Blog

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Pay your spouse a salary

This is a favourite bit of advice from ‘Dave at the pub’ and he may well be right as it reduces the corporation tax that you pay. If your spouse works in your business, then it would be right and fair to pay them for that work. The bit that ‘Dave’ forgets is that all expenses must be ‘wholly and necessarily for the purposes of business’ so, if your spouse doesn’t actually work in your business, it could be fraudulent.

We always ask our clients to provide a realistic job description (if we do your bookkeeping then you can’t include this as one of their tasks! Nor can you claim diary management if you trade from a mobile phone and book all your own appointments) and an estimate of the number of hours worked. This should show that the salary is reasonable for the work they do. You should pay them at least minimum wage and deduct relevant employment taxes.

Please don’t try to claim that minor children are working in your business! There is separate legislation covering minors in the workplace and you will need to get authorisation from their school and the local council as well as your insurance company.

Save corporation tax, pay PAYE/NI

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£15,000 of bookkeeping errors! £3k of tax errors! 

That’s what happened when a small business client set themselves up on software and let the AI and their own inexperience guide them. 

Usually we set up the software and provide training videos but this client slipped through and decided to do their own thing. Fortunately, before we start the year end work, we run a few bookkeeping healthchecks and full balance sheet reconciliations to pick up any major discrepancies.  If the client had submitted their own tax return the company would have underpaid nearly £3k of tax. (Unfortunately all the corrections increased their tax bill, but at least they will withstand a tax investigation so the client can sleep at night.) 

A timely reminder that AI can help accountants, but can’t replace our professional judgement (yet!) 

As a bonus, with the time that we save using technology in our business we are able to advise clients on how to grow their businesses. Clients on full business advice packages get the best value but even our no-frills clients receive general advice and reactive telephone/email support. 

How are you using technology in your business? Reducing costs or providing more value for the same fee? 

If you’d like to discuss our business growth packages just drop me a message. 

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Salary or dividends? 

If you are a director or working in your business, you can pay yourself a salary. If you are a shareholder, you can pay yourself dividends (provided that there are sufficient profits). In owner managed businesses it is common to take a slightly lower salary and higher dividends.  

Salaries are good because they will reduce your corporation tax. The company will need to pay employers’ national insurance (which may be offset by Employers Allowance) whilst the individual will pay PAYE and employees’ national insurance. Provided that the salary reaches the necessary limit, the employee will also qualify for certain benefits such as state pension. 

Dividends are good because there are no national insurance contributions to pay. They are paid out of post-tax profits so there is no corporation tax saving. Dividends can only be paid out of profits so, if the company is making a loss, there is nothing to pay out.  

Each year we calculate a tax efficient salary for our clients. For decades the most tax efficient route has been to take a lower salary and pay the balance in dividends but it’s not just tech that is changing as these days it is often better to take a higher salary so do check with your accountant. 

NB when selling your business any prospective buyer will adjust any salary to market rate when calculating the business profits. 

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Building a business that works for you 

When I take on a new client, whether for Minerva Accountants or for coaching, I always start with WHY they started their own business. They usually fall into one of three categories: 

  • Freedom 
  • Flexibility 
  • Control 

A few want to make a difference to the world. Only once have I taken on a client whose primary motivation was financial. But somewhere along the line they have lost this in the business of making a living. They might be growing, but they’re growing in the wrong direction. 

After founding five businesses and successfully exited two, as well as coaching numerous business leaders, I’ve found that the measures of success are different for everyone. For some it is time with their family, for others it is the freedom to travel, and there are some who just want a few luxuries without killing themselves working long hours. 

There’s no single blueprint but there are definitely principles that work across all sorts of businesses.  

I’m fortunate to have a space to share this in my books and from stages around the world but I particularly enjoy coaching owners and nurturing individual businesses where I can see the results of my advice and support. 

The best business isn’t always the biggest one, it’s the one that works for you.  

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Paperwork required to take money out of your business 

Paperwork (or the digital equivalent) is important.

If you are running a limited company, it is important that you don’t take any money out of the business without the correct paper trail. The company is a separate legal entity from the director/shareholder. It’s a bit like taking money out of your mother’s purse without permission.

The sort of paperwork you would need is: 

  • Salary needs a payslip 
  • Dividends need a minute and a tax voucher (contact us if you need a template) 
  • Interest payments (if appropriate) need a form CT61 filed with HMRC 
  • Expenses should be accompanied by receipts and a mileage log 
  • Pension payments should be paid directly to the pension provider

Get in touch if you’d like our template minutes and dividend voucher

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How I won my first clients and what I’d do differently today

Looking back on when I first set up my first business I didn’t have a clue about marketing.  

I’d read all the books (okay, maybe not ALL of them) and even taken a few courses but reality is very different when you start day one of your business. Running a business is a real roller coaster of fear and exhilaration and nobody is there to guide you. 

I found my first clients for Hudson Accountants (my second business) by hand delivering a mailshot to local businesses on the High Street and a local trading estate. They were individually addressed as I’d walked down the road making a note of the business names. I’d even included a reply paid card. When I received the first (and only) one of those reply paid cards we celebrated with a glass of bubbly. 

Networking was another terrifying experience. These days it comes much more smoothly as I enter a room where people often know me from social media or other connections and I even bump into clients at some events. But my first Chamber of Commerce lunch in Manchester in 2009 I didn’t have a clue what to say!  

As you can see, I’ve survived, moved the business from Bolton to Bristol and then sold it. I now run three other fully remote businesses including Minerva Accountants. 

For business owners looking to avoid the same learning curve, the 30 Day Start Up course provides practical guidance on the key skills needed to build a successful business, while Minerva Accountants helps entrepreneurs stay on top of the financial side as they grow.

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Director’s responsibilities 

It seems really simple, you pay a very small fee and set up your own company on Companies House, but did you know that you have many legal responsibilities as a director? The sort that means you might personally be fined or go to jail? Here are some of them.

Whilst it might feel good to be the director of your own company you have several responsibilities as directors under the Companies Act 2006:

  • To act within their powers (in the articles of association etc) 
  • To promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole ie not benefitting one member above the company eg by allowing one director/shareholder to take out more dividends/loans that the company can afford 
  • To exercise independent judgement – you can take advice but must decide for yourself 
  • To exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence eg using a chartered accountant or professional bookkeeper if you don’t have those skills in house 
  • To avoid conflict of interest  
  • Not to accept benefits from third parties 
  • To declare interests in transactions

(We cover these and more in our Governance for Directors course) 

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The 7 Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make 

Most of the mistakes come down to a lack of confidence and uncertainty.

1. Undercharging – you don’t know how much to charge and aren’t confident of your value 

2. Taking any client with a pulse – you’re desperate to build that million pound business and you don’t know what a good client looks like and who is ideal for you 

3. Selling everything – whatever your clients or prospects ask for, you try to sell it. But which work or products are profitable and which should you say “no” to? 

4. AI paralysis – you can’t tell what is hype and what is helpful so you do nothing 

5. Avoiding marketing – ‘build it and they will come’ doesn’t work unless you tell people about it. You may even need to tell them before you’ve finished building it. 

6. Trying to do everything themselves – you may be trying to bootstrap but some things are worth investing in. 

7. Waiting until everything is perfect – paralysis by perfectionism. Bryony Thomas says it best when she suggests that you start when things are ‘functional but not embarrassing’. I’ve founded 5 businesses to date and even sold one of them for 32% above average and none of them are perfect but they’re profitable.

The good news? Most of these mistakes are avoidable. Building a business is a skill in itself, and it’s not something many of us are taught.

That’s why the 30 Day Start Up course was created: to give business owners practical guidance on the key areas that matter most, from marketing and pricing to finance and strategy.Prefer to learn live? A live Start Up workshop will be taking place later this year. I’d love to see you there, so reply if you’d be interested. 

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Why competence isn’t enough to run a great business 

Whether you’re a lawyer, a plumber, or a graphic designer technical competence and business success are not the same thing.

There are three main strands to a business: operations, finance and sales.

As you grow your business you will be able to recruit people with specialist expertise but, from day one, it needs to be you.

Hopefully you’ve already spent years honing your craft and maybe even observing how your boss runs the business side. But there’s a lot to running a business and you’ve probably never had to handle sales and marketing before.

Being good at your job isn’t enough to build a thriving business.

Starting a successful business requires:

> Marketing

> Sales

> Pricing

> Systems

> Client and deadline management

Not to mention confidence and self-motivation on the bad days.

None of this is taught at school. I’ve founded 5 businesses to date and successfully exited two of them (I still run three businesses but that’s another story)

I’ve been a guest lecturer on the UWE Entrepreneur degree course but, generally, this bit of the training that has been missed up until now.

Of course, it can all be learned from books but that takes time to figure out what will work for you. Fortunately, we run a StartUp Bootcamp for business owners where we have 30 videos taking you through the key skills that you need to run a business. You can sign up for this online​ or let me know if you would like to join our live workshop later this year.

At Minerva Accountants we also work with entrepreneurs to take care of the finance part of your operations along with our courses Finance for Directors and Directors’ Responsibilities to help you to stay on top of your growing business.

I look forward to seeing you there and being part of your success. Let’s do better business.

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Borrowed years 

Most business owners set up with a purpose, with an end in mind. Whether that is a £million business or a particular income or just a decent work-life balance. They start off full of energy and enthusiasm and many achieve a degree of success. 

And then they hit a glass ceiling! 

They’re working too many hours for not enough profit and borrowing time from the future as their original goal remains just out of sight.  

It’s not uncommon to work silly hours when setting up a business but, if you’re three years into your business and you’re still working those silly hours, or your growth plans have gone out of the window (assuming you had a business plan to start?) then something needs to change. 

Burnout is real. It may be time for a chat. 

As an accountant AND a business coach AND an award winning business author AND the founder of five businesses with two successful exits to date I have the skills to review your business analytically, to help you to get back on track, and to measure that progress.  

Further down the line you may have a board to share the burden with you and to bring in expertise but, for now, that’s not affordable (if that was ever part of your vision). So we have lots of ways to help business owners (and accountants and bookkeepers who run businesses too). From strategic planning days, to monthly or quarterly Clarity reviews, from online courses and workshops (because you’re not the only one who needs to know this), to coaching and mentoring sessions we can provide business advice and accountability to get you to your end goal faster. 

Stop borrowing time from future years and take some action to get back on track.  

Let’s do better business.  

Together.