With just three weeks to go, we are really looking forward to spending the day at the “We Mean Business 2011” Event on 3^rd November 2011 between 10 am and 4 pm at Fairfield Halls, Croydon.

 With the event being opened by Trevor Reeves of House of Reeves there will certainly be an atmosphere of rebuilding and developing Croydon’s businesses.

 If you are visiting the event then please make sure you come and say hello to us!

 If you would like to book your own stand then click on www.fsbwemeanbusiness.com

Economic circumstances are emotionally difficult for all of us especially if you are a new business start up, not willing to fail! There is a tendency though for people to throw themselves into work and put their personal lives on hold for a while. The intention is probably ‘just a few weeks whilst I complete this project’ but in reality, as one project ends another will begin.

As a business owner you are probably already aware that your life can get consumed by work at the expense of other relationships. Over exertion will eventually lead to burn out, which could prove costly for your business. As you work harder and harder and become more focused on the business your decision making tends to suffer. Time is then wasted cleaning up mistakes that have been made. The harder you work, the harder you have to work and so on.

Deferring responsibility to your staff is not always an easy thing to do either! Your staff are there to work for you. If you want a business that is functioning well and a personal life too then delegating staff that you trust is often the only way forward.

Make sure you spend some time away from your business whenever you can. Clear a weekend to be with your family and friends or enjoy a hobby and challenge yourself to switch off. Recharging those batteries will in time make you a better business owner. Time away to reflect and consider your business regularly is paramount in order to make the right decisions when needed. Getting embroiled in your company’s affairs so much that it is hard to see the wood for the trees really isn’t effective use of your time.

When you think of work experience you think of a student running around making a decent cup of tea of everyone else… That’s not work experience is supposed to be. Employers do not realise the real benefits of offering work experience placements to students. Employers have a golden opportunity to pass on knowledge and teach students who are entering the working world for the first time how to be the perfect employee, and this doesn’t include running around for tea and coffee and watering plants. It includes employers teaching students about punctuality and their attitude towards work, but most of all, to give them first hand experience in a field of work in which the students are interested in.

Students are also blinded by this awkward stereotype of being a giant shark’s water boy and being made to fetch it a good cup of tea or sharpening pencils, however students do not realise the benefits of securing a placement with any organisation. Firstly with current world events, finding work experience placements consists of the exact process and holds the same status of finding a real job. Nowadays it’s hard to find a placement that’s available, so even to be able to get a placement should make students most grateful. Moving on after leaving your placement doesn’t only give you a good recommendation on your CV when applying for jobs and college and sixth form places, it can also lead to a possible job opportunity in the future whether it be part time or full time.

Schools choose a specific two week period for students to go out and do work experience, this period of time various from depending of the school, however normally another school has the same two week period so there is high competition for spaces. Work experience placements are usually sorted out by the schools Work Related Coordinator. During the two weeks of work experience students should be given practical work which the business has expertise in. Work experience is a golden opportunity for the students and for the organisation, so taking on work experience gives your organisation a vantage point which everyone else is looking for.    

Just a very quick update and thank you to everyone that attended our office warming event. It was great to see some of our clients in the same room along with our neighbours from Acorn House. Both Paul and I have said that it made us think about having a regular networking event …so watch this space for future events.

As some of you will already know, we have recently taken on  further office space at Acorn House, 74-94 Cherry Orchard Rd,  Croydon, Surrey CR0 6BA to cope with our ever increasing  client base.

To celebrate this you are invited to join us for our “Office Warming” on Thursday, 30th June 2011 between 5pm and 7pm for a few drinks and a bite to eat.

It will give you the opportunity to meet some of our existing clients, if you are not one already! Please also feel free to bring plenty of business cards for some spontaneous networking.

Email julia@pcbookkeeping.co.uk to be added to the guest list

If you receive an invoice showing VAT charged in the breakdown of costs, but there is no VAT Registration Number shown on the invoice, what should you do?

Answer: An invoice must include various information in order for it to be a valid document.

These include; Date, full name and address of recipient and sender, a unique reference number, net amount, VAT amount including rate charged (if applicable), gross amount, company registration number if a limited company and of course the VAT Registration Number. You would be quite within your rights to return the invoice to the sender and request a revised one showing their VAT Registration Number or you could just pay the net amount and withhold the VAT until such time a valid document has been received.

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If you have at least 2 years experience of Bookkeeping with Sage 50 and want part time work in Croydon then send your CV to julia@pcbookkeeping.co.uk giving me your availability and hourly rate requirements.

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If you have a question, please email us at julia@pcbookkeeping.co.uk and look out for the answer soon to be published here.

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When you make the decision from employee to business owner there are so many things to consider like should you be a sole-trader or if you go into business with another person, should you be a partnership or do you form a Limited company.

What do I need to know?

You also will take on many new responsibilities like which type of advertising to take out, employing and when necessary firing staff, employment law and you have to be aware of legislation changes. There are obviously other things to think about for example will you need an office or warehouse space or do you work from home?

Is that it then?

On top of all this you also have to try and find customers for your product or service and just when you thought it couldn’t get any harder there’s bookkeeping to cope with too. This fact sheet is designed to give you an insight of the records you will need to keep and which expenses you are allowed to deduct from your business’s profit. Obviously, as a book-keeping company ourselves, we would advise you to employ the services of a qualified and reliable book-keeper.

What records should I keep for my business?

Want to know more?

Email us info@pcbookkeeping.co.uk to receive our free fact sheet.

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