Why do you need to hire accountants for your limited company?

The year 2014 saw the launch of a record number of start-ups in UK. According to a survey made by Centre of Entrepreneurs a whopping half a million small and medium sized businesses have already come into being and this staggering figure will only increase by the end of the year. Needless to say, if you fancy setting up a new company in UK there is no better time than now. But it is needful to say that you should consider hiring accountants for your new business in London.

Although it is not mandatory for you to look out for adept accountants in London to take care of financial aspects of your firm if you are confident enough to look after your businesses like a pro but still you would want services of a skilled and experienced accountant in London for a range of reasons. Aside from submitting VAT and compiling annual accounts these financial professionals carry out a myriad of services that include;

• Having your company registered with all tax departments relevant to your business such as Corporation Tax, PAYE, VAT
• Establishing and running payroll services and ensuring that they comply with the new and revised RTI rules.
• Dealing with HMRC and Companies House and any other correspondence related to your company if required
• Book keeping
• Providing effective and easy-to-understand advices on tax planning, corporate finance and personal tax return

Additionally, competent accounting professionals keep abreast of the latest updates and amendments in tax guidelines and the likes and they are aware of the subtle nuances of dealing with different tax authorities as well. Submission of your company’s financial information to HMRC needs to be done using the right format so it is always better to let a skilled accountant in London take the plunge.

Finally, it is your call whether to hire an accountant for your establishment or to go about it on your own. If you are largely focussing on saving money by not hiring a professional you should keep in mind that a small mistake or unintentional delay in tax return can have you penalised. In that case, you have to spend way more than what you ought to have paid to your accountant. Furthermore, you can concentrate a lot more on the core operations of your business to make it thrive when you don’t have to spend hours calculating numbers.

 

Warm Home Discount Scheme for 2014-15: are you aware and eligible?

If you live in UK you might be entitled to receive a £140 deduction from your electricity bill for the winter of 2014-15 under the Warm House Discount Scheme. But, there are criteria to be met in order to be eligible for such deductions and even if you happen to fulfil those criteria you wouldn’t receive this amount directly. £140 will either be deducted from your electricity bill if you have opted for post-paid plans or you will be provided with a voucher or something equivalent if you go for pre-paid or pay as you go schemes. There are also some very similar schemes and you should consult with those professionals that deal with UK tax solutions to have detailed information.

One of the similar schemes is Cold Weather Payment; which is an incentive of weekly £25 to be given away when the weather is very cold. Winter Fuel Payment is another scheme in which people are provided with fund that is tax-free to pay out the heating bills. If you are eligible for any of these schemes your eligibility for Warm House Discount Scheme will not affected and vice versa. But how will you figure out whether you are eligible for this discount or not?

If you are actually entitled to receive this deduction three things must have applied to you by the July of 2014. The followings are the three crucial scenarios that will make you eligible for this deduction.

• Your electricity provider must also be participating in this very scheme. To ensure whether your provider is into it or not you can either check their website or call up their customer support and ask the same.
• You must be entitled to receive Guarantee Credit under the scheme of Pension Credit regardless whether you are receiving Savings Credit or not.
• Either your partner’s name or your name must be there on the electricity bill.

If you are eligible to receive this deduction you would receive a letter before Christmas saying whether or not you have to do anything to obtain this discount. If you think you fulfil all three criteria and permitted to receive this discount but haven’t got the expected letter you can talk to those who work on UK tax solutions or can write to the team of Warm House Discount Scheme as they are able to assess and confirm whether you are truly eligible or not and will also provide advice on the best ways to apply.