If you run a small business, you may already wear several different hats as you try to save money and do a lot of the peripheral work yourself. You may know that this is not the most efficient way of doing things from a big picture perspective, but you may press on anyway as you try to grow first before incurring the cost. Yet if you are overly busy, you may already be squandering money as you fail to look at the finer detail and make the right decisions. Why is this even more of an issue if you try to handle all your books yourself?

Taking Too Much on Yourself

If you are not a numbers person but are trying to avoid the expense associated with an accountant, you may keep rudimentary records yourself. When it comes to the end of the year, you may try to calculate your annual costs based on your summarised figures and without any real attention to detail. Most people in your situation will fail to claim expenditure against tax. They feel that it is best to avoid this type of granular detail in fear of an unwanted inspection. Some people think that they may be vulnerable to fines if they get it wrong, whilst others simply do not have the time to figure everything out instead.

It's easy to feel this way if you are overworked and do not have the expertise in this area. You will certainly want to err on the side of caution, but in doing so, you will probably miss some significant expenditure that you could ordinarily claim against tax.

Often Overlooked Claims

What about clothing or uniform that you need for everyday work? If it is an accepted part of your profession or you need it for identification purposes, you can probably claim the cost back against your tax.

You may be able to claim some of the food and drink costs if you regularly entertain clients or prospects as part of your business operation. Certainly, the rules are pretty detailed here, but this is no excuse to ignore the potential saving and move on.

Worthwhile Expenditure

If you really want to be successful, you should always outsource critical parts of your business to experts. In this case, talk with an accountant soon and give them the responsibility of handling your monthly and annual calculations. They will go into those expenditures in detail, and you may be surprised at what you can save in relation to your end-of-year tax bill. Reach out to an accountant to learn more. 

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