SME's Too Busy For Holidays

Lloyds TSB Business Insurance have carried out some research and found that more than a fifth of small business owners say they are too busy to take time off, with almost six in ten business owners saying they take less than ten days a year.

Of those who do manage to tear themselves away from work, more than 60% take a mobile phone with them, while almost 20% take a laptop so they can check their work emails.

Isn't it sad that the reasons a lot of people start businesses such as work/life balance, being your own boss, choosing your own hours and flexibility, are the very things that seem to be lacking for many small business owners with so many of them unable to take a short holiday.

So how can you combat this? By using the services of an Office Bird of course!!

Officebird can take care of your calls, sort out your emails and keep things ticking over, allowing you a relaxing holiday safe in the knowledge that your business is in safe and capable hands. For more information please go to www.officebird.co.uk

Credit Crunch

The term Credit Crunch...

"a sudden and drastic reduction
in the availability of credit"

...has now become so much a part of everyday life that it has been included in the 11th edition of The Chambers Dictionary.

Just thought you'd like to know!

HMRC Raise The Limit for Traders to Correct VAT Mistakes

HM Revenue & Customs has announced plans to let businesses correct their own errors of up to £10,000 on their VAT returns.For the new VAT period, starting July 1 2008, the tax authority will raise the current £2,000 limit below which traders can currently amend their VAT mistakes by £8,000.This means that if taxpayers discover an error of up to £10,000 on their previous VAT return, they can amend it on the next return, rather than make a separate disclosure to HMRC.

The full article can be found here.

This has to be good news for businesses of all sizes. If you think you have found a VAT error on a previous statement and need some help correcting it please contact me to see if I can be of assistance.

Revolutionise The Way Your Business Runs

What with talk of the ‘Credit Crunch’ and media reports of the impending decline of the economy businesses are looking at innovative ways to increase efficiency and slash overheads.

In times like these many companies look to trim their biggest overhead, which is often the wage bill. Few companies feel comfortable increasing staffing levels.

So how can a business continue to grow and become more efficient with out the stff, and the headaches they sometimes bring? By outsourcing tasks to a Virtual Assistant (VA). A VA is a cost effective solution for businesses of all sizes. They generally have a better skill set than people looking for work, are highly experienced and used to running a business themselves. A VA can assist with cash flow by helping with credit control and getting invoices out in a timely manner. A VA will take on administration, call answering and secretarial duties allowing companies to get away from the desk and spend more time on income generation activities. Plus you only pay for the time you need. No more paying for holidays, lunch or cigarette breaks. A VA charges for the exact time spent working for your business.

For more information on Virtual Assistants or to arrange a consultation please contact Officebird on 0845 6346502 or visit www.officebird.co.uk