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The UK VAT rate was not the only rate to change on the 1st of December; the Irish Government increased their rate from 21% to 21.5%. However, it seems that with the sudden announcement and panic generated with the UK change; the Irish change occurred with (from the UK perspective) little fanfare!
However, as we have accountants in Ireland using Clever Accounts we have quickly upgraded the system to ensure their VAT is up to date.
Now, all Irish users have access to the new rate instantly, without having to change settings or perform confusing workarounds.
Could this update have been performed as quick and with as little fuss from any of our offline competitors??
In the pre-budget report disclosed today it was announced that the standard rate of VAT would be cut from 17.5% to 15% as from 1st December 2008.
Business owners who are VAT registered will need to apply the changes to the invoices they send their customers from this date. Only standard-rated sales are affected so if you currently charge at 17.5% you will need to reduce this to 15%.
This rate will remain in place until 31st December 2010 at which point it will revert to 17.5% again.
Don't forget, it also means that expenditure incurred will be affected and you should take care in posting expenses to the system.
It will be interesting to see whether this reduction will have any serious impact in the economy....
Unfortunately, Mr Darling has not given us software supplier's much time to get our systems changed to the new rate (thanks!) - thankfully, once we have included the new VAT rate, your system will be automatically updated without need for any update disk!
We've been lucky enough to work with some exciting new accounting firms that are taking online accountancy to the masses. They really value the benefit that online accounting brings to them and their relationship with their clients - something that traditional practices find difficult to replicate.
Purple Accounts - visit site
Purple Accounts have only recently started using Clever Accounts but are fast growing their client portfolio. Based in the Isle of Man, but also have offices on the mainland, they are attracting clients throughout the UK that do not need the accountant on their doorstep
Working online with clients means that Purple Accounts can keep their costs reasonable but can provide a much closer relationship with their clients - essential in this financial climate!
Golding & Associates - visit site
Golding & Associates are making full use of their accountant's suite which helps them easily standardise and manage their clients online with one single login. This means they no longer need to worry about backing up software or waiting for client records to be posted to them.
Golding & Associates have many small businesses using their branded version of Clever Accounts and this white-labeling of the system helps to build confidence within their clients.
For a full list of accountants using Clever Accounts click here and feel free to contact any of them. Conversely, if you are an accountant wishing to join the network please visit here to find out more and contact us.
A director's loan account is simply a balance of monies owed between the directors (you) and the company that you run. For example you can lend the company money e.g. to pay suppliers, as a short term cash injection etc and this is recorded as money owed to you. Once you take back the money you post a reversal. There are ways of taking out money as a loan from the company but these are complex and limited - please refer to your accountant
One simple way is to create a new bank account and call it "Directors Loan Account" (don't forget to select the appropriate tick box when adding the account)- treat this as your loan account with the company. When you pay personal money in, make a "Transfer" from the Directors Loan Account to the bank account you paid the money into. Conversely, if you pay this back to yourself; make a transfer from the bank account to the director’s loan account.
If you have paid a supplier by a personal cheque then you would select "Director's loan account" as the bank account used when paying the supplier via "Pay Supplier".
Furthermore, you can simply post into the directors loan account if you have miscellaneous expenses. Click on the director’s loan account and then bank payments.
Keeping up to date with your paperwork is becoming more essential each day, especially considering the impact the credit crunch is having on general day to day living.
We appreciate it's easy to sign up enthusiastically to our free trial intending to update your accounts daily but before the month is out this gets side-lined for more important work. However, keeping up to date with your accounts is more beneficial than you may think and can help reduce your costs in the long run.
Here are a few pointers to why you should keep up with your paperwork and how this can benefit your business:
When you have up to date accounts:
This benefits you're business by:
It is certainly easy to become distracted by more important aspects of your business, especially when bookkeeping does not earn you money (ok, unless you're an accountant!). But spending a couple of hours a week can improve you're business and help towards its success.
Firstly, we are delighted to announce our new re-branded website.
For our long standing users, we were formally called Your Online Accountants (www.youronlineaccountants.co.uk) and provided an online accountancy service with the added benefit of offering an online accounting application. Four years ago, not only were we one of the first to offer an online bookkeeping package but probably the only accountants to provide such a integrated service.
However, we have come along way since then and now provide all types of business subscription based access to the system with the added benefit of being able to keep their own accountant. This has opened up our business model significantly and now are able to offer a fully branded working system to accountants alike to manage their own clients bookkeeping.
As our long standing users will notice, we have re-designed the front end of the website and added extra functionality, such as the customer support module (we hope to build this to become the first port of call for all technical support issues). We have also freshened up the actual accounting system along the same lines. However, this is only the first stage of a major face lift of the accounting system thus, over the coming months expect further enhancements to your overall experience.
The Clever Accounts Team
