CREDIT
CARDS
Card
Holders
Internet
Risk
The
Royal Bank
of
Scotland
announced
19/01/00
that they
will not
be held
responsible
for misuse
of your
credit
card by
Internet
fraudsters,
following
any
on-line
purchase
that you
make.
(Ed: You
have a
choice if
you have
any of
their
credit
cards: cut
them in
half NOW!
Credit
card
companies
do not
insist on
the
card-holders
statement
address
when a
purchase
is made,
as such,
they make
no
effective
effort to
limit
fraud: in
practice,
a
fraudster
could have
a
television
or stereo
delivered
to
Timbuktu.
If your
card is
misused,
let them
sue you.
"You are
just
'little
old you',
they are a
'massive
organisation,
you cannot
fight
fraud:
they can,
your
Honour"
UK
BUSINESS
Tax-Man
Increases
Visits
The tax
office is
to
increase
short tax
investigations
from
100,000 to
700,000.
This
equates to
a 1/12
prospect
of
investigation.
If you
fail to
return
your tax
return by
31 Jan
2000, or
you do not
pay your
tax bill
by 31 Jan
2000 you
will be
targeted
as one of
the
750,000
(plus all
the due
fines that
late
filing
will
bring).
In-depth
investigations
are to
increase
by 50% to
100,000.
Many of
the
100,000
will be
assessed
as
suspect,
however, a
large
number of
random
returns
will be
investigated.
The
investigation
can be up
to 12
months
after 31
Jan
2000.
INTERNET
BT 24/7
Charge:
Too Much
BT's
charge for
24 hour, 7
day
unmetered
calls (due
to be
launched
"this
spring"),
at £34.99
per month,
is double
that of
similar
services
in the
good old
US of A.
BT's
profits
are not
thought to
be in any
danger
with their
3 tier
charges.
£6.99 =
'Free'
week end
surfing -
£26.99 =
'Free'
daytime
surfing. A
price war
is not
expected
until 2001
when the
telecoms
can gain
full
access to
the
telephone
infrastructure
at a true
competitive
price. On
the 14
February
(Valentines
Day)
Telewest
All Yours
will
provide
24/7
access for
£10 per
month if
you also
spend at
least £10
per month
on other
calls.
Microsoft
will
provide a
portal
based on
the MSN
portal.
(Ed: I
looked for
information
on the BT
web site
at
BT.
There was
no mention
of this
service -
not
surprising
as they
still have
not
informed
their
customers
of the
free 192
directory
services
option!)
TIP OF THE
WEEK
Do YOU Own
Your Name
If you
have your
own domain
name i.e.
http://www.yourname....,
are you
listed as
the
registered
owner? or
is the
name
registration
company
named as
the owner?
Do
something
about it
before
creating
that multi
million
pound
business.
SHORT BITS
Hmmm
That's
Interesting
(or
Worrying,
even
Funny)
A doctor
and a
lawyer
were
talking at
a party.
Their
conversation
was
constantly
interrupted
by people
describing
their
ailments
and asking
the doctor
for free
medical
advice.
After an
hour of
this, the
exasperated
doctor
asked the
lawyer,
"What do
you do to
stop
people
from
asking you
for legal
advice
when
you're out
of the
office?"
"I give it
to them,"
replied
the
lawyer,
"and then
I send
them a
bill."
The doctor
was
shocked,
but agreed
to give it
a try. The
next day,
still
feeling
slightly
guilty,
the doctor
prepared
the bills.
When he
went to
place them
in his
mailbox,
he found a
bill from
the
lawyer.
TOPIC
Cash Flow
Statement
There are
two types
of cash
flow
documents
that need
comprising
on a
monthly
basis. The
first
document
is the
'Cash Flow
Forecast'.
The
forecast
(covered
in an
earlier
Newsletter)
is your
estimate
of your
cash
income and
expenditure
over a
period of
time:
usually
twelve
monthly
forecasts
per year
(but can
also be of
great help
when
completed
on a
quarterly
basis
with
the
monthly
version).
The second
type of
cash flow
document
is a 'Cash
Flow
Statement'.
The
statement
records
your
actual
cash
income and
expenditure
at the end
of the
'forecast'
period.
The closer
these two
documents
are, in
financial
terms, the
more
understanding
and
control
you have
over your
business.
Note: Only
cash is
involved
in the
forecast
and
statement.
Sales on
credit do
not form a
part of
these
documents
until you
receive
the actual
cash. If
you allow
30 days
credit you
would
enter the
payment on
next
months
forecast,
and only
on next
months
statement
if you
receive
the
payment.
CASH FLOW
STATEMENT
Cash Flow
Statement
for
December
1999
£
£
1)
Opening
Balance of
Cash
120,000
2) Add
Receipts
from
client/customer
80,000
Investment
income
500
Bank
Account
Interest
35
7)
CLOSING
BALANCE OF
CASH (4 -
6)
148,600
Cash
Flow
Statement
for
January
2000
£
1)
Opening
Balance of
Cash 148,600
As you can
see, the
statement
is simple
and
informative.
All of the
required
figures
can be
obtained
easily.
The figure
for next
months
opening
balance (1
above) is
the
closing
balance of
this month
(7 above).
If you do
not have a
figure to
start
with, add
together
the cash
you hold
and your
bank
balance -
if your
bank
account is
overdrawn,
just add a
minus to
your
figures.
