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Taxation Planning - minimising your taxation
Companies. Executors. Trustees. Individuals.
We are all affected by tax at some point.
Our goal is to minimise the total taxation payable through an extensive knowledge of taxation and planning opportunities, whilst meeting your overall objectives.
The smallest tax bill is not necessarily the best option.
Wealth Creation - maximising your wealth
Personal Financial Planning involves establishing our own priorities. You may wish to pay off the mortgage, provide for yourself in retirement, provide for your families in case of your death and make sure you are covered in case of ill health.
We can arrange for you to receive the appropriate advice and help you to achieve these objectives in a tax efficient way to suit your own personal circumstances.
Risk Management - preparing for the unexpected
The time to make contingency plans is obviously before things go wrong.
Procrastination can be very expensive. We will help you assess the risks and manage those risks accordingly.
Typical areas to cover are:
- shareholder/partnership agreements
- keyman cover
- critical illness
- income protection
- valid and up-to-date will
Use of Technology & Management Accounting - improving the efficiency of information flow and getting you in control of your business
There is no question about it - technology is rapidly changing all the rules. New technology products are constantly developing. It can be very difficult to keep on the ball. Is the product you are being sold the right one for you, or just the best one for them? And how easy is it to use?
Accurate, comprehensive information is one key to success in business. In many cases this can be provided by use of the right management information software. Used properly, it will provide accurate management accounts and invaluable management reports.
We have extensive experience with a wide range of software products and are therefore well placed and well qualified to help you.
Finance Management - making money work for you
Financial Planning can take a variety of forms. You may be asked to prepare profit and cash flow forecasts for the bank; you may need to know the best ways to finance the purchase of an asset; you may be looking to raise further substantial amounts of capital for your business or you may be looking to sell your business. You will need to turn to sound advice in all these areas - we will be there to make sure you get it.
One of our primary goals is to see you succeed. The downside is that successful businesses usually have to pay more tax. Our aim is to work out ways of minimising the ongoing tax bills you face each year as a business and, when it comes to selling your business, we can help you structure the deal to keep tax to a minimum.
Succession Planning - helping you to retire gracefully
So you have built up your business. If you want to maximise your return (and have the freedom to retire), you need to make sure the business is in good shape for a sale to a third party or passing on to the next generation.
We will help you devise systems and procedures to allow the business to run without you, in order that you can enjoy the fruits of your labour.
We will advise on the necessary tax planning steps you will need to take to maximise the proceeds of a sale.
We will work with you to ensure a smooth transition on the handover of the business.
Compliance Services - reducing your worry
Red tape and prescriptive regulation can distract you from running your business. We have listed below some of the areas where we reduce the burden of paperwork, freeing your time to concentrate on growing your business or simply to reduce the hassle.
- Annual Accounts Preparation
- Annual Audit
- Book-keeping
- Company secretarial
- VAT Returns
- Payroll
- Income Tax Returns (Personal, Partnership & Trustee)
- Corporation Tax Returns
In spite of increasing audit limit thresholds, many limited companies still require an audit.
We can minimise the impact of an audit on your business through good communication, advice on improving systems and use the information obtained to assist in strategic planning.
Financial Direction Services - advice as you need it
Knowing where you want your business to be in the future and how to get there is an important factor in achieving your business goals.
Through experience gained in thousands of clients' businesses, as well as our own, we can help you devise, clarify and monitor your strategy. We can provide clear, impartial advice without being involved in the day-to-day running of your business. At a lower cost than employing a full time financial director, you can take advantage of our high level of experience.
You can choose the financial direction services from the following list, that will give your business the most benefit:
- Monthly or quarterly board meetings
- Strategy focus
- Buy or lease exercises
- Critical reviews
- Systems reviews and telephone support
Training Services - helping you to train your team
The success of any business is dependent upon the quality and capabilities of those people working within it.
The use of accountancy packages is traditionally a weak area for smaller businesses. By improving these skills, it will enable you to control your business more effectively by having accurate information to hand on a timely basis. Greater use of technology enables us to work with you to add more value to your business.
We have extensive experience of a wide range of accountancy packages and would be only to pleased to recommend one that suits your needs. We are mostly requested to give training on the following packages:
- Sage
- QuickBooks
- Finax
- Iris
...however, there are many more.
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All the Things you Need to do Every Year
We offer a full range of compliance services........ all the things you need to do every year. These are our traditional accountancy services.
OnTrack Review
We will gladly carry out an OnTrack review for you at no extra charge. The OnTrack review process contains 6 mini-reviews designed to make sure you and your business are on track to achieve everything you have set out to do. The 6 mini-reviews are:
- a growth review
- a taxability review
- a wealthbuilder review
- an accounting systems review
- a finance options review
- an exit planning review
Accounting Records Quality Report
We want to help you get the most out of your accounting systems. So, we will prepare a report setting out any weaknesses, the consequences and our suggestions on how to improve them. And, the better your accounting systems - the lower your accountancy fees!
Benchmarking Report
One of the most powerful management tools is benchmarking - this is where we compare the performance of your business against other businesses within your industry sector.
This will tell you how you are performing, in which areas you excel and those areas where there is room for improvement.
I.T. Services
I.T. has become an integral part of the business world and The Lawford Company is no exception to this. Our business is totally computerised and our staff are I.T. trained and literate. The knowledge gained from developing our systems enables our staff to advise our clients on I.T. related matters from first hand experience.
We are members of the Sage Accountants Club and provide software, training and support to Sage Instant Accounting, Sage Line 50 and Sage Payroll.
Company Car Tax Planning
Whether to have a company car or not is the most common question that we get asked. The next most common question is how to finance the purchase of the car. It is an area for confusion, particularly with the recent changes in the basis of taxation of company cars.
We will gladly carry out a planning exercise each time you consider buying a new vehicle to ensure you are aware of the most appropriate method of finance and the minimisation of tax liabilities.
Investigations Insurance
In view of the potentially high costs of Inland Revenue and VAT investigations we have secured preferential rates and terms with Abbey Tax Protection. We can therefore offer fee protection insurance in respect of income and corporation tax Self Assessment enquiries and PAYE/NIC and VAT investigations.
Flexibility
This list of services is not exhaustive. We are pleased to offer advice and assistance on any matters you wish to refer to us and offer considerable flexibility in our function. |
