Book a tax planning conversation with us today
Anna Stubbs • March 19, 2024
The days of deciding on a tax strategy at the start of the year and then forgetting about it are gone. As taxpayers and tax advisers, we both have to be nimble, flexible and aware of changes. That’s why regular tax-planning sessions are so important.
- Is your business meeting the right tax compliance goals?
- Are there tax changes to be aware of?
- And is your tax planning delivering the very best results for you and for your company?
The need for regular tax-planning conversations
As your accountant and tax adviser, we want to help you get the best outcomes from your tax planning. In the current environment, that’s difficult to achieve if we only speak to you about tax on an annual basis.
The frequency of these tax planning chats will depend on the size of your business, and the complexity of your structure and shareholder set-up. But we should be talking to you at least once every quarter about the tweaks and changes that are needed in your plan.
In these tax planning sessions, we can:
- Update you on the latest tax measures – We’ll tell which personal and business taxes you need to be aware of.
- Tell you how these measures affect you – We’ll run you through the implications of any changes to things like corporation tax, income tax and available business reliefs. We can show you the impact on your tax returns for the coming periods, and what this means for your tax costs and your cashflow at large.
- Listen to your evolving plans for the business – We’ll also ask you about your future business plans and what you want to achieve in the coming quarter. When we know what your aims are, we’ll do our best to help you come up with a business strategy that’s closely aligned with your tax-planning strategy.
- Suggest planning measures to benefit you and your business – When we know your business goals, we can help you plan your tax more effectively. For example, if you’re planning on investing in research and development (R&D), we can talk to you about reliefs like the R&D Tax Credits, Innovation Grants or the Patent Box.
- Update your tax plan for the year – With the outputs from a productive tax-planning session, we’ll come up with a refreshed and updated tax plan for the coming period (and beyond). It’s the best way to stay on top of an unpredictable tax landscape while delivering the best in tax compliance and tax efficiency.
Talk to us about booking in a tax-planning session
We’ll always do our utmost to help you plan out your tax liabilities and keep the business in a positive cashflow position.
Book a tax-planning conversation with us and let’s start improving your strategy.
“Q: Why do I need an evolving strategy for my small business?” You’re a business owner or CEO. And that means it’s your responsibility to take care of the business, invest in the right places and make the company a success story. However, to do this, you need an agreed business strategy that lays out your goals, your mission and your plan for taking the company to the next level. So, why does this need to be an evolving strategy? “A: Your business strategy is not a static document – it’s a plan and mission that should be fluid, agile and able to react to change.” We’re trading in uncertain times at present. Each day presents a new challenge for small businesses, and having a plan that can react to change is a major competitive advantage.
More than ever, cashflow is a vital part of staying afloat, whether your business is in recovery or growth mode. Revenue, profit and your bottom line all deserve your attention. But keeping everything running is the baseline. Regular cashflow forecasts help you keep that in focus. Here’s why: Cost control - If you can't reach your targets for income, reining in your costs may give you a little extra head room to manage cashflow while you plan your next move. Visibility on outgoings - Cost control can be a challenge when it’s hard to pinpoint hidden costs or where established ways of doing things cost more money than they should. You may also have been coping with unexpected expenses, as you’ve adapted your business for unplanned circumstances or increased costs. Improving business practice - It's more than only keeping an eye on outgoings (though that's important). It's about looking at each aspect of your business and business systems (or the gaps where there should be business systems) to see if poor practice is driving costs up unnecessarily. It can be useful to break it down - You can look at cost centres such as office supplies or freight. Or you can look at what those costs do for your business. It can help to analyse costs in terms of cost of sale and overheads.
“Q: How does an accountant support my financial performance?” We’re all used to the idea of a business needing an accountant. But have you ever stopped to think what a good accountant and business adviser can actually bring to your company? Advances in technology, software and AI are changing our expectations of what a basic accountant/business owner relationship can offer. So, it’s important to reassess your expectations and to find out where we can add real, additional value. “A: Your accountant is now a full-fledged business adviser, ready to help you review, manage and transform your finances and strategy.” In previous decades, your accountant dealt primarily with historical data – the transactions and cash inflows/outflows that had happened in the past. Today, with access to so much smart forecasting, data analysis and forward-looking scenario-planning, we can tell you far more about the future of your business.