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Budget Special - SFB's June 2010 Newsletter

Welcome to the June 'Budget Special' edition of the SFB E-Zine.

Paul Carvell
Stewart, Fletcher and Barrett

SFB's Viewpoint on the Emergency Budget

Wednesday’s emergency budget highlighted the need for excellent planning to minimise tax and increased flexibility to respond to changes in demand. In terms of planning, SFB Partner - Peter White, recommends the following:

• Identify your capital expenditure plans before the changes come into effect in April 2011 and then SFB can work with you to plan the timings so you minimise the tax you pay

• Where do your sales come from? Identify what proportion of your sales could be impacted by reduction in funding of most Whitehall departments. It is worth factoring in a reduction of sales and looking at diversifying away from sources of business impacted by the government spending cuts. This is a good time to consider building your sales and having a targeted approach to generate new business. If you have never been pro-active before in marketing and selling, now is a good time to start. Remember to continue to service your existing clients well, whilst you are growing your business.

• We expect to see a surge in spending until January when the VAT increase comes into effect and a reduction in spending in the spring and levels to stabilise over the summer. So in order to prepare for this and any loss of sales due to the reduction in government contracts, have a thorough review of your business model and try to incorporate into it as much flexibility as you can respond quickly to changes in demand without putting your business at risk. This is a great time to re-engineer your business model so you are leaner, smarter and more profitable moving forwards.

If you would like any input into how to redesign your business to be highly profitable in this changing environment, please give us a call 024 7638 4171. When we have more information about how the reduction in the NI threshold will work for the first 10 employees, we will share with you how this can benefit your organisation.

What a wind up!

Businesses with over L250,000 in assets that are thinking of closing their doors are urged to talk to SFB Accountants, who recently saved a client over L15,000 in tax by some effective tax planning. Accountancy advice can be much cheaper than going into liquidation and leave the business owner with a sizeable chunk of money, which they can use for the next chapter of their lives. With more businesses winding down at the moment, it is important to have a proper plan in place to maximise their exit revenue. Just as business plans are encouraged as businesses start up, the final plan is almost more important as it ensures all the hard work has been worth it.

Do you want to increase your income? Could you be entitled to tax credits?

Tax credits is not a tax saving but is cash paid into your bank account. SFB offers a fully comprehensive tax credit service through our tax department. We can provide you with comprehensive tax credit advice and planning, to ensure you receive your maximum entitlement, as well as managing your award to ensure that you are not overpaid or, more importantly, underpaid.

If you can answer yes to any of the following questions you could be entitled to tax credits:

• Are your earnings below L58,175 and have children?
• Are you considering a large capital equipment purchase?
• Have you recently incorporated or are you thinking about it?
• Are you paying a pension contribution?

For the first year SFB charges L200 + VAT plus 10% of the first year's tax credits. If you would like to utilise our tax credit service you need to call the tax department on 024 7638 4171 by 16th July 2010 in order that we may notify the HMRC that we will be putting in a claim on your behalf. After this, we will then liaise with you to let you know which information is required to be submitted.

Hot Stuff in the Morning

We have over 45 people booked onto July’s Big Breakfast which takes place on Wednesday 7th July, at 7.45am at the Nuneaton Golf Club, and the theme is Using Technology to Boost your Business. The event is being supported by Business Link West Midlands’ Technology at Work programme and so places are free. If you would like to book a place (we have very few left) then please call Tracy on 024 7638 4171 or download a booking form here.

Branding - A Legal Perspective from Stuart Price of Young and Lee Solicitors

The last six months have seen an unprecedented increase in clients contacting me in circumstances where certain competitors have taken it upon themselves to start to use the same or very similar brand name or logo to these clients. The intention… to trade off their goodwill without having to incur the time or expenditure necessary to develop one of their own.

This can be disastrous for any business. Not only is there the obvious problem of lost business, but also, potential clients may assume that your business is, in some way, associated with these other organisations – this can be seriously damaging to any brand – particularly where the competitors goods and services are inferior. The way to deal with this is to apply to the courts for an injunction to prevent this unauthorised use under what is known as the law of “passing off”.

However, in order be successful, the client will have to spend a lot of management time and money in legal fees in producing copious amounts of evidence to show that they have generated goodwill which is synonymous with their brand name or logo, that their competitor has acted deliberately to confuse and deceive potential clients and that there is clear evidence of confusion or a risk of confusion in the minds of the potential clients……this is no mean feat in legal terms, I can tell you.

Applications for passing off are almost always opposed and invariably lead to lengthy and expensive contested court cases, costing clients many thousands of pounds in legal fees in order to secure their rights. As the business owner you will have to give evidence in court to defend your actions in bringing the claim, as well as having to justify your rights to use the name. This is all very grim…However there is another way!

If your brand name or logo is unique and distinctive you may be able to register it as a Trade Mark. This is an inexpensive exercise, where you apply to register your brand in any number of classes which relate to your business activities.

A registered trademark gives you what are known as “monopoly” rights which prevent anyone else from using that brand or logo in your registered business classes without your permission. It can also prevent third parties from using confusingly similar marks or logos to your own.

Should anyone start to use your registered branding, you can obtain an injunction to prevent its use without having to prove that you have sufficient goodwill to secure exclusive use, or without having to provide any evidence of misrepresentation and confusion – the fact that you are the owner of the registered trademark is sufficient. All in all, a more streamlined, less expensive and less stressful exercise.

For more information and advice on this topic please contact Stuart Price of Young and Lee Solicitors on 0121 633 3233 or via email stuart.price@younglee.co.uk

Peter’s Presidency

Congratulations to SFB Partner - Peter White, who has been announced as the new President of the Warwickshire branch of the Society of Chartered Accountants. The Society of Chartered Accountants holds a series of events throughout the year and we shall be posting these on our website.

Putting the spot light on small businesses

SFB would like to introduce the new Owner Managed Business Team, which takes care of SFB’s small business clients. Claire Parsons, Shelley Roper and David Halkett each are all fully qualified accountants with a wealth of experience working with small businesses. We realise these are challenging times to be running a business, which is why we are focusing on ensuring the service you get from your accountant helps you manage your business and make the right decisions. We want to excel at the service we deliver, so we are reviewing processes and making improvements and would welcome any suggestions or feedback you have, please do call us and come in and meet the team.

An apology - we messed up

We would like to apologise that in a recent letter we sent out to clients regarding form P11D regarding Class 1A national insurance we referred to an enclosed payslip and prepaid envelope, which weren’t actually included. The cheques for the HM Revenue and Customs need to be returned directly to SFB and we shall ensure they get submitted. We are very sorry for any confusion we created and please give us a call if you need clarification as to what is needed. We are working to improve our letters and make them much easier to understand – always feel free to call us so we can talk through what is required and translate any jargon.

Stewart, Fletcher & Barrett
www.sfb.uk.com

Stewart, Fletcher & Barrett (SFB) are business and tax accountants with offices in Warwickshire and Leicestershire.

The company offers accounts, taxation and business advice and support services and has vast experience in various trade sectors, including retail, manufacturing, healthcare, building and building services, and estate agents.