We provide a range of support services to start-up and established businesses.

Budgeting and cashflow analysis

A business can be profitable and still run into trouble due to cash flow issues. Every business must have adequate cash flow in order to survive. FFC can assist in this area by examining all of the components of your business that affect cash flow. We can forecast and evaluate your company’s financial condition, estimate financing requirements and track cashflow sources and uses.

At FFC, we will work closely with you to prepare cashflow and budget analyses which can be used as your organisation’s financial plan and financial management tool.

Business start-ups and business plans

Are you a budding entrepreneur? You have had an idea, spotted a gap in the market, carried out some promising research, and have the enterprise and commitment to see it through but what do you do next?

FFC offers a supportive and constructive business start-up service that takes the stress out of starting up by providing step-by-step assistance to get your business up and running. The services we offer include:

• Decide on the most suitable structure for your business - sole trader, partnership, or limited company
• Prepare a business plan, cashflow projections, budgets, and trading forecasts
• Complete any registration procedures with Companies House and HM Revenue & Customs
• Deal with company secretarial issues
• Set up a recording system for your internal use and for complying with statutory requirements

Our business plan service includes:

• advice regarding the content of a business plan
• assistance in the preparation of a business plan based on information provided
• production of a set of illustrative financial projections
• independent validation of a business plan

In today's complicated and strictly regulated financial services market, providing independent financial advice requires specialist knowledge.

We make use of our wide range of professional contacts to ensure you have a suitable independent adviser and we work with them to provide you with impartial advice in areas such as:

• Pension schemes
• Life assurance
• Critical illness cover
• Private medical insurance and care plans
• Individual savings accounts
• Investments

Advising on all areas of taxation and compliance such as Income Tax, VAT and Trusts.

Income tax

If you are one of millions of people who complete a self-assessment tax return each year, you are legally obliged to meet H M Revenue and Customs (HMRC) deadlines to avoid financial penalties and interest charges.

We offer an efficient and comprehensive tax return service for individuals, whether you are resident in the UK or not.

We can prepare your personal self assessment return, carry out any necessary calculations, correspond with HMRC and deal with any enquiries.

Our specialist team can also offer you a full range of tax planning services, including:

• advice on tax-efficient remuneration and business structures
• inheritance tax planning
• pension planning.

Corporation tax

Corporation tax represents a significant portion of your trading costs. Moreover, the increased reporting obligations, robust investigation policies on the part of the tax authorities, and harsher penalties for non-compliance mean that an undue amount of your time and resources can be spent on the administrative burden that corporation tax demands.

FFC offers a range of services to help you minimise your corporate tax exposure and relieve you of the administrative burden of complying with tax legislation. These include:

• Determining the most tax effective structure for your business
• Taking full advantage of tax opportunities and reliefs
• Achieving the optimum capital or revenue tax treatment
• Reducing tax on disposals and maximising relief on acquisitions
• Making the most of tax opportunities specific to your industry
• Meeting the rigorous demands of compliance including corporation tax self assessment
• Acting on your behalf in discussions with the tax authorities
• Efficient corporate tax planning which can result in potentially significant improvements in your bottom line.

VAT

Value added tax, with its ever widening scope, is one of the most complex and onerous tax regimes imposed on business - so complex that many businesses inadvertently over or under pay VAT.

We have worked with a wide variety of organisations requiring varying levels of support. VAT planning requires in-depth knowledge where professional advice can bring big rewards. We have helped many of our clients to reduce VAT assessments and minimise their VAT liabilities.

Our services include:

• assistance with VAT registration
• advice on VAT planning and administration
• use of the most appropriate scheme
• VAT control and reconciliation
• Assistance with the completion of VAT returns
• Practical support during VAT inspections

Inheritance tax

IHT remains a complex area and seeking early professional advice is wise.  Our expert team can advise on a number of options for reducing your IHT liability, including:

• gifts, including lifetime gifts
• life insurance policies held in trust
• wills

We have the experience and expertise to take the headache out of the form filling and compliance aspect of self-assessment. We can provide you with practical advice on personal tax positions and the planning opportunities available to you.

Our services include:

• Calculating your tax liability
• Completing and filing your tax return on your behalf
• Advising you when various payments are due and how much to pay
• Advising on appropriate record retention
• Introducing you to any relevant tax-saving ideas

Through cost effective partnerships working with a local pension scheme provider we can help you set up your scheme and prepare your ongoing payroll and pensions runs.

Automatic enrolment means that, rather than having to actively choose to join a pension scheme, staff are put into one by their employer as a matter of course. If they don’t want to be in the pension scheme, they must actively choose to opt out. This is to encourage people to stay in pension saving.

B

Automatic enrolment duties come into force from your ‘staging date’. The Pensions Regulator will write to you at least 12 months in advance, but it’s a good idea to know when your staging date is as early as you can. You can find out your staging date by entering your PAYE reference here:

https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/tools/staging-date.aspx

Whether you have one employee or 100 employees, auto-enrolment places significant responsibilities on an employer and you’ll have new duties in relation to everyone working for you.

Through cost-effective partnerships working with a local pension scheme provider, we can help you set up your scheme and prepare your ongoing payroll and pension runs.