Business Support

If you are self-employed it is important to know if an expense is tax allowable. Any allowable costs can be used to reduce your taxable profit.

As a general rule you can claim for items that you would normally use for less than 2 years as allowable expenses such as stationery and other office sundries as well as rent, rates, power and insurance costs.

HMRC lists the following office expenses as being allowable:

• office costs, for example stationery or phone bills
• travel costs, for example fuel, parking, train or bus fares
• clothing expenses, for example uniforms
• staff costs, for example salaries or subcontractor costs
• things you buy to sell on, for example stock or raw materials
• financial costs, for example insurance or bank charges
• costs of your business premises, for example heating, lighting, business rates
• advertising or marketing, for example website costs
• training courses related to your business, for example refresher courses

Regarding training costs, you can claim training costs that help you:

• improve skills and knowledge you currently use for your business;
• keep up-to-date with technology used in your industry; 
• develop new skills and knowledge related to changes in your industry; or
• develop new skills and knowledge to support your business – this includes administrative skills.

You cannot claim for training courses that help you:

• start a new business; or
• expand into new areas of business that are not related to your current business activities.

Setting up in business as a sole trader is arguably the simplest way of starting and running a business. The advantages of being a sole trader include independence, ease of set up and running your business, and the fact that all the profits go to you.

The disadvantages include a lack of support, unlimited liability, the prospect of paying more tax on high profits and that you are personally responsible for any debts run up by your business.

HMRC publishes some simple guidance for those looking to set up as a sole trader. The list can be found at https://www.gov.uk/set-up-as-sole-trader

The main steps listed are as follows:

• Step 1: Check if being a sole trader is right for you
• Step 2: Choose your business name
• Step 3: Check what records you need to keep
• Step 4: Register as a sole trader
• Step 5: Check if you need to register for VAT
• Step 6: Plan for your tax bill
• Step 7: Get help and support

If you are looking at setting up as a sole trader we can also advise you of the many pitfalls you should avoid and if a sole trader status is the best structure for your proposed business.

Convictions of hundreds of postmasters have been quashed following Royal Assent of the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024.

Many postmasters endured financial ruin, the loss of homes, livelihoods, reputation and some even lost their lives as a result of the Horizon IT Scandal which is one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our history.

Following Royal Assent on 24 May, all convictions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will now be quashed providing they meet the following criteria: 

• Prosecutions were brought about by the Post Office or CPS (or in Northern Ireland, the state prosecutor or the police).
• Offences were carried out in connection with Post Office business between 1996 and 2018.
• Were for relevant offences such as theft, fraud and false accounting.
• Were against sub-postmasters, their employees, officers, family members or direct employees of the Post Office working in a Post Office that used the Horizon system software.
• The conviction has not been considered by the Court of Appeal

This clears their names, delivers justice, and ensures swifter access to the financial redress they deserve.

Postmasters will be written to in the coming weeks as the process for notifying them of their overturned convictions commences. An open letter to postmasters to set out next steps has also been published today.

The Department for Business and Trade continue to work on the new Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme for those who have had their convictions quashed by today’s legislation. This will be fully operational by the summer.

A reminder that businesses must submit all export declarations through the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) by 4 June.

Businesses exporting goods have less than one month left to move across to the CDS, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced today.

Export declarations must be submitted through CDS from 4 June this year, when it replaces the Customs Handling Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system for all trade declarations.

CDS provides businesses with a more user-friendly, streamlined system with greater functionality. It has been running since 2018 for import declarations and more than 117 million customs declarations have already been submitted through CDS.

HMRC is working closely with the border industry and directly contacting all declarants and traders to urge them to access the available support now and transfer over to CDS.

Businesses with customs agents should ensure their agent is ready to use CDS. Those without a customs agent must prepare to make their own declarations using software that works with the system.

Further information is available on GOV.UK, including the CDS toolkit and checklists, which break down the individual steps traders need to take. Traders can also subscribe to CDS alerts and access the free Trader Dress Rehearsal to practice submitting declarations.

The recently introduced Economic Crime and Transparency Act has gifted Companies House a range of new powers aimed at reducing exploitation by corporate entities to pursue illegal enterprise.

The aim of the new reforms are:

• Introducing identity verification for all new and existing registered company directors, People with Significant Control, and those delivering documents to the Registrar. This will improve the accuracy of Companies House data, to support business decisions and law enforcement investigations.
• Broadening the Registrar of Companies House’s powers so that the Registrar can become a more active gatekeeper over company creation and custodian of more reliable data, including new powers to check, remove or decline information submitted to, or already on, the companies register.
• Improving the financial information on the register so that the register is more reliable, complete and accurate, reflects the latest advancements in digital technology, and enables better business decisions.
• Providing Companies House with more effective investigation and enforcement powers and introducing better cross-checking of data with other public and private sector bodies. Companies House will be able to proactively share information with law enforcement bodies where they have evidence of anomalous filings or suspicious behaviour.
• Enhancing the protection of personal information provided to Companies House to protect individuals from fraud and other harms.
• Broader reforms to clamp down on misuse of corporate entities.

In addition to the above, the bill will:

• enable businesses in certain situations to share information more easily for the purposes of preventing, investigating or detecting economic crime by disapplying civil liability for breaches of confidentiality for firms who share information to combat economic crime;
• enable proactive intelligence gathering by law enforcement and strengthening the National Crime Agency’s Financial Intelligence Unit’s (FIU) ability to obtain information from businesses relating to money laundering and terrorist financing by removing the requirement for a pre-existing Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) to have been submitted before an Information Order (IO) can be made; and
• focus private sector and law enforcement resources on high value activity, reducing the reporting burden on businesses and enabling greater prioritisation of law enforcement resource by expanding the types of case in which businesses can deal with clients’ property without having to first submit a Defence Against Money Laundering (DAML) SAR.

As more information on the detail of how these changes will impact SMEs, we will post further updates on this newsfeed.

Business rates are a tax on non-domestic premises, including most commercial properties such as shops, offices, pubs, warehouses and factories. The money raised through business rates is used to help fund local services like the police, fire and rescue services.

Business rates are generally calculated by multiplying the rateable value of commercial premises by the business rates multiplier before any eligible reliefs are deducted. Business rates are treated differently in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and the rates relief schemes vary across the UK.

In England, you may be eligible for business rates relief if your business is:

• a small business
• a retail, hospitality and leisure property – for example, a shop, restaurant, entertainment venue or hotel
• the only business in a rural area
• a charity or a community amateur sports club
• a local newspaper

You may also be eligible for business rates relief if:

• you own a property and it’s empty, partly empty or being refurbished
• you make certain improvements to your property
• your rates change by more than a certain amount at revaluation
• you will get less small business or rural rate relief after 1 April 2023
• you are in financial difficulty
• your property is in an ‘enterprise zone’
• your property is in a ‘freeport’
• your property is a heat network

Local councils can also choose to offer business rates relief to businesses that benefit the local community or economy. Contact your local council to find out if this is available in your area and check if you are eligible.

The government has launched the new Help to Grow: Management Essentials course; a short online course with practical tips and resources for small business leaders.

It is based on the 12-week Help to Grow: Management Course and is suited for leaders of newer or smaller SMEs, or those who are looking to explore the principles of business growth and management before taking the next step and enrolling in the full course.

The government sees small businesses as a vital part of local economies across the UK and supporting them is crucial to delivering on the need to grow the economy.

2024 is nominated as the year of the SME and the government has pledged it will continue to support and engage small businesses, reaffirming their role as the engines of our economy. The recent launch builds on a raft of measures designed to help them meet their full potential.

Essentials is the latest addition to the extensive package of SME support announced by Government as part of the ‘Help to Grow’ campaign: a one-stop shop for SMEs. The Help to Grow site makes it quicker and easier for business owners to find the resources they need for every step of their growth journey from across government.

The Insolvency Service has recently published information confirming that a total of 831 company directors were banned in 2023-24 for Covid support scheme abuse, up more than 80% on the previous year, and that the average length of director disqualification for Covid misconduct in 2023-24 was almost 10 years.

The Covid Bounce Back Loan Scheme was introduced at the start of the pandemic in 2020. It helped small and medium-sized businesses borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 at a low interest rate, guaranteed by the government. 

Businesses were entitled to a single loan of up to 25% of their turnover under the scheme. 

Individuals could only use the loans for the economic benefit of the business and not for personal purposes. 

Enforcement action taken against those that have abused the support schemes has ranged from companies being wound-up in court to criminal convictions, compensation orders and director disqualifications. 

The Insolvency Service has successfully applied to have 1,430 directors banned for abusing Covid support schemes since it started investigating potential financial wrongdoing in this area in 2021. 

Business owners that are in dispute with their energy suppliers will be interested in the free support on offer from the Energy Ombudsman.

In a recent press release the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero confirmed the following:

“Businesses will get free support to resolve issues with their energy contracts, as part of government and Ofgem changes to tackle cowboy practices like hidden fees, inaccurate energy bills and pressurising sales tactics for energy contracts.

“Small organisations with fewer than 50 employees will be entitled to free support from the Energy Ombudsman on disputes with their energy supplier. It will extend the service to cover 99% of all businesses in Great Britain, giving them the confidence to grow – as part of the government’s long-term plan to boost the economy and improve economic security for all.

“The Ombudsman has the power to order suppliers to provide compensation of up to £10,000 or take action to resolve issues – such as raising standards for their customers, or to credit or amend customer accounts.

“The move will also enable businesses and other organisations to settle disputes with their energy broker via the Ombudsman, without the need for costly legal proceedings – as part of changes set out by the government and Ofgem today. It is a first step in a crackdown on rogue energy brokers targeting small organisations with thousands of pounds in hidden fees.

“Energy Affordability Minister Amanda Solloway has warned energy brokers to end these unacceptable practices, with the government planning to consult later this year on regulating brokers and other third-party intermediaries.”

When most business owners refer to business profits, they are likely to mean the difference between sales and costs, and more concisely, that sales exceed costs.

However, the word “profits” can prove to be a moveable feast as HMRC, banks and traders will likely have a different interpretation.

For example, do costs include:

• intangible overheads like depreciation;
• the write-off of goodwill; or
• taxation.

The distinctions can prove to be important especially if comparisons are being made for benchmarking purposes – comparing the results of a business with the results for the relevant industry sector.

Company accounts display sales, costs, intangible write-offs and corporation tax charges, but any dividends taken by directors as part of their remuneration package – most directors of small companies take low salaries and high dividends to save NIC costs – are not deducted as a cost in the Profit & Loss account. And so reported profits after tax are not the complete story; any dividends taken by working directors need to be considered as these will reduce retained profits.

The question, what is profit, is therefore dependent for its usefulness as an indicator of a businesses’ health, only if its definition is fully appreciated.