Stratford-upon-Avon
13 The Courtyard
Timothy's Bridge Road
Stratford-Upon-Avon
Warwickshire CV37 9NP
In certain circumstances it can be beneficial to make voluntary National Insurance Contributions (NICs) to increase entitlement to future benefits, including the State or New State Pension for self-employed persons.
You might want to consider making voluntary NICs if:
- You are close to State Pension age and do not have enough qualifying years to get the full State Pension
- You know you will not be able to get the qualifying years you need to get the full State Pension during the remainder of your working life
- You are self-employed and do not have to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions due to a history of low profitability
- You live outside the UK but want to qualify for benefits.
If you fall within any of these categories, it may be beneficial to apply for a State Pension forecast and examine whether you should consider making voluntary NICs to make up missing years, known as topping up. Not everyone will benefit from making voluntary NICs and much will depend on how close you are to retirement age and your NIC payments to date.
Usually, HMRC allow you to pay voluntary contributions for the previous six years. The deadline is 5 April each year. This means that you have until 5 April 2023 to make up for gaps for the tax year 2016-17.
There are also transitional measures in place that allow men born after 5 April 1951 and women born after 5 April 1953 to make up for gaps in NICs between tax years April 2006 and April 2016. This opportunity ends on 5 April 2023 when the maximum allowable number of voluntary contributions will be limited to six years as per the previous paragraph.
Grenfell James Technology Adoption Index
How does your business perform against others adopting financial tech? Find out with our interactive diagnostic:
1.
How does your business receive invoices?
A)
Invoices are mainly received in paper form
B)
Invoices are mainly received by email
C)
Invoices are emailed then automatically forwarded to a designated mailbox
2.
How are purchase invoices processed?
A)
Invoices are entered manually
B)
Invoices are attached to manually raised invoices
C)
Automated software (e.g. ReceiptBank, 1Tap, HubDoc etc) collates invoices
3.
How are accounts processed?
A)
Using Excel/paper-based
B)
Using Computer-based, offline software
C)
Using cloud-based accountancy software
4.
How often is business data revised?
A)
Data is updated annually
B)
Data is updated quarterly
C)
Data is updated monthly or more often
5.
How is banking updated for your business?
A)
Banking is updated manually
B)
Banking is updated by imports
C)
Banking is updated via a live feed
6.
How are bank payments made?
A)
Bank payments are manual
B)
Bank payments are made using bulk imports
C)
Bank payments are made directly via accounting software
7.
How are bank receipts reconciled?
A)
Receipts are chased and reconciled manually
B)
Receipts are chased and reconciled automatically
C)
A third-party platform is used to chase debts and collect fees
8.
How often are management reports produced?
A)
No reports are provided
B)
Reports are provided but often too late to be valuable
C)
Reports are automated with real-time information
Score 8-12:
Curious Exploration
Your financial technology phase is Curious Exploration
% of respondent businesses are in this phase too.
Switching accountancy systems may seem like an upheaval, but can be much more straightforward than most businesses imagine. From talking to our clients, they have found moving from paper invoicing and desktop-based accounting software to the cloud and apps quickly makes the transition process a worthwhile investment of time. Digital accounting solutions bring in streamlined processes, up-to-date business data and greater confidence in the accuracy of information when making financial decisions.
Grenfell James works with your team to fully assess the needs of your business and minimise the impact of any transitions for solutions we recommend.
Score 13-19:
Measured Discovery
Your financial technology phase is Measured Discovery
% of respondent businesses are in this phase too.
Once cloud accountancy software is in place, there’s still plenty of scope to improve your accountancy processes and make sure your business is maximising the benefits of adopting a digital accounting solution. Grenfell James assesses each business to understand how any implemented solutions are being used, identify areas for improvement and the needs of the business overall to support your business goals and achieve success.
Our team of experts can discuss a range of time-saving automation and get different apps and cloud-based solutions talking to create and manage a digital accountancy eco-system to help your business grow.
Score 20-24:
Bold Innovation
Your financial technology phase is Bold Innovation
% of respondent businesses are in this phase too.
You know the benefits of accounting technology and the impact it can have on your business goals. If you want to take it a step further, our team can conduct a systematic review of your processes, apps and business goals to ensure your digital accountancy ecosystem is keeping pace with the changing needs of a growing business.