Top News - Pteris Business Services

Late payments have nearly doubled from 12 days in 2018 to 23 days in 2019, says the latest MarketFinance Business Insights. Some 39% of invoices were paid late in 2019, which is a marginal improvement from the 43% in 2018. On average, £34,286 was owed in late invoices, which means businesses waiting on £34bn in late payments.

The research shows larger businesses take longer to settle bills than their smaller counterparts. MarketFinance's Bilal Mahmood said:

It's great to see that fewer invoices were paid late in 2019 but worryingly, those that were paid late took twice as long.

He revealed that separate research highlights that 87% of businesses are prevented from taking on more orders because of cashflow constraints owing to late payments. Mahmood said government measures such as the Prompt Payment Code and Duty to Report have helped create awareness but need "more bite".

01/07/2020: QuickBooks Online

We have now received our QuickBooks Online Advanced certification.

13.05.2020: Furlough Scheme

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announched that the UK scheme to pay wages of workers on leave because of coronavirus will be extended to October. Employees will continue to receive 80% of their monthly wages, up to £2,500, but he said the government will ask companies to "start sharing" the cost of the scheme from August; whereby employers currently using the scheme will then be able to bring furloughed employees back part-time.

A quarter of the workforce (27%), 7.5 million people, are now covered by the scheme, being used by 935,000 companies. This is costing £14bn a month.

25.03.2020: Working from Home

As the coronavirus is causing many of us to work from home, here are some top tips to keep it as productive as possible.

Establish a dedicated area as your workspace. It could be a room or just a table. But that is your workspace.
Focus. Don't get distracted. Your home is now your office. Treat your workspace like your office. Structure your day like you would in an office.
Use the technology such as Teams, Zoom or GoToMeeting to talk to people online.
Stay off social media unless it is directly work-related.
Plan your day. Schedule your work on your calendar, hour by hour. This will help you stay focused and on track.

Communicate your expectations and ground rules with anyone else that may be at home with you (toddlers and younger are an exception).
Take breaks away from your “workspace” and go back to your workspace immediately after your break time is over.

11.03.2020: The Budget

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is delivering his first Budget in the House of Commons, announcing the government's tax and spending plans for the year ahead.

Small firms will be able to access "business interruption" loans of up to £1.2m as a result of coronavirus.
Firms with fewer than 250 staff will be refunded for sick pay payments for two weeks.
Statutory sick pay will be paid to all those who choose to self-isolate, even if they don't have symptoms.
Business rates will be abolished for firms in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors with a rateable value below £51,000.
National Insurance Contributions tax threshold to rise from £8,632 to £9,500 - saving people just over £100 a year.

Plastic packaging tax to come into force from April 2022.
Manufacturers and importers whose products have less than 30% recyclable material will be charged £200 per tonne.
0.5% on women's sanitary products, the tampon tax, to be scrapped.
Business rate discounts for pubs to rise from £1,000 to £5,000 this year.

22.02.2020: Arthur Hayes Testimonial

Excellent bookkeeping and payroll service from Janice.

– Lucinda Howard – Arthur Hayes Opticians, East Grinstead

26.01.2020: Preparing for Bexit

#5 Data Protection

Most of the data protection rules affecting small to medium-sized businesses and organisations will stay the same after exiting the EU. The UK is committed to maintaining the high standards of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and the government plans to incorporate it into UK law after .

No EU contacts or customers – where a business does not receive personal data from the EU, little or no additional work will be required to prepare for data protection compliance after .

— Businesses that receive data from the EU – where an organisation receives personal data from contacts in the , extra steps will be needed to ensure that the data can continue to flow after .
— Businesses will need to comply with both UK and EU data protection regulations after if they have an office, branch or other established presence in the European Economic Area (EEA), or if they have customers in the .

22.01.2020: Preparing for Bexit

#4 People and Travel

Workforce

Businesses will remain able to hire staff from EU countries after the UK leaves the Union. The UK Government will establish a new skills-based immigration system by 2021. Until then, EU/EEA/Swiss citizens arriving in the UK after EU Exit will be able to work or study for up to 3 months without a visa. Those who want to stay in the UK beyond the initial 3-month visa free period, will be able to apply for EU Temporary Leave to Remain (TLR) while they are in the UK to remain for up to 36 additional months. This period will not be extendable. Those who want to remain permanently would have to apply under the new skills-based immigration system. Employers will need to continue to conduct the same Right to Work checks that they currently do, using EU / EEA / Swiss citizens’ passport or national identity card, until 2021.

Qualifications

Where UK nationals have already been recognised by an EU country as holding valid professional qualifications this will remain valid after the UK leaves the EU.

EU Workers’ Right to Stay

EU nationals and their family members who have lived in the UK for at least five years will have until 31 December 2020 to apply for UK Settled Status. If they’ve been in the UK for less than 5 years, they can apply for Pre-Settled status until they have completed five years. Irish citizens do not need to apply for the right to stay unless they wish to.

UK Self-employed Workers Abroad

Self-employed workers working in the EU, EEA or Switzerland should check whether they will need to pay local social security contributions after we leave the EU – more information.

Travel

Freedom of movement under EU rules and legislation will cease immediately after a no-deal . This will have implications for the movement of both people and goods (see Customs artile).
Passports must have at least 6 months left and be less than ten years old to be valid for travel to EU countries. Visas will not be needed for stays of less than 90 days.
Travel insurance with healthcare will be needed to cover trips. Access to state health care through the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) cards may not be available. Most travel services, including flights, ferries, Eurostar and Eurotunnel are expected to continue running after EU departure. Although, UK travellers will not be able to use lanes for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and may be asked to show a return ticket at borders.

18.01.2020: Preparing for Bexit

#3 Financial Reporting

The UK’s corporate reporting regime will remain largely unchanged after the UK exits the European Union. The Government has published guidance on accounting practices in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Disclosures

The Financial Reporting Council is encouraging companies to be specific about the threats they face from leaving the EU. Recent advice to finance directors and audit chiefs says challenges should be disclosed, along with details of actions taken or planned.

Audit

UK companies will need to appoint a UK registered audit firm. An individual UK registered auditor will need to sign the audit report on behalf of the firm. Some rules relating to approving individuals and firms for registration as auditors will change.

Company Law

UK businesses with a branch operating in the EU will become a third country business in the event of no-deal, and so will need to comply with the laws in those countries.

Accounts

Accounts will need to be prepared using ‘UK adopted IAS’ instead of ‘EU adopted IAS’ for financial years beginning after the UK leaves the EU. Initially, standards will be the same, but may later diverge.

14.01.2020: Preparing for Bexit

#2 VAT

After Britain leaves the EU, businesses will have to apply VAT to trading with EU countries in the same way as when trading with non-EU countries. In the long term, the UK will be able to set its own VAT rates. But the UK’s short-term policy is to stay as close to the current position as possible.

Postponed Accounting

HMRC has announced a postponed accounting scheme for VAT on goods brought into the UK. This will avoid adverse effects on cash-flow. It means that UK VAT-registered businesses importing goods to the UK will be able to account for import VAT on their VAT return, rather than paying import VAT on or soon after the time that the goods arrive at the UK border. This will apply both to imports from the EU and non-EU countries.

Triangulation will End

The process of simplifying cross-border VAT accounting by 'triangulation' will no longer apply. This presently allows a British business to order goods in France and have them delivered to a customer in Italy without a need to be registered for VAT in either of those countries or charging VAT. After Britain leaves the EU, this benefit will no longer be available, and the business will need to register in either Italy or France.

VAT Registration in the EU

Businesses that are currently registered for VAT in other EU countries should be aware that many countries have different registration requirements for EU and non-EU businesses. Current EU rules would mean that UK businesses will continue to be required to register for VAT in the EU member states where sales are made in order to account for the VAT due in those countries.

Ireland and VAT

The Irish Government will need to clarify arrangements for a no-deal exit with the European Commission and EU member states. says companies trading across the land border in Ireland should consider taking advice from the Irish government about the best way to prepare.

Distance Selling

Mail order exports to private customers in the EU countries are currently covered by the EU's distance selling regime. After exit, this scheme would cease to apply to the UK. Sales by UK operators would be zero-rated by . However, there could be charges for and duty on the EU side.

Postal Imports Worth £135 or Less

While most payments will be deferred, this does not include goods imported as postage parcels and valued at £135 or less. Here, the importer will pay the import VAT upfront and the overseas seller of the goods will have to account for the import VAT. The VAT should then be reclaimed against the sales invoice on the next VAT Return.

VAT on Digital Services

Businesses that sell digital products to consumers in the EU will have to get to grips with VAT changes after we leave the EU. The Mini One Stop Shop (MOSS) scheme was designed to simplify accounting for VAT for such businesses. However, the UK MOSS scheme will close after we leave the EU. In future, businesses will need to either: register for VAT MOSS in any EU member state; or register VAT in each EU member state where they sell digital services to consumers.

10.01.2020: Preparing for Bexit

#1 Customs processes

Once we leave the EU, we will leave the Customs Union and so import and export processes will apply.

EORI Number

In order to move goods in or out of the UK, businesses will need a UK EORI number (Economic Operator Registration and Identification). This should be prefixed with the letters GB. HMRC has automatically enrolled companies that are VAT registered, and have traded with Europe. Firms below the VAT threshold need to apply online. The process is simple and takes around three days – more information. Action: check if your organisation needs an EORI number. In order for an organisation in the EU to receive goods from a UK supplier, they will also need an EU EORI number – more information. Action: check trading partners have an EORI number. Businesses that export and import across the Irish border and not with other parts of the EU will not need an EORI number.

Customs Declarations

Customs declarations need to be made for goods entering or leaving the UK. Businesses can do this themselves using specialist software. Alternatively, they can appoint a customs agent or freight forwarder to make declarations. Action: decide who will make the customs declaration. Do any further procedures apply?

Assigning Responsibility

Consider making a person in the business responsible for leading customs planning. In general, staff need to understand the processes involved in shipping goods around the EU now, including whether any standards or licenses apply to the items. The Government is making £16 million available to help business train staff in making customs declarations.

Tax and Duty

Organisations importing from the EU should check what tariffs apply, and whether VAT must be accounted for. Action: check the rate of tax and duty for the goods.

Deferment Account

Organisations that regularly import can apply for deferment account, which allows payment of customs charges in a single monthly payment on the fifteenth day of the month following the month of import. Having a deferment account can help a business ensure high-value shipments are cleared quickly and simply at Customs.

Ireland Customs Processes

HMRC has published guidance on how excise goods will be moved to and from Ireland in a no-deal Brexit.

Streamlining Customs Processes

To reduce the amount of information given at the border, importers can apply to the Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP) scheme.
HMRC has just auto-enrolled 95,000 firms. This should allow most traders up to six months to pay import duties and submit customs declarations. Companies that are dependent on moving move goods rapidly through borders should investigate the Common Transit Convention scheme. This is a permanent scheme whose benefits include removing the need for customs declarations at every border crossing and allowing duties to be paid once goods reach their destination.

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2020

21.10.2020: Late payments affecting SMEs