It was that time of the year again when the K&H Directors put pen to paper to write their annual letter to Father Christmas.

Pauline used her best fountain pen and took lots of time over her letter to Santa, writing it very carefully on each side of the paper . She told Santa that she had been very busy all year and was known locally as the Audit Queen of K&H and had performed many audits throughout the year without losing her balance.

Meanwhile Andy was busy composing his own letter to Santa.
He wrote: “I’ve been such a good boy all year Santa, I’ve helped many people save tax, set up tax planning initiatives and got tax returns in on time. Please leave me something nice.”

Susan wrote: “Dear Santa, I’m so pleased that once again you are leaving the motor carriage at the North Pole and using the greener option of the Reindeer for your travels tonight. You know it makes sense. I’ve been very careful this year and have managed to keep control of my spending and have kept well within budget, so if you could leave me a little something as a reward that would be lovely.”
Lisa wrote a lovely letter to Santa, again not asking for too much and reminding him that she was partial to a nice slab of chocolate from time to time. Lisa also wrote that if at any time he needed help with his self-assessment tax return, then she would be more than happy to help.

Andrew had finished writing his letter to Father Christmas in his best joined-up writing. He made it look really pretty with lots of doodles round the edges. He hadn’t requested too much this year because he knew there was a recession on and a double dip was looming. Andrew also said in his letter that he had been very pleased with the efforts of the whole team this year, especially the two delightful ladies working in Reception.

Before retiring for the night they left out mince pies, a glass of milk and a very small brandy and some carrots for any visitors who might pass by overnight.

After a long sleep the K&H directors woke up on Christmas morning in eager anticipation that Father Christmas and his reindeer had called and hadn’t passed by Overdene House without stopping.

And sure enough, the food and drink left out for the visitors had gone and all that was left was a few crumbs. And there hanging up on the fireplace were five filled Christmas stockings, and attached to each stocking was a note from Santa himself, saying he felt they had all done such a good job throughout the year and unlike some people, he did not think that accountants were just boring number crunchers and he was very pleased to hear that everyone in the team had made a great effort throughout the year.

They all eagerly opened their stockings, which were filled with lots of goodies.

Susan was really pleased with her present of an apple, an orange and a big packet of vegetable seeds all wrapped up nicely in a brand new pair of heavy-duty gardening gloves.

Pauline was delighted with her apple and orange and a new Abacus as the beads on her old one had been overworked number crunching.

Lisa was blissfully happy with her apple and orange and a great big chocolate fountain.

Andy couldn’t believe his eyes when he looked in his stocking and found not only an apple, an orange and a big bag of humbugs but also a very fetching battery-operated green and purple spotted Dickie-bow.

Andrew got what he wished for – an apple, an orange, a big bowl of blueberries and a new bell for his bike along with some very striking psychedelic cycling shorts.

They’d got up very early in the morning and it was still dark outside. Andy was sure he heard the tinkling of bells and as they all looked outside to see a trail of bright stars in the morning sky and just then there was a fresh fall of snow on Overdene House and they excitedly ran outside to play and build a huge snowman.

** The end **

This can be spent on one single event (for example, the Christmas party) or in several chunks over the course of the year.

This would save tax of £60 for a higher rate taxpayer, plus National Insurance savings of up to £18.45 for the company and £16.50 for the employee - a total saving of £79 per person!

Note that:

• If you exceed the £150, the whole amount becomes taxable, so make sure you keep it below £150.
• VAT is claimable on the employee entertaining (for VAT registered businesses only, of course). But the £150 limit is the total including VAT.
• If you have a ‘husband and wife’ company with both partners on the books as employees/directors or company secretaries, you can still claim the £150 for both of you.
• You can even claim it for the kids if they are genuine employees!
• The £150 limit applies to your company financial year, not the tax year to 5th April.

Click here for Working from home allowance

Please get in touch with your usual contact at K&H for more information.

Every employee who works from home is entitled to be paid a £3 per week tax-free home-working allowance.  

You do not have to pay this week by week. Instead you can choose to pay it as a lump sum (e.g. to coincide with Christmas). This means that £156 can be paid as a tax-free lump sum now, which would save tax of £62 for a higher rate taxpayer, plus National Insurance savings of up to £20 for the company and £16 for the employee – a total saving of £98 per person!   

Note that for the purpose of this rule, ‘employees’ are anyone on the payroll and any director or company secretary of the company.    

• The £3 allowance can be paid for each week in which some work is done from home. This includes business-related phone calls, logging on to do emails or other computer-based work, bookkeeping and even discussing business issues with your spouse or partner!
• If you decide to make this £156 payment, you just need to record it in your accounts as: ‘Home working allowance for [name] for [1.1.2011 to 31.12.2011]‘. No other paperwork is needed.
• If you are an employee/director of more than one company, it would appear that you can claim the allowance for every employer company.
• If you are already making a claim in your accounts for ‘rent of home’ or ‘use of home as office’ or similar, this is likely to include the £156 so no extra claim can be made.
• You can only pay it for one year – you cannot backdate for earlier years but it does not matter which month it is paid.

Click here for Employee entertaining    

Please get in touch with your usual contact at K&H for more information.

Click this link to find our Facebook Page!

However, as I got a Kindle last Christmas, I doubt I will ever not have a book to read ever again. Anyway, I thought I will test myself to see how many of the books I have read, and whether I could think of any to add to the list.

The answer is that, to my surprise, I have only read 7 of the books on the list, although all of them are in the top 13 (assuming the books are ‘best first’ order). Those are:

• Rich Dad, Poor Dad
• The E-Myth
• One Minute Manager
• E-Myth Manager
• Who Moved My Cheese?
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• The One Minute Millionaire

These would probably be in my own list of top wealth creation books:

• Good to Great – Jim Collins
• Built to Sell – John Warrillow
• Practice What You Preach : What Managers Must Do to Create a High Achievement Culture
• The Inside Advantage:  The Strategy that Unlocks the Hidden Growth in Your Business – Robert Bloom, Dave Conti
• The 4-hour workweek – Tim Ferriss
• Eat That Frog – Brian Tracy
• The Slight Edge:  Secret to a Successful Life – Jeff Olson

See here for the full Amazon list

Do you have any you would add to Amazon’s or my list?

The session is designed to help existing users of the Sage accounting software range understand how to use features and functionality that they may not be aware of. It focuses on how to simplify the tasks that Sage accounts users do on a day-to-day basis.

The workshop will focus on:

• Using departments’ functionality
• Setting budgets and targets
• Report designer and Excel integration

Date:   Wednesday 29 June 2011
Time:  Registration & coffee from 10am: Workshop starting at 10.15am
Place:  Kirkpatrick & Hopes, Overdene House, 49 Church Street, Theale, Reading RG7 5BX

These free workshops are often oversubscribed, so booking is essential. To book your place, email mail@kandh.co.uk or call our reception on 0118 923 5800.

And what about the other lovely couple? No, not Posh and Becks (but oh he looked just lovely didn’t he?). No, I mean the other stars on the day, Harry and Pippa. Watch this space…!

Sage Workshop – advance notice
Following on from another very successful Sage Hints & Tips Workshop in March, I can give you advance notice of the date for the next one. This will be held on Wednesday 29 June 2011.  These workshops are very popular and numbers will have to be strictly limited. Keep an eye on our website and next News & Views enewsletter for further details. Full details here.

Pensions chaos!
There is a breakfast seminar being held on 26 May and again on 22 June covering the new Employer Pension Requirements that will come into effect from 2012, which you may well be interested in attending. Full details here.

Welcome to Roslyn Exeter
Roslyn (Roz) joined us recently as an additional bookkeeper and is settling in well and getting used to our quirky little ways! You can find out more about Roz here

Our Spotlight page
Check out who is in the Spotlight this month here.

Garden Club
Who would have thought that there would be no April showers in April! Chris has been on watering duty and the seedlings are doing very well, ready to be planted out any day now. Stacey has already got her sunflowers planted so there should be a good show later in the summer.

Here is a pic of some of the team enjoying lunch outside in the May sunshine:

My birthday treats?
It isn’t really a birthday treat, but a nice treat nonetheless – I’m off for the weekend to a place far, far away!

Andy Scott qualified as a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) in 1994. 
He joined the firm in 2001 to head the taxation services department of the firm and is now tax director, specialising in advance tax planning services for high net worth individuals and highly profitable businesses. 
Andy is also Client Director to many of K&H’s major clients and manages in-house taxation training matters.

You’ve had a Racing Greyhound for quite a while now, haven’t you?
I have 50% of a bitch called Hazel Grove Girl currently running at Swindon. I have owned her for approximately four months but have had other dogs on and off since 1997.

So they are a bit of a hobby, not kept as pets? 
They are working animals and not pets!

But you do have pets at home, don’t you?
We have recently become the proud owners of two Chihuahua puppies who are 11 weeks old. They make very good alarm clocks, especially if you like getting out of bed at quarter past five in the morning.

You raced pigeons at one time, didn’t you?
Yes, in my teens and early 20s I did race pigeons in partnership with my brother.  I would like to do it again but my wife refuses to have flying rats in our garden.

What was the last book you read?
I tend to have several books on the go at one time and often never finish any of them.  I am currently reading the Dick Frances novel Risk, a biography of The Last Kaiser of Germany and a very interesting history book called The Time Travellers Guide to the Middle Ages.  I am an avid reader of the BBC History magazine each month and a Member of the National Trust and English Heritage. 

Do you have a favourite TV programme?
I tend to sleep through more television programmes than I watch. I don’t watch soaps but I do enjoy Holby City. I am not a member of the Tina Holby Fan Club, but I did find out how to join! 

You’ve done quite a bit of travelling over the past few years. Any memorable moments that you’d like to share?
My last holiday destination was Libya! It was an interesting country and I am surprised that they are now in Civil War. An outsider’s impression of the country at the time was that the view of the average person, or rather of those who spoke English, is that they were contented with Gadaffi.

For a pure holiday, Canada would be my favourite destination. For historical sites, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey would be my favourite destinations.

Do you have any favourite place in Britain?
Britain as a holiday destination has some very interesting historical sites. Our last short break was in Scotland when we went in search of the Antonine Wall, ending up becoming lost and thinking we had found it, when in fact we had found the remains of an open cast coal mine. For beauty, Northern Ireland is stunning – especially the drive between Belfast and the Giants Causeway.  It is a pity that you do feel tension from the two communities because it is a beautiful place in which to live.

Have you got any money-making tips that you’d like to share?
Don’t own any pets or racing greyhounds! It is a bottomless pit.

Any short-term – or long-term – plans ahead?
A visit to Syria, subject to the political situation and my wife’s health.

Andy lives in Hungerford with his wife Sarah.

The grant is only available to private sector businesses or social enterprises that have:

• between two and 249 full-time equivalent employees, and

• the potential for high or fast growth, defined as

1. If trading for more than 12 months, have the potential to increase turnover by 20% each year for three years
2. If trading for less than 12 months, have the potential to achieve a turnover of £500,000 within three years of starting trading

The grants are up to a maximum of £1,000, match-funded (i.e. to receive a grant of £1,000, your business has to contribute £1,000)

They ARE available to people who have had grants in the past, e.g. from Train to Gain.

For further information, visit www.skillssoutheast.co.uk where you can download an application form. Alternatively, please call Joanne Keller on 0845 026 4298 or email.

Aimed predominantly at users of Sage 50 Accounts, this workshop will also be relevant to Sage Instant users.

The session is designed to help existing users of the Sage accounting software range understand how to use features and functionality that they may not be aware of. It focuses on how to simplify the tasks that Sage accounts users do on a day-to-day basis.

The Workshop will focus on the following:

• Using departments functionality
• Setting budgets and targets
• Report designer and Excel Integration

Date:   Wednesday 29 June 2011
Time:   Registration & coffee from 10.00am: Workshop starting at 10.15am
Place:  Kirkpatrick & Hopes, Overdene House, 49 Church Street
Theale, Reading RG7 5BX

These Free Workshops are often over-subscribed, so booking is essential.  To book your place please email  mail@kandh.co.uk or call our reception on 0118 923 5800.

Aimed predominantly at users of Sage 50 Accounts, this workshop will also be relevant to Sage Instant users.

The session is designed to help existing users of the Sage accounting software range understand how to use features and functionality that they may not be aware of. It focuses on how to simplify the tasks that Sage accounts users do on a day-to-day basis.

Date: Thursday 31st March 2011
Time: Registration from 10.00am
Place: Kirkpatrick & Hopes
Overdene House, 49 Church Street
Theale, Reading RG7 5BX

Agenda

Making Operational Tasks easier
-  Recurring Entries
-  Memorising and recalling invoices
-  Bank reconciliation
-  e-banking
-  Customer Refunds and Supplier Payments

Credit Control
-  Account status
-  The diary module

Customer discounts and Pricing Structures
-  Pricing structures

June and our own in-house team will be available at the end of the session to answer any queries.

If you would like to attend, please contact Bernadetteb@kandh.co.uk or phone 0118 923 5800 to reserve your place.