FSB survey compounds RTI uncertainty
Last week we heard about a study indicating that as many as 4 in 5 businesses were unprepared for the introduction of Real Time Information (or RTI). With RTI’s April launch rapidly approaching another...
View ArticleHMRC attempts to counter continuing RTI negativity
With the introduction of Real Time Information just around the corner, and with the new payroll rules facing flak left, right and centre, HMRC have stepped up a PR campaign to protect their legislative...
View ArticleAmericans also embracing the freelance revolution
It’s not just Brits who are increasingly shifting to self-employment - our pals across the pond are too, with recent figures collated by MBO Partners suggesting that 16.9 million Americans now work...
View ArticleLate payers make for a gloomy February
Felt the pinch last month? You weren’t the only one, according to recent research. A study by Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance suggesting that February poses the most cash flow problems for Britain’s...
View ArticleBritain’s bosses no fans of flexible working
Despite a burgeoning desire to ditch 9-to-5 and work whenever, wherever, many employees aren’t being afforded the chance, with many bosses appearing less flexible on flexi-working than you might...
View ArticleCoalition pushing for greater freedom on company naming
Upping their legislation-slashing game in the name of helping small businesses, the coalition is debating whether to cut the red tape around company names, easing up the restrictions imposed on...
View ArticleHMRC monstered by Public Accounts Committee (again)
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. HMRC’s customer service record is under attack, with a Government report last week pouring scorn on the taxman’s service to taxpayers. Fresh from facing flak...
View ArticleBank of Cable slowly taking shape
At long last, Vince Cable’s business bank is nearing fruition, with lenders being labelled and funds being thrust into financiers hands. Taking the total to seven lenders, Cable delivered a speech to...
View ArticleVAT refund investigations on the rise
HMRC’s VAT investigations soared up by half in 2012/13, reaching their highest level in five years with 584 refund claims selected for the taxman’s extended verification process. A figure up from a...
View ArticleWhy be a limited company?
Regardless of whether you’re an aspirational fledgling freelancer or a seasoned pro, it’s worthwhile weighing up the pros and cons associated with all of the business structures available to you....
View ArticleFreelancers paying quicker, big businesses continue to jitter
Finally, there’s some good news on the financial front! The latest late payment data gathered by credit experts Experian points to signs of vitality in the freelance community. According to research by...
View ArticleSelfridges syphoning cash away from small business
In yet another case of big business slighting the small, Selfridges – that Oxford Street store with the fluorescent yellow bags and extremely pricey clobber – has shocked its small suppliers by forcing...
View ArticleFewer companies struggling in the first quarter of 2013
According to a study by accounting powerhouse PricewaterhouseCoopers, insolvencies and administrations were down in the first quarter of 2013, whilst Company Voluntary Arrangements similarly shrunk,...
View ArticleWhat is a recruitment agency?
Speak to any seasoned freelancer and they’ll probably tell you a story or two – more often than not a horror story – about recruitment agencies. As part of our Freelancer Basics series, we’re taking a...
View ArticleQuarter of self-employed regret taking the plunge
We’re champions of freelancing and self-employment around these parts, but we’re also not afraid of a bit of bad news now and then. With that in mind, here’s a study that paints a bit of a grim picture...
View ArticleWhat is a sole trader?
As part of our Freelancer Basics series, we’ve been brushing up on the legal structures out there available for the self-employed. Today we’re turning our attention to the most popular freelancing...
View ArticleRTI exemption extended by HMRC
Living up to it’s billing as the ‘biggest change in payroll in 70 years’, HMRC’s new Real Time Information (RTI) system has posed problems for freelancers since it’s inception. Faced with upheaval on...
View ArticleAppeals process highlights banks bad behaviour
In news that’ll do little to ease the epidemic of banker bashing, a recent study has shown that nearly half of rejected SME loan applications are overturned when firms use an independently-monitored...
View ArticleFreelancing on the side booming amongst full-timers
Moonlighting is on the rise according to research from Direct Line, with ever-increasing numbers of 9-to-5 employees taking to self-employment to supplement their incomes (or maybe just escape their...
View ArticleDo I need business insurance?
Like accountancy, insurance is hardly the most thrilling of topics. Nonetheless, it’s another one of those necessary evils that you’ll need to get to grips with as a freelancer. Much like knowing the...
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