July Edition

Welcome to July’s NewsletterWelcome to July’s Newsletter. I hope everyone enjoyed the Jubilee week; which probably is a distant memory to everyone now – in Furness the celebrations certainly seem to last the whole week. This month has also seen the Olympic Torch work its way through the Lake District, Cumbria and Lancashire in the few days that it decided to pour down. Most planned events seen to be a washout, but for those who were daring enough to brave the weather I know that you would have enjoyed the historic event.

This month has been very busy with networking events, no chore for me there as I love to network. I have met some really nice and well-connected people at these events. At one of these events I heard a very inspirational woman talk about how she’d built her business through the foot and mouth disaster. I was drawn to her humbleness and ability to adapt to change in difficult circumstances. This has made me consider the importance about moving forward and not keeping your business stagnant in these difficult times, I read a blog about how almost half of small business had deliberated closing down within the past five years, this is a sad statistic. Adaption should be something we should all think about when growing our businesses.

Here at TI Payroll & Accounting we are exceptionally busy at the moment with accounts for those who need their figures for the Tax credits. If you are in this position and you haven’t got your accounts to us ….. you must get a wriggle on the deadline is 31st July!!! HMRC have tightened up their procedures regarding tax credits this year and you really need to be on top of the deadlines to make sure you get all that you are entitled too.

I would like to thank Lorraine Oates of Power & Paint Photography for once again producing a lovely photo for this edition of the newsletter and I’d also like to thank Hannah Bell for being my guest blogger on this month’s subject of why it is important to have a will in place to protect your business as well as your family.

As usual if you have picked this newsletter up and you would like to be on our mailing list please visit www.subscribe.tipayroll.co.uk and request to receive these newsletter monthly so you never miss out.

Tracy x

JULY 2012, EdiTion 4

GIvING yOU THE HEADS UP…

TIP the Wink

Social Media Tip Be Funny!One of the best ways of keeping followers on board and engaged is by using humour! Limiting messages to 140 characters seems to encourage a certain sense of Twitter humour which some ‘tweeps’ have tuned to

a fine art! Emulate them by telling funny stories about yourself and you’ve got as great basis for keeping followers entertained!

Follow us on twitter. @tr4cyirwin Find us on

TwEETEr oF ThE monTh@JwoodcockmP

BIO: Dad of two little girls; husband to @MandyTelford; Labour Co-operative MP for Barrow & Furness; shadow transport minister; chair of Labour Friends of Israel.

This month’s Tweeter of the month is our Local MP who at the moment is rallying to save our local train link between Barrow-in-furness and Manchester.

If you are local (or if you’re not and know how important local raillines are to those who don’t live near a motorway) then please link with MP John Woodcock on either twitter or facebook and follow the link to sign the petition.

Direct petition link: https://www.change.org/petitions/first-transpennine-express-the-secretary-of-state-for-transport-save-our-through-trains

Dates for your Diary

July 12th The Business Network - Lakeside Hotel 13th Pink Link Furness 19th Payment to HMRC 19th CIS Submission Due 31st Tax Credits Deadline!!!

August 10th Pink Link Furness 19th Payment to HMRC 19th CIS Submission Due 23rd The Business Network - Lancaster 27th Late Summer Holiday

Running your own business is immensely satisfying and hopefully a financially rewarding process. your business is often thought of as your baby, you nurture it, you watch it grow and you hope that it will flourish long after you have died. A living legacy of your life and work for generations to come. For this to happen, like all business ventures, you will need to plan ahead. Much like you would plan for your family’s future following your death you need to plan your business’ continuation strategy.

Without an effective continuation strategy your clients could be left out in the cold. The potential disruption, upset and financial harm could have a devastating impact. Protecting client’s interests and ensuring that the status-quo is maintained following your death is good for client relations and shows your clients that your business values their custom.

You are the best person to plan what will happen to your business.

your loved ones will be left to deal with the administration of your estate and if you don’t leave a plan for them to follow how will they know what to do? Death comes to us all it is not pleasant but if we don’t plan for it an already stressful and emotional situation can turn into a nightmare for those left behind.

your business is an asset, however big or small it has a value. It provided you with an income and could, if properly managed, continue to provide that income following your death. Managed correctly your business can continue to provide a financial benefit to your loved ones once you have died.

If you employ staff you also need to consider how their future will be safe guarded. If you are no longer

here to steer the business they might lose their job, their income. To protect your employees you need to think about who can take over if you are not around to run the business and what precautions, such as insurance, you should have in place.

So what should you do? As a minimum you need to talk over your wishes with your loved ones- after all it is they who will be left behind once you have died. Better still would be to speak with your accountant and/or legal advisor. They can talk through the various options with you; specific to your personal and business needs.

Guest Blogger: hannah Bell, Lakes Legal Limited

Will your death kill your business?

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Well, you know, I was a human being before I became a

businessman.George Soros, right wing

Financial Advisor

“”

Client Focusdebbie roberts - damptec.com Ltd

debbie’s business

success shows damp

proofing is not all rot

Debbie Roberts runs Damptec.com, which

covers all aspects of wood treatment

and damp proofing. It also does cellar

conversions and woodworm treatment,

among other things.

She formed it in 2010 to support her

brother, Neil Elliot, in his existing plastering

and damp-proofing business. So Debbie

really is keeping things in the family.

Debbie says that one of the most important

things to think about when starting her

business was developing a marketing

strategy. It’s all about the right brand; as

she says, ‘the right advertising mediums

and differentiating ourselves from the

competition’. Debbie also recommends

brushing up on research ‘before jumping

in’. Judging by Damptec’s rising profile,

Debbie certainly has her own businesses’

image licked.

So when people hear about the quality

service that Damptec provides, it doesn’t

get met with ‘plank’ looks.

Debbie would like Damptec to continue

to be known as a ‘trustworthy, friendly

and prompt business offering value for

money and a safe quality service’. This all

means that Debbie’s business makes the

competition look a bit wet.

Debbie enjoys being her own boss, being

responsible for making her own decisions

and having the freedom to decide which

direction her business should go in.

When it comes to the economic downturn,

Debbie reckons that once the euro zone

settles down, banks’ confidence will

increase and businesses will invest more.

She hopes there’ll be a ‘drip, drip, drip’

effect from the global to the national level.

Debbie thinks her business would be better

‘oiled’ if the government helped small

companies by extending national insurance

holidays and improve the business rate

regime ‘which is penalising small retail

business’. Anything less would just be

papering over the cracks.

When Debbie isn’t helping people to get

‘plastered’ (in a business sense!), she

enjoys going walking and having meals in

restaurants. With supporting her children

at sport in all weathers, Debbie may need

more coats.

As time ‘rolls’ on for her business, Debbie

would like to ‘seal’ further deals and build

on her existing client base. In the future,

Debbie says that she wants to ‘train up and

expand the workforce’ and for her company

to become more sustainable. So she’s not

letting the grass grow under her feet.

aDebbie says that TI Payroll and

Accounting ‘has taken the stress out

of official paperwork and allowed me

to concentrate on the damp proofing

business.’ Debbie is so happy with their

service that she ‘wood’ not choose

anywhere else.

Now she can stop worrying about plugging

gaps in her businesses’ financial knowledge

and plug damp patches instead.

If sorting out your business accounts

makes you think ‘Oh brother’ (or worse!),

TI Payroll offers help with accounts matters

such as when tax and vAT returns are ‘mil-

dew’, as well as payroll administration.

With TI looking after her business finances,

Debbie doesn’t need to wish that her bills

and receipts would just ‘varnish’! So don’t

be content with just patching up your small

businesses’ accounts – TI can help.

If you run a small business and need

help with accounts or would find a free

consultation helpful, don’t be daft as a

brush – get in touch with TI Payroll.

if you would like to feature in our client

focus please feel free to contact us on

01229 490343

Damptec.com Ltd

TI Payroll and Accounting Phoenix Business Centre Phoenix Road Barrow-in-Furness Cumbria LA14 2UA

tel. 01229 840348

email. [email protected]

web. www.tipayroll.co.uk

“A big thank you to the ladies at TI Payroll for an absolute fantastic job on my profit and loss forecasts, also for the top notch advice on helping me secure the extra cash funding I

needed to invest to aid the growth of my business. I highly recommend TI Payroll to anybody considering hiring a helpful knowledgeable and most importantly

affordable accounting service.”

Ben Parker, Bouthwood Firewood & Tree Services

“

”

payroll andaccounting

TI Payroll and Accounting Phoenix Business Centre

Phoenix Road Barrow-in-Furness

Cumbria LA14 2UA

tel. 01229 490343

email. [email protected]

web. www.tipayroll.co.uk

payroll administration

bookkeeping services

construction industry scheme

self employed limited companies

tax returns

SAGE training

bespoke social media training

secretarial services

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