Accountancy insights for Winchester businesses
Clear accountancy guides, HMRC updates and practical tax advice for small businesses in Winchester and Hampshire. No jargon, just useful content.
Plain-English guides for business owners
Good Bookkeeping Takes Half an Hour a Week
Upload your receipts, match your bank transactions, chase anything unpaid — do it weekly and your books stay ready all year. Plus the client whose previous bookkeeper coded purchases as Nil VAT, the £500 it nearly cost them, and the three areas that catch people out most: car leases, entertainment and personal expenses.
Profit vs Cash: Why Your Bank Balance Doesn't Match Your Accounts
Good month on paper, empty-looking bank account? Profit and cash aren't the same thing, and the gap catches out a lot of business owners. The three usual causes — invoices not yet paid, tax building up quietly, and money leaving that profit never sees — plus the simple monthly fix.
VAT Reclaim Mistakes: What You Can't Claim Back
Reclaim VAT you weren't entitled to and HMRC comes back to you — with interest. A plain-English sense-check of the costs that catch businesses out: utilities that aren't always 20%, overseas invoices with no UK VAT, client entertainment, the 50% restriction on leased cars, and the invoice problems that quietly kill a claim.
CIS Deductions: Check the Status Before You Pay
Under CIS you deduct 0%, 20% or 30% from a subcontractor's labour — and the rate depends entirely on their status with HMRC. Verify before you pay, because get it wrong and HMRC chases you for the shortfall, so you end up paying twice. Plus the stronger gross payment status powers from 6 April 2026.
Good Bookkeeping: Less Admin, More Accurate Accounts
Bookkeeping is the job nobody starts a business for — but kept accurate and current it quietly saves hours of admin and makes your VAT, accounts and tax far more reliable. Here's how, in plain English.
Long-Term Contracts Under FRS 102: When Does a Construction Job Become Profit?
Busy, winning work and profitable on paper — but short of cash? A plain-English guide to long-term contract accounting under FRS 102: revenue as work progresses, the new five-step model from January 2026, retentions, variations, WIP and loss-making jobs.
Capital Allowances for Construction: Don't Leave Tax Relief in the Yard
Diggers, vans, tools and pickups — a plain-English 2026 guide to claiming capital allowances in construction. The Annual Investment Allowance, full expensing, the new 40% allowance, electric cars, and the double-cab pickup change that now catches firms out.
Salary vs Dividends: Planning How to Pay Yourself in 2026/27
How company directors can extract profit tax-efficiently in 2026/27 — the salary vs dividends decision, the sole-director Employment Allowance trap and how to resolve it, plus the other factors that affect your take-home.
Temporary 5% VAT: Children's Meals, Family Tickets & Attraction Admissions
From 25 June to 1 September 2026, a 5% VAT rate applies to children's meals eaten on premises, children's and family theatre and cinema tickets, and admissions to qualifying attractions. This is not a general hospitality cut — find out exactly what qualifies and what doesn't.
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