December 2020 - TaxAgility Small Business Accountants

Happy Holidays from TaxAgility

Happy Holidays
2020 has been a challenging year to say the least, but there are also positive moments where we witness strength and resilience. We also would like to thank all of our clients who have continued to work with us this year.

From everyone at TaxAgility to you and your family, may joy and peace fill your heart this holiday season.

by Donovan

Small Business: Adapting to changes in social media

Many small businesses view social media as an important component in the marketing mix, but have you kept up with the changes?

Many social media services that we are familiar with today are well over a decade old, with some approaching 20 years soon. Yet many of them don’t remain still – they continue to evolve and adapt, pushing out new features that aim to make communication easier. In view of this, small business owners like you and I are wondering what does it all mean? Do we have to continue using social media as part of our marketing mix? And if so, how do we adapt? Questions like these deserve honest answers, so we think it is time to create a post that can help us – and also our clients – to understand social media better.

Before we start, it must be said that we are not social media experts – our expertise lies in accounting & bookkeeping, tax, payroll and management consultancy for small businesses across London. We work with clients and help them become efficient, meet regulatory compliance, and confidently rely on accurate financial data to make informed decisions. When our clients grow, we grow too, which is why we are always keen to share ideas that can benefit small business owners, including how all of us can harness the power of social media better.

Social media for small businesses

Social media refers to internet services and mobile applications that allow users, including individuals and companies, to share content and interact with others. As these services are free and easy to use, they can attract millions of users in a short space of time, and with that many people congregating on any one of the platforms, companies big and small soon realise the potential of social media.

Nowadays, most companies spend time crafting social media posts and share them on popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Those with a bigger budget also create videos and post them on YouTube and TikTok. Essentially, they all hope that their content is viewed and shared rapidly, thereby broadening their reach.

But social media isn’t all rosy and full of promise. It has given unhappy customers, jealous competitors, disgruntled ex-employees and even trolls a platform to complain, provoke, with some choose to hurt your brand on purpose simply because they can.

Big companies respond to these negativities by hiring a team to investigate, monitor and talk to customers directly. But small business owners tend not to have such luxury, leaving many question the benefits of social media. With this in mind, let’s look at a few areas which can help small businesses.

Take another look at your social media strategy

If your small business has been posting on social media for a while, chances are, you will continue to do the same without giving it much thought.

A good place to start is to take another look at your social media strategy and ask what social media can do for your business. To get the answer, you need to look at your customers, your competitors, and also your financial data. In other words, you are examining several key factors, including but not limited to:

What is the purpose of your social media strategy?
Where does your target audience congregate online?
What information is relevant to your target audience?
What are your competitors doing on social media?
What social media inspiration can you draw from industry leaders?
How much do you intend to spend?
How do you evaluate the process?
How do you measure success?

Once you have reviewed your social media strategy, the next step is to understand the risks of social media so you can actively avoid them. Some common risks include:

There may not be any tangible return

While social media can help to amplify your brand, often it may not contribute to tangible return. For example, a person seeing a short video clip of your service may not call you and become your client. Sometimes, it can be hard to measure the return on investment too.

Undesired information may go out of control

You may make a mistake in one of your social media posts, a troll may decide to inflict hurt, or a customer’s complaint may have gone viral, when this happens, it is hard to control the spread of undesired information.

Making a situation worse

When a small business owner responds in anger, or when a company’s social media team cannot adequately handle customer complaints, things can go out of hand quickly and the domino effect can undo a company’s years of hard work in just a few hours (or less).

Legal issues

Every content you use online must adhere to the appropriate policies like copyright law and privacy legislation. Otherwise, you are putting yourself and your business at risk.

A few tips

Every business uses social media somewhat differently, depending on their strategy, however, there are a few common tips that we believe can benefit small businesses.

Local versus international

It is said that there are now 3.5 billion social media users worldwide, but if you are a brick and mortar company relying on local footfall, this astronomical number probably doesn’t mean much to you. Instead, you may choose to advertise locally (through local targeting or using selected hash-tags).

Show personality with care

Everything you post on social media is a reflection of your company – this is why sticking to the script is safe. You can, of course, show some personality by using emojis to inject some fun. At TaxAgility, we choose to share an inspiration quote once a week to encourage fellow small business owners.

Don’t respond when you’re angry

Social media gives many unhappy people (customers, competitors and trolls) a platform to vent, but it doesn’t mean that you need to act when you’re angry. Stay calm and remain professional. Also, don’t confuse angry customers with trolls who simply want to provoke and hurt.

Plan your posts

Many popular social media posts today are carefully crafted, accompanied by an appropriate picture or a video. So it is worth planning out your posts and making sure they are suitable for your audience.

TaxAgility is here for small businesses in London

Like many small businesses, we are still working on how to better engage our target audience – and also our customers – on social media. While we may not be able to assist your day-to-day management of social media, we certainly can help small business owners rest easy, knowing that their accounting & bookkeeping, tax, as well as payroll management are in our capable hands.

Our approach is flexible and entirely depends on your business needs. You can hire our bookkeeping and tax services now, add payroll when your team grows, then use our management consultancy service when you are ready to take your business to new heights.

All of our services are competitively priced with no hidden charges. Call us today on 020 8108 0090, or use the contact us form to get in touch.

Small business: Gain competitive advantage through outsourcing

Outsourcing allows small business owners to optimise the use of resources and achieve maximum customer value.

A concept image of outsourcing
In today’s business ecosystem, small business owners are familiar with the concept of outsourcing, which is to use third parties to perform work that is normally done within a company, as the third parties can provide a better service at a lower cost.

At TaxAgility, we have a team that is dedicated to serving companies’ outsourcing needs in accounting and bookkeeping, as well as payroll. Over the years, we have built up strong relationships with our clients and witnessed the advantages of outsourcing brought to them. If you are a small business owner looking to outsource your bookkeeping and payroll, give us a call on 020 8108 0090.

The eight benefits of outsourcing

1. Lower costs

The true costs of hiring a full-time staff can be substantial once you add National Insurance, pensions, benefits, as well as office facilities and equipment which you need to provide for the person to work. Outsourcing is often a cheaper alternative.

2. Increase efficiency

Companies that focus on core competencies and outsource activities they aren’t good at tend to be lean and efficiently-managed. For example, if you rely on third parties who have the economy of scale to perform the same tasks inexpensively, you can pass the savings to your customers and remain competitive.

3. Improve flexibility

Outsourcing allows you to pick and choose the level of engagement that suits your business at a particular moment in time. For instance, you can select the bookkeeping service from us when you first launch your business, add payroll when your team expands, then engage our management consultancy service when you are ready to grow and take your business to new heights.

4. Access to specialists

Outsourcing allows small businesses to access the same level of expertise enjoyed by big companies. For instance, a small business may not afford to hire a full-time CFO, but by outsourcing and becoming our client, you now have a team of Accountants who are ready to assist.

5. Reduce risk

Our Accountants and payroll specialists help to reduce your financial and compliance risks by managing every task accurately, including sending the right documents to HMRC on time.

6. Not affected by staff holiday or sickness

The companies that you outsource the work to often have a big team that can provide year-round cover; therefore, your tasks and deadlines are not affected by staff holidays or sickness.

7. Increase confidentiality

Most offices today have an open-plan layout with limited storage space. Confidential data such as salary information may be left on a table or stored in an unlocked cabinet that can be accessed by all employees. When you outsource a business function that contains confidential data, you essentially increase confidentiality within your office.

8. Support your wellbeing

It is no secret that small business owners take on a lot, with some work so hard that they experience stress and anxiety. Outsourcing is a cost-effective way to help busy entrepreneurs reduce workload, giving them time to focus on their strengths and their mental wellbeing.

Five popular business functions to outsource

Small business owners tend to outsource niche business functions that require specialists who know what they are doing and can generally do the tasks cheaper and better. These functions include but not limited to:

IT support – covering network, wireless, cyber-security, database management, web development, and digital transformation.
Accounting & bookkeeping – from day-to-day bookkeeping to filing the right documents with HMRC and Companies House.
Marketing – evolving quickly, marketing today has a sharper focus on email, social media, video, search advertising, native content advertising, and apps.
Customer support – having first-level customer support that can provide quick answers to customers and keep them happy is valuable.
Payroll – every payslip in the UK must be calculated accurately and delivered on time, this complicated process is best left with the professionals.

Choose TaxAgility’s accounting and bookkeeping service

TaxAgility has worked with small businesses in London, Putney, and Richmond-upon-Thames since 2008. We have worked with entrepreneurs from all walks of life and different companies with varying business models.

Our accounting and bookkeeping services specific to small businesses cover everything from basic data entry to high-level management reporting and analysis. Accurate financial data that we provide, such as management accounts, budgets, cash-flow forecasts, can also help you to:

Improve profit margins
Reduce costs
Compare performance
Make informed decisions
Unlock business potential
Ensure regulatory compliance

Call us today on 020 8108 0090.

Choose TaxAgility’s payroll services

Payroll demands absolute accuracy, and each payslip must be calculated individually and delivered on time. Our payroll team has worked with all types of industries, including companies that offer commissions, ad-hoc bonuses, as well as restaurants, bars and hotels that use the TRONC scheme.

By outsourcing your payroll administration to us, you can keep your costs down while maintaining accuracy and efficiency. Our team also provides year-round covers, so your Full Payment Submission to HMRC is always on time, undisturbed by staff holidays or sickness.

Call us today on 020 8108 0090.

Other services

Apart from bookkeeping and payroll, we also provide tax and VAT services, along with management consultancy to small businesses across London.

Our aim is to assist entrepreneurs in becoming tax-efficient, so you have more money to invest, expand and create jobs in your community.

Management consultancy also puts a sharper focus on using financial data and benchmark analysis to improve efficiency, increase profitability and grow sustainably.

The challenges of outsourcing and how to address them

Outsourcing has indeed helped many small businesses to grow from strength to strength, but it is not without some challenges. It is useful to discuss a few tips that can help you navigate around common pitfalls.

Choose a reputable company

Only outsource your selected business functions to a reputable company that belongs to a trade organisation with a defined code of ethics. For example, we are ICAEW (Institute of Accountants in England and Wales) Accountants, and we follow a set of principles, including integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, and professional behaviour. This means that as our client, you will receive honest answers from our knowledgeable teams who keep abreast with the latest developments in practice, legislation and techniques. We also act diligently and respect confidentiality.

Formalise processes

Formalise a set of guidelines which you want the outsourced company to follow and communicate your expectations clearly. This way, you have greater control over the quality of services rendered.

Check their data security commitment

If the tasks you outsource involved confidential information, like customer information or personal data from your employees, ask the provider what steps they have to keep the data secure, and what happens if there is a breach.

Local versus overseas

Outsourcing to local companies may also work better for some businesses, as they don’t have to manage time differences and cultural barriers. At TaxAgility, our offices are in Central London, Putney and Richmond-upon-Thames, so clients could pop in to ask a question at any time, without having to worry about time differences.

Outsourcing has indeed helped many small businesses to scale, remain efficient and competitive, so are you ready to enjoy the benefits of outsourcing?

Month: December 2020

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