CBILS Forecast
4 April 2020
Why you need a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme / CBILS Forecast. The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) provides financial support to smaller businesses (SMEs) across the UK. The businesses under consideration are those that are losing revenue and seeing their cash flow disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The scheme is […]
Deferred VAT payment and how to cancel your Direct Debit
3 April 2020
Extra time to pay your VAT On 20th March 2020 the UK Chancellor announced support to businesses in the form of a deferred VAT payment scheme. This helps VAT registered businesses with their cash flow during the COVID-19 pandemic. All VAT registered businesses can defer VAT payments. If you currently pay by Direct Debit, you […]
Save more than 16% on Zoom subscription
2 April 2020
Pay less for online subscriptions It seems that almost everyone is turning to online communications in the current situation, with Zoom, WhatsApp and Skype seeing a dramatic increase in use. Even the UK prime minister is an advocate of Zoom. Save more than 16% on Zoom costs by following the steps below. You can also […]
Creative Scotland Bursary Funds
30 March 2020
Creative Scotland COVID-19 Impact Funds Creative Scotland bursary funds are are available on three separate funding programmes. The grants are designed to provide support to sustain Scotland’s creative community during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Creative Scotland and Screen Scotland Bridging Bursaries will aim to support those most in need at this time, particularly those who […]
Furlough FAQ and resources
29 March 2020
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – Furlough FAQ All UK employers will be able to access support for furloughed workers. This includes charities, non profit and public bodies. The government expects that the scheme will not be used by many public sector organisations. The majority of public sector employees are continuing to provide essential public services […]
Self-employment Income Support Scheme
27 March 2020
Government grant to freelancers Details of the Self-employment Income Support Scheme have now been released to support the self-employed or members of a partnership with trading income. Who can apply for the Self-employment Income Support Scheme? You can apply if you’re a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership and you: have submitted your […]
COVID-19 small business grants in Scotland
26 March 2020
Grants for business Each local authority will be processing COVID-19 small business grants in Scotland. Applications must be made to the local authority where you are liable for non-domestic rates. How to claim COVID-19 small business grants in Scotland There are two types of grant available to ratepayers: £10,000 grant to ratepayers of businesses in […]
Extend your accounts filing deadline
26 March 2020
Company Accounts If your company accounts can’t be prepared in time due to the COVID-19 emergency you can apply to extend your accounts filing deadline by 3 months. How to extend your accounts filing deadline Company accounts for a private limited company are normally due for filing 9 months after the year end date. If […]
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme update
27 March 2020
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme All UK employers will be able to access support for furloughed workers who would otherwise be laid off during the COVID-19 emergency. Details have now been released. An online portal will be made available to claim funding from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which will backdate funding to 1st March 2020. […]
No income tax payments due in July
20 March 2020
Payments on account cancelled in July The UK Government announced on 20th March that there would be no income tax payments due in July 2020 for the self-employed. Payments on Account Personal tax returns must be filed by 31st January following the end of the tax year. For the tax year ended 5th April 2019 […]
Alterledger and the Circular Economy
16 March 2020
Defining the Circular Economy The circular economy is a viable alternative to former unsustainable ways of operating. Accountants are joining other businesses and the City of Glasgow in recognising the positive impact of changing working practices to create a more sustainable future. The circular economy is a direct challenge to the ‘take-make-waste’ mentality of the […]
Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund
24 April 2020
Grants for newly self-employed The Scottish Government has announced a £34 million Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund. The fund will be managed by Local Authorities to allocate grants of £2,000 to the newly self-employed facing hardship. The self-employed who started trading after 5th April 2019 are excluded from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. The Scottish Government […]
Company Van Benefit in Kind trap
26 January 2020
Van benefit in kind tax charge Driving a van as your company vehicle has tax advantages over a car. The tax charge is generally low compared with a car, and can even be zero in circumstances where a car would be taxable. What conditions must you satisfy to eliminate a van benefit in kind tax […]
VAT Expenses – What proof does HMRC need?
24 January 2020
A recent case of missing documents highlights the need for supporting information for VAT expenses to minimise your VAT bill to HMRC. Make sure you have good bookkeeping systems to get the VAT back that you are entitled to.
Alterledger in Tramshed Tech
13 December 2019
Alterledger is coming to Tramshed Tech in Cardiff to give free tax and accounting advice at 11:00 on 20th December Alterledger has been on tour with sessions for the creative industries in Glasgow on 10th December 2019 and Belfast on 12th December 2019. It will be Cardiff’s turn on 20th December so Tim Alter will be in […]
Tax and Accounting for Musicians: Get It Right and Save Money!
5 December 2019
Free Tax and Accounting for Musicians’ Union members Members of the Musicians Union are invited to a free seminar – Tax and Accounting for Musicians in Glasgow on 10th December 2019 and Belfast on 12th December 2019. You can learn how to take some of the stress out of filing your tax return. If you are […]
Give gifts on 5th December
3 December 2019
You can give gifts to your staff and customers at any time of the year. Learn how to avoid the pitfalls of paying tax and VAT on your generosity.
Tax charge on a Director’s Loan
20 September 2019
When your company has a tax charge on a director’s loan If you are a director or shareholder in a ‘close’ company, any money owed to the company can trigger a tax charge on a director’s loan. What is a close company? A close company is broadly defined as a company which is under the […]
Love what we do? Tell a friend and get £100 each for you and them
10 June 2019
Get £100 each for you and a friend If you are a client of Alterledger, you can get up to £100 for yourself and for any friends that you refer to us. How do I get my reward? We’ll add credit to your account after your friend becomes a paying customer of Alterledger. What if […]
MTD Registration – progress to date
19 August 2019
MTD Registration – Key numbers The Making Tax Digital (MTD) rules became law for VAT periods starting on or after 1 April 2019. MTD registration requires VAT-registered businesses with taxable turnover over £85,000 to keep their VAT records digitally. They must also submit their VAT return direct from their Making Tax Digital-compatible software. The MTD […]
Pension re-declaration of compliance
13 May 2019
How to complete your auto-enrolment pension re-declaration of compliance Any employers who started employing workers before 1st October 2017 will have been issued with a staging date. This is the date when they had to have a qualifying auto enrolment pension in place. For anyone who starting employing people after 30th September 2017 pension duties […]
Pension re-enrolment
8 May 2019
Pension Re-Enrolment due every three years All employers should now be aware of the their pension obligations. Any employers who started employing workers before 1st October 2017 will have been issued with a staging date. This is the date when they had to have a qualifying auto enrolment pension in place. For new businesses / […]
Monthly PAYE payments or quarterly payments?
15 May 2019
How to pay your PAYE to HMRC The easiest way to pay your PAYE to HMRC is by bank transfer. The bank details for HMRC are shown below. You’ll need to use your 13-character accounts office reference number as the payment reference. You can find this on either: the letter HMRC sent you when you first registered […]
Furloughed workers
23 March 2020
Furloughed workers and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme All UK employers will be able to access support for furloughed workers who would otherwise be laid off during the COVID-19 emergency. Details have now been provided by the UK Government. An online portal will be made available to claim funding from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, […]
Farewell to Fiona
4 June 2020
Fiona is leaving Alterledger to continue her career in Edinburgh. She has made a valuable contribution to the company alongside studying for her ACCA professional qualification. We are sorry to see her go and wish her luck for the future. New opportunities Alterledger continues to grow so we will be recruiting shortly. Please check this […]
How many VAT registered businesses in the UK need to sign up to Making Tax Digital
30 March 2019
How many VAT registered businesses in the UK are there? Figures from the Office of National Statistics state that there are 2.67 million businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE. Any business with employees must register for PAYE, but not all of these businesses are registered for VAT. This prompts the question – how many VAT […]
How late can I register for Making Tax Digital for VAT?
29 April 2019
When is my first Making Tax Digital VAT return due? If you are asking yourself “How late can I register for Making Tax Digital for VAT? (MTDfV)” you are likely to be storing up problems. Suppose you submit quarterly VAT returns to June and have to register for Making Tax Digital for VAT (MTDfV); your […]
Alterledger customer reviews are now on Trustpilot
5 June 2019
Trustpilot Alterledger customer reviews are now on Trustpilot. We previously used vouchedfor, but on the 4th June we started a review page on the Trustpilot site. If you have benefited from Alterledger’s services, why not leave a review? Trustpilot Why change to Trustpilot? The vouchedfor website is specifically for accountants and other financial services, but […]
Has Making Tax Digital for VAT been delayed?
15 March 2019
Has Making Tax Digital for VAT been delayed? Making tax digital for VAT legislation requires you to have “digital links” between your financial data and your VAT reports to HMRC. What changes might you need to make to your record keeping to achieve this? A “soft landing” delays the date that you need to have […]
Advocates Making Tax Digital for VAT Questions and Answers
2 March 2019
Advocates Making Tax Digital for VAT Questions and Answers Tim Alter gave a lunchtime talk to the Scottish Bar on 1st March 2019. The members of the Faculty of Advocates were highly engaged in the session on Making Tax Digital for VAT. There was a lively and heartfelt response including a wide ranging discussion on […]
