TAX AND TECHNOLOGY AN INEVITABLE PARTNERSHIP Tax Directors Faye Howard and Graham Doubtfire look at the advances in technology which are helping Scrutton Bland stay ahead of the curve in electronic tax reporting.
Then and now Can you remember what you were doing this time ten years ago? You probably just used your mobile phone to make calls. And in the tax world, you may have been contemplating that new-fangled self-assessment way of filling in your tax return. undergo another cultural shift as the government’s ‘Making Tax Digital’ initiative aims to get all businesses and self-assessing individuals submit all tax data electronically rather than on paper. And mobile phones? Well you probably have text messages, photos, emails, lots of social media, plus banking and business apps installed on your phone, as well as possibly the odd Pokémon Go game that you’re keeping quiet about. Getting your head in the clouds The government initiative Making Tax Digital aims to get all business and self-assessed private individuals to send their tax returns electronically by 2018. However the electronic tax compliance process will be much easier for Scrutton Bland business clients who have signed up to SBLive, a cloud-based accountancy package launched six months ago. SBLive can provide clients with live information regarding their business’, payment notifications, invoice creation and expense processing as well as a host of other features designed to make managing a business’ finances faster and easier. Using Cloud technology, today’s business owners can access live information from smartphones, a laptopor tablet, which obviously creates much greater flexibility to run your business from work, home or wherever they happen to be. Fast forward ten years and the tax return process is about to
SBLive and digital tax accounts The beauty of SBLive is that it places our clients ahead of the digital tax learning curve. Scrutton Bland offer training courses and one-to-one support for all SBLive clients so everyone feels confident and in control of the new system. And when other businesses are worrying about the 2018 electronic tax system deadlines, SBLive clients can relax knowing that their software will seamlessly transition to the electronic tax compliance requirements. Better business planning The other big advantage for tax planning is that the management information provided through SBLive is available simultaneously to both client and adviser. So, for example, if your business has a particularly good month then your adviser can get a better understanding of the tax liabilities you are likely to incur and in turn can suggest solutions to mitigate the tax liabilities well in advance of your tax bill. This has huge planning implications, since it allows Scrutton Bland’s tax advisers to proactively identify issues with you as they happen, rather than waiting until after the event to collate the figures. Taking a practical example, it means that if your business sees a rise in income in December, your tax adviser can look at your cash flow to start planning ahead to suggest income tax liability solutions, instead of having to respond reactively at the end of the tax year.
Tax and the Private Client If you would benefit from individual tax planning then it may be worth considering Scrutton Bland’s Private Client Service. This facility draws on the expertise of the professional advisers across the whole firm, who work together to create bespoke financial planning, tax and insurance advice that is specifically tailored to your own needs. Think of it as tax planning taken to the next level, and for individuals with large or complex fiscal portfolios it is an efficient and cost-effective way of ensuring that their assets are being managed at the highest level, both from a tax and investment perspective.
To find out more about the Private Client Service contact Graham doubtfire on 01206 838400 graham.doubtfire@ scruttonbland.co.uk or Faye Howard on 01473 267000 faye. howard@scruttonbland.co.uk
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