Plant and machinery allowances

The budget resulted in an increase in first year allowances on purchase of plant and machinery for small to medium businesses.  

You can now claim 50% first year allowances on purchases that fall into this category so if you are planning on buying some new equipment, 06/07 is the time to do it. 

If you would like to discuss the advantages of this with a member of staff, please do not hesitate to contact your client manager.

Valuing a company

Bosses of the UK's smallest businesses are the worst offenders for having no clear picture of the true value of their venture. Although a third hope to find a buyer for the company, only 37% know the sale value of their assets.

(Reported from the Tenon Forum Quarterly Report on Entrepreneurial Britain).

Whilst a business is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, there are a number of methods that can be used to identify what your business is worth. The A4G Improve and Grow session “What is my business worth” can be run by any of our Principal Advisers or client managers and gives a really good insight into the true value of your business. For more information on this session, please email Cheryl@stephen-hill.co.uk or contact your client manager today.

Budget newsletter

Our budget newsletters went out last week to all those who had specified that they wanted a copy. The newsletter contains a summary of how the budget affects small businesses with a complete review of the all the tax rates and allowances for the forthcoming year on the back.

If you did not receive a newsletter but would like to receive one, please email Cheryl@stephen-hill.co.uk

Problems with version 12 SAGE

There have been a number of issues with SAGE's latest version of line 50 accounts, version 12. Most of these issues can be resolved by downloading a patch from SAGE. This can be done from within version 12 via the web links file menu.

One of the issues that cannot be corrected via the download is a problem with the bank reconciliation facility. Entering non-alpha/numeric symbols in the statement reference box causes the problem. E.g. If you put the date as 03/05/2006 the programme may crash.

If you require further information or instructions please contact your client manager.

Former Chancellor Lord Jenkins famously described inheritance tax as 'a voluntary levy paid by those who distrust their heirs more than they dislike the Inland Revenue'