BizHelp24 News 207 - Small Business News

As part of a small business you know how damaging late payment can be; and sadly the outstanding payments owed to small and medium sized businesses is continuing to rise, reaching £18.6billion according to Bacs Payment Schemes Limited (Bacs).

To help SMEs in their fight, Bacs has produced five handy hints that every business owner should consider...

Smaller businesses can make tax savings in 2008 when new tax breaks come into force for assets such as plant and machinery; according to accountants and business advisers DTE.

From April 2008, spending on capital items will qualify for a 100 per cent tax break, up to an annual limit of £50,000. This will create opportunities for smaller businesses to significantly reduce their tax bills by deferring purchases...

An increasing number of small businesses can help their businesses in 2008 by taking advantage of a big expansion in government funded training schemes. This could be increasingly important as numerous surveys continue to suggest that skills shortages are affecting the productivity and competitiveness of UK businesses...

If you are required to complete a self assessment tax return, then you need to act quickly to make sure you meet the deadline; filing online can make the task quicker and easier, but you need to register now to be able to use it for the upcoming deadline. 

If you miss the deadline you will face a penalty of £100, and risk further fines (up to £60 per day) the later you are with filing.

As part of a small business you know how important technology and the internet are to modern business; however, many small businesses are still leaving themselves open to threats that could severely damage them.

In the past year, small firms have increasingly become the victims of a range of online crimes, including internet scams, identity fraud, phishing and data theft.