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June 23, 2016

When should you Outsource your Payroll?

outsourcing the running payrollSetting up a small business on your own isn’t an easy task. As a one man band you have to learn how to deal with every business function from marketing to IT. One area of your business where it really pays to outsource is in the finance department and hiring a qualified accountant makes a lot of financial sense for most businesses.

Once your business starts to grow though and you begin taking on employees, the temptation is to move more and more of the businesses functions in-house. Whilst this can make sense in some areas, with payroll it really does pay to outsource.

In this article I want to look at four areas where outsourcing the payroll function can save your business a lot of money and time and prevent difficulties further down the road as you expand your workforce.

Resource Savings

Time is money in business and payroll can be very time consuming. As your business expands so too will the time needed to perform the payroll function in-house. Investing in payroll software can also be expensive and keeping it up to date is another drag on your time and resources. Factor into this the training needed to bring staff up to date with the software and any updates and developments and you can begin to see the constant drain on resources that doing your payroll in-house can be.

Staff Recruitment and Absence

One of the clear benefits of outsourcing payroll functionality to an accountancy firm is the stability and consistency it brings to developing expanding businesses. All businesses are vulnerable to the danger of key talent leaving them for sunnier pastures and retaining staff is a core part of HR strategy, especially in the early days. Outsourcing payroll effectively removes the worry of having to recruit and train a new staff member to perform this vital business function on which every employee depends. For smaller businesses, having a single individual in charge of payroll also comes with inherent risks in terms of unplanned absence. Payroll isn’t something that can be put off, so if your payroll administrator is off sick then someone else will need to fill in for them, diverting their precious time away from their core duties.

Compliance

In accounting, accuracy is paramount. The UK’s laws around payroll are strict and any mistakes due to human error can and often do result in fines. Not only is this an unnecessary and unwelcome cost, it also means your payroll administrator has to go back over their work to identify and rectify the error. Accountancy firms deal with payroll every day and have the systems and oversight procedures in place to avoid these kinds of accounting errors. Not only this but HMRC’s rules and regulations are prone to change, meaning re-training your payroll staff. The Real Time Information for PAYE changes introduced in 2013 for example, now means companies have to send a Full Payment Submission to HMRC before every payday as well as a monthly Employer Payment Summary. This can mean 76 online declarations a year. That’s a lot of man hours.

Flexibility and Scalability

Creating a successful business is harder than it’s ever been. Recent research from the Harvard Business Review suggests that the average dying age of a publically listed company is 31 years (down from 55 in 1970). Small businesses have to grow and adapt rapidly if they are to be successful and that means so too do their workforces. Unlike many other business functions, payroll isn’t just desirable but required. The consequences for not paying your staff or getting this wrong can be devastating, with the risk of serious damage to the internal reputation of your company and some fairly irate employees. Outsourcing payroll means you can scale your business quickly without the burden of having to grow your payroll functionality too. Accountancy firms have the staff and the resources to handle your growing payroll needs. For seasonal businesses who take on a lot of additional staff in certain months, this can be a real lifesaver.

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February 22, 2013

What investment administration services tell us about the Australian Economy

ZAH_australia_LW_230312-20120629184132244770-420x0The major economic boom that Australia surged into is about to start faltering, as investments into resources are about to pass their peaks. The Reserve Bank warns of the predicted fall in companies investing; resulting in the slowing of the massive growth that has been witnessed, and a slow rise in unemployment ahead of 2014.

Investment administration services are predicted to be a necessary service as the economy’s change of pace can be hard to detect or understand, as the investing population runs at a risk of liquidating dollars.

This faltering in the economy is predicted to come about as the Reserve Bank of Australia looks at the investments in the resource industry, and how these numbers are falling, and the worry is that there is not enough demand in the economy to replace it. Investment administration services understand companies that investments will have to change their pace, and that their investment administration will have to take different shape as the economy takes natural digressions.

Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan concurred with the Reserve Bank’s findings, saying that the outlook was “challenging”. Investment administration services should be utilized to gain better understandings on the more grim economy outlook that Australia has witnessed in a number of years, since the World Financial Crisis. Another issue, besides that loss of investments if the investment administration is not understood properly, has “made business cautious, particularly in terms of hiring labour,” Swan said.

This shifting economy means complete readjusting of investments, and looking at new investment strategies, which can be devised by investment administration services. It is important that in Australia we understand the changes that the economy takes in order to avoid the issues that plague socialist European nations.

Although as a nation Australia faces the possibility of a slipping national economy, it is after such an unpredicted high and strong dollar. Australia continues to be in a high percentile of countries repairing themselves after the financial crash. Now is a time, more than ever, that investment administration is taken seriously so as to not run the risk of turning over losses, and therefore being able to use a time like this advantageously.

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February 21, 2013

Things to Consider When You’re Short on Cash

Short On CashThe unfortunate truth is that many people will find themselves short on cash at some point this year. Even the most financially responsible individuals may run into hard times, and they may need access to a quick source of money for a few days. For example, when your child is sick or you are in a car accident, you may be faced with lost income as well as various expenses. This and many other events can and do happen, and they can be costly. Some people may have enough money saved in their savings account to get by, but if you don’t, what should you do to get over this rough patch?

Credit Cards

Credit cards may be the source of quick money that many people initially will consider. You may have one or more credit cards in your wallet right now that you can pull out and use at a moment’s notice. However, keep in mind that a cash advance on these cards can be very expensive, and often, there is a higher interest rate and an extra fee associated with this. Furthermore, if your cards are maxed out, this is not an option for you. As a final note, consider how long it may take you to pay your credit card balance off. Any new charges to your account today will increase your minimum monthly payment until the balance is paid in full, and this can affect your budget for months to come.

Paying Bills Late

If you don’t have money available to pay your bills, it may have crossed your mind to simply not pay those bills. Eventually, you will get caught up, and you can pay your bills as funds become available. However, keep in mind that there are costs associated with simply not paying the money that you owe to your creditors. Many creditors will add a sizable late fee to your account balance, and they will continue to add onto the total you owe. For example, if you owe $100 to a creditor today, that creditor may charge a $30 late fee for not paying your account. Next month, you may owe $200 plus the $30 late fee. This can be a costly route to take, and it can result in you digging yourself into a financial hole that can be difficult to get out of. Furthermore, your credit rating may be ruined if you fail to make your payments on time, and this can affect your ability to obtain affordable financing for many months or years.

Short-Term Loan

A final option to consider is to apply for a short-term loan. Canada cash loans from www.CashLoans.ca are one of these options. These loans do have typically higher interest rates than long-term loans, but they have a short term and can provide you with access to the cash you need in a short period of time. You will not have to contend with late fees, increases to minimum monthly payments or how much credit you have available on your credit cards.

Each financial situation is unique, so it is important to consider how each of these options may be applied to your life. Ultimately, many individuals will have access to one or more of these options, and you may keep these points in mind as you make a decision that is best for you.

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March 2, 2012

New York Rental Prices Rise with the Increasing Economy

New York has begun doing what any major city does when it runs out of real estate, but with great success. It has started increasing the rent for up to $5000 for a single bedroom apartment, not a better deal for an average family earning $100K a year. And to date there are no witnesses of slowing in the growth of the rental prices in this city.

The ever-taller high rises, extremely profitable to the owners relative to the forecasted construction costs, provide homes for escalating population. While single family homes that are put up for rent are typically larger, with private yards, the condos are barely 1000 sq. ft. but with views of the city and scenery to die for. Extra features such as gym, playgrounds, club house and concierges provide an interesting alternative to living here.

A two bedroom single family home in the heart of the city can cost around $6000 and as low as $750 in a suburban area outside the city, almost double the cost of what it was two decades ago. The downtown part has a rent of anywhere from $1500 to $2200 for a studio, and $3000 for a 2 bedroom, while upper east side-the affluent area where most skyscrapers are-can go as high as $10,000. Although the outskirts have seen a slight decrease in the influx of people after the recession, the very wealthy area have done very well in maintaining this price over the last ten years.

Reasons for Rent Increases :
There are various theories behind what is really causing the rental prices to increase in New York. And most prices are driven by owners and their agents convincing people to rent while justifying that they are seeing a completely rational price in comparison with the cost of owning a home. One can note that the recent rental boom has not been limited to New York but has been in full swing in other states such as California, Washington and North Carolina. The wealthiest cities and neighborhoods have experienced the greatest home appreciation recently, and these increases have outstripped rental growth in such markets.

Let us look at some of the theories that is driving the rental price here:

Theory 1: Demand and Supply:
People who are on an edge of buying houses in NY are seeing that housing and mortgage markets are imperfect, with real estate agents not representing the buyers interest and appraisers being paid to justify exorbitant prices. They are realizing that homes under this scenario are not worth what they were worth previously. Land is scarcer in the most exclusive communities and people renting would pay large premium for living in such communities.

Theory 2: Renting is Cheaper than Owning:
Renting is one way of showing that home prices cannot escape the fundamental forces that drive them in the long term-income. The housing prices have grown exponentially with respect to renting, and in this massive economy people are unable to pay large portion of their paycheck toward their house. People fearing the real trouble meeting their obligations in the future such as divorce, job loss and medical emergencies, want to post-phone buying and just rent for a while.

Theory 3: Population Growth and Immigration:

Probably the most popular reason as to why rent prices has seen an increase in recent years. Most new immigrants are renters and prefer to rent as long as they could save money to buy a home, resulting in more demand for rental properties.

Theory 4: Escalating Construction Cost:
Even though home builders are on the sell side of the market, they are unable to fair given the high cost of construction, compelling them to increase the price of houses to a level not reachable by an average middle class family- another economic reason that people are renting rather than buying. More so, builders claim that it is the zoning and building restrictions that are the culprit in higher rental prices.

Where The Current Rental Market is Heading:
Even homeowners with less leverage in their homes are now feeling relatively safe renting the houses given the current trend. Considering the shaky economy and no real income growth, people are beginning to dedicate their resources and attention to rent in an attempt to avert a real disaster from buying a house.

David Haynes is a writer who searched for the Lettings Bristol had to offer when choosing his home.

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January 22, 2012

Deferred Annuities Helps you Keep Smiling Forever

Is there anybody who would not love to have financial securities during his or her retirement? Certainly not, because whatever we do more or less has connection with our future security. Well, having a secured financial life is a dream of many but a few can turn it into reality. If you are tensed about how to get financial independence in your retired life, then I must say that you should start your planning now. Go for deferred annuities for enjoying a happy retired life.

Accumulate a good sum of amount for your post retirement days, because little pension amounts always fail to support your additional requirements, like medical, familial and other such needs. Well, deferred annuities help you to recover yourself from these financial issues during your post-retirement life.

What are deferred annuities?

Well, this is a part of annuities, which is done in two phases. One phase is the accumulation phase, in which the annuitant invest the money either in little installments every month or a single payment in a year. Another phase is the income phase, in which the annuitant starts receiving the accumulated amount.

There is a gap between these two phases and the return of the installments totally depends upon the decision of the annuitant.

What are the benefits of deferred annuities?

This type of annuity plans support the requirements of the retirees in a better way.
This annuity plan gives retirees the freedom to decide the time, when they want to receive their repayments. It is surely of great help for the retirees.
This annuity plan comes with death benefits for the beneficiary of the annuitant. Therefore, the annuitant also gets security for his or her family.
This makes the annuitants live a better life, because he or she gets the facility to have a fixed income for the post-retirements life.
This also allows them to save maximum amount, because no tax deductions are made upon the accumulation phase, until the annuitant wants to withdraw it.

What are the types of deferred annuities?

There are two types of annuities, such as:

Deferred fixed annuity

It offers the annuitant a fixed income throughout his life and never changes depending upon the market condition or other problems.

Deferred variable annuity

It offers the annuitant different amount of installments depending upon the market condition. If the market is going good, annuitants get good installment. When the market degrades, the installments rates also change according to that.

Well, if you are still some years left before your retirement, this is the best time for you to go for the deferred annuities, so that you can retire at your ease.

Therefore, plan to accumulate a good amount of money with deferred annuities and give your life a chance to smile upon you forever.

The author, Aalina Jones here provides smart suggestions on deferred annuities. This article will certainly help people gather plenty of information regarding annuities.

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