Welcome to the Nicki Paddy & Co. Blog.
We are regularly asked questions by our clients, the answers to which are often pertinent to other clients and SME’s. So in a bid to make useful information freely available, we seek to answer the most regularly asked questions or provide some ideas about managing the perennial issues faced by SME’s and growing companies.
If there is a subject you would like us to consider, please contact us.
26th March 2020
Covid-19 Business Support
The UK Government has announced a raft of measures and support for individuals, businesses, employers and employees to help them through the Covid-19 / Coronavirus crisis. Details of all the current grants and business support can be found on the dedicated Gov.uk website page which is being updated daily: UK Government COVID-19 Support for Employees, […]
31st January 2020
HMRC Agent
In days gone by, HMRC (HM Inspector of Taxes in those days) used to run regional offices. Rather than contact a national helpline or advice centre, you would direct your specific enquiry to the local office, determined by your location or that of your employer for income tax issues. In fact, I even remember visiting […]
14th January 2020
MTD and RTI Come to Fruition
In recent years we have had numerous legislative changes around tax reporting, beginning with RTI (Real Time Information) on payroll and then more recently MTD (Making Tax Digital) for VAT. These have been introduced gradually, marking a creeping change to an automated reporting system between businesses and HMRC. The long-term ambition of these measures is […]
11th December 2019
Sole Traders – Why is my tax bill so high?
This question is not unfamiliar to me. The full question is normally along the lines of ‘Why is my tax bill so high, in fact why am I paying any tax at all?’ I do understand the thinking from a sole trader’s perspective, I think it is a sentiment shared by us all. But the […]
15th October 2019
Accounting Quick Calcs and Rule of Thumb Estimates
It may be because I work with figures all day or it may be because I have a head for numbers, but I find that when I am reviewing sets of figures or running an at-a-glance estimation process, I find a series of accounting quick calcs help me out. They help me to make rapid […]
1st October 2019
BOGOF!
No, I am not attempting to clear the decks of my clients, I am talking offers and how best to handle them in your accounts. If you sell products and run discounts and offers to your customer base, how you reflect these in your accounts can have an impact on profit margins and your long-term […]
26th September 2019
Working with Other Accountants
In most other sectors, you would never dream of working directly with your competitors, but for most of us in the accountancy industry it’s part of life. As well as providing accounting services to my own clients, a significant amount of my work involves working with and for other firms of accountants. There are numerous […]
11th September 2019
Working Smarter
As business owners sometimes do, I sat down the other day and looked at the state of the business – what I do, who I do it for – and then compared this to the same picture last year and a number of years prior to that. What was clear to me was the fact […]
14th August 2019
A Day in the Life of a Bookkeeper
It’s Wednesday 16th January and I have decided to keep a track of a bookkeeper’s day. It’s 0620 and this is the week where the period I refer to as self-assessment silly season really kicks in. I have got 12 more working days before the tax return submission deadline but that assumes no weekend working! […]
31st July 2019
Know Your Numbers
What’s the quickest way to identify an issue in your management accounts? Simple – know your numbers…. I work for a number of businesses whereby I manage (nearly) every aspect of their company accounts function. From raising sales invoices to credit control, managing the purchase ledger, payment of suppliers, payroll, VAT, annual/quarterly returns and year-end […]