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Brighton & Worthing Archives - Nimbus Accounting

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Watch out for persistent losses

November 24, 2011 | By |

Many self-employed traders have suffered losses in recent years. The effects of the banking crisis and global recession have slowed economic activity. Some of these business people will have taken on other, perhaps unrelated, part-time jobs to supplement their income?

Sound familiar?

If you have found yourself in this position be aware that HMRC may challenge your ability to set off losses. For instance:

  • Losses will only be made available for sideways relief against other income when you can demonstrate that a trade is conducted on a commercial basis, with a view to making profits.
  • HMRC can use present powers to restrict loss relief claims if the trader does not spend at least 10 hours a week working in the business – this restriction normally applies to losses in excess of £25,000.

If you wish to discuss any matters with us, our Nimbus Accounting expert is Paul Rawlings (01273 782 742).

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Are all accountants boring?

November 24, 2011 | By |

No, is the simple answer, but grey is an accountant’s favourite colour!

There are two types of accountant, your traditional accountant and your modern accountant.

The traditional accountant is the one that you see once a year. You generally sit in their office and you discuss what happened to your business during the last year. These accountants offer little tax advice or financial planning and are more often than not more costly than a modern accountant. These traditional accountants do no more than look back and assist with your statutory requirements. They will not offer any advice on system improvements, business strategy ideas and believe their fees are justified by their qualification, rather than adding any value to your business.

The modern accountant will offer their clients fixed fees, detailing everything they will include, so you don’t get an unexpected bill. The modern accountant will have continuous communication with you, monthly or quarterly, keeping up to date with everything that is happening within your business. By liaising with you on a monthly/quarterly basis they can offer on going tax and business advice. Your modern accountant will also help with system development, making sure you are working efficiently. The modern accountant will supply you with management accountants that are meaningful and will help you set budgets. The modern accountant will work with online accounting software, not a spreadsheet. The modern accountant will complete all the statutory requirements within their fixed fee and help with strategic decisions. The modern accountant will add value to your business and help you grow.

What type of accountant do you currently have? What type of accountant do you now want? Do you know where to find a modern accountant? Have you heard of Nimbus Accounting?

Nimbus accounting only employs modern accountants! We are committed to our customers and make sure their businesses grow and prosper. We have offices covering Brighton & Hove and Worthing, but act for clients all over theUK. Call us to see how different we are, you’ll be surprised at our fresh approach to accountancy. 

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Choosing an accountant can be harder than buying a new pair of shoes.

November 13, 2011 | By |

There is a large selection of accountants to choose from, qualified, not qualified, good, bad, and the ugly.  How should you choose yours?

Most accountants offer different services and your search should be based on matching your needs with their skills. What do you want from your accountant, what do you need from your accountant and will they be cost effective.

Once you answer these questions you would be able to search for an accountant that best matches your requirements. We would recommend choosing three accountants and having a discussion with each one to compare them. We suggest you select a few tax planning questions to ask each accountant and to see what advice you receive.

We suggest you find an accountant who can offer you an all-inclusive package, no hidden costs and a fixed price. Make sure you get an engagement letter that details everything that is included in your fixed fee.

It makes sense to select a forward thinking accountant, one who is proactive and wants to help you and provide value for money. Make sure they are up to date with the current legislation, offer support for online software, Skype meeting facilities, contactable at any time and most importantly appoint an accountant who is qualified. A qualified accountant will provide you with the reassurance that they follow a strict code stipulated by their professional body.

If you are looking to change accountant or you are starting out in business, we would recommend Nimbus Accounting, of course we would, but we really provide a value added service to our clients. Contact Nimbus today to talk to an accountant who wants to help you.

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Do you need a local accountant?

November 11, 2011 | By |

With the advances in modern technology, do you need an accountant who is local? We have offices covering Brighton, Hove and Worthing, but we service clients all over the UK. How is this possible and why do clients not need to sit in our office any more?

To start with, the cost of visiting your accountant is more than you would think. There is the time taken to travel to your accountant, travel expenses and that formal meeting will probably be added to your annual accountant’s bill.

How does Nimbus Accounting eliminate these costs? We encourage a proactive dialogue between the accountant and client. We have turned the traditional accountant’s model on its head by contacting our clients on a monthly bases, to discuss the future rather than the conventional annual meetings where the accountant reviews historic data.

How can you get the same feeling of being in the office and having the full attention of your accountant, Skype! Skype is a great communication tool, not only can you chat to your accountant but you can see then too, something that is obviously missing when you speak on the phone.  This provides the client and accountant the feeling of meeting and greeting, without physically shaking hands.

All you need is a good Internet connection and a webcam and you are away.

In summary, you do not need a local accountant, which opens up your choice of accountant. Nimbus Accounting are a firm of forward looking qualified accountants based in Brighton & Hove, but service clients thought the UK. We offer fixed fee packages that include unlimited contact via Skype, so you are never on your own.   

 

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Are you that lazy that you need an Umbrella?

November 9, 2011 | By |

Your accountant in Brighton and Hove has decided to go head first into the blogging world with our first blog on umbrella companies.

An umbrella company, normally run by a firm of accountants, holds your contract and pays your through a payroll scheme, they also kindly repay some of your expenses you have incurred (how thoughtful). This is the same tax treatment as an employee, but the umbrella company/accountant charges you. Being in an umbrella company, apparently, helps with the IR35 substitution clause, but what about a reality check?

So, here you are in your umbrella company, paying tax as if you were an employee but not getting any of the perks. No holiday pay, no sick pay, no employer pension contribution and more importantly no annual staff Christmas party. However, with the new Agency Workers Regulations implemented on 1 October 2011, will you now be entitled to these benefit’s? It’s a grey area and it will be interesting to see how the legislation is interpreted. If you are going to get these benefits then why not become an employee with the job security and save on the accountant’s costs?

Our accountants at Nimbus have never understood why contractors or freelancers use an umbrella company. We can only assume that they think running their own limited company is too much hard work? Well we are here to tell you otherwise.

Most qualified accountants should take care of everything for you, that’s right, there is no extra work for you. An accountant, qualified of course, can take care of everything from the formation of your own company and all the statutory requirements.

Now for the sales pitch, please skip if you are happy with your current accountant!

Nimbus Accounting are qualified accountants that specialise in contractor/freelance clients and enjoy making their life easier, whilst increasing their monthly take home pay. We can take care of everything from forming a company, registering with HMRC for Corporation Tax, VAT, PAYE, dealing with Companies House, helping you open a bank account, setting you up with free accounting software, preparing your payroll, sending you dividend certificates and most importantly keeping your tax bill down. And the best part, all of this for only £99 + VAT per month.

If you would like one of our accountants to calculate how much better off you would be operating your own limited company, please email us for a free wealth check.  

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Welcome to my first Nimbus Blog

October 8, 2011 | By |

Welcome to our blog, here we aim to bring you information to help you make more money and pay less tax! All our blogs are written by members of our team for you and should all be relevant and useful. As with everything we do at Nimbus Accounting, the blogs will be divided into three subjects areas being either contractors/freelancers, owner run businesses or property owners.

We have some general subjects we wish to start with, to cover the basics, then going forward the blogs will be focused on current issues and common pitfalls clients commonly encounter. We welcome feed back and love to hear what you think about our blogs. If there is a topic you would like us to include, please let us know

Your Nimbus Accounting Team.