basis) – record income and expenses when you invoice your customers or receive a bill
Cash basis might suit smaller businesses because, at the end of the tax year, you won’t have to pay Income Tax on money you haven’t received yet.
You must keep records of:
- business income received
- business expenses paid
Depending on what you use simplified expenses for, you need to record business miles for vehicles, hours you work at home and how many people live on your business premises over the year.
Sounds simpler so far, doesn’t it.
But what about …..
- Suppliers – if you have trade accounts with suppliers then you will have creditors, many small businesses get paid quickly for example a shop or a window cleaner, they don’t have debtors, so the cash basis may not be the best option
- Capital Allowances – many small businesses will claim capital allowances for their car (and claim most of the running costs too), with the cash basis you can only claim a set mileage allowance https://www.gov.uk/simpler-income-tax-simplified-expenses/vehicles-
- Equipment Finance – Under cash accounting money you owe isn’t counted until you pay it (unlike traditional capital allowances) and interest and charges are limited to £500 https://www.gov.uk/simpler-income-tax-cash-basis/income-and-expenses-under-cash-basis
Cash accounting may be simpler but will it reduce your tax bill?
steve@bicknells.net
The Cash Cycle – What is it? what is your Cycle? How can you improve it?
As the saying goes, Sales are Vanity, Profit is Sanity and Cash is King. The Cash Cycle also known as the Working Capital Cycle helps you to quickly understand how much cash you need to run your business.
Here is a great example from Steve Grice for an average business
| Average time to collect payment from customers | 60 days | Add |
| Average days sales held in stock | 25 days | Add |
| Average days taken to pay suppliers | 35 days | Subtract |
| Cash cycle | 50 days |
http://stevegrice.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/working-capital-cycle/
Here is a brilliant Cash Flow Improvement Tool from NAB http://oms.nab.com.au/media/10/power_of_one/CF.html
This model quickly and easily calculates your cash cycle but also shows the effect of making improvements.
Having discovered what the cashflow cycle is, what can you do to improve it? well that depends, assuming you have agreed the best possible terms with your suppliers, you need to find ways to speed up cash received from Customers, if your business Sells to other businesses the first thing to look at is Credit Management.
CIMA have produce a comprehensive guide http://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/ImportedDocuments/cid_improving_cashflow_using_credit_mgm_Apr09.pdf.pdf
But Credit Management may not be enough on its own, perhaps Invoice Finance might help?
Invoice discounting is an excellent, cost-effective way for certain businesses to improve their cashflow position.
- Invoice discounting is most suitable for businesses with good financial controls in place and a strong financial background.
- Invoice Discounting is ideal if you have an annual turnover above £500,000
- Invoice discounting is suitable for business with an established credit control department.
- Invoice Discounting is suitable for a wide range of businesses including manufacturers, wholesalers, transport firms, employment agencies and providers of some business services.
- Suitable businesses for invoice discounting are growing businesses because the level of funding grows in line with increasing sales.
If your business sells to end customers you might consider Card Processing Advances.
You must be masterful. Managing cash flow is a skill and only a firm grip on the cash conversion process will yield
results.
steve@bicknells.net
Business Accountant 