Whilst there exists a myriad of qualifications that can prove technical competence across most areas of the IT industry, how do you know that the person advising you has the skills to do so?

You can trust ‘Chartered’…..

Many professions such as mine rely on their Chartered  status to build trust with consumers.  Well, there now exists a Chartered status within the IT industry that is aimed at providing proof of experience, ability and breadth of knowledge.

It carries the post nominal letters CITP and is the Chartered IT Professional status which is administered by the British Computer Society.

The CITP  has been setup to be the benchmark of IT excellence, it is a rigorously assessed employer led standard, and it sets out to provide all those who need IT support that the person they are dealing with has the highest standards backed up by a professional body.

If you are used to the various Microsoft Accreditations, such as the “Microsoft Certified Professional Developer” (MCPD) these are designed to show that the engineer, who is installing and configuring your equipment, has all the Microsoft skills to do it.  Think of the CITP as more like being an independent project manager who would look at your whole current and future IT usage, to come up with the best solution and plan.

A holistic approach to IT solutions

Many issues with IT are caused by looking at specific parts of a system in isolation, and creating a separate solution, and for too long it has not been possible to independently ascertain if the person giving you advice has the “right” to do so – the CITP gives you that security. The Daily/Sunday Telegraph formally lists those achieving the CITP, and names of individuals are held on a detailed register.

If you are familiar with the level of professionalism and integrity that the Chartered Status provides Accountants and Architects – then you can now expect the same from the IT world.

Need advice?

So if you are looking to get some IT advice what should you look out for? Well the best advice is always to get some recommendations, ask those that you trust and see who they use. But now you can also check the integrity of anyone by seeing if they are Chartered – after all you would not trust your accounts to just anyone.

The information published in this blog was kindly supplied by David Kilpatrick of iTEXS in Cambridge.

I started using A-Beta-CarE from Forever Living Products to help my poor skin condition.  Since then I have discovered that it has so many benefits including helping me to manage the symptoms of PCOS.  It is a perfect supplement to drinking Aloe.

Key Benefits

• Helps with skin disorders such as eczema, psoriasis and acne
• Can reduce menopausal hot flushes
• Powerful antioxidant 
• Promotes healthy skin, hair, eyes and heart
• Can help manage the symptoms of Crohns, Lupus, ME, MS and gout
• Contains selenium which has been medically linked to promoting men’s health/fertility

Beta Carotene

Vitamin A is a powerful nutrient for skin and eyesight, however in large doses it can be toxic.  A-Beta-CarE delivers vitamin A in the form of Beta Carotene which the small intestine can convert in to Vitamin A as it is needed, taking away the possibility of overdose.

Beta Carotene is a highly effective antioxidant, which helps fight free-radical damage and therefore improves general skin health and combatting skin aging.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an essential nutrient for good skin health.  It is also known to encourage effective regulation of body temperature and is therefore useful to menopausal women.

It has many other benefits such as acting as an anti-clotting agent for the blood and assisting sufferers of osteo-arthritis.

Selenium

Selenium is a trace mineral found in brazil nuts amongst other things.  It too is a powerful antioxidant and therefore a promoter of great skin and hair.

Research has shown that selenium is important in maintaining men’s health.  In particular a deficiency has been linked to prostate cancer and low sperm counts.

And…

wait for it girls, there’s more good news!  A-Beta-CarE can help to combat cellulite

Purchase online or send me an email

The information provided in this blog illustrates my opinions and experiences, it does not constitute advice and I do not accept responsibility for any actions taken or refrained from as a result of reading this post.  Forever supply health and nutrition products that promote health and wellbeing.  They do not make medical claims and suggest that you advise your GP if you are planning to take supplements.

The Finance Act 2010 introduced a new definition which Charities (and Community Amateur Sports Clubs) will need to adopt in order to ensure it remains entitled to tax relief.

Management Condition

The new definition introduces the term ‘management condition’ and states that managers must be deemed to be fit and proper persons to manage the charity.  The term manager is deemed to relate to any person who has day to day control over the running of the charity and any persons who can assert influence over its running. 

Fit and Proper Declaration

An individual is considered ‘fit and proper’ if they ensure that charity funds and tax reliefs are used only for charitable purposes.  HMRC have advised that all managers should sign a declaration as to whether they are ‘fit and proper’ they suggest a person declares the following:

1. I am not disqualified from acting as a charity trustee
2. I have not been convicted of an offence involving deception or dishonesty
3. I have not been involved in tax fraud
4. I am not an undischarged bankrupt
5. I have not made compositions or arrangements with my creditors from which I have not been discharged
6. I have not been removed from serving as a charity trustee or been stopped from acting in a management position within a charity
7. I have not been disqualified from serving as a Company Director
8. I will at all times ensure the charity’s funds and charity tax reliefs received by this organisation are used only for charitable purposes

More paperwork….

For most people this will be no too onerous a declaration and will only be a question of form filling to ensure you have the paperwork in place should it ever be requested. Red tape that could prevent your charitable status from being challenged, which could have catastrophic tax consequences.

The information provided in this blog illustrates my opinions and experiences, it does not constitute advice and I do not accept responsibility for any actions taken or refrained from as a result of reading this post.

Along with the England flags and hopes of World Cup success the emergency budget is becoming a distant memory, but if you are in business you shouldn’t be so hasty.

Here at George Hay, we regularly advise on the advantages of incorporation and strongly believe that for the majority of small businesses it is the most tax efficient structure, as remuneration (profit distribution) for the owners/directors can be carefully planned to benefit their personal tax circumstances.  These savings can be particularly advantageous if you are operating as a family business.

Corporation Tax reduction

One of the main headlines of the budget was the reduction in the Corporation Tax rate by 1% making the Small Companies rate 20% from April 2011. This was good news for business owners but of course it only applies to those which are incorporated. Those who operate their business as either a sole trader or partnership are subject to Income Tax and National Insurance on their business profits so will instead be hit by the rise in National Insurance rates from April 2011.

The changes in the Corporation Tax rate and National Insurance rate along with forecast reductions in the basic rate threshold for individuals poses the usual question of should those in business consider incorporating and is it beneficial for everyone to do so?

Indicators do strongly suggest that it is widely beneficial for most owner managed businesses to incorporate and when doing the sums at the new rates from April 2011 the tax savings as a result of incorporation increase even more.

Risky Strategy?

There have been many attempts to try to curb the incorporation trend in the past due to the significant tax savings that can be achieved.  Gordon Brown aired his view that business owners are not paying the ‘right amount of tax’,  and we are sure HMRC will continue their expensive and difficult case in the courts.   But I personally have been advising on incorporation for over 10 years and it continues to be a successful strategy, so why not take advantage whilst the regulations allow it?  It is not something that can not be withdrawn from if circumstances change.

Real life example

In 2007 I was recommended to a small business that was earning very handsome profits due the unique nature of its trading activity.  On engagement I quickly did some sums (good old Excel!) and explained the value of Incorporating.  The owner immediately understood and asked me to incoporate the business without delay.  By involving his wife in the business strategy, she was able to take a ‘very nice’ Company Car and between them they saved and continue to save over £15,000 per annum in Tax and National Insurance.  If only they had sought advice years before…..

It’s not all about tax

Careful consideration should be given to incorporation and expert advice sought. It is not always the right choice for everyone and other factors come into play such as legal liability, increased regulation and therefore costs, disclosure of financial information and future business plans such as sale of the business but it is always worth thinking about.

For further details on the key announcements in the ‘Emergency Budget’ download a copy of our budget summary.

Disclaimer: This article is for general guidance only.  All taxation planning should only be undertaken after appropriate professional advice.  George Hay Chartered Accountants are registered to carry on audit work and regulated for a range of investment business activities by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

The information provided in this blog illustrates my opinions and experiences, it does not constitute advice and I do not accept responsibility for any actions taken or refrained from as a result of reading this post.

Go on, admit it, when you’ve bumped in to a Utility Warehouse distributor or an Aloe Vera fanatic at a networking meeting you have turned your nose up.  You considered your business more complex, more entrepreneurial, more successful – a proper business; after all these people have been dissolutioned by nothing more than a new variety of pyramid scheme, right?

Missing a trick?

Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) or Network Marketing is a huge industry that is here to stay.  Company’s embrace the extremely effective and efficient way MLM gets products or services to the end user.  This creates higher margins that these ‘simple’ structures carefully distribute to everyone involved.

MLM businesses can be run on your own, or with your partner, full time, part time or in the ‘nooks and crannies’ of life.  It can provide you with an escape from your day to day life, a chance to meet lots of new friends and access to a huge amount of business training, but most of all MLM can provide you with an opportunity to take control.

My observations

1. MLM participants are highly motivated, sociable and generally happy, contented people.
2. Although you are running your own business on your own terms (subject to some guidelines set out by the MLM organisation you have chosen) you are never on your own.  The amount of support, training, friendship, storytelling and sharing of techniques is amazing.
3. People who have not succeeded in MLM have either not had the vision (dream, goals etc) to motivate themselves to plan and then put consistent effort in to generating opportunities.  Consistent could mean as little as 10 minutes a day – a ‘phone call, a blog post, a coffee with a potential team member.  How much time you devote is a personal decision, but consistency is key to momentum.  The other problem is unrealistic ideas about how quickly MLM can change lives, as with many things in life, MLM is a marathon not a sprint.
4. Some serious amounts of money are being generated by people that are accessible to everyone.  MLM is not a corporate environment with a ’fat cat’ board, the high earners in this industry understand that sharing experiences, coaching and encouraging participants helps everyone to achieve more.  The basic principles of leverage and synergy.

Embracing MLM

Next time you meet a MLM participant, remember that they have drive, passion, self-discipline and the spirit to take their destiny in to their own hands.  They are highly motivated team players who bend over backwards to help others and spend countless hours honing their skills.  Isn’t that person someone you would like to get to know?  Or perhaps someone you would like to work with?

The information provided in this blog illustrates my opinions and experiences, it does not constitute advice and I do not accept responsibility for any actions taken or refrained from as a result of reading this post.

The new Chancellor, George Osborne  delivered his first budget on 22 June 2010. He said his budget was ‘tough  but fair’ but described it as being ‘unavoidable’ due to ‘the years of debt and spending’ by the previous labour government.

The Chancellor’s package included various tax increases and spending cuts, some measures had been widely anticipated such as the increase in the VAT rate and an increase in Capital Gains Tax. The Chancellor stressed that his measures were intended to be fair ‘Everyone will pay something but the people at the bottom of the income scale will pay proportionately less than those at the top’.

As tax is not my preferred subject (I have highly experienced colleagues for dealing with that!) I will be brief:

The key announcements included:

VAT Rate rise – As anticipated the VAT rate will increase from 17.5% to 20% with effect from 4 January 2011.

Personal Allowance increase – The personal income tax allowance is to increase by £1,000 in April 2011 to £7,475. This is worth £200 a year to a basic rate taxpayer.

Capital Gains Tax increase – The Capital Gains Tax rate for higher rate taxpayers will increased from 18% to 28% from 23 June 2010. It remains at 18% for basic rate tax payers.

Entrepreneurs Relief extended – Entrepreneurs relief has been extended to a rate of 10% on the first £5m of gains as opposed to the first £2m.

Corporation Tax Rate cut – The Corporation Tax rate will be cut by 1% each year over the next four years until it reaches 24%. The Small Companies rate is to be cut to 20%.

National Insurance rise to stay – The National Insurance rate increases announced by labour remained intact and will still take place however the threshold at which employers start to pay will rise.

No change to Cigarettes, Alcohol and Fuel – No changes were made to duty on cigarettes, alcohol or fuel and the plan to increase the duty on cider from July was scrapped.

Freeze on Child Benefits – Child benefit is to be frozen for the next three years.

Changes to Tax Credits – Tax credits will reduce for families earning over £40,000 next year but for low income families they will receive more Child Tax Credit with the amount per child increasing by £150 above the rate of inflation.

State Pensions – The state pension is to be linked to earnings from April 2011 and is guaranteed to rise in line with earnings or 2.5% whichever is greater. The increase in the state pension age to 66 is to be accelerated.

For further details on the key announcements download a copy of our budget summary.

Alternatively come along to one of our Budget Seminars which we are holding on the 24th and 25th June where we will be providing planning advice as a result of the changes.

Disclaimer: This article is for general guidance only.  All taxation planning should only be undertaken after appropriate professional advice.  George Hay Chartered Accountants are registered to carry on audit work and regulated for a range of investment business activities by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

The information provided in this blog illustrates my opinions and experiences, it does not constitute advice and I do not accept responsibility for any actions taken or refrained from as a result of reading this post.

HM Revenue and Customs have gradually been trying to standardise the tax system across all the different taxes. From the 1^st April 2010 further changes have come in to place in a bid to make the tax system more consistent.

Cross Compliance Inspections

Last year as part of the standardisation process HMRC introduced cross compliance checks enabling them to obtain information regarding various different taxes all at the same time. This meant that HMRC now have one set of powers giving them the ability to inspect records and consider the affect any information obtained has on various taxes such as Corporation Tax, VAT and PAYE, so if an error is found affecting one tax it could now have consequences across other taxes too.

From 1^st April 2010 the list of taxes which can be inspected at the same time has been extended to cover almost all taxes imaginable. The major taxes of Income Tax, Corporation Tax, Capital Gains Tax, PAYE, VAT and CIS where all covered last year but this year majority of the remaining taxes have been added to the list, it now also includes Inheritance Tax, Stamp Duty Land Tax, and many more.

Time frames aligned

The standardisation process also covered the alignment of the amount of time a taxpayer has to make a claim and the amount of time HMRC have to make an assessment.  It now means that for Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Corporation Tax where the time limit for how far HMRC could previously go back was six years this has reduced to four years. However for VAT time limits have increased from three to four years.

 The changes to time limits largely took effect from 1 April 2010 so it could be well worth considering if a previously out of time claim could now be made or if a deadline is now nearing. Anyone needing to make an Income Tax repayment claim for earlier years should check the new deadlines to ensure they do not miss out.

Consistent and fair?

The new process is supposed to make the tax system more consistent and clearer for everyone to administer, but that remains to be seen.

Disclaimer: This article is for general guidance only.  All taxation planning should only be undertaken after appropriate professional advice.  George Hay Chartered Accountants are registered to carry on audit work and regulated for a range of investment business activities by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

The information provided in this blog illustrates my opinions and experiences, it does not constitute advice and I do not accept responsibility for any actions taken or refrained from as a result of reading this post.

PAYE notices of coding are notorious for being erroneous, but HMRC have surpassed themselves with this computer generated nightmare that not only leads to extra work and a lot of confusion but may even leave you paying too much tax.

Multiple Notices

In the last few months you may have received several Notices of Coding all showing different codes for the tax year 2010/11. There have been a number of instances where taxpayers have been receiving one tax code one day followed by a different one the next or even more than one code in one day. This has left many people bewildered and uncertain about exactly what tax code will be operated against their income and many of the codes issued are wrong anyway.

New HMRC  system

The problems have occurred as a result of HM Revenue & Customs recently introducing a new system for issuing coding notices called the National Insurance and PAYE Service (NPS). The new service has brought to light various discrepancies in their records and so they have been trying to rectify the errors, hence so many codes being issued all at once. They expect to complete their review by mid April 2010 which will hopefully bring an end to all the confusion.

Resolution?

Any problems occurring as a result of an incorrect code will ultimately be resolved at the end of the tax year once a taxpayer submits their 2010/11 Tax Return to HMRC. However if serious problems are not dealt with near the beginning of the tax year it could result in a large underpayment arising for some people which it may not be possible to collect via a later year’s tax code.  If you are not required to file a Tax Return, over or underpayments may go undetected for quite some time.

A careful review is necessary

In view of the problems which have occurred it is important that any codes received for 2010/11 are reviewed fully. If you believe that your code is incorrect you should either contact your advisor if you have one or HMRC as soon as possible.

Need help?

As agents we receive a copy of the majority of PAYE Coding Notices issued to our clients and therefore we are able solve many of the matters arising before problems begin to appear. We have discovered various reasons for an incorrect code but the problems particularly appear to have affected those with multiple employments. Close scrutiny of your code is therefore important.

Disclaimer: This article is for general guidance only.  All taxation planning should only be undertaken after appropriate professional advice.  George Hay Chartered Accountants are registered to carry on audit work and regulated for a range of investment business activities by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

The information provided in this blog illustrates my opinions and experiences, it does not constitute advice and I do not accept responsibility for any actions taken or refrained from as a result of reading this post.

To build successful businesses there are Three Elements all entrepreneurs eventually learn that are essential for increasing revenues and profits.  

Many business owners learn by a ‘trial and error’ approach over a number of years, however the game of business has been very well researched over the years through feedback and study of entrepreneurs who are the best in their field.  Without focus on each of these three areas any business success will require far more effort over a longer period of time.  If you’d like to fast track your own success then read on…

• 1) The First Element:

The Psychological Approach. Or, more precisely, how your current psychological approach may be holding you back.

You may already have heard of the saying that “your business is a complete reflection of you!”.  If that’s the case then what is showing up for you within your business at the moment?  Do you need more sales?  Do you never have enough time?  Do you have communication issues with your team members?  Do you need to recruit your first team members?  Whatever is ‘showing up’ for you within your business, the most important thing is how you are reacting to ‘what’s showing up’.  Do you tend to blame others or deny there’s a problem?  Or make excuses to justify the lack of performance?

This is sometimes one of the hardest things for a business owner to accept i.e. all of the problems that you are experiencing within your business are as a direct result of you ‘not’ addressing something within that business!  To illustrate this point I have been working with a particular client for a number of years now, and as the business has grown there have been a number of recurring problems that have always been down to  a couple of team members not being quite up for the job. This reflected in the business owner being unable to delegate effectively – and ‘what showed up’ was ‘running round like a headless chicken syndrome’ all of the time.  The business owner didn’t confront the issue (for various personal reasons that we worked through together) and so the problems just wouldn’t go away.  Eventually, however (when the business owner felt ready to make that decision and we’d implemented a couple of new systems within the business) the two team members were replaced and there has been a radical shift in the business performance.  This has also helped the confidence of the owner in two ways: they realised that their that fear (of the unknown) was actually stopping the business from moving forward (plus keeping the owner very busy!) and by addressing this fear they also learned a number of things about themselves that massively increased their own business confidence and productivity.  So this element involves you, your beliefs and you creating strategies and tactics to break through the hidden (yet very real) mental barriers that may be holding you back from achieving further success. 

• 2) The Second Element:

Your business structure. How your current business structure may be holding you back. There are many areas of your business where you will need watertight systems and methods. This element is more focused on uncovering the current strengths and weaknesses of the strategic side of your business. It will ensure that you have the right strategies and tactics to help you break through the business-related barriers that may be preventing your success. Within the second element there are three focus areas when business growth is your goal. The first of these is:

Sales:

 The key in any business is to make sure that you take the time to understand exactly who your clients are and how they decide to buy.  Everybody has a certain way they love to “buy” from others, so finding out the various personality types and their tendencies will go a long way in making it easier for people to buy from you.  Create a set of systems within your business for sales success.

Marketing: 

Customers won’t buy from you unless they know who you are and why they need you.  It has always amazed me when I go into a business and the business owner is desperate to increase sales and therefore cash flow into the business – and yet they are doing very little effective marketing of their business – because they don’t really understand what ‘marketing’ is or they’re doing the day to day ‘stuff’ that’s not connected with driving the business forward whatsoever!   However we define marketing, in it’s simplest terms it is: The generation of quality leads for the business and the further development of your brand.  Your focus is to choose multiple marketing tactics and develop a marketing system that consistently markets your product or service to your clients.

Management:

 As a business owner you should be looking to spend 80% of your time working strategically ‘on’ your business in the areas of Sales and Marketing.  Any Knowledge, talent and beliefs that you have learnt will be wasted if you are not applying these strategically and tactically to your business.  If you want to grow and sustain that growth, then it’s essential to manage that growth. It’s essential to put in place systems to manage growth, cash, people and working relationships.  How do we know if don’t have this in place?  Because we will forever be reacting to our business and any daily problems that arise.

• 3) The Third Element:

Although the shortest it’s without doubt the most important: it addresses our need for consistent action. Once you have the right resources and information in place then it’s essential to take action. If you asked me if there was one thing that would separate the masses from successful serial entrepreneursthen it would be this: Fast implementation of ideas. Having an understanding of the first two elements (what may be holding you back psychologically and structurally within your business) is an essential step to achieve change, but without implementing what’s been learnt will inhibit change. This is where so many businesses fall short. Through the lack of implementation of those ideas.

Guest author:  Mike Yates is a local, well respected and proven Business Growth Specialist, International Speaker, Author and Business Coach who I have known personally for many years.  For more valuable information like this please visit 121 Business

The information provided in this blog illustrates my opinions and experiences, it does not constitute advice and I do not accept responsibility for any actions taken or refrained from as a result of reading this post.

Forever has surpassed themselves again, with more fabulous items being added to the range of over 200 products.  I love working with this business and having access to such amazing support, information and of course the best aloe in the world!

Freedom2Go

Enjoy all the benefits of Forever Freedom combined with the exotic flavour of pomegranate, in an easy to carry pouch so you can top up your nutrition whilst out and about.

Like Aloe2Go, the drink offers the great health benefits of our Aloe Vera Gel, but with added glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM, and the sweet taste of antioxidant-rich pomegranate juice.

This product is favoured by people wanting to maintain healthy joint function and mobility or recovering from a sporting injury as together with Aloe Vera the ingredients provide great nutrition for joint support and healthy connective tissue.

30 sachets per box (88.7ml)  Price: £87.41 | code: 306

Aloe Deep Moisturizing Cream

The amazing, top quality Sonya Skincare range has been extended.

The Deep Moisturizing Cream quenches your skin’s thirst for moisture. As well as Aloe (of course) it contains pine bark extract with OPCs (Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins) containing some of the strongest antioxidant properties in nature. This combats free radicals to help preserve and strengthen the skin’s collagen, the most abundant protein in the body.  Scientists believe reducing the impact of free radicals to be one of the best ways to counteract the signs of ageing.

The aloe helps carry these key ingredients deep in to the layers of the skin, helping to restore and preserve your skin’s youthful appearance rather than paying to ‘plump up’ the dead cells sitting on the outer layer of epidermis. Scientists believe reducing the impact of free radicals to be one of the best ways to counteract the signs of ageing.

Go on, pamper yourself! 

Price: £25.54 | code: 311

To view the products, visit our online shop.  http://distrib.foreverliving.com/retail/EntryServlet?langID=en&storeID=GBR&distribID=440100000562  Feel free to browse, and please email if you have any questions.  All products are sold with a no quibble, 60-day money back guarantee.

The information provided in this blog illustrates my opinions and experiences, it does not constitute advice and I do not accept responsibility for any actions taken or refrained from as a result of reading this post.