Quote Of The Week
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All lasting business is built on friendship.
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Alfred
A. Montapert
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Become a Fan on Facebook for a Special Gift!!
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We want you to become a fan on Facebook, so, we are offering you a special gift to become a fan.
If you click here, and become a fan, we will send you a special e-book called 'Get More Customers for Next to Nothing', which includes some great, cost-efficient strategies for growing your business.
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If you found this information valuable, please forward this email onto a friend or colleague.
If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe here
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Greetings!
Spring seems to be sprung, and we hope the new financial year brings you prosperity and happiness. To lighten the mood after the last 12 months, have a go at this weeks brainteaser. This one's a bit more difficult, and the prize is a secret! The same rules apply; the first person to email us with the correct answer will win; simple!!
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Firstly, we would like to congratulate David Lyne, of Pinnacle Travel Ltd, who won last week's BrainTeaser. The answer was 30.
Now, this one's slightly harder, and may take a bit longer; so we're expecting a close call!
Three travellers register at a hotel and are told that their rooms
will cost $10 each so they pay $30. Later the clerk realizes that
he made a mistake and should have only charged them $25. He gives
a bellboy $5 to return to them but the bellboy is dishonest and
gives them each only $1, keeping $2 for himself. So the men actually
spent $27 and the bellboy kept $2 - what happened to the other
dollar of the original $30?
The same rules apply for this week's BrainTeaser; The first person to email us with the correct answer will win a mystery prize!
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Correcting VAT Errors
Where you find an error in your
VAT records, which has already been included in the figures reported on a VAT
return, don't panic! You can correct that error on your next VAT return, as
long as the net error amounts to VAT due of less than £10,000, or less
than 1% of your quarterly turnover (subject to a £50,000 cap). If the
net error is larger than this, you need to write to the Tax Office telling them
exactly what went wrong, and how you have corrected the problem. We can help
you with this.
Correction on the VAT return is
the best and quickest option for most small errors. If the Tax Inspector looks
in detail at your VAT return you may have to pay interest on the delayed VAT
payment and a small penalty.
However, the interest rate currently
used by HMRC is only 3%. The penalty for an
error that has been corrected voluntarily is a maximum of 30% of a nominal
interest figure set at 5% of the delayed VAT payment.
For example: If you correct an error of VAT underpaid
of £12,000 after six months, the maximum penalty will be £67.50: £12,000 x 5% x
30% x 6/12 = £67.50.
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Client Spotlight - Matts Mowing & Drivebrite
Hi,
I'm Jon Kemp, and I trade as Matt's Mowing and Drivebrite. Matt's Mowing
provide lawn and hedge cutting, including strimming, and general  'tidying up'.
As well as this, we offer special treatment services, including scarification,
granular feed application and weed killer spraying (We have a Pesticides Spraying Licence).
Drivebrite, as the name suggests, is about brightening the
appearance of exterior areas such as drives, patios, paving, tarmac, decking,
conservatories, and so on. With residential work, a lot of block driveways are
reaching the age when they need a bit of attention: we can totally refresh the
look of blockwork driveways, with specialist cleaning followed by the
re-instatement of jointing sand and application of a clear sealant to maximise
the maintenance span.
Using a commercial pressure washer, and other
specialist equipment we can clean anything from boat hulls to caravans,
swimming pools areas to motor trade forecourts and even high access building
surfaces - cladding , gutters and roofs (IPAF Mobile Elevated Working Platform
Certificate)
I have
been trading as a Sole Trader for two years, and we cover the whole of Sussex, with most of our activity in Brighton, Hove and the South Downs Villages.
Our main competitors are Greenthumb; they are well
established specialists at lawn care treatments. However, they don't do lawn
mowing services, which we do. We are also not VAT registered, so our pricing is
highly competitive.
We are currently running an offer; a special lawn care and
feed programme for 2010. The market price for fertilizer is substantially
greater this season, so bookings in April and May will be held at 2009
prices. That means the first feed in
that period is effectively "for free".
In conjunction with this Spotlight, I would like to
offer anyone reading this 25% off on any other Garden and Drivebrite services
during the current quarter: April, May & June 2010.
"I hadn't ever treated my lawn for all the weeds
before, but just as Jon thought, it made a huge difference. I went away for a
few weeks and the lawn was so much better when I returned. And it was nice that
all the weeds in the driveway had disappeared too!" Mrs Campbell , Hassocks.
It was useful to have a temporary VAT registration to
recover VAT from a franchise purchase. Having reviewed that initially elected
status, it was helpful to de-register , shortly after recovering the outlay.
When you first register for VAT , it is apparently
standard to get a VAT inspector to visit, so when this happened, it was helpful
to benefit from Barrys support in answering the technical points from the
questions that arose.
www.mattsmowing.co.uk
www.drivebrite.com
www.driveway-patio-cleaning.co.uk
jkemp@mattsmowing.co.uk
kempbizservices@googlemail.co.uk
01273 806644
0789 600 1146
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Ten Ways To Grow Your Business
Whether
you are holding a steady course or aspiring to grow in the year ahead,
it's essential to think about the challenges and opportunities that you
may encounter along the way. If you have a strong business proposition,
you may be wondering how to take the next step. Here are some options
with tips that have been supplied by real Business Link customers.
1. Review
your business plan
This
should be a continuous process with the plan being regularly updated
and monitored. Sufficient for most businesses is an annual plan broken
down into four quarterly operating plans with monthly targets and
reviews.
Tip
- Ask directors to identify their personal aspirations
so that you can plan growth around your core team. Ciaran
2.
Refresh your offer
Is
it still relevant? Be aware of your customers' needs and your
competitors' moves. You will probably find it useful to do a SWOT
(strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. This will show
you how you are doing in relation to the market in general and
specifically your closest competitors.
Tip
- Recognise threats, but don't get too hung up on them - they could be
strengths or opportunities as well. Richard
To read the rest of this article, please click here
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As
a small to medium sized business in these current times, it may
interest you that Keepers Accountancy are making radical changes to
ensure you have the opportunity to cut your business costs, get more sales, and improve
your profits.
At
the same time, get the full resources of a proactive, "on your side" Accountancy service that is not only willing to assist with any aspect
of your business, but will also include all the support in our annual
fixed fee (no surprise bills).
Savings on your
Tax liabilities ..............................GUARANTEED
When choosing Keepers, save a
minimum of 25% on your current fees...............................................................................GUARANTEED
Free
advice as and when you need it .....................GUARANTEED
Free
support throughout the year, not just at the end of the
year ..............................................................................GUARANTEED
Fixed
annual fee and no surprise bills ..................GUARANTEED
Free
budget forecasts, cash flow and managerial
reports .........................................................................GUARANTEED
Our
final Guarantee...if you are unhappy with any aspect of our work,
please tell us and we will, without question, respect your right to pay
whatever amount you feel is more appropriate. .........................................GUARANTEED
At Keepers, we are
always trying to think of new ways that we can help you, and not just
with your accounting either! With customer service, and expertise, like
ours, surely you would be mad not to be with us?!
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Thanks for reading. You can find us on our website, Facebook, Twitter or
LinkedIn; just click the relevant link at the top of the Newsletter.
Ben
& Chris
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