The Winchester Bookkeeping Company

Bookkeeping, accounts and tax support for sole traders in Hampshire

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Autumn Budget 2017: A summary for small business owners

November 24, 2017 By Karen Upcraft

Autumn Budget 2017 for small business owners

This week, Phillip Hammond, the Chancellor presented his Autumn Budget for 2017 and for small business owners, nothing that was announced really “rocked the boat”. It was a budget of lots of small measures rather than any big announcement. There were however a few pointers to some bigger changes that may come about in the […]

Filed Under: Budgeting for small business, Business planning, Personal taxation, Self assessment, Self employment, Tax planning, VAT, Working from home Tagged With: 2017 Autumn budget, 2018-19 tax year, Class 2 National Insurance, Making Tax Digital, NICs, Self employed income tax, sole trader self assessment, sole traders tax return, tax planning, VAT threshold

Are you using your Personal Tax Account?

October 18, 2017 By Karen Upcraft

Personal Tax Account

What’s the thing you dislike most about dealing with your own personal tax affairs? Other than the ever-present stress of getting your tax return done and dusted, don’t you just dread putting in phone calls to HMRC?  I know I do. Dealing with even the most mundane of matters can eat into my precious working […]

Filed Under: Bookkeeping and accounting, Business planning, Personal taxation, Self assessment, Self employment, Tax planning Tagged With: Making Tax Digital, Personal Tax Account, personal taxation, SA302, Self employed income tax, Self-employment, sole trader bookkeeping, sole trader self assessment, tax planning, Tax returns

Self-employed? 6 tips to boost your chances of getting a mortgage

September 9, 2017 By Karen Upcraft

Self-employed mortgage

Self-employment is an increasingly popular lifestyle and career choice for many. But while the benefits of being your own boss and the flexibility afforded are something to celebrate, the path can be littered with challenges. Obtaining a mortgage is one of them. It’s not easy. But, in my two-part blog series I help show you how […]

Filed Under: Budgeting for small business, Business planning, Record keeping, Self assessment, Self employment, Tax planning Tagged With: Accountants certificate, limited company accounts, record keeping, SA302, se, self assessment, self employed, self-employed mortgage, Self-employment, sole trader self assessment

I’m self-employed. How can I prove my income for a mortgage?

September 9, 2017 By Karen Upcraft

Self-employed? How can i prove your income for a mortgage.

Many people dream of becoming their own boss and enjoying the flexibility that self-employment affords. But when it comes to securing a mortgage, being classed as self-employed, rather than employed can seem like pushing water uphill. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that hard – it is possible to get a […]

Filed Under: Business planning, Personal taxation, Record keeping, Self employment, Tax planning Tagged With: Accountants certificate, Limited company director, Obtaining a mortgage, Partnerships, SA302, Self-employed income, Self-employment, sole trader, Tax overview

Why is everyone talking about Xero?

February 21, 2017 By Karen Upcraft

Xero-online accounting software

  As an accountant, I regularly receive calls from software companies, inviting me to trial their product. So when I was first approached by Xero I have to admit that my initial reaction to the “salesy“ (although admittedly slick) marketing pitch was to run a mile. But actually, Xero proved to be anything but an […]

Filed Under: Accounting software, Bookkeeping and accounting, Budgeting for small business, Business planning, Excel, online accounting software, Record keeping Tagged With: accounting software, bookkeeping, cash-flow, Making Tax Digital, Online accounting software, sole trader bookkeeping, Xero

Changes to the flat rate VAT scheme

January 29, 2017 By Karen Upcraft

  If you’re a freelancer, contractor or small business owner currently reaping the rewards of the flat rate VAT scheme, regrettably your luck may be about to change. Draft changes to the flat rate VAT scheme to take effect from April 2017, propose the introduction of a new category of trader known as a “limited cost […]

Filed Under: Bookkeeping and accounting, Business planning, VAT Tagged With: freelancer, tax planning, VAT Flat rate scheme

Payments on account – a guide for sole traders

September 25, 2016 By Karen Upcraft

Payments on account are one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of the self-assessment process and although the intention is to help self-employed people spread out their tax bill, the advantages might not seem so apparent when you ‘re first asked to pay a whopping big tax bill up front. What are payments on account? […]

Filed Under: Business planning, Personal taxation, Self assessment, Self employment, Starting Up, Tax planning, Working from home Tagged With: Budgeting, Financial planning, payments on account, personal taxation, self assessment, Self employed income tax, Self-employment, sole trader, sole trader self assessment, tax, tax return

10 Reasons why it pays to submit your tax return early

May 15, 2016 By Karen Upcraft

It pays to do your tax return early

Who has sat down at the last minute to do their tax return only to discover that there is something they don’t understand, paperwork that can’t be located or that their tax position is more complicated than first envisaged? And, then the problem you discover is that there’s not enough time to figure it out […]

Filed Under: Bookkeeping and accounting, Budgeting for small business, Business planning, Personal taxation, Record keeping, Self assessment, Self employment, Tax planning Tagged With: bookkeeping, Self employed income tax, Self-employment, sole trader self assessment, tax planning, Tax returns

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Recent Posts

  • Autumn Budget 2017: A summary for small business owners
  • But my friend claims that as a tax expense……..
  • Are you using your Personal Tax Account?
  • Self-employed? 6 tips to boost your chances of getting a mortgage
  • I’m self-employed. How can I prove my income for a mortgage?

Blog categories

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  • Budgeting for small business
  • Business planning
  • Excel
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  • Record keeping
  • Self assessment
  • Self employment
  • Starting Up
  • Tax planning
  • Uncategorized
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The Winchester Bookkeeping Company Ltd. Registered office: The Elms, Itchen Abbas,SO21 1BN. Registered in England & Wales. No: 8942503.

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