Small business owners are juggling so many different priorities that they often neglect their financial affairs. But if they take advantage of some useful financial products and strategies, they can significantly boost their company’s finances and free up valuable resources.
“Don’t assume that it is always best practice to stretch out payments,” says Simon Paterson, a partner at Surrey accountancy firm RJP.
“If you have got sufficient cash available, when buying stock for instance, paying in advance can enable you to negotiate a highly preferential rate with suppliers and benefit from some significant discounts. This could be worth more in the long run than holding on to the cash and making payments incrementally, over a period of time.”
“Any business that has developed a new product, service or business process in the last two years should take a serious look at its research and development [R&D] tax credit entitlements,” says Mark Tighe, chief executive of tax relief consultancy Catax.
“The test for R&D is whether the work seeks to address a ‘scientific or technological uncertainty’. This can take the form of a new process, product or service, or simply be an improvement to an existing one.”
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