How to plan for Brexit

Recent research shows that 88% of e-commerce businesses already sell overseas, and 45% see international sales as vital to the future of their business.
As overseas trade is so important to many small businesses, Brexit is a major concern. While uncertainty rules now, there are certain things we do know:

• VAT and import duties will probably change.
• There will undoubtedly be an increase in documentation on imports and customs clearance costs will probably change. It’s also probable that there will be delays on clearing customs.
• If sourcing from an EU country and then selling back into the EU, it’s probable that a reintroduction tax will be introduced. Higher delivery and fulfilment costs to EU countries should be considered, and there is still going to be volatility surrounding currency exchange rates, which will impact sourcing and selling prices.
• It’s possible that EU online shoppers may turn away from the UK.

Read how to plan for the impending Brexit.

Five ways to boost your business productivity

Every successful entrepreneur understands the need for productivity. Most start-up owners take a personal approach, using different techniques to get the most out of their time.

While maximising personal work time is extremely important, the overall productivity of the business needs to be tightly managed too. To get where you want to be, it’s vital to make sure your business is operating to its full potential every day.

Here’s our five tips to help your business work hard and smart.

Five reasons Inheritance Tax should be scrapped

The government has made a few tax cuts, specifically abolishing Stamp Duty on properties worth up to £300,000. With many opponents to the idea, should Inheritance Tax (IHT) be the next target for cuts?

Here are five reasons why we think IHT doesn’t work in its current format.

The best ways for seasonal businesses to manage cash flow

Lots of small businesses face a degree of seasonality, particularly in tourism and retail. A survey by Wells Fargo/Gallup shows that almost 50% of small business owners report certain times of the year that will be predictably busier or slower than others.

Read the article in full on the Turner Little Blog.

How will the Budget affect me? What do business owners need to know?

If this year’s Autumn budget caught you by surprise, then we can help. Here we take a look at some of the UK Chancellor Philip Hammond’s key announcements and explain a bit more about how they will affect you as a business owner.

There are some key themes in there that the Chancellor looked to address – from cushioning the British economy from any negative effects of the looming Brexit deal (in whatever form that takes) through to how the UK Government plans to support innovative businesses, particularly in the tech industry. So, here is our overview of the Autumn Budget, and a few thoughts on what it will mean for you as a business owner.

Inheritance tax crackdown: Families to pay extra £900m by 2022

This year has brought particularly bad news for those families who may need to pay inheritance tax in the near future. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – the Government’s non-departmental public body who provide independent economic forecasts and analysis of public finances – have suggested that a number of factors are feeding into rising inheritance tax cost in the coming years.

Read the full article on the Turner Little Blog.