CreatingaPortfolio

The first step towards determining what kind of wealth management strategy you should employ is to create a diverse potential of potential investments, savings and other asset types. A small but well-aimed and maintained portfolio can be a vital part of your success, so your portfolio should reflect both your immediate and future needs.

Determining the right investment goals for your should take into account your personality and tolerance to risk as well as you financial capital and short and long term goals. If you are, for example, looking to save money for a child’s university tuition fees, long term financial investments may not be the way forward. Conversely, a high yield long term financial strategy is perfect for those looking to plan for their retirement.

ChoosingYourInvestments

Stocks vary in terms of risk, and require the most intensive screening and maintenance of nearly all investment opportunities. Bonds are less risky and have generally good investment potential. Mutual funds allow you to hold stocks and bonds which have been researched and picked by fund managers, who will charge a fee for their services. Wealth management companies such as Sanlamoften tend to work alongside those with a certain amount of financial capital. They are a good choice for anyone looking to invest a large amount of money across a number of options.

MaintainYourPortfolio

All financial portfolios will require regular maintenance, in order to keep abreast of market fluctuations and adjust your portfolio as may be required. Rebalancing requires the redressing of portfolio options which are under or over weighted. This should not be undertaken lightly – careful consideration should be give to the tax implications of rebalancing a portfolio and whether or not a stock option, over weighted or not, is about to fall and if it should therefore be sold outright.

WhatMakesaGoodFinancialPortfolio?

A good portfolio should be diverse, have implemented risk strategies and return investment, to maximum effect, to the owner. Additionally, a good financial portfolio is one which is consistent, as trading, rebalancing and reinvestment can all prove costly. Trading should be kept to a minimum and dividends should be reinvested. In this way, a good financial portfolio becomes simply good financial sense.

Some business owners may decide to set up a new offshore company, which can mean hefty tax consequences for transferring their company’s assets to a new incorporation in the new jurisdiction. Relocation is often regarded as a sensible way to sidestep these penalties, since the cost of domicile transfer will be substantially less.

SimpleStepsforRelocation

• Identify which parts of your company would be better handled offshore, or if your needs necessitate a complete relocation.
• Choose a legitimate jurisdiction for your company, in which your requirements will be adequately met within the confines of the laws of the country in question.
• Adequate research into the cultural concerns of your intended location, as well as the local real estate markets, will aid you in determining the best strategy for beginning your relocation.
• Consider hiring qualified staff from your new jurisdiction, who will help you to overcome language and/or cultural barriers. Establishing good working relationships with your new staff, including providing adequate training, will go a long way to ensuring your venture is a success.
• Consider whether or not you will need extra services, such as an offshore bank account or virtual offices. All new concerns should go towards enhancing the reputation of your company in your new jurisdiction.

GetBenefitsbyRelocatingYourCompanyOffshore

Business owners have experienced many benefits by transferring their companies offshore, including increased privacy, more flexible business laws, reduced taxes and asset protection from lawsuits. Many of these benefits are financial and are appropriate for both large and small companies, depending on your intended relocation jurisdiction. Offshore relocation will also afford you a legitimately increased level of anonymity and confidentiality when conducting business internationally.

If your company is concerned primarily with investments, relocating offshore may allow you the opportunity to conserve tax and re-invest it more efficiently. Property owning companies will see benefits in the form of relief from inheritance tax, as well as capital gains and income tax. There are many legitimate tax relief incentives which can be gained by successfully relocating your company offshore. By consulting with a professional corporate financial service you will be able to take full advantage of all the benefits that relocation has to offer.

FinancialConcernsforOffshoreCompanyRelocation

Transferring your existing business offshore can be tricky so it’s best to hire a professional offshore company service to guide you through the process. There are many complicated financial and legal aspects to take into consideration when relocating your company offshore and an expert financial advisor will be able to navigate this process with ease. By choosing a company such as www.ebc-trust.com you will be provided with a full range of offshore company formation services for any business owner who is looking to relocate offshore, whether the company is large, small, multinational or private.

Case studies such as the fall of Woolworths (2009) have proven that even the most traditional, well established organisations can fall short to out of control business debt. So what is business debt and when is it a problem?

Many businesses at one point or another will acquire a level of business debt, which normally comes in the form of a business loan or a business overdraft. Such debt is usually attained in order to develop business growth and implement business strategies; however this can become a problem when a business’s income no longer allows them to meet the repayments.

It can be a difficult process for many business owners to come to terms with financial complications that could result in the closer and end of the company in question. Although emotions will be running high it is imperative that specialist Business Debt Management Advice is received to ensure a smooth journey through the pressures. External viewpoints are vital to the development of a successful business debt management plan, as they will allow for an unbiased objective opinion.

Despite the tough financial situation your business might be facing, professional advice could lead to the turnaround of your business and not certain closer. Specialist organisations such as Business-Debt-Management.co.uk understand that you will know most about the business debt that is facing your company; therefore they will listen to you when sourcing a solution and extra funding.

Alternatively, in many cases the underlying complexities to why a business or company is financial distressed can be completely unknown by the owner and directors. It could be something as simple as poor cash-flow or lack of extra funding, in which case the solution may come in the form of invoice discounting or bringing in a new investor.

Regardless to how difficult it may seem a business debt management plan could be the best solution and avenue to pursue as it can provide a platform where negotiations can begin with creditors who are chasing repayments. This in turn will position the business so it can continue to trade in a viable and sustainable way.

About the author: Chris Algar writes on behalf of Business-Debt-Management.co.uk who can offer significant specialist experience in helping companies facing financial difficulties.

More and more Britons are going solo and is it any wonder why? You can enjoy tax efficiency, flexibility and career growth.

However, you need to know how to save money. Freelancing does not involve a fixed income and therefore finances can be erratic. One month you could be earning the big bucks and the next your income could be non-existent.

Therefore it is imperative to save money for a rainy day. No matter how successful you are as a contractor, you will find yourself in dry spells of work. Curing certain periods of the year, like Christmas, businesses do not tend to employ new clients as projects are quiet.

How can you ensure you have funds available? Don’t splash the cash when you do have it. Here are 6 tips to help you save money.

• Limited Company

Changing the kind of business structure that you have, could save you thousands of pounds.  According to a recent article, freelancers using an umbrella company could be up to £10,000 better off with a limited company. UC Finance estimates that 100,000 umbrella contractors working in the UK would pay less tax if they switched their set-up.

• Equipment

You will need certain tools and equipment to carry your work out effectively. One way you can save money is to purchase in bulk and from traders, to get a discount. Shop around for the best prices. There are various sites that specialise in trade equipment like www.equipmenttraderonline.com, www.pcworld.co.uk, and www.graco.com.

• Rates and allowances

There are certain expenses which you can claim back from the client to help you save money. These allowances are tax-deductible and you are entitled to submit a reclaim such as mileage rates, food/accommodation allowance, and pension premiums. Here is an example of a template expense claim form.

• Taxes

The majority of self-employed people pay their tax bill for the year in January so when money is tight, it pays to put some money aside every month. Try putting away 10% of your monthly income to ensure you have enough funds saved for your tax payments.

• Overheads

What expenditures do you have to fork out every month; office rent and utilities, monthly phone bill? Analyse your overheads and ask yourself if you really need them. Could you work from the client’s site or from home, instead of renting a costly office space?

Download a budget planner from the likes of Which?, Open Office or Money Saving Expert.

• Accounting help

It could cost you more in the long-run by not employing contractor accountancy services. As your business grows, so will your tax affairs and it is imperative to pay your taxes on-time or you will incur a penalty by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). You could save money by hiring an expert to manage your books on your behalf.

Conclusion…

It pays to be practical and put money away for a rainy day. Follow the top tips above to save some of your hard-earned finances for when work is quiet.

This article was provided by Nixon Williams, specialists in expert contractor accountancy services in the UK.

There is often a lot of truth in old sayings and “there are only two things which are certain in life and those are taxes and death” is one that seems to be particularly hard to argue with.

One of the character qualities that is needed to be in business for yourself, whether as a sole trader or running a company of whatever size, is the ability to deal with the perils of uncertain finances in certain situations. However, if you are in an employed salaried position you expect to receive the monies you are due at a set time, without worrying whether the overall state of affairs of the business is good or bad that month.

This is one of the choices people make when they decide how they wish to live their working lives, but if you are the person who is responsible for making sure your employees are paid properly it can be an extra level of worry and concern.

Depending on how big your business is, you might not be able to afford a dedicated staff member to look after the payroll needs of your employees and it may well be too expensive to use the services of your accountancy firm

There are some major names such as Sage who have been producing excellent accounting software for businesses over quite a few years and although many of these have retained an image of being for people with specialized knowledge, in fact, today there is a wealth of products available that allow you to take direct control of many aspects of your business, without the need for payroll or accounting training.

The constantly evolving nature of the internet means that there is now a new range of options available to all, needing no training or specialised skills to makes use of and allowing you to control aspects of the day-to-day running of your business that you might not have previously considered yourself capable of undertaking.

Simple, easy-to-use designs mean that functionality is quick and intuitive, making the process straightforward to navigate. The range of options available cover everything from simple bookkeeping tasks to full presentations for your accountant to ‘sign off’ on your accounts.

When it comes to looking after the needs of your employees, online payroll services are growing in popularity because they basically simplify the process and take care of all the details involved. Whether it is calculating the right amount of tax or making sure that all dealings with HMRC are up to date and fully compliant with all the regulations, every aspect of the delicate matter of employee earnings is covered in a straightforward way.

The fact that all the details are dealt with online and ‘in the cloud’ means that you have full access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from any internet enabled device. This allows you to keep on top of things wherever you are through a laptop, smartphone or tablet and means that you are no longer tied to a desktop computer for your small business accounting.

Although the vast majority of accountants file tax returns correctly, there are some accountants who do not do their job properly and consequently a business may be penalised by HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs). Such penalties which may be brought against a business include late payment fees because a tax return was submitted late, or because the information which was entered on the tax forms was incorrect even though the right information was provided to the accountant.

As an accountant may have filed a tax return that was incorrect by hundreds of thousands of pounds, a business should seek compensation for the amount of money which they have to unnecessarily pay. If a business’ profit margins are not considerable and they have a large workforce, they may have to let employees go as they cannot sustain their finances due to excessive penalties.

If a business believes that their accountant filed their tax return incorrectly, Bolt Burdon Kemp can help. As professional negligence solicitors, Bolt Burdon Kemp adopt a ‘no win, no fee’ claims policy and have helped many clients sue their accountants over the past twenty five years. Bolt Burdon Kemp will take all aspects into consideration so that the rate of compensation which is sought from an accountant is credible and will cover all expenses. Their team of experienced professionals understand that the process of suing an accountant can be nerve-wracking but Bolt Burdon Kemp can help because they are fully aware of what happens. Therefore, businesses will know what to expect next in their no win no fee claims.

Online accounting has been around a while but has only started to become popular recently. In a world where most businesses have moved online this slow uptake for online accounting seems strange; especially considering the advantages it has over traditional methods.

Location

If you deal with your accountant online you have automatically increased the range of accountants you can use. Most accountants that offer online accounting offer nationwide coverage, regardless of the size of the firm. This gives any small business owner a plethora of firms to choose from ensuring they get the best deal.

A lot of accountants will have offers for new clients, half price for the first year or free incorporation of a company for example, so having this vast number to choose from will ensure that you can save year on year.

Price

As mentioned above, you can get the best price by having a large market to choose from but online accounting is cheaper in general than traditional paper accounting anyway. Accountants save time and money by having you transfer your accounts electronically and they can pass these savings on to you.

Speed

This one is self-explanatory. Email will always be quicker than the post. Not only that, email is 24/7; if you have a pressing issue that strikes you at 2am you can send it to your accountant in an email and get a reply when their office opens the next morning.

One of the major issues people have with their accountants is a lack of communication but the more you share with your accountant the more effective their service can be.

Efficiency

Along with the obvious advantage of email, online accounting services also mean you can have live webchats with your accountant. Webchats allow you to iron out any problems or share information in real-time. This is better than simply phoning your accountant as you will be able to file share with them during online chats.

Environmentally Sound

With a lack of paper work comes a lack of forms, printer ink, stamps, envelopes and a myriad of other stationary; all of which has a carbon footprint. By accounting online you are not only saving money but doing your own bit to help the environment too.

VPS hosting is available in 3 forms: Linux, Windows Hyper V and Windows virtual private server. Linux is text command based, while Windows is GUI based. Hyper V consists of high performance virtualisation technology that is flexible, reliable and powerful enough to hold whatever applications you install on it. Most people opt for Windows VPS as it is more user-friendly than Linux and it is compatible with Microsoft Solutions.

The first step to take in reducing your hosting expenses is by paying the bill for an extended period instead of on a monthly basis. Your hosting provider may offer you discounts of up to 10 per cent on the total bill when you sign up for 6 months. Once you customise your virtual server with your chosen provider, they will offer even more discounts. Remember, the longer the term you choose, the more money you will save.

The second step to saving money is to choose the plan that is based on your own specific needs. Virtual servers help cut down on any extra or unnecessary expenses that you may have paid. This is why customisation is so important for every business that is in need of VPS technology.

One of the main benefits of a virtual server is that it allows you to downgrade or upgrade your account whenever you want. Adding resources to the server can be done easily as per usage, without any extra costs. Small or large businesses have the flexibility of adding resources to their virtual servers as and when needed. This is a great advantage for any large or small company, plus it will keep their costs down

Apart from saving money, you can also reduce the time that you spend on updating your server. Windows VPS hosting will automatically update the system whenever new ones are released. Another huge benefit of VPS is that it allows you to take full control of your business. Running programs and scripts is much easier than it used to be compared to other low quality technology servers. This type of server offers you the very best of shared hosting.

When you sign up with an online hosting provider, you will get information on many different products such as website building and advertising tools, domain name registration, remote backup drive solutions and much more. The world of business is becoming more and more virtual, and less infrastructure, equates to less expenses for a business in this tough economic climate.

1- Try before you buy

When choosing a company to help you set up an e-commerce site, make sure they offer a free trial version of their software package. Most e-commerce software bundles are similar among them, but it is always best to know what you are paying for, and whether it suits your needs and requirements. Bluepark are an example of a try before you buy ecommerce software.

2- Choose a web hosting company

This is perhaps the single most important decision that you can make when setting up an e-commerce site. The main points to consider are uptime and scalability capabilities. Uptime is the online equivalent of a physical shop’s opening hours. You will want your website to be available at all times, so shop around for hosting packages that can guarantee 100 per cent uptime. Daily.co.uk is a great place to start researching hosting options. In terms of scalability, you need to consider that your e-commerce site may grow in the future, or it may experience a sudden surge in the number of visitors. You need to make sure that your site will not collapse under those conditions.

Additionally, some web hosting companies also offer design services, in case you are at a loss as to how to design your online store.

3- Include a shopping cart

Shopping carts are pre-designed software packages that allow buyers to browse through a catalogue of products and add them to their “virtual shopping trolley”. Consider the number of products that you want to display on your site, as different software solutions allow different amounts of products to be sold. It is also a good idea to allow customers to quickly create an account as they are adding products to their cart.

4- Online merchant services and payment gateway providers

Online merchant services are provided by major banks. Expect to pay a sign-up fee and day-to-day charges.

Payment gateway applications are dedicated e-commerce programs whose main function is to authorise, verify, and process online payments. In a way, they work as an intermediary between the seller’s bank and the buyer’s account. Think of them as the virtual equivalent of the physical point-of-sale machines that you find in most retailers. These applications offer a secure shopping experience, since they encrypt sensitive data like card details, addresses, and account numbers.

PayPal Payments Pro is a one-stop-shop that integrates a merchant account and a payment gateway application. This solution does not restrict shoppers to paying via PayPal, but it also allows them to use their credit or debit card. PayPal Payments Pro is also advantageous to sellers, since its monthly fees are very reasonable, and there are no set up charges.

6- Include a live chat feature

This reassures customers who may have doubts regarding a product or an order, and it also provides an appealing personal touch to any e-commerce website.