11 Tips for success Find a niche, focus on cash generation, don’t do it for the money and don’t be passionate! Just four of the 11 excellent, and sometimes unusual, tips for success from Tony Armstrong, our guest writer this month. See the full list here. Also in this issue: Over 1000% return on your savings? » Changes to Salary Sacrifice Arrangements » The Pink Pen story: How one small incongruity can spoil a positive customer experience » Enjoy the read! Andrew Gray

The Retrospective Engineer: 11 tips for success Tony Armstrong Tony Armstrong, long-standing mentor to K&H’s directors, recently sold his business. Tony shares his insights gained from 35 years spent running many good businesses (and the occasional bad one). Find out more »

Changes to Salary Sacrifice Arrangements by Andy Scott If an employee surrenders part of their salary on the basis that their employer provides some other service in return, this is called a salary sacrifice arrangement. If you have any of these in place you’ll need to review them following a recent court case. Find out more »

Cyclists make better employees! by Andrew Gray ‘People who cycle to work take less sick leave’ is just one of many interesting facts in a new Wikibook called “Cyclebabble”. Read more »

The Pink Pen story by Pauline Williamson I love this real story of how a very positive customer experience fell apart because of one small incongruity. Read the story »

Spotlight on our MD – Pauline Williamson

…including cycling, repairing things and the best investment she ever made (in K&H!) »

Over 1000% return on your savings?

With interest rates so low, here are some ideas for getting a better return on your investment »

Bags of ideas

The new charge on carrier bags for every retailer in Wales and any who deliver into Wales »

One question can predict the future of your business

The single most effective way to assess whether your business will be successful or not »

News and gossip from Overdene House

Football, football and of course football – along with cycling and ex-chickens » ]]> http://www.kandh.co.uk/news-views/%e2%80%98news-views%e2%80%99-september-2011/feed/ 0 http://www.kandh.co.uk/news-views/news-views-may-2010-3/ http://www.kandh.co.uk/news-views/news-views-may-2010-3/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 14:46:48 +0000 julian.sharples http://www.kandh.co.uk/?p=5750

Election Special If you don’t have time to look at all of this newsletter before you vote, there’s one piece you really should read – on the tax policies of the three main parties. Read Andy Scott’s full article here. This issue also contains: Learning from the best companies around A ‘Business survival health check’ Working on and in your business Enjoy the read. Andrew Gray

“The magic of a business plan is not the ‘plan’ itself” By Simon Dunster, Director of ActionCOACH Simply having a business plan is not enough. In my experience the real value of a business plan is the process that the business goes through in putting it together, and then using it as a living document to guide and direct the business. Read the full article »

Tax policies of the three main parties by Andy Scott Last week K&H hosted its first ever webinar on the tax policies of the three main parties, to help inform where you place your cross tomorrow. I must say it was great fun. If you missed the webinar you can view a recording of it here. Read the full article/download the presentation »

Happy to learn from the best by Andrew Gray I recently visited a small privately owned IT training company called Happy Computers, which has become well known for its innovative approach to managing its team. Even though we at K&H think ourselves to be very progressive, I was impressed by many of the innovations at Happy Computers. Find out more »

Mantra for small business owners by Pauline Williamson One of the favourite mantras for small businesses in recent times has been that owners need to ‘work on their business not in it’. I love the simplicity of the statement, but for many business owners the simplicity is in direct contrast to the difficulty of actually being able to put this into practice. Find out more »

Policies not personalities?

Our pick of the websites that can help you decide on your vote »

HMRC overstepping the mark?

Why is it that someone who is due a tax refund of £1,000 ends up owing HMRC £400? »

PAYE now or PAYE more later!

How to avoid the new levy penalties and interest on late paid PAYE »

Wealth Building Day

Book now for this event on Sunday 16 May 2010 »

Business survival health check

Is your business at risk? Find out using our quick health check questionnaire »

How to make the most of your reading time

Andrew Gray shares recent additions to his library (along with some reading tips) »

And finally…cakes, flowers, fish n’ fun…

Bernadette Brownlie looks back on a very busy April » ]]> http://www.kandh.co.uk/news-views/news-views-may-2010-3/feed/ 0 http://www.kandh.co.uk/news-views/news-views-may-2010-2/ http://www.kandh.co.uk/news-views/news-views-may-2010-2/#comments Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:01:54 +0000 julian.sharples http://www.kandh.co.uk/?p=5744

The new K&H treehouse The big news this month is that we’ve built a treehouse in the K&H garden, giving us much needed extra office space as the business continues to grow. There’s a photo and full article here. This issue also features: How can we be better leaders? Top tax tips for business owners The Budget – podcast and written analysis Enjoy the read. Andrew Gray

“Learn to drive…your keyboard” by Jonathan Stevens The words ‘touch typing’ conjure up old-fashioned images of typing pools of secretaries. But touch typing is a core skill that can make us more efficient – and healthier, says Jonathan Stevens of StarTouch. Read the article »

My ‘Top 21 Tax Tips’ by Andy Scott Tax is a business cost just like any other. It can be managed and controlled. I regularly give tips about tax to small business owners via Twitter, but for those of you who are not followers I’ve now pulled together my top 21 tips in one handy PDF. Download the PDF »

The 10 greatest CEOs of all time by Andrew Gray One of the biggest debates in management schools and books is around the subject of leadership. Business leaders seem to have a surprisingly low profile, with one or two exceptions such as Richard Branson – and, recently, certain bank leaders. What makes a great leader? The answer is not what you might think. Find out more »

How are you today? by Pauline Williamson We’re often asked how we are. Generally, people don’t really want to know the answer – it’s just another form of greeting. They just expect us to say ‘Fine’, and not go into details. Our response is all to do with emotion management, and knowing how and when to respond appropriately. In fact, a great deal of leadership is about emotion management. Interesting. Find out more »

Employee ownership – everyone benefits

John Lewis Partnership and employee ownership are going from strength to strength »

The Reading half marathon

Andrew Gray finished in 1 hour 46 minutes and 46 seconds. See the picture »

The Budget

Andy Scott’s podcast or his written analysis – the choice is yours »

The tax system explained in beer!

Who says accountants don’t have a sense of humour? »

Update on Tax Codes

HMRC agrees that it needs to improve the quality of data when issuing future tax codes »

27 March was a special day for Bernadette

Find out why and see the photo »

More Conservative proposals – an end to PAYE?

The benefits or otherwise of an end to PAYE »

Our chosen charity for 2010

We are supporting the Theale Age Concern Tea Club as our charity for 2010 »

Caption competition!

Win a home-made cake! What are the K&H Directors saying to each other in this photo? » ]]> http://www.kandh.co.uk/news-views/news-views-may-2010-2/feed/ 0 http://www.kandh.co.uk/news-views/top-tips-and-ideas/%e2%80%98news-views%e2%80%99-march-2010/ http://www.kandh.co.uk/news-views/top-tips-and-ideas/%e2%80%98news-views%e2%80%99-march-2010/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:51:01 +0000 julian.sharples http://www.kandh.co.uk/?p=5058 Spring is nearly here…

…which gives me a good link into the green issues we feature this month:

• Energy audits for buildings
• Interest-free loans for energy-saving projects

…as well as:

• Tory plans for Corporation Tax
• A tax guide to renting out property
• Andrew Gray’s thoughts on bullshit (a word not generally used by accountants!)

Enjoy the read.

The UK is now officially out of recession. This is great news, but did you know that more businesses fail during a recovery that in the recession itself?

This month we look at why this is and what can you do to avoid it.

Also:

* What makes great leaders?
* Pay yourself without paying tax
* The benefits of employee ownership

Your feedback and comments always appreciated.

• Tax-free alternatives to salary rises
• Alternatives to banks for funding
• Different ways of seeing the current recession

Plus much more, including find out what The Reading Chronicle had to say about K&H in a special one-page feature.

Sign up for our eNewsletter.

• Pre-Budget Report Twittering and Podcasting
• People, Planet & Profit – the Triple Bottom Line
• Dancing
• Baking
• Interpreting the numbers in your dreams
• How to have a tax-deductible office party

Sign up for our eNewsletter.

• How to achieve financial abundance. Read the full article

• Great prices for Sage users. Read the full article

• The Taxman on YouTube. Read the full article

…in other words, helping you create wealth, save money and have bit of fun along the way. This is our aim at K&H.

Sign up for our eNewsletter.

This month’s edition included:

• Can you do only what you love in your business and be successful? Read the full article.

• Eat well, exercise and rest – the key elements to performing well in stressful situations, says Pauline Williamson (and Sir Steve Redgrave). Read the full article.

• Andy Scott, our Tax Director, had fun doing his own tax return. He passes on the lessons he has learnt. Read the full article.

We think being successful in business begins with loving what you do. But you have to stay healthy and manage the detail as well.

Sign up for our eNewsletter.

This month we look to cycling and gardening for inspiration, show you how to take money from your business tax-free (using EBTs) and give you tips to improve your business credit rating.

Sign up for our eNewsletter.