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The Importance Of Finding The Right Accountant For Your Business

By Accounting

In order for your business to grow, finding the right accountant is paramount. An accountant is essential as they will manage your finances to improve your financial performance. What should you expect from an accountant in order to help grow your business? 

Offering a range of accountancy services for small and medium-sized businesses, Coleman And Co are always dependable when you require accountants. We are happy to provide a fast response to all our clients and give any advice you require throughout Lisburn. Call 028 9266 3599 and find the right accountant for you.  

Decision Making And Advice  

Experienced and professional accountants will have worked with a wide range of business from a variety of industries. This makes them ideal for offering advice on what’s best for your business financially. This is vital in ensuring you find the right option for you and they will understand different financial situations that can help each client. Additionally, this makes sure you have knowledge and details on all your finances to make informed decisions moving forward.

Tax Planning 

Tax planning is vital for every business and the right accountant will have an in-depth understanding of tax laws and any recent changes. They will make sure that you are not just prepared to submit your tax return but also have essential planning in place to save you money when submitting your taxes. Additionally, they will ensure your records are up to date and accurate, which in turn will help reduce the amount of your yearly tax returns. 

Developing A Business Strategy  

Important for every business, an experienced accountant will create a business strategy tailored for you. Once your financial data has been recorded, they will then use this to analyse any improvements. This will highlight any changes that need to be made within your business to improve it financially. The role of an accountant is to always help you and work towards helping you improve financially. An experienced accountant will create an effective business strategy to help you achieve this.

With the help of accountants, your business can become much more streamlined. 

Contact Us 

If you would like to discuss the services we have available at Coleman And Co, get in touch with our team today. Call us on 028 9266 3599 or fill in our online contact form to make an enquiry. We will always provide a fast response and are happy to answer any and all questions you may have.  

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September 22, 2020
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Furlough And The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme  

By AccountantsNo Comments

With the recent government announcement encouraging staff to return to the workplace, many people are beginning to return to work after a period of time of furlough. It is important now more than ever that you know how to properly furlough staff, bring staff off furlough and secure any support that your business may be eligible for.  

Coleman And Co support small and medium sized businesses throughout Lisburn and the Northern Ireland area. Our team of highly qualified accountants are here to help provide you with the financial advice necessary on how to support employees who are either returning to the workplace or on furlough. Call 028 9266 3599. 

The Meaning Of Furlough  

Furlough refers to an employee who is still employed by their employer and is on the payroll but they have been asked to temporarily stop working. During the furlough period, they would not be receiving any pay.  

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme  

Keeping up to date with the latest government announcements is paramount for any business during these unprecedented times as things are changing daily. The government announced The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme also known as the furlough scheme was extended from 1st July. The scheme consists of grants and support to help businesses who are feeling financial strain due to the circumstances surrounding Covid-19. It aims to prevent redundancies by introducing a pay of 80% for furloughed workers up to £2,500 per month. It also covers a minimum contribution of 3% of an employee’s earnings towards National Insurance and Pension.  

From 1st July, employees could return for any amount of time and in shift patterns, whilst still being able to claim The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grant for hours in which they haven’t worked. From 1st August, the amount of the grant received was reduced each month.  

The CJRS is set to close on 31st October 2020.   

Speak With A Professional  

It is vital to speak with a professional as the situation surrounding Covid-19 continues to change drastically. Here at Coleman and Co, we provide professional and practical accounting. We apply our expertise to a wide range of accounting services, some of these include: 

Get In Touch With Coleman And Co For Financial Advice Today  

For further information on the furlough scheme alongside professional financial advice, contact Coleman And Co today. Call 028 9266 3599 or fill in our contact form to make an enquiry. You will always receive a fast response. We can provide information regarding returning to work after furlough and support for your business through these uncertain times.  

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September 8, 2020
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What Are The Benefits Of Cash Flow Forecasts?

By Cash Flow Forecasts

Cash flow forecasts help identify financial problems within your business and help to improve its financial position. Forecasting is vital for every business to ensure you have a successful plan in the future and with a cash flow forecast, you can identify what costs are causing your business problems and make the necessary changes. 

Coleman And Co provide detailed cash flow forecasts and reports and support all businesses throughout Lisburn and further afield. You can depend on our professional highly-qualified team for a comprehensive service. 

Our blog looks into the benefits of cash flow forecasts and why you should consider them for your business.  

Growing Your Business  

To effectively grow your business, forecasting is paramount. Cash flow forecasts give you a host of insights into the financial position of your business, without this you won’t have an understanding of your businesses performance and how it will look in the future. With cash flow, you can then highlight and determine any necessary changes that need to be made to help the growth of your business in the long run. Some of them can include: 

  • Suppliers 
  • Resources 
  • Staff 
  • Premises
  • Prices 

Understanding Cash Flow Forecasts  

The importance of understanding cash flow forecasts is vital for every business, especially for staying afloat. Completing cash flow forecasts regularly and keeping on top of them will reduce the chance of coming into difficulty. Speaking with a highly qualified accountant will help in assuring you are completing your cashflow correctly and avoiding any mistakes that could be detrimental to your business. You should always have a good understanding of your businesses financial performance and learn to notice any changes that may be needed.  

Cash flow forecasts allow you to identify what costs are causing your business problems.  

Cash Flow Comparison 

Comparisons will help you to compare current months and your history and gives you a greater understanding of where your business is excelling or where there have been significant drops. You can use this information to evaluate spend and prevent finances from becoming a larger issue. Looking into this data will help you to determine where the money is needed to help in the success of your business whilst also limiting spending in areas that are leading to negative cash flow.  

Cash Flow Forecasts With Coleman And Co  

Coleman And Co offer cash flow forecasts for all businesses in and around Lisburn. Our team of professional and qualified accountants are always on hand and can provide any advice you may require. Call us today on 028 9266 3599 or email godfrey@colemanandco-ni.co.uk. Alternatively, fill in our contact form to make an enquiry. 

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September 1, 2020
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Digital Accounting With Coleman & Co

By AccountingNo Comments

The need for digital accounting software has grown massively and is fast becoming the norm in the accounting industry. It can be a very confusing time trying to figure out which is right for your business.

Coleman & Co are experts in accountancy, taxation and consultancy. We work in and around Lisburn and whatever your requirements, we are sure to find a solution that’s right for you. Our team work with small and medium-sized businesses and can guide you through the transition from manual to digital accounting and provide a professional, friendly service.

What Is Digital Accounting?

As technology continues to grow digital accounting is becoming a vital part of everyday life. The using of digital accounting software systems provides many advantages from accuracy to the ability to see your finances in real-time. From creating and sending invoices on the go, tracking sales and purchases to easy tax filing that matched HMRC requirements, digital accounting has you covered.

Business transactions, receipts and finances can be added far more quickly and the accounting records are automatically updated, so account balances are always up to date. It is suitable for small and medium-sized businesses and accounting software can carry out a wide range of functions. Some of these include:

  • Invoicing
  • Payments
  • Paying wages
  • Accounting reports
  • Receipts Balance sheets

Digital accounting is now more important than ever

The Advantages Of Digital Accounting

Making a switch from paper to digital offers a number of advantages for your business, with one of the main being that you can receive and access information regarding your finances from any device, anywhere, at any time. Digital accounting can help boost the productivity of your business as the time it takes to input data is considerably quicker and you can produce reports within minutes. Some of the many benefits of accounting software include:

  • Automation
  • Speed
  • Saves time
  • Automation of tasks
  • Fast processes
  • Simple data entry
  • Reduced errors
  • Accurate financial data
  • Boosts productivity
  • Create and send invoices on the go
  • Manage your customers and supplier information

Another major advantage is that it can offer you valuable insight into your business, helping you to make the best decisions moving forward.

Digital accounting is simple and you can access your information any time and any place.

HMRC Making Tax Digital

HMRC bought in Making Tax Digital and it affects VAT-registered businesses as of April 1st 2019 that have a turnover of £85,000. The scheme ensures businesses keep and submit their tax returns and record using accounting software. It has also been announced there will be another phase of Making Tax Digital in 2021 that will affect small business under the VAT threshold.

Get In Touch

Coleman & Co are accountants and auditors who provide advice and accounting services to help businesses succeed. We work in Lisburn and the surrounding areas and you will always receive a quick response. Our digital accounting services will help you manage your businesses money as easily as possible. Contact us today on 028 9266 3599 or fill in our contact form to make an enquiry.

April 21, 2020
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Options When Your Business Is Running Out Of Money

By Business AdviceNo Comments

Running out of money is a very real possibility that can happen for businesses of any size or industry. Recovering from this is much more difficult and it is important you consider all the options that are available if your business does start to run out of money.

Coleman & Co support every business throughout Lisburn and the Northern Ireland area. If you are encountering financial issues, our accounting services can get you back on track.

Cut Cash Expenses

Although there are several steps to take when running out of money, your first priority should be to cut your cash expenses. By doing this, you immediately reduce some of the costs your business has and prevent your total profit getting even lower than what it already is. There are several costs you cut which include:

  • Cutting Staff
  • Negotiating Suppliers & Resources
  • Rent

None of these options are particularly fun but may be necessary to give yourself the break you need to get back on track. For many businesses, cutting back on the number of luxury items you have within your business can make a big difference and help you significantly lower costs. Make sure not to invest too much into items the business doesn’t actually need.

Non-essential assets could even be sold to raise some revenue at the same time cutting your fixed and running costs.

Quick Payments & Invoices

Many businesses will take payments immediately after the point of sale. However, if you give customers plenty of payment time, it could be working against you when it comes to profit.

By making sure invoices are sent out as early as possible, you are still giving customers a good amount of time to make their payments. Instead of giving freedom to pay when they want, perhaps set a deadline on the payments. You can then make transactions much sooner and receive payment without delay.

Small Business Loans

The most important thing to do is make sure you are not left in debt. If you have a financial plan for the future and you know cash flow will soon pick up, getting a loan should not be much of a risk. Whether this is just to give you a financial boost and a bit more spending power or you just want slightly extra cash to pay suppliers or staff, a loan could be a good option.

As long as this is correct, you will be left in a much better financial position. Using finances to continue reinvesting into a failing project or to purchase unnecessary items could leave you with bigger financial debts and liabilities. Make sure that if you do choose a loan, you have a good plan of where the money will go. This prevents having further payments that you cannot pay.

Maintain Communication & Seek Advice

The worst thing to do is to cover up the cracks until the whole thing blows up. By maintaining good communication with directors, stakeholders, creditors and any investors, your business stays in a good situation. Ultimately, improving financial performance is a project you can actually achieve with this approach.

Without good communication and honesty, it could cast a doubtful eye over your business. This may lead to damaging the trust between you and other stakeholders. Along with communication, seeking good advice from professionals can be a useful option. Accountants will help you manage and improve financial performance. Additionally, they will also have ideas on how to raise revenue for a business running out of money.

Contact Us

If your business is struggling financially or you want advice to create a financial plan and help your business flourish, speak to Coleman & Co. Call us on 028 9266 3599 or fill in our contact form to make an enquiry. You will receive a fast response from our team throughout Lisburn and Northern Ireland. Consultation and accountancy services are available whenever you require.

October 22, 2019
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How To Bookkeep Effectively

By Blogs, BookkeepingNo Comments

Bookkeeping is one of the most important tasks for any business but can be very strenuous. Finding an effective and efficient way to bookkeep should be a priority for you. This allows you to complete bookkeeping tasks quickly and focus on other areas of your business.

Coleman & Co support all businesses throughout Lisburn and Northern Ireland. Whether you need advice regarding finances or want to outsource, we help you bookkeep effectively.

Create A Bookkeeping System

Your bookkeeping and record-keeping doesn’t just become efficient overnight or by simply storing your records. Your bookkeeping process should be planned and by creating an actual system, this will allow you to manage more effectively. Having some sort of spreadsheet in Excel simply isn’t enough and you will realise the benefits of an actual bookkeeping system.

Using professional accounting software, bookkeeping becomes much easier. There is a range of software you can choose from if you are looking to manage books yourself. Outsourcing may be the best option to ensure the best software is being used correctly. However, if you have a good system in place and you stick to your bookkeeping process, this should allow all finances to be managed correctly.

Organise Existing Finances

Whether you are a start-up business or established for several years without a proper bookkeeping system, make sure you organise your existing finances. It is important you are on track with all invoices and transactions throughout your business, preventing any errors and also recording any finances before your business was launched. This could include loans or buying resources and equipment.

This will also make managing your future finances much easier. When it comes to making end of year accounts, financial reports and tax returns, your finances must be accurate. Without bookkeeping being completed correctly from the start, it could lead to more errors further down the line with finances not adding up and being recorded. Potentially, errors could creep in, even leading to fines during tax returns.

Self-Auditing

You can always make improvements to your financial management and self-auditing is a great tool to do this. Self-auditing will allow you to identify any errors in your bookkeeping process and why they are occurring. Making improvements is then much easier as you already know what the mistakes are, rather than making random changes that could go either way.

Self-auditing will also help you avoid future problems. By completing this consistently, it means your bookkeeping process is completely up to date. Less and less errors should be made as your system improves and any errors that still pop up can be quickly amended.

Financial Reports

Creating financial reports can help every business owner bookkeep more effectively. Not only does this help your business by having a summary of your financial performance month-by-month, comparisons and improvement become easier.

Financial reports will allow you to look back at previous finances and find any errors which may be affecting your current financial accuracies. Additionally, using this bookkeeping method is perfect for other resources such as cash flow forecasts and making financial improvements.

Outsource To Accountants

Whilst you may take all the right steps towards an effective bookkeeping system, it still isn’t enough. If this is the case, outsourcing to bookkeepers and accountants is the best option.

This will make sure all record-keeping is accurate and avoids any errors and keep your bookkeeping completely up to date. Also using the best industry software, this will make sure you bookkeep effectively.

Contact Us

For more information on how to bookkeep effectively or to discuss the services available at Coleman & Co, call us today. You will always receive a fast response from our team, helping all businesses throughout Lisburn and the surrounding areas. Make an enquiry and call us on 028 9266 3599 or fill in our contact form today.

October 16, 2019
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How To Create An Accurate Cash Flow Forecast

By ForecastingNo Comments

Creating a cash flow forecast is beneficial for every business. With a cash flow forecast, you will have a good understanding of your future finances and what budgeting is required to achieve your financial goals. To do this, your financial forecast must be accurate and effective.

Coleman & Co can create a cash flow forecast for every business. Working throughout Lisburn and Northern Ireland, our services are always available at a very competitive price.

Prepare Your Expected Income

As an established business, estimating your predicted income can be based on the sales figures of previous months or years. Although your business may have changed considerably, sales figures can still be based on previous performance and how your sales forecast may improve or decrease for the coming months.

Based on past trends, the income you gain from business sales should usually be accurate. Some errors may be made, however, this will give you a good overview of the basic income you expect your business to achieve. For new businesses who can not use previous data and statistics to create an expected cashflow, an accurate cash flow forecast can still be made. By estimating the cash outflows you will have to deal with, you know how much must be made to cover your costs.

This will be the minimum expected income for your business so you are breaking even. Your expected income is never set in stone and can fluctuate due to many factors. However, gaining an insight into the incoming cash flow will give you a good understanding of what your business should be achieving each month.

Other Cash Flow Sources

In addition to your expected sales, there may be other areas of cash flow sources that you should consider. Some of the extra income could be unexpected and therefore there is no way to include it in your cash flow forecast. However, you can consider some factors where income will increase, including:

  • Business Investment
  • Grants & Loans
  • License Fees
  • Repaid Loans
  • Royalties
  • Selling Assets
  • Tax Refunds

If you are expecting any of these to add to your income, make sure you include them within your cash flow forecast. You know what your income sources are and can separate the income you receive from sales and other income sources.

Detail All Expenses

Calculating your cash outflows will not only help you create an accurate cash flow forecast, this will also be ideal for creating a business budget. Your budget can be used to spend less than what you expect or just prevent costs going overboard.

Before the month begins, make sure you know all the expected transactions to come out of your business cash flow. This could include:

  • Bank Fees
  • Buying New Assets
  • Day-to-Day Costs
  • Investment
  • Loan Repayments
  • Payments To Owners
  • Payroll
  • Purchasing Resources & Equipment

Unexpected payments may have to be made and this is why a budget is important. Map out the payments you know about and create a budget so spending does not increase for your expected payments. With a budget, this should help you make larger profit margins and therefore cash is leftover. If an unexpected payment does occur, your budget will save you money for emergencies.

Combine Costs & Income

To make your cash flow forecast and maintain its accuracy, the final part is to put together your income and costs. Therefore, when income and costs have been detailed correctly, your cash flow forecast will be accurate, excluding any unexpected payments.

Having a cash flow forecast is important, not only to see how much profit you should be making each month but to find where costs can be reduced and if you need new areas of revenue.

Contact Us

For more information regarding the services available at Coleman & Co, speak to our team today. We can help all clients throughout Lisburn with a cash flow forecast, ensuring you are effectively planning for your business’ financial future. Make an enquiry and call 028 9266 3599 or fill in our contact form today.

October 8, 2019
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Financial Tips For A Start-Up Business

By Start-Up BusinessNo Comments

Even in your earliest days, a start-up business must be fully prepared for the financial aspect of their company. Managing finances as a start-up is no easy task and it is important you have the right advice. You should always have a plan in place to avoid any potential issues and slipups with your finances.

Coleman & Co support all businesses in Lisburn and the surrounding areas. If you are a start-up business looking for financial advice, our team are always available.

Creating An Accounting System

It is important that your business already has an accounting system in place or you outsource your accounting. Your start-up business will have many finances to manage and this is not easy without a successful accounting system. Whether you choose to use a qualified accountant or complete accounting in house, you should always find a suitable system to easily manage your finances.

If you fail to do this, your business is likely to struggle from the get-go. Whilst the business may be run successfully, it becomes difficult to track all transactions and cash flow of the business. Your accounting system or software should let you easily manage all finances. If any problems do arise, they can be dealt with quickly.

Begin Financial Management

Financial management is essential to track all your invoices and transactions, both incoming and outgoing. Your financial management should begin as soon as and even before you have launched your business. It is difficult for a start-up business to stay afloat in its early life and this can become even harder without financial management.

This means that your business is not keeping track of finances correctly and therefore cash flow is not properly recorded. This can spiral and lead to several financial errors that could cost your business in the short and long-term. Financial management is important to avoid this as a business and make sure all income and expenditure is looked after.

Build Your Budget

It is never too easy for a business to create a budget. Whether this is just one budget for your whole business or you split the budget into your different expenses, a budget must be created. You should try to set up an initial budget so you don’t spend too much setting up your business. From this point, you should always try to limit your spending, maximising your budget as a start-up business.

Your budget must always be accurate to what you expect to spend whilst also being realistic. If you create a budge too small, it could limit the success of your business. With a budget too big, it is almost pointless as it will not lower your spending at all. You should always consider what you must spend money on and what money you would like to save to create a suitable budget. Mapping out your expenses should always give you a good understanding of exactly what is being spent.

Establish Financial Goals

By establishing financial goals, your start-up business is planning for the long-term. Not only are you creating a target and a goal, but you should also be creating a plan of how you achieve that target. With budgeting and cash flow forecasting, this can always be achieved and you can always identify how to make a positive cash flow and save money at the same time.

With financial goals, this should also help you create a strong platform for growth in the future. Your start-up business should have stability from the start and this can help you consistently make money whilst also saving in case of any financial issues you encounter. Even if you do not meet your financial goals flawlessly, you should be left in a better financial position.

Contact Us

For advice as a start-up business, get in touch with Coleman & Co today. You will always receive a fast response from our team, with a range of accountancy services available and consultation whenever you require it. Make an enquiry and call us on 028 9266 3599 or fill in our contact form to make an enquiry.

May 9, 2019
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