Alexander Knight & Co
June 18, 2021
We are thrilled to announce that Danielle Cresswell and Alastair Tough have joined the Alexander Knight & Co team.
Bringing a wealth of experience from her time working at accountancy practices across the region, Danielle will provide hands-on support in the role of Manager. In her spare time, you will find Danielle either walking her beloved Shih Tzu, Ty, or cheering on top tier rugby league club, St Helens.
Alastair recently graduated from the University of Warwick and has chosen to take the first steps of his accountancy career with us. Joining as an Assistant Accountant, Alastair recently relocated from Nottingham to be part of the Alexander Knight & Co team and we are so pleased to have him.
Murray Patt, founder of Alexander Knight & Co, said:
“We are delighted to welcome Danielle and Alastair to our team. It’s fantastic to have them on board as we enter the exciting next stage of growth as a business.”
Welcome to the Alexander Knight & Co team, Danielle and Alastair!
March 1, 2021
New skills have been acquired by all business owners during the past twelve months. Entrepreneurs are a resilient bunch and many have successfully been able to evolve their businesses and their skillsets during the pandemic. In many sectors, they are beginning to thrive again or at least, as the vaccine is being rolled out, starting to feel more positive about the future.
Therefore, the mindsets of many business owners have turned from ‘survival mode’ to ‘growth mode’ as they tentatively seek to expand their teams to enable them to thrive in the looming post-Covid business climate.
For most people, business growth is synonymous with hiring new people.
Recruiting in a pandemic certainly presents its challenges. We talk to many business owners who say the way they hire people will have to change if they are to attract the best staff not only during lockdown but afterwards too.
Remote-recruiting
On the one hand, it’s easier and more convenient than ever before to undertake interviews and assessments via tools like Zoom and Teams.
Attracting candidates digitally through social media and the ease of applying for jobs on platforms like Linked In means that, in theory, it should be simple to attract people to roles that need to be filled. Recruitment agencies can also play a positive role if they are fully tuned into the candidate you’re looking for and can articulate it well to the ‘marketplace’.
On the other hand, some people are reluctant to make the move from their existing employers in these times of uncertainty and competition is fiercer than ever before for the right candidate.
We’re hiring!
Alexander Knight & Co is a typical example of a business that is growing and hiring during 2021. We’re currently looking for a Newly Qualified Accountant to join our team (if you know somebody suitable please do feel free to send an email to alison@alexanderknightaccountants.co.uk).
It’s an attractive role -plenty of opportunity for the right candidate to succeed in a supportive environment, along with flexible working arrangements on a hybrid basis from our Grade A office space in Hale village. Despite us only just starting the search we’re in the fortunate position of having strong interest in the role already and we are happy to take our time in selecting the right candidate.
Take your time
Some businesses, however, aren’t as fortunate as us and don’t have the luxury of time and/or the magnet of being an ’employer of choice’ in their marketplace. It’s these types of business that will have to work harder than ever before in modernising their recruitment process in order to attract good candidates in 2021.
If there’s one piece of advice I’d offer, based on my experience of running a business and working with many successful entrepreneurs, it would be that it is far better to wait for the right person to add to your team than recruit in haste and regret it for a long time afterwards. Taking care to select the right person for the job will pay dividends further down the line as we emerge from lockdown.
Accountants in Hale
December 14, 2020
We are looking for a bookkeeper to join our team of accountants in Hale, Greater Manchester.
Our clients are entrepreneurial businesses mainly based in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
Key Responsibilities:
- Manage a portfolio of clients to ensure their day to day bookkeeping requirements are met ✅
- First port of call in assisting clients with bookkeeping queries ✅
- Preparing and posting journals including accruals, prepayments, depreciation ✅
- Assisting the accounts team with the preparation of annual statutory accounts ✅
- Preparation of client VAT returns ✅
The ideal candidate will have solid experience working within a similar role, experience with Xero and Sage will also be preferable, you will also have good IT and communication skills. We offer very flexible working practices – currently a mix of office-based (in our Grade A office space in Hale village) and home-working.
APPLY NOW TO BE OUR NEW BOOKKEEPER.
Send your CV and a covering letter to:
alison@alexanderknightaccountants.co.uk
Accountants in Hale
September 28, 2020
New support measures announced for company directors by the Government.
A series of new measures were announced today by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, aimed at providing businesses more support during the ‘long winter’ ahead. We are currently analysing what these new measures mean for all our clients and as more details emerges we will update you on what it means for your business.
More time to repay loans
These measures are helpful to the firms who have managed to trade through the crisis so far but were getting increasingly worried about repaying the fresh debt taken on in the form of Government support.
Entrepreneurs who took out bounceback loans or CBILS will welcome the increasing flexibility of repayments. The ability to reduce the monthly payments by spreading it across a further four years (up from six years) will certainly help the cashflow situation of many SME’s.
Further VAT deferrals
Many SME’s deferred their VAT bill and the opportunity to spread the repayment of this (due in March 2021) throughout next year will be snapped up by many business owners who should be planning to focus on cashflow during the winter months as the furlough scheme dries up.
New ‘Job Support Scheme’
Unfortunately, the new Job Support Scheme, which we are dubbing the “little brother of furlough”, is merely marginal support for companies who are still trading. Firms who have not been trading during the past few months will find no solace in this scheme and stand to gain very little. Put simply it looks like this:
It is important that if you are making claims under the new scheme you calculate the amount you can claim accurately. If you need support to make your claim – email Murray Patt now.
And finally…
Around 11 million self-assessment taxpayers will be able to benefit from a separate additional 12-month extension from HMRC on the “Time to Pay” self-service facility, meaning payments deferred from July 2020, and those due in January 2021, will now not need to be paid until January 2022.
We are awaiting further details of this particular scheme to see of this applies to all our clients. |
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September 10, 2020
Many people have used the opportunity of lockdown or redundancy to start a new business during the past few months.
If you’re thinking of setting up a business, you’ll probably be looking forward to doing things your way without pressure from managers and directors trying to get you to do things which make no sense.
Being in charge of your own destiny – even in these challenging times – can be thrilling and rewarding for people with an entrepreneurial mindset and the right accountant.
Rushing into starting a new business can be tempting – it can’t be that hard, can it? Yes, of course it is possible to start straight away with no planning or thought – however, the most successful businesses are those that have considered the detail of what they need to set-up.
That’s where we come in. After all, we were a start-up once! That means we understand what you’re going through.
Once you’ve decided on the finance you need and the premises you’ll be working from it’s a good idea to think about business structure.
Predominantly, business owners tend to set themselves up as a sole trader or limited company. It’s important you make this decision with our help as it can affect your take home pay after tax.
Our team will assist you with:
- Company registration with Companies House
- Structure of company and shareholders
- Registration with HMRC
- Tax planning
- VAT registration
- Payroll and drawing money out from your new business
- Cloud accounting and invoicing
Contact us on (0161) 980 8788 if you are starting or just about to start a new business venture.
August 25, 2020
Since lockdown began, we’ve noticed a significant upturn in the number of business owners who live just a ‘stone’s throw’ from our office in Hale expressing how much they love having their accountants based near where they live.
A large number of business owners (and their advisers) choose to live in Hale, Hale Barns, Bowdon or Altrincham – even if they run successful businesses in other parts of Greater Manchester.
Many business owners have already confirmed that that they have no intention of their staff returning to work as normal in their city centre office – and neither do they.
In fact, like us, they swiftly adapted to the new normal and have been able to continue their business operations with the vast majority of staff working at home thanks to technology and an entrepreneurial attitude.
Why choose accountants in Hale?
Being located in Hale means we are perfectly placed to deliver our professional services to business owners who, in no uncertain terms, want to avoid Manchester city centre!
That’s why we’re seeing so many business owners switch their accountants from city-centre based firms to ours in Hale.
By appointing us as your accountants you’ll avoid all the headaches that come with trips to the city centre including: the commute into town, parking problems and the sheer waste of time and unproductiveness of meeting accountants in the city centre.
We have:
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Grade A offices in the heart of Hale on Hale Road. ✅
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Plenty of free parking ✅
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A client base of successful entrepreneurs who live locally just like you ✅
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Talented and experienced staff ✅
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More competitive rates than ‘rival’ city centre-based practices ✅
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An entrepreneurial attitude to help your business thrive in 2020 and beyond ✅
Of course, we’re always ready to meet via Zoom – but we firmly believe that most people in business still prefer a face-to-face meeting – and there’s nowhere handier for locally-living entrepreneurs than our office in Hale.
Why don’t you speak to us about becoming your new accountants in the new post-Covid era?
We are proud to report that our colleague Jack Crowther, who joined us as an apprentice, has now attained AAT full membership (MAAT) – the internationally recognised professional status in accounting and finance.
We are committed to supporting the careers of the next generation of accountants and we are delighted with the progress and dedication that Jack has shown.
Alexander Knight & Co is an attractive career choice for both experienced accountants and people who are just starting off in their career.
Our supportive, flexible and entrepreneurial approach attracts just the right kind of professionals who our wide client base of business owners trust.
If you want to join a growing firm that invests in your accountancy career – especially one that offers a hybrid office/homeworking environment in the current climate – then speak to us now.
We are recruiting – so please send your CV to Alison Spier now.
June 17, 2020
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will finish at the end of October and there are some important things you need to know as an employer.
From August, employers must pay National Insurance and pension contributions, then 10% of pay from September, rising to 20% in October.
Furlough scheme changes for employers
Also, employees can return to work part-time from July, but with companies paying 100% of wages.
The scheme was originally intended to last until the end of July and the confirmation that it is running until the end of October is largely good news for employers, employees and the wider economy.
Some businesses, however, may need to consider their staffing levels when the cost of pension contributions and and National Insurance is factored in – as well as the tapering off of the support in September and October.
Support making new furlough claims
It is important that if you are making furlough claims you calculate the amount you can claim accurately. We have already seen multiple instances of clients missing out on money they are entitled to because they have ‘under-claimed‘. Any more additional procedures added to the extended scheme could see more errors being made.
If you need support to make your claim – speak to us.
April 6, 2020
We are guiding many clients through the process of ‘furloughing‘ employees. In addition, as we have previously indicated, company directors are also eligible to be furloughed – and we are guiding our clients through this process too.
An update has been made by the Government to the Job Retention Scheme (or ‘80% scheme’) which you can see here and officially confirms:
- company directors are eligible to be furloughed.
- the minimum period for each employee to be furloughed is 3 continuous weeks (the word continuous is part of the updated legislation).
- employees can be furloughed multiple times, but each claim is for a minimum of 3 continuous weeks.
The information required by an employer in making a claim on the HMRC portal is:
- your ePAYE reference number
- the number of employees being furloughed
- the claim period (start and end date)
- amount claimed (per the minimum length of furloughing of 3 consecutive weeks)
- your company bank account number and sort code
- your contact name
- your phone number
There are still some questions that the update doesn’t answer. Specifically, these are:
- when the online portal for making a claim will be ‘live’ – HMRC guidance still refers to ‘the end of April’, but is not specific.
- whether the 3 continuous weeks (requirement) can span a month, so that employees can return to work for short periods of time, but employers can continue to claim furlough.
- how quickly payments for furlough will be made.
Do you need more help in furloughing staff?
We are looking at launching a new specific service to help clients make their furlough claims in the correct way. If this is of interest please email Murray Patt now so that we can assess the level of demand – and then provide the necessary resource in-house to support you.
March 19, 2020
Murray Patt, our founder, is focused on supporting clients in this challenging period:
“Over the last few weeks we have all been shocked with how coronavirus has had an impact on our respective businesses.
“Whilst we are all in unchartered territory I have some basic rules for you to consider, in trying to get through this period. It may be that not all of these are relevant to you, but there will be some aspects which will help you to think clearly going forward.”
My top-ten-tips are as follows:
- “Cash is king”. Businesses do not fail through making losses – they fail when they run out of cash.
- Forecast your cashflow. Predict your future cashflow as best you can, & schedule this out using excel/similar tools. I recommend doing this for a 12 week period & monitoring it daily vs actual.
- Cash injection. Be prepared to inject monies into your business & talk with your bankers at an early stage for support. Through fundingcircle.com our clients can secure a discount on standard loan rates, with a rapid decision-making process.
- Government loan/grant schemes. Whilst these schemes are very welcome, it will take time for them to get up & running – therefore do not rely on them. Further, if they are administered by the banks/local authorities, who are already struggling for staff, then expect them to be slow & cumbersome.
- Loan repayment holidays. Talk with your funder(s) & see if you can arrange a payment holiday on your existing loans.
- Employment contracts. Review your staff contracts, & see what scope there is to make changes & save cost. However, please consider the knock-on effect on them.
- Paying suppliers. Talk with them &, if you can, agree revised terms in the short-term.
- Be selective with cancelling discretionary expenditure. We will eventually come out of the other side of this, & therefore do not terminate arrangements now, which you may regret in a few months time.
- Plan in advance. If some form of restructuring to your business is required, then the sooner you take some professional advice the better.
- Talk, talk, talk. Don’t be afraid to talk with us, & other business owners. The more we share our experiences the better for everyone.
Murray Patt says:
I suspect that things will get worse before they start to improve again, but they will improve – the uncertainty is the timescale for this. The team at AK&Co are there to support you & we will always make time to speak with you. Every day is a steep learning curve, & we will get through this eventually.
March 17, 2020
With the concerns surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak we wish to reassure our clients and contacts that Alexander Knight & Co remains fully operational and open for business.
- We are following all appropriate UK Government guidance to ensure the wellbeing of our employees, their families and our clients.
- We have robust contingency plans in place to ensure that client work can continue with minimal disruption. Our plans will ensure the continuity, integrity and level of service that we provide to help you meet your business objectives and priorities during this time.
- As part of our business continuity plan all our team have laptops and are able to operate remotely if required. They can be contacted via email or phone in the normal way.
- We operate in a paperless environment and so all client records and transactional documents are held electronically and can be accessed remotely and securely.
- We are are still operating face to face meetings and site visits but if you would like to use other methods of communication during this time then we have video and/or telephone conferencing services available.
Alexander Knight & Co are here to support you and your business operations during this time.
March 12, 2020
Download our summary of ‘Budget 2020’
