Keeping your company tax affairs in order – a brief guide
Making sure that all of the company tax affairs are in order is hugely important for any modern business. Falling short in a key regard such as this can only lead to problems for the business and there are a few key points that you can introduce to ensure that this does not happen to you and your company:
Get everyone on the same page
Many businesses will either delegate the task of payroll to a specific part of the business or outsource it to a payroll bureau or accountant. If this is the case, it’s important that good levels of communication are maintained with the rest of the organisation and that everyone is on the same page. Much of the confusion that arises during tax returns is due to miscommunication and could easily be avoided if there were clearer channels of communication created. Firms can implement a few small changes to avoid major business restructuring issues down the line.
Updating your software
However, problems can largely be avoided by ensuring that a few precautions are taken. The first of these involves making sure that the organisation has implemented payroll software that is able to handle real- time information collection and transfer, and can do so competently. The software will need to be updated regularly to ensure that it is maintained well, operates without bugs and that the systems remain responsive to change. Any organisation that employs less than ten members of staff can utilise the free software provided by HMRC for this purpose. Alternatively, there are a number of other pieces of free payroll software that are adequate replacements.
Getting all employee information in order
All that is required within the new system are employees’ names, date of births, genders, addresses and National Insurance numbers. It is important that all this information is accurate, that it is stored securely and that the software being used has access to it. It is often the case that employee information quickly changes, so it is important to have procedures in place that enable staff to easily provide new information when necessary.
By Phil Smith