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We are Chartered Certified accountants based in Leighton Buzzard, which gives us an ideal base to serve the surrounding areas such as Milton Keynes, Tring, Berkhamsted, Aylesbury and Hemel Hemstead.
Here to help you and your business – we take care of all the financial bits you don’t like doing, so you’re free to run your business and do the bits you love. Below is a little more about what we love and how we can help you and your business achieve more.
We see ourselves as your financial partner, not just your accountant, there when you need to discuss your ideas, concepts, key business decisions, or simply chat through what’s happening in your business right now. Although we’re qualified accountants, you should think of us as business people who are very good with financial information more…
Your business deserves an accountant that takes the time to understand what you do, how you do it and can communicate accounting terminology without confusing you! An open line of communication (without additional cost) is also essential to encourage successful, proactive, and timely tax planning more…
We love technology.  Utilising the latest technology to provide you with a seamless service whilst maximising efficiency seems obvious to us. This includes the use of solutions such as Xero, Receipt Bank, a full practice management suite that allows clients to electronically sign documents and a document management software more…
Stephen Barrett opened our eyes to new age accounting! We now use Receipt Bank and Xero cloud software which was the recommendation of Stephen after a very useful and friendly first meeting that put us at ease, we new then we where putting our business accounts in a safe pair of hands.
[IMG: David Lowey]
David LoweyDirector of Interactive Installs Limited
I cannot recommend SBA highly enough. If you need a ‘normal person’ as an accountant who also has a sense of humour, then Steve Barrett is the person. Another thing I would say about Steve is that it is clear that he cares about my business as much as I do.
[IMG: Georgie Cox]
Georgie CoxGP Team Limited
Steve has helped me with, what I thought were messy Self Assessment issues, (and with the 31st January approaching, also slightly concerning!). With SBA’s help and the software employed, it was quick, efficient, hassle free, trustworthy and friendly service. I can’t recommend him enough.
[IMG: Phil Miller]
Phil MillerDiscretionary Liaison Manager at Whitechurch Securities
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Preparation of financial statements
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Preparation of personal tax returns
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Part time Financial Director
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[H1] Steve Barrett Accountancy

[H1] What our clients have to say

[IMG: Stephen Barrett]
It’s been longer than I’d of liked since my last blog post…..needless to say it’s been a busy period.  During the time since my last blog post there has been a recurring theme. This is that tax is complicated, so it really is worth investing in proper advice when your preparing your tax return.
Of course I would say this, but I thought I would give a couple of examples of where knowledge of the tax system and associated paperwork, has led to me either obtaining refunds or significantly reducing the tax demands issued by HMRC.
Read more →
[IMG: Stephen Barrett]
We all love to receive a nice testimonial, but I was completely blown away by the one we received last month from a relatively new client (The Konjac Sponge Company), who have only been with me for around ten months.  I guess this blog post is a shameless plug of that testimonial!!  It’s always nice to hear directly from clients that they think you’re doing a good job.
With that in mind, if you or someone you know is looking for an accountant please pass them my details or point them towards this post!
[IMG: Testimonial for SBA accountants of Leighton Buzzard from The Konjac Sponge Company]
It’s always good to know you’re providing a good service
[IMG: Stephen Barrett]
[IMG: HMRC - Copyright SBA Tax & Accountancy Ltd]
Dividend taxes to be changed
This could be a big one!!  Until more details are released we won’t know the impact it will have on how small business owners remunerate themselves.
The usual dividend tax credit, which means there is usually no additional tax to pay if you are a basic rate tax payer, will be replaced by new £5,000 tax-free dividend allowance.  The tax rates on dividend is also set to be increased!  It appears the governments plan is to tax those with “significant dividend income” more, although it is unclear what will be deemed as significant?  Those with modest (I presume less than £5,000) will see no change or a cut in the tax paid.
As soon as we have more information on this we will post another blog.
**UPDATE**
More details on the above dividends tax changes are available and it looks as though dividends within the basic rate band will attract a 7.5% tax liability!!  This means if you take around £28,000 of dividends per year and a £10,600 salary you tax bill will go from around £0 to around £2,000!!!  That is a huge increase, not so good for small businesses!!  When the finer details are known we’ll let you know.

Corporation Tax
Hooray!!  Corporation tax is set to be cut by 2% by 2020, down to 19% in 2017 and 18% in 2020.  This seems to be a good thing, but I’ll reserve judgement until we see how the dividends tax is going to be changed – it may well be six of one, half a dozen of the other!  Looks like this is a small token to owner managed businesses to compensate for the increase in the dividends tax increases above. Read more →
[IMG: Stephen Barrett]
If not why not?
If you are a VAT registered business using the standard VAT accounting method (not the Flat Rate Scheme) you can claim VAT back on the petrol element of a mileage claim.  Whether it’s the directors or staff members making a claim for mileage, it makes no difference.
To make a claim you have to establish what proportion of the pence per mile is for petrol, don’t panic, there are no detailed calculations needed.  HM Revenue & Customs  have listed the pence per mile for company cars based on the fuel type and engine size, which represents the petrol element.
Read more →
[IMG: Stephen Barrett]
With so many choices on how to keep your books we think Xero is the best option for small businesses.
Plus until the end of March 2015 we can offer two months’ free subscription worth over £40!!

Owner managed businesses have a wide choice when it comes to the ways they can undertake and record their bookkeeping. Below are the more common ones, along with our preferred method and supplier:
Manual books
OK, there’s not many of these around these days, but I do know a few people that are still using them!
Spreadsheets
These are frequently used and I am always amazed by the mistakes they contain. There are often errors in the formulas, the formatting could be improved, wrong dates are included – all of which can lead to additional time and costs at the year end.
Bookkeeping packages
These rely on backups of the software being emailed to accountants at the year end.  Not to mention the need of data backups and disaster recovery in case your computer dies.
Cloud packages
We think this is the best solution, and is something we are passionate about. They offer a number of benefits over the other options above.
Read more →
[IMG: Stephen Barrett]
A simple but effective video from HMRC about record keeping, especially about making it easier to see how much tax is likely to be due  (I would say that as an accountant though!).  If you struggle with keeping your books and records up to date/in order, get in touch, we can help.  As accountants we can put you on the right track by recommending which record keeping method may suit you best.  We don’t charge for an initial consultation, so get in touch using the contact section above.
[IMG: Stephen Barrett]
Our current blog is a guest blog courtesy of www.carlease4u.com and is relevant to employers that do not offer a company car to its employees, but do require their employees to travel on business trips.

Even if you do not offer a company car allowance or a car lease, there is lots of important information you need to be aware of, particularly if your employees use their own car for business trips.  Here is what you need to consider when looking at ALL vehicles.
Employers retain responsibility for an employee’s safety, even when the employee drives their own car for business. Often, this can cause unforeseen problems, as these vehicles are typically “off the radar” of most companies — certainly in respect of being fit for purpose.
Whilst many companies were unwinding their company car fleets due to increase company car taxation (although some green cars do have a relatively low tax burden), many businesses have failed to recognise that they would still have duty of care responsibilities over their employees who drive their own vehicles on company business.  These vehicles are referred to as a company’s “off the radar” fleet.
Here are a few tips that should help businesses to manage its “off the radar” fleet:
Support your “off the radar” fleet employees, so that they make an informed decision about taking a Company Car Allowance in lieu of a company car. Employees could spend the next three or four years wondering if they have made the right decision. Help them by explaining exactly what each choice will mean to them in terms of their personal tax position and other items of expenditure associated with running a car.
Take advice from an accountant to determine the exact tax liabilities/savings of company cars, for both employees and employers. There are a number of lower CO2 emission cars out there that are not as bad as you may think from a tax point of view.
Regularly check the driving licences of your employees. Perhaps you could make it compulsory for all business drivers to regularly submit copies of their driving licences, as businesses are required to have these records by law. Better still, use a third party to run a thorough check with the DVLA.
Where an employee’s own vehicle is used for business journeys, restrict their choices to exclude soft-tops or old cars. Staff will be resistant to any policy that comes across as too heavy-handed, but it’s fair enough to mandate that the vehicle has four doors, four seats and is of professional, business-like appearance.
Invest in a robust mileage tracking tool (or procedure), preferably with a payroll reporting facility.
Tighten-up the management of a mixed fleet. Many companies offer a casual version of this by offering car allowances and company cars alongside each other, but a specialist mixed fleet provider will manage a mixed fleet in the most tax-efficient way, and take care of all the mile-logging, occupation road risk and general administration tasks. This type of scheme would only be suitable for fleets of over 50 cars.
To find out more about car leasing, or if you would simply like a chat about leasing, visit www.carlease4u.com.
[IMG: Childcare]
[IMG: Stephen Barrett]
Do you have children and pay for some kind of childcare? Did you know that you could pay less tax by utilising the childcare voucher scheme to pay for some, if not all, of your childcare costs? If like me one of your children has started school/preschool, which is not yet state funded, you will be paying for the cost of this childcare out of your after tax income. You may qualify for childcare vouchers which could save you around £300 for every £1,000 you spend on childcare. In a nutshell, the scheme means you pay less tax/NIC and your childcare costs are still paid for. Basic rate tax paying parents can use the vouchers to pay for up to £243 of childcare a month, so for two parents that’s £486 a month! There are a number of things to watch out for though:-
An “earnings assessment” needs to be carried out
You need to ensure all the relevant paperwork is in place
If you are employed you will need to discuss it with your employer
There is a sliding scale for those who are higher rate tax payers
If you run your own limited company and are not operating this scheme, maybe you should contact a proactive accountant
Specific scheme rules apply
If you are an employee, or run your own limited company, you could benefit from childcare vouchers. If your current accountant has not mentioned this to you, perhaps you should get in touch to find out some of the other ways we could help you #keepmoremoney
[IMG: Company cars]
[IMG: Stephen Barrett]
You would be forgiven for thinking that the personal tax on company cars would put your right off having one through your business. But it’s worth considering them as a tax planning vehicle (pardon the pun) to help #keepmoremoney in YOUR pocket.
How it works…
The personal tax charge on company cars is based on the official CO2 emissions of the car along with it’s showroom price when new. If the CO2 emissions and showroom price are relatively low, the tax charge will also be relatively low.
“Green” cars…
There is a reasonably new breed of cars now on the market with exactly that, lower showroom prices and low CO2 emissions. The tax liability on these cars is therefore significantly lower than you may think.  A full list of the cars by CO2 emissions can be found at http://bit.ly/1kKGpvq, the CO2 bands to look at from a tax point of view are the first three up to 94g/km.
The tax bill…
Take the Toyota Auris Hybrid, which is one of the more expensive cars, with a showroom price of almost £23,000 and CO2 emissions of 91g/km. The annual personal tax burden for the company car and having all the fuel would be approximately £985 for a 20% taxpayer, and £1,970 for a 40% taxpayer.
The tax savings…
The tax saving comes about as ALL the car running costs, including petrol, can be paid for by your company, resulting in a corporation tax saving starting at approximately £450 (based on estimated running costs, but will depend on your annual petrol and other running costs). In addition, the company gets a corporation tax reduction of £4,600 in year one due to the low CO2 emissions!
The overview…
Sadly there will still be some tax to pay on having a company car, and it’s not something that should be done on a whim. But, if you are thinking of changing your family car, it’s worth exploring if a company car would be a good option. Don’t forget that the above only applies to brand new cars.
Guiding you through it…
Although a little complex, if you’re thinking of changing your car it’s worth getting in touch to see how we could help you #keepmoremoney
t: 07869 285081
e: steve@keepmoremoney.co.uk
[IMG: PFP]
[IMG: Stephen Barrett]
#keepmoremoney
We are now working in partnership with PFP to offer our clients fee protection cover. In the event of an enquiry from HMRC the PFP cover will pay for the professional fees associated with defending you and your business against HMRC, which can often run into thousands rather than hundreds of pounds. If you would like more information please get in touch #keepmoremoney

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[H2] SBA Chartered Certified Accountants
telephone: 07869 285081
email: hello@keepmoremoney.co.uk
We cover the Leighton Buzzard, Aylesbury, Tring, Milton Keynes and London areas. Due to the way we use technology, our clients are not limited to these areas.
SBA Chartered Certified Accountants is a trading name of SBA Tax & Accountancy Ltd, registered in England & Wales number 08676406
PO BOX 6419, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, LU7 6ER