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Farewell 2020

This will be our last article before Christmas and the New Year break so let us wish you a Happy Christmas and a more stable New Year. We think many will be glad to see the back of 2020. Let us have hope that later in 2021 we return to a more normal way of […]

Read more December 21st, 2020

Is Your Business Ready For Brexit?

The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020. The transition period ends on 31 December 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic has dominated the news headlines this year but Brexit is still progressing. During the transition period, the UK remains in both the EU customs union and single market. Until the end of the transition […]

Read more December 21st, 2020

Having Difficult Conversations Remotely

Nobody likes having a difficult conversation with an employee but it’s even more challenging on-screen. In the current environment, many businesses are still working remotely. As we move towards the end of the year, managers will be preparing to have end-of-year review conversations with employees. It’s challenging enough having a review meeting with an employee […]

Read more December 21st, 2020

New Ways Of Working

Lockdown has forced businesses to rethink their office space requirements and how staff will work, in the long term. Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, most businesses had enough desks or workstations for each and every employee. The remote working revolution that has come about as a result of Covid-19 has forced businesses to rethink their […]

Read more December 21st, 2020

Are Digital Banks Suitable For Business?

Digital banking platforms such as Starling Bank or Monzo have risen in popularity, but are they suitable for business use? Digital banks have built popular apps for personal users to manage their current accounts from their smartphones. The apps allow users to easily manage their money, make payments and track their transactional activity. The digital […]

Read more December 21st, 2020

Local Restrictions Support Grant (For Open Businesses)

The Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG (Open)) supports businesses in England that have been severely impacted due to temporary local restrictions. Businesses that have not had to close, but which have been severely impacted due to local tier 2 or tier 3 restrictions, may be eligible for LRSG (Open). Eligible businesses may be entitled to […]

Read more December 9th, 2020

VAT Updates For December 2020

VAT deferred due to Coronavirus If you deferred VAT between 20 March and 30 June 2020 and still have payments to make, you can: pay the deferred VAT in full on or before 31 March 2021 opt into the VAT deferral new payment scheme when it launches in 2021 contact HMRC if you need more […]

Read more December 9th, 2020

Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan

29 lenders have now signed up for the Bounce Back Loan (BBL) scheme. BBL enables smaller businesses to access finance more quickly during the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme helps small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and up to 25% of their turnover. The maximum loan available is £50,000. The government guarantees 100% of […]

Read more December 9th, 2020

Government Announces Christmas Grant For “Wet-Led Pubs”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced an additional £1,000 Christmas grant for ‘wet-led pubs’ in England in tiers 2 and 3, who will miss out on turnover during the busy Christmas period. Pubs that predominantly serve alcohol rather than provide food, have been asked to make sacrifices over the festive season and will be eligible […]

Read more December 9th, 2020

Third Grant For SEISS

The third grant for SEISS is now open. To make a claim for the grant, your business must have been impacted by coronavirus on or after 1 November 2020. You can make a claim for the third grant if you are eligible, even if you did not make a claim for the first or second. […]

Read more December 9th, 2020

Make A Claim If You Are Working From Home

With more of us working from home there is good news from HMRC that employees can now make a claim for tax relief to cover some of their costs while they are working remotely from home. The previous rule for employees was that there had to be a home working arrangement with their employer under […]

Read more December 9th, 2020

Vaccine Optimism – The End Of Lockdown?

The news is full of stories this week of the UK Government approving the Pfizer vaccine and who will be first to be offered the jabs and how the vaccine will be rolled out and, rightly so, people are more optimistic about the ending of lockdown and a return to some form of normality. The […]

Read more December 9th, 2020

Business Christmas Gifts

How about a virtual Christmas Party? HMRC are not the Grinch after all. They have recently announced that employers may arrange a “virtual” Christmas party this year and there will be no taxable benefit for employees provided that all staff are invited and the cost per head does not exceed the normal £150 limit. Maybe […]

Read more December 9th, 2020

New Penalties For Overclaimed CJRS, SEISS And “Eat Out To Help Out” Grants

HMRC have announced that they will be imposing penalties of up to 100% of the amounts overclaimed on businesses so make sure that your claims are correct. The penalties depend on whether or not the overclaim is the result of a deliberate error and whether or not the disclosure was prompted by HMRC. The penalty […]

Read more December 9th, 2020

Claim Your Furlough Grant By 14th

We now have further details of the operation of the extension of CJRS “furlough” that will apply from 1 November 2020 through to the end of March 2021. The government support will initially be at the rate of 80% of an employee’s reference pay for hours they are furloughed, subject to a maximum of £2,500 […]

Read more December 9th, 2020