Patently obvious... open the box & take the money

The Patent Box means the tax rate on profits made from patents is to drop to just 10%...

This is a cracking way to encourage firms to patent their Intellectual Property (IP), and exploit it from here in the UK.

Any profits derived from exploiting a patent you own will be taxed in future at 10%... and not the current 20%

Patents can cost as little as a few grand to file... so should easily pay for themselves... because you get up to 20 years of paying tax at the reduced rate

So why not take a look at your IP... and take a look at Patenting some of it  ?

The problem with banks... ?

It's bankers' outdated obsession with security that's stopping SMEs borrowing...

A typical owner managed business looking to their business banker for funding will end up being asked for Personal Guarantees to secure any loan... and that's got to stop

The desperate will always sign whatever the bankers want... but the rest are increasingly turning away from bank finance... and who can blame them...

Last month I was with a solid, established company who have a real growth opportunity. The middle aged owners have run the company profitably & completely debt free for over a decade, and for all that time they've been with the same bank... yet they didn't get the modest business loan they wanted... why?

R&D Tax Credits... they want YOU to claim them

... and you don’t need a white coat... or an R&D department

Research & Development tax credits are the Government's way of encouraging companies to develop new products and services… 

Any company that spends money trying to improve a product or service or even a process through a technological advance where there's doubt about the project's success is likely to be eligible.

Is that you?

There’s a real good chance it is, and frankly HMRC are desperate for SMEs like you to claim the tax relief, regardless of the sector you operate in.

Interested in interest rates?

If interest rates really do move next year... time to load up?

So Carney the King of the Bank of England circus is firming up his hints that interest rates are heading up, probably in the first half of next year.

If he's right, and your company is or may be in the market for borrowed money, then it may be worth getting your ship in shape and loading up before the interest rate cycle turns.

That'll mean sorting your credit rating to make sure you get the money you want, and at the best possible terms. 

If you pay it ... flaunt it...

If you pay the Living Wage why not get the credit... and get accredited

Outside of London the Living Wage is set at £7.65 per hour 

The Living Wage Foundation will accredit any employer paying it to their staff and contractors 

The Federation of Small Business (FSB) reckon 49% of small businesses already pay at least the Living Wage 

So why are so few of you bothering to get accredited when most of you "can be accredited straight away" ... ?

Grant funding for innovation ... the SME Instrument

So... the first round of SME grants have been awarded... worth the hassle?

The SME Instrument offers a 50,000 Euro cash grant for a feasibility study into an innovative project.

It has 4 application deadlines in the year... and 26 UK projects were awarded the grant in the June round...

Are you a Permanent Non-Borrower?... you're not alone...

A third wouldn't borrow money - even if they were paid to ?

Owner Managed Businesses (SMEs) are becoming increasingly self sufficient and shunning all forms of borrowing... 

31% are now classified as Permanent Non-Borrowers (PNBs)... the highest level to date and up from 20% in Q1 of 2012... 

That's a problem for the Bankers et al who finance SMEs because roughly a third of SMEs have had no 'borrowing event' in the last 5 years, and don't plan to have one in the future either...