How an Effective To-do List can Make all the Difference in Business

In a small business, everyone has to perform more than one role. If you are a sole trader, you are responsible for everything. Whatever you are doing now, you're probably aware that you are neglecting something else. To allay anxieties about this, you need a strategy that makes you comfortable that you have all the important aspects covered.

The All-important To-do List

You have to be aware of what needs to be done by when, so it's important to have them in some kind of list. You need to find out the best way for you to do this. Some people like to have this on their computer or mobile phone, others just like to keep a handwritten list in a notebook they carry with them everywhere Don't keep more than one list unless you have a master that you update daily.

When you've got a list, you have to make sure you consult it every day. It may seem obvious, but you'd be surprised how many deadlines are missed, or birthday cards sent late, even though they were on the infamous to do list.

Using a Bring Forward File

Some people swear by a BF file. This could be a couple of concertina files, one for the months of the year, and one with three sections at the back for the later weeks of the month, with earlier sections for the days of the week. Items are filed according to when they need your attention and moved into appropriate sections as needed. Again this must be checked daily, or it won't work.

Prioritise and Get Help

When it's not possible to do everything in your list, you have to prioritise. Get on with the important strategic things that will have the most impact on your business. If other things can't wait, you need to get help. If necessary, book a temp. If you only need assistance every now and then, this is much more economical than having permanent staff.

Outsourcing your bookkeeping is an obvious answer. If you already do this, ask what other services they offer that might take another load off you. The answers could surprise you.

New Grant Scheme for Research & Development

The government's Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has just launched a new grant scheme for small businesses' research and development (R&D) projects. The scheme will pay up to £250K to enterprises developing new prototypes and products, or pursuing market research for their ideas. Businesses with fewer than 250 staff can apply, even those in London which were previously excluded. However, the sums of money available will not be as large as before, and there will be stiff competition for them.

Earlier Schemes

Previous schemes were administered by the regional development agencies (RDAs), now being phased out. Many companies have run into difficulties since a government directive to the RDAs to cease many payments on the schemes last summer, and not take on new applicants. So the new scheme is seen as a life saver for lots of development projects.

Gaining credibility

While the application process will be more straightforward, the selection process will be just as rigorous. Those selected for grants will have solid business plans that prove their innovative ideas have been well worked out. If you do receive an R&D grant, your integrity will be proven and your projects seen as credible, so you will have a much better chance of attracting other investors.

A Word of Warning

Arrangements are in hand to transfer currently running grants from the RDAs. The TSB procedures will need to be able to manage the volume of applicants without too many delays. Because of the embargo from last summer, there is bound to be a backlog of applicants to be dealt with.

Nevertheless this is good news. If you have an innovative project to fund, you could be one of the lucky ones. Why not discuss it with your outsourced bookkeepers, and see if they can assist?

In Business Together

Are you a couple who own a business between you, or about to start up such a venture? Lots of successful businesses are operated this way. Others unfortunately have fallen by the wayside, the personal relationships of their owners being more of a hindrance than a help.

Secrets of Business Success

So what are the secrets of those who've made a success of it? Probably the most important aspect is that you both share the same vision for your company, and both are equally passionate about what you are doing. And you must have a strategy for making decisions if you find you don't agree about something. You could take advice from someone independent of the family, whose opinions you value.

Defining the Roles

If you have structured the organisation to make the most of each other's strengths, this shouldn't happen too often. Your start-up business plan should set out clearly the roles of each person and why they are best for them. Each of you will then be aware of your own and your partner's responsibilities, where the boundaries lie, and what decisions you should be making.

If your business plan doesn't include this, it's time to review it. And while you're at it, why not brainstorm all your strengths and weaknesses and how to make the most of the strengths and overcome the weaknesses?

The Work-Life Balance

Try to keep work time separate from your personal activities. Make some rules about when you talk about the business, and stick to them. Running a business is hard work and time-consuming. If the only time you have for discussing it together is over dinner, make sure the conversation doesn't overflow into the bedroom.

Using Your Outsourced Bookkeepers

Just like in any other business, large or small, you must keep a clear picture of the finances, check your profit and loss reports regularly, and of course, your cash flow forecasts. Your experienced outsourced bookkeepers will help with that. And if you are looking for that independent person, it could also be the one who does the books and knows almost as much about your business as you do.

Business Expenses to Claim Against Income Tax

The warnings that HMRC are going to do more record checking in small businesses means that it is even more crucial to get all your business expenses repayments and reporting correct. This can be so complicated that applying common sense is not enough. You really need to know the rules or get some expert advice.

What You Can Claim

When claiming expenses against income tax, the main criterion is that the expense is “wholly, exclusively and necessarily” for the benefit of the business. However, if you work wholly, or partly, from home for your small business, you may be able to claim against some personal bills. For example, you might charge a percentage of your landline phone bill, or the cost of business calls.

Getting this right is tricky, and you should take advice from your accountant or outsourced bookkeepers before making the claims. Other difficult areas include how you claim for using space in your home for business purposes. You need to be confident that what you claim is allowable, so get a professional opinion.

The Rules on Travel and Other Expenses

You can claim for travel with public transport receipts, or it's 40p a mile when using your own car, 24p with a motorbike, or 20p with a push-bike. You keep fuel and maintenance receipts for a company car, but what if you sometimes use it for personal reasons? If your business base is away from your home, you cannot claim for the journey to work, except when you need to work somewhere else temporarily, and there are rules defining that. Subsistence claims must be reasonable. What does that actually mean?

Other expenses will depend on what type of business you operate. A novelist writing about beauty salon owners and clients one year claimed for facials, mud baths and massages taken while doing research. You probably wouldn't get away with that.

Annual Expense Returns

If you have employees and directors, all the above applies to them as well. And you have to submit annual returns of expenses and benefits for them. The P11D is for directors and employees earning over £8,500 a year. P9D is for employees earning less. These forms must be submitted by July 6^th each year.

If you are in any doubt about expenses, hire the services of a bookkeeper or accountant.

Yet Another Bank Holiday

Will you and your staff be working on Friday April 29^th this year? This is the day that Prince William will marry Kate Middleton, and it has been officially declared an additional bank holiday. But not every worker will be entitled to it.

Holiday Entitlement in Contracts of Employment

According to the Working Time Regulations 1998, all full time workers must be given 5.6 weeks of paid leave per year, or 28 days, with a pro rata entitlement for part time workers. However, the regulations do not stipulate that paid leave for bank holidays should be in addition to this, or that all employers must give their staff time off for bank holidays. So for employees, it really depends on what their contract of employment states. Some contracts stipulate that bank holidays are in addition to their annual leave entitlement, others do not, in which case the employer can oblige staff to work regardless of whether the day is designated a bank holiday.

Keeping your Staff Happy

If you provide a service which is needed seven days a week all year round, your staff will be on rotas which they probably won't expect to be changed. You might however, decide to give some extra time in lieu of the day if that is possible, just to keep up morale. If you don't normally recognise bank holidays for any other reason, you might want to offer an extra days leave across the board, again to give personnel a boost and an incentive to work hard and keep up their productivity.

Proximity to Easter and the May Bank Holiday

Those workers who normally have bank holidays in addition to their annual leave entitlement may be tempted to try and book time off between Easter and the royal wedding. If they normally work Mondays to Fridays, by taking three days leave, they would finish work on Thursday, April 21^st and not return until Tuesday, May 3^rd. Employers need to be prepared for this and have a strategy for how to deal with such applications in a fair way with no detriment to the business.

And if you intend to close shop for those three days, don't forget to let your off-site bookkeepers know.

Keeping Up Your Credit Rating

Just as you need to keep an eye on your customers' credit rating, your suppliers are likely to be doing the same for you. If your credit score slips below 80, red lights will start flashing. Interest rates might go up, the bank will start to ask questions, lenders might call in their loans, suppliers may withdraw credit. The life of your business will get a lot more difficult.

What Affects the Business Credit Rating?

You are probably aware that you need to make payments on time and keep on the right side of the law and regulation. You may not realise that the rating agencies also consider the age of your organisation, its structure and the sector in which you operate. If the sector has been badly hit by the recession, no matter if you are still trading strongly, you will be tarred with the same brush.

The sole trader is not looked on favourably, nor is a company with only one director. If something happens to that single person, the business is likely to fold. Similarly, if you have more than one director but one of them has been associated with a failed enterprise in the past, the business is likely to be marked down.

Do the Corporate Rating Agencies Make Mistakes?

This may not happen often, but it is always a possibility. If you provide a service to a struggling business sector, you might be listed within that sector and down-rated accordingly, whether or not you have other, healthier customers, or have diversified to meet the prevailing market conditions.

What Should you Do?

Check your credit report and status regularly. Try to form a working relationship with the agency, so that as your financial circumstances change, you can explain your reasons for taking certain actions. Discuss credit rating issues with your outsourced bookkeepers, and together you can keep your credit rating as high as possible.

Don't be Just a Workaholic

When you are working for yourself, or helping to start or build up a business, it's often hard to stop working. Many small business owners work all day and late into the night. Whilst that might be necessary for a while, it's dangerous to continue the practice for too long.

What are the Dangers?

The danger can take a number of forms. Not taking time out with your family can cause resentment, marital strife and in extreme cases, even divorce. Children feel unloved and can grow up with personality disorders and get into all sorts of trouble.

Obviously all work and no play will not be good for your health. You must take time for yourself to switch off and recharge your batteries.

In the long term, it's not good for your organisation either. A weary manager can make serious mistakes, missing vital factors that should influence decisions, and a series of wrong decisions will have the business floundering.

Get the Help you Need

If you think you've been working too hard for too long, you need to do something about it right away. Look at your staff and see who could help by talking some of the load. You may have to recruit if you don't find someone in-house. Learning to delegate is one of the hardest things for a business owner to do, but it will be essential before long if the business is to develop. Don't leave it too late.

Don't have any staff? If you are a sole trader who doesn't want to become an employer, you could always use agency staff on a temporary basis. A temp could catch up with a backlog of mundane admin work, leaving you free for the important operations. You could even find yourself a virtual PA.

Outsourcing your bookkeeping might also be a first step to getting a better balance between your work and your life. If you already do this, why not ask your bookkeepers what other services they offer that might help?