Stratford-upon-Avon
13 The Courtyard
Timothy's Bridge Road
Stratford-Upon-Avon
Warwickshire CV37 9NP
In the recent Spring Budget, the VAT registration threshold was raised to £90,000 (previously £85,000) which means that smaller businesses that did not want to register for VAT, now have an additional £5,000 of turnover they can make each year without needing to register for VAT.
Obviously, if you sell goods or services to other businesses, and they are likely to be registered for VAT, if you are eventually required to register you can do so without changing your price structure; clients can simply claim back the VAT you have added to their bills.
But problems arise if you sell to non-business customers who cannot claim back VAT.
Once your business breaches the £90,000 turnover threshold you will be faced with two choices:
- Reduce your prices so your customer pays no more for your services. For example, if the pre-VAT price was £120, following registration, you would need to reduce your price to £100, which plus VAT at 20% would equal £120. Unless you could increase your sales volume, this would have a serious impact on your profitability.
- The second choice would be to pass on the VAT to customers. In this case your price would stay at £120, but you would need to charge customers £144 (£120 plus 20% VAT). Unless the goods or services you were selling had limited alternative suppliers, this price hike will likely reduce your sales and profitability.
So, although welcome, the rise in the VAT registration threshold to £90,000 will not overly excite traders who are grappling with the need to increase prices already, to counter inflation, and cope with rising costs.
Traders caught in this do I register or not conundrum do have choices, but they require serious consideration. If you need help to consider your options, please call.
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.