Recent content by mr. mischief

  1. mr. mischief

    Most efficient way to get paid from US?

    By far the cheapest option is a forex broker. They will deal for 50 pips or so (0.5 cents) whereas with banks you often get hit for 150 pips plus a £25 commission. I saved one client £15k per year in charges by putting him in touch with HiFX, there are plenty of others. If you have small...
  2. mr. mischief

    Acquiring charges (HSBC)

    No she can't. I normally show these as a separate line item - credit card fees - so clients can see just how much this facility costs.
  3. mr. mischief

    Buying gold/silver with ltd co cash as business investment

    Have you considered using a spread bet? This is usually the cheapest way of buying gold and silver for speculation. For example I currently have a long position in silver, the spread is 3981 to 3987 which is 0.15%. However as this is a rolling daily position there are also interest charges...
  4. mr. mischief

    I am a ltd company i need help

    All Corporation tax returns must now be supported with accounts in a special language called IXBRLi. Personally I am of the view that this fact alone reduces the chances of the average client being able to file their own limited company accounts and tax from a small number - say 5% - to less...
  5. mr. mischief

    Accepting Euros?

    Depending on your deal size and volume, a foreign currency broker could be a good bet. I mostly deal in GBP USD, imagine Euro GBP is similar. High street bank typically 25 or 30 GBP flat fee, but what is worse if the middle rate is 16394 they will make a massive profit by going 16244 to 16544...
  6. mr. mischief

    Directors Loans

    One other thing - directors in law have a fiduciary duty to properly steward the assets of the company in the interests of the members. Many directors - for example at RBS - pay lip service to this, but it is correct. First, is your accountant qualified - if so, with which Institute? If he is...
  7. mr. mischief

    Directors Loans

    Well one thing is that an overdrawn loan account has two separate implications: 1. If it is over £5k, that is an interest-free loan and must be reported on the P11d. This should be submitted by 5 July for 10-11 tax year. 2. If a loan balance remains unpaid 9 months after the year-end, there...
  8. mr. mischief

    New Accounting Practice

    If you are going to charge higher fees then you need to clearly and without jargon explain exactly why your clients should pay more. My personal mantra is "You are the MD, I am the FD" - which works especially well in presentations and meetings where you can extend your hand to the audience on...
  9. mr. mischief

    IR35 update for any contractors on here

    On the one hand the last post makes sense. On the other the 1999 forecast was IR35 would raise £300m per tax year. I read somewhere - and stand to be corrected - that the LIFETIME tax take is under £10m. Meanwhile it is reckoned HMRC spent £1.5m on some individual IR35 cases, so overall it...
  10. mr. mischief

    Should I just drop the new accountants?

    I've had a few "clients" sign up lately only to return to their previous accountants who had matched both my fee and the extra service levels I had in my letter of engagement. Time will tell, but unless these guys have a brain transplant they will either sneak in rip-off charges or fall well...
  11. mr. mischief

    Sole Trader - Tax April - Profits?

    No matter what year-end you make up your accounts to, your first taxable period runs from 1 September to 31 March 2011 / 5 April 2011 (strictly 5 April, but HMRC accept accounts to 31 March as if it was 5 April.) Any tax on the profits will be due by 31 Jan 2012. Note that the rules are...
  12. mr. mischief

    Endless cycle of debt .... fed up, close company?

    I think what the OP meant to say is that the accountant did not give him proper advice on how much to take out of the company and so forth. Let's face it, we probably all see this sort of thing every month - an accountant recommends "going limited" but does not give any indication of the...
  13. mr. mischief

    Which UK Bank Account for Online Gambling / Lottery Business?

    Try unusual banks such as Handelsbanken. It could be that the banks are worried about the implications of the Wire Act. When this came into effect I was a semi-pro gambler and it significantly reduced my profits. Perhaps if you can make it clear you'e thought about the Wire Act and can show...
  14. mr. mischief

    Caiptal Allowances

    Make it a bit easier anc capitalise anything over £500.
  15. mr. mischief

    CIS Scheme

    I also recommend using paid for software for these returns, let me explain why. A client rang me up to complain that he'd been fined £200 for May and June 2010 submissions I had failed to make. He was right to complain as the HMRC database showed April then went to July and August. HMRC had...
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