Becoming an employer as a small business owner for the first time

Hire the right person

Firstly, you need to find the right person to fill the post. I was lucky, I had been approached by a lovely lady who had already passed her the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) exams but didn’t have the relevant work experience to apply for her full membership. We had an initial meeting, hit it off and arranged for her to start working for me. This was just the start of the journey…

HR issues

Next I had to make sure that I had all of the right HR tools in place – things like contracts, terms and conditions, insurance, holiday and sickness record keeping – what a minefield! I was put in touch with Peninsula HR who have been brilliant. Yes, this was an expense I wasn’t really expecting but at least I know that I am not falling foul of employment legislation and it allows me to concentrate on what I do best.

IT considerations

Then there were the IT issues – another major headache. All my systems were single user licences sitting on my PC hard drive. Having a good IT support team is essential with this and in GMT Solutions Ltd, I’ve found an ideal partner. I have bought a server, acquired a static IP address and bought additional licences for all the relevant software. Now we both have access to all the system from wherever we work.

Learning to let go

Finally, the hardest part of all – letting go of your business baby! Having worked very hard for 3 years to build up my business I was going to have to trust someone else to carry out some of the work. It is exceptionally hard to do this. All sorts of questions go through your head: are they capable; will they damage my reputation; will they upset clients; what will my clients think if I’m not actually doing the work any more? The list goes on.

What it ultimately comes down to is having faith. Faith in your ability to find the right person; faith in your ability to train your new employee to have the same sort of ethos as yourself; faith that they have the same sort of passion as you for your business.

Thankfully I seem to have found the right person.

To learn more about my accountancy services, please get in touch.

Breaking even – checking the numbers

In previous newsfeeds we have described how you can calculate the level of turnover you need to create in order to meet all your costs whether they be fixed costs (rent, rates etc.,) or variable costs (goods you need to buy to convert into goods you sell).

For example, if your fixed costs are £50,000 per annum and your variable costs are 25% of your turnover, the annual turnover you need to breakeven will be £200,000. The formula is:

Annual fixed costs divided by 25 (the gross profit)

Bereavement Support Payment

The amount of Bereavement Support Payment you can claim will depend on your relationship to the person who died and when you make your claim.

Your payments will be paid into your bank, building society or credit union account.

If you were married or in a registered civil partnership with the person who died

If you were receiving Child Benefit when your partner died (or did not get it but were entitled to it), you will get the higher rate.

This is made up of:

a first payment of £3,500;

Tax codes for employees

The P9X form is used to notify employers of the tax codes to use for employees. The latest version of the form has been published and shows the tax codes to use from 6 April 2023. The form states that the basic personal allowance for the tax year starting 6 April 2023 will, as expected, be £12,570 (£12,570 in 2022-23) and this means that the tax code for emergency use will remain at 1257L.

The basic rate limit will be £37,700 (£37,700 in 2022-23) except for those defined as Scottish taxpayers

Properties not let at commercial rates

There are special rules where a property is let at less than a commercial rate or isn’t let on commercial terms. These rules also apply if a property is occupied rent free or at less than a commercial rate, for example, a property is occupied by a family member at a reduced or nil rent.

In these circumstances, HMRC can take the view that unless the landlord charges a full market rent for a property and imposes normal market lease conditions, it is unlikely that the expenses of the property are

Becoming an employer as a small business owner for the first time

Hire the right person

HR issues

IT considerations

Learning to let go

More Posts

Breaking even – checking the numbers

Bereavement Support Payment

Tax codes for employees

Properties not let at commercial rates

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