Are you starting your new business?

Most people starting up in business have a good business proposition, the enterprise, and the commitment to see it through. However, they may not be experts in running a business’s legal and financial aspects. Such matters can often appear daunting.
Fortunately, you do not need to be an expert in these fields to succeed in business. At CNG Associates, we can provide you with every support that you need to start up your own business.
Just bring us your business dream, and we’ll help you to make it a reality!

We will help you:

• Decide on the most suitable structure for your business – sole trader, partnership, limited liability partnership or limited company.
• Prepare a business plan, cash flow projections, budgets, and trading forecasts.
• Assess the finance requirements, advise on the best finance sources and draw proposals.
• Establish a good working relationship with your bank.
• Complete any registration procedures with Companies House and HMRC.
• Deal with company secretarial issues.
• Decide on what computer hardware to buy and help install accountancy software.
• Keep on top of bookkeeping, VAT, payroll and other accounting requirements.
• help with all aspects of business compliance and administration.

Freelance and Contractors

We offer specialised accountancy and tax services to contractors who wish to operate through their limited company. The package has been designed specifically for the needs of the contractor.
Whether you are new to contracting or have been in the business for some time, you certainly don’t want to waste your time on administrative chores that do not make your money.
Running your business as a limited company places a burden on you to comply with statutory regulations and taxation requirements.
We aim to take the hassle out of running your company while keeping your taxes low, and we are approachable. We offer a full accountancy service for professional contractors.
We have put together a package that will cover all your company’s needs. The fixed monthly fee of only £75 + VAT includes the following:

1. Preparation of Company Year-End Accounts
2. Preparation of abbreviated Company Accounts.
3. Director’s tax return.
4. Corporation Tax Computations.
5. Completion of VAT returns.
6. Dealing with the Inland Revenue.
7. Dealing with Companies House.
8. Payroll administration.
9. Electronic filing of forms P35 and P14.
10. Completion of form P11d and P14.
11. IR35 advice
12. On-going tax and accountancy advice throughout the year.

Problems with IR35?

Are you a contractor or a freelancer earning through a single or a few contracts? Then you probably feel that IR35 dominates your thoughts, affecting how you are paid and dictating your tax liabilities.

We can help you in the following ways:

1. advise on whether you currently pass or fail IR35.

2. advise on how you would have to operate in the future to guarantee not being
caught by IR35.

3. Even if you fail IR35, structure your affairs in the most tax-efficient manner within the
regime to maximise your take-home pay.

What is IR35?

IR35 is a piece of tax legislation announced in 1999, which took effect from April 2000.
The legislation means that the Revenue can tax some contractors as though they are employees of their clients.
In this context, “disguised employees” means workers who receive payments from a client via an intermediary and whose relationship with their client is such that had they been paid directly, they would be employees of the client. Before IR35 was introduced, workers who owned their own companies were allowed to receive payments from clients directly to the company and to use the company revenue as would any small company. Company profits could be distributed as dividends, not subject to National Insurance payments. Workers could also save tax by splitting ownership of the company with family members to place income in lower tax bands.
Contractors caught by IR35 pay significantly more tax, reducing their take-home pay.

Does IR35 affect all contractors?
Yes, in the sense that all contractors need to consider IR35 and take action to protect themselves from it. However, not all contractors are caught by IR35.

What happens if you are caught?
If you are “caught by IR35”, then your fees received from clients are considered “deemed salary” through your company, and Tax and NIC will need to be deducted similarly to an employee. In effect, dividend payments and many business expenses are not allowed.

However, you will be allowed to deduct certain expenses in respect of IR35 income specifically:

Expenses deductible as an employee
Company contributions to approved pension schemes
Employers NI
A flat rate of 5% of the gross income from relevant engagements

IR35 Status test

It is important, therefore for the intermediary to decide, for each engagement, whether the contract is in the nature of an employment as far as the individual is concerned. Existing tests applied to determine whether an individual is employed or self-employed will be used. The relevant tests are:

Control: a worker will not be an employee unless there is a right to exercise control over the worker. This may be a right to control what work is done, where or when it is done or how it is done. Actual control is not paramount; it is the right of control that is important.

The right to get a Substitute or Helper to do the Job:
personal service is an essential element of an employment contract. A person who has the freedom to choose whether to do the job himself or hire somebody else to do it for him, or can hire somebody else to provide substantial help is probably self-employed.

Provision of equipment: a self-employed contractor generally provides whatever equipment is needed to do the job. The provision of significant equipment (and/or materials) which are fundamental to the engagement is of particular importance. For example, where an IT consultant is engaged to undertake a specific piece of work and must work exclusively at home using the worker’s own computer equipment that will be a strong pointer to self-employment. But where a worker is provided with office space and computer equipment that points to employment. The fact that a worker might occasionally choose to do some work at home using his or her computer does not change that (many employees do just that).

Financial Risk: an individual who risks his own money by, for example, buying assets needed for the job and bearing their running costs and paying for overheads and large quantities of materials, is almost certainly self-employed. Financial risk could also take the form of quoting a fixed price for a job, with the consequent risk of bearing the additional costs if the job overruns. However, this will not necessarily mean that the worker is self-employed unless there is a real risk of financial loss.

Basis of Payment: employees tend to be paid a fixed wage or salary by the week or month and often qualify for additional payments such as overtime, long service bonus or profit share. Independent contractors, on the other hand, tend to be paid a fixed sum for a particular job.

Opportunity to profit from Sound Management: a person whose profit or loss depends on his capacity to reduce overheads and organise his work effectively may well be self-employed. People who are paid by the job will often be in this position.

Part and Parcel of the Organisation: establishing whether a person becomes ‘part and parcel’ of a client’s organisation can be a useful indicator in some situations. For example, someone taken on to manage a client’s staff will normally be seen as part and parcel of the client’s organisation and is likely to be an employee.

Right of Dismissal: a right to terminate an engagement by giving notice of a specified length is a common feature of employment. It is less common in a contract for services, which usually ends only on completion of the task, or if the terms of the contract are breached.

Employee Benefits: employees are often entitled to sick pay, holiday pay, pensions, expenses and so on. However, the absence of those features does not necessarily mean that the worker is self-employed – especially in the case of short-term engagements where such payments would not normally feature.

Length of Engagement: long periods working for one engager may be typical of an employment but are not conclusive. It is still necessary to consider all the terms and conditions of each engagement. Regular working for the same engager may indicate that there is a single and continuing contract of employment.

Intention: it is the reality of the relationship that matters. It is not enough to call a person “self-employed” if all the terms and conditions of the engagement point towards employment. However, if other factors are neutral the intentions of the parties will then be the deciding factor in employment status.

Given the list of factors mentioned above it is tempting to try to determine a person’s employment status by adding up the number of factors pointing towards employment and comparing that result with the number pointing towards self-employment. The Courts have specifically rejected that approach.

When the detailed facts have been established the right approach is to stand back and look at the picture as a whole, to see if the overall effect is that of a person in business on his own account or a person working as an employee in somebody else’s business. If the evidence is evenly balanced the intention of the parties may then decide the issue.

The Inland Revenue has looked at a number of standard Agency contracts and has, as expected, suggested that such contracts fail IR35.

The Revenue will only consider whether specific contracts fail the test and will not give any clearance on standard contracts.

The conclusion of all of the above is that if you sign a standard agency contract you are likely to fail IR35. Even if you get a contract worded differently, the Revenue will look at the facts behind the contract.

Make More, Keep More, Work Less!

By getting the right advice and taking action to implement it, all is possible.

How’s that?

Make More:
• Have clear goals including long, medium and short term for what you want to achieve and develop a roadmap to get you there;
• Identify the challenges in the plan and put strategies in place to overcome them;
• Work on your business to develop systems to run the business more efficiently and effectively;
• Focus on business growth strategies, continually testing the results of new marketing strategies to continually improve;
• Test different pricing levels;
• Monitor the results of your activities including the use of key performance indicators

Keep More:
• Use our Tax Planning Service to ensure you don’t pay a penny more in tax than is necessary;
• Never accept what the Tax Man tells you without checking with us;
• Use our Tax Investigation Fees Insurance to ensure you are properly represented in any HMRC investigation;
• Use our VAT Healthcheck and PAYE Healthcheck services to ensure you don’t incur any penalties;

Work Less:
• Work ON your business and not IN your business – work ON your systems so the systems run the business and your people run the systems, leaving you free to have more holidays;
• Use our Accounting Support Services – Book-keeping, Payroll, etc to take all the paperwork away from you, so you can get on with running your business and developing the systems;
• Use Management