A partnership agreement to establish two green freeports in Scotland has been reached between the Scottish and UK governments. The locations for the freeports have not yet been decided and there will be an application process with a view to setting up the freeports in 2023. Applicants in Scotland will be required to contribute towards… Read more…

Businesses are being encouraged to apply for remaining coronavirus (COVID-19) grant funding from local authorities. Hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses can still apply for one-off cash grants of up to £6,000 through the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme. The funding is made up of £556 million available through the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant… Read more…

The?Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme?(SSPRS) will close on 17‌‌‌ ‌March‌‌‌ ‌2022. The SSPRS was reintroduced by the government on 21 December 2021 for employers with fewer than 250 employees. The maximum claim per employee is two weeks at the statutory sick pay (SSP) rate of £96.35 per week (£192.70 in total), which is the rate… Read more…

The Chancellor must act at the Spring Statement or risk the UK economy drifting backwards to low growth, warns the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The Spring Statement will take place on 23 March 2022. The CBI has set out a range of policies it says are aimed at sparking growth via business investment. These… Read more…

What’s your business goal for 2022? Whether it’s growing your sales, improving services or increasing efficiency, Xpert Technologies can help you get there. Our innovative software has been developed in partnership with Salhan Accountants and is completely free to their clients… no expensive licence fees here. Our objective is to help your business unlock the… Read more…

On average, businesses will receive 250 CVs for every position that they advertise. Working through these applicants in the hope of finding the ideal candidate can take valuable time and effort. It’s therefore important that companies screen their applications, allowing them to focus on a smaller but better suited pool of potential employees. With this… Read more…

HMRC has warned that businesses must declare any coronavirus (COVID-19) support grants or payments on their company tax returns and stated that the grants and payments are taxable. The deadline for filing company tax returns is 12 months after the end of the accounting period. The deadline to pay corporation tax will depend on any… Read more…

The government’s Help to Grow: Digital scheme – designed to support smaller businesses in adopting digital technologies – is now open for applications. Under the scheme, eligible businesses can now receive discounts of up to £5,000 off the retail price of approved digital accounting and CRM software from leading technology suppliers. Businesses can also access… Read more…

HMRC has reopened a claims portal for small employers to again claim refunds for coronavirus (COVID-19)-related sick pay. The reopening follows the announcement of the reintroduction of the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS) from 21 December 2021 for employers with fewer than 250 employees by the government. The maximum claim per employee is two… Read more…

Consumer group Which? has urged taxpayers to avoid using so-called ‘refund firms’ to claim tax rebates. Which? stated that people are losing hundreds of pounds by using third-party companies to claim tax rebates rather than going directly to HMRC. Research carried out by the group found that one in five people had been either contacted… Read more…