Growth Vouchers – closing soon!

Cash

Apply before 31st March to get up to £2,000 from the Government for professional business advice

• Growth Vouchers are a grant from the Government to help businesses like yours get business advice from accredited advisers.

• The voucher match-funds your investment in professional advice for your business so you could get a grant of up to £2,000 towards the cost of the advice.

You can use the voucher to get advice on:

• Finance – and how to manage your cash flow better
• Recruiting staff – how to develop their skills
• Improving management and leadership skills
• Marketing – attracting and keeping customers
• Technology – and how your business can make the most of it.

https://smallbusinessgrowthvouchers.service.gov.uk/eligibility-check/?em2

steve@bicknells.net

Do you know a business that could claim growth vouchers?

Gardener

The Government have been keen to promote Growth Vouchers but I think its almost impossible to qualify, see what you think…

This government programme helps small businesses get expert advice on:

  • finance and cash flow
  • recruiting and developing staff
  • improving leadership and management skills
  • marketing, attracting and keeping customers
  • making the most of digital technology

Some businesses will be randomly chosen to get a voucher for up to £2,000 to help finance specialist business support. You’ll have to match the amount with your own funds.

Eligibility

Your business must:

  • have 49 employees or less (including any employees of companies that own a stake in your business)
  • be registered in England
  • have been trading for at least one year
  • not have paid for business advice in the last 3 years
  • be independent (ie no more than 25% is owned by other businesses or organisations)

So you even if you are eligible and you haven’t paid for any business advice you then have to be randomly chosen, that doesn’t make it easy to claim? or am I missing something? and its match funding

steve@bicknells.net

National Insurance – As one NI holiday ends we look forward £2,000 in April 2014

Cash

Under the Regional Employers NICs Holiday scheme, new businesses could have qualified for a deduction of up to £5,000 from the employer NICs that would normally be due – for each of the first ten employees they take on.

The National Insurance contributions (NICs) holiday was available to new businesses that started up during the period from 22 June 2010 to 5 September 2013. So it has now ended.

But from April 2014 the good news is that every employer will save up to £2,000.

To take advance of the allowance, firms will simply have to inform HM Revenue & Customs, and the Treasury says it will be “delivered through standard payroll software”.

Up to 450,000 small businesses will no longer pay national insurance contributions from April 2014.

The allowance will cost almost £6bn over five years.

When George Osbourne announced it in the budget he said:

“For the person who’s set up their own business, and is thinking about taking on their first employee – a huge barrier will be removed. They can hire someone on £22,000, or four people on the minimum wage, and pay no jobs tax,”

So we look forward to claiming our £2,000 next year.

 

steve@bicknells.net