If anybody owes you money, then today, which is Wednesday 30 October 2019, would be a good day to send them a statement to remind them of the fact. This is just a statement which you are entitled to send: it is not a threat.
Archives for October 2019
The Cheque Run round about Friday 25 October 2019
It is quite common to invoice a customer with terms of “30 days or nett monthly account”. Small customers will be expected to pay within 30 days, while large customers will be expected to pay at the end of the month following the month of the invoice, so an invoice sent in September 2019 would be settled by Thursday 31 October 2019. Obviously, the average settlement time will be 45 days, but this is OK if the customer’s credit is good.
Large companies insist on doing it this way because they may receive several invoices from a supplier during a month, and will want to settle all of them with a single payment when they do their monthly computerised cheque run. It would therefore be a good idea for the supplier to have sent a statement at the start of October listing all outstanding invoices. Typically the cheque run would be about the 25th of the month, which is today.
If you give credit and have debts to collect, then you might like to have a discussion with us. Most accountants are also general business advisors as well. Some large companies rely upon a cynical calculus of bargaining power when they take ages to settle invoices, and you need to know what to do about this.
The “nett” in “nett monthly account” has “net” as an alternative spelling.
Value Added Tax deadline on Thursday 7 November 2019
Value Added Tax returns for the quarter ended 30 September 2019 should be submitted by Thursday 7 November 2019, and any payment which is due should be made electronically by the same date.
Time to See an Accountant
If you had any income for the tax year ended 5 April 2019 that the Revenue don’t know about, then you will need to file a tax return. You will also need to file a tax return if you had any capital gains for the same period, or if the Revenue have sent you a tax return. If you were thinking of doing it yourself, and you have left it this long, then consider sacking yourself as your tax clerk. You should have told the Revenue on October 5th if they don’t know, and you have until October 31st to file a paper tax return.
It’s time to see an accountant, who has until January 31st 2020 to file an electronic tax return, and does this for a living. Missing the October 5th deadline is nothing much to worry about if you act quickly.
Some people file their own electronic tax return, which can be done, but drafting a tax return is a funny way to spend Christmas.
Companies with a 31 January 2019 year end
Employer Payment Summary by Saturday 19 October 2019
It can happen sometimes that when you are an employer, you have not actually made any wage or salary payments for a PAYE month such as the month from 6 September to 5 October 2019. In that case you must submit electronically an Employer Payment Summary as a NIL return by Saturday 19 October. This bureaucratic requirement is too easy to overlook.
If you engage a local accountant and business advisor or a payroll bureau to do your wages, then this will be taken care of. In our case we keep a diary and do a batch of payrolls at about the same time each month. Our payroll files are bright yellow like the old P30BC booklet so we do not overlook them. We colour-code all the taxes so green is VAT, red is income tax, blue is corporation tax and yellow is PAYE.
If you no longer want to have a payroll scheme, then you need to close it down in a formal way. You cannot just assume that you can stop sending in monthly returns.
Second Quarter PAYE and CIS Payments by Saturday 19 October 2019
Employers must make Second Quarter payments of PAYE and NICs by Saturday 19 October 2019 if settled by cheque. If you pay electronically, then you have until Tuesday 22 October to make the payment. Tax retained under the Construction Industry Scheme must also be paid by the same date.
CIS Returns to Saturday 5 October 2019
Construction Industry Scheme returns for the month from 6 September to 5 October 2019 should be submitted online by Saturday 19 October. This includes NIL returns.
It is only too easy to get caught out by the need to submit a NIL return when no payments to subcontractors have been made. If you engage a local accountant to do your CIS returns, then this will be taken care of. In our case we keep a diary and do a batch of work at about the same time each month. We aim to be the accountants for small business that you will turn to for a range of advice and services. Our payroll files are bright yellow so they are hard to overlook, and CIS files also have a green line around them so they are easy to pick out.
Tell the Revenue by 5 October
If you had income or capital gains for the tax year ended 5 April 2019 that the Revenue doesn’t know about, then you should tell them by the deadline of 5 October so that they can send you a tax return. It would be best to see an accountant at once if you have left it this late. If you do see an accountant quickly, there is not so much to worry about.
A Company which has Missed the 30 September 2019 Deadline
If your company had a deadline of Monday 30 September 2019 for the submission of its accounts to Companies House, and this deadline has been missed, then you still have something to play for, and you should contact Carlisle accountants such as David Porthouse and Co at once. You will incur a penalty of £150, but this penalty rises to £375 after Thursday 31 October 2019 if you still haven’t submitted your accounts. These penalties are £300 and £750 if you miss the deadline two years’ running. We can readily prepare and submit your accounts within the month if you contact us straight away.
Just stating the obvious, if you miss a deadline and incur a penalty, you still have the obligation of preparing and submitting accounts. That doesn’t go away and your penalty is just extra money you will need to pay.