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Christmas is fast approaching and it’s the time of year when many business owners are feeling generous. If you’re thinking of treating your team or clients to a meal, night out or a gift this Christmas, there are certain tax…

I was asked this recently by a client who was keen to grow his trades business. I explained as follows. (This is based on real experiences we’ve had with our clients but is not based on any one client): Meet…

You’ll no doubt have seen the news of a rise in both employees’ and employers’ National Insurance contributions (NICs). It’s been a contentious move by the Government, with some people seeing the policy as a necessary way of generating extra…

Join us on Thursday 14th October at 10 am for our next webinar – The 3 Essential Tools For Trades Business Success. We know that most trades business owners are experts in their trades, but not necessarily good at ‘business’.…

If you want to grow a successful trades business, you need to make good business decisions. In order to be in full control, and be able to make these well-informed decisions, there are a few numbers which you need to…

Turning a profit is at the heart of running a successful company. But should profits be the only financial focus if you're looking to create a stable, long-term business? Cashflow is the beating heart of your business. Without an even…

On Thursday 29th April 2021, join us for our Cashflow Management webinar! Your business needs cash to survive and thrive. Join us to learn how to improve your cashflow, so you are in control of your business and its finances.…

We all have the same 1,440 minutes each day, but some of us achieve so much more than others. How can we free up time to help lead a better business and ultimately achieve a happier life? Read on to…

Do you ever feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day? Are there things you really want to do, but your day just seems to fill with countless other tasks? If you want to free up your time to…

Being a great leader is a difficult job. However, there are mindsets and actions you can learn which can help you motivate and inspire your team. In sport, when a team is on top form, it’s sometimes referred to as…

After a short break from our webinars, we will be back on Thursday 25th February at 10am with a new webinar – Leadership Lessons! Being a leader is a difficult job. Learning the mindsets and tools to be a better…

A major shakeup of VAT in the construction industry takes place in 2021 – and it’s likely to have significant implications if you’re a subcontractor working in the building sector. The VAT reverse charge was originally scheduled to start in…

Being a good leader can be difficult, especially when you have limited face to face contact with your team. It’s important to keep your team involved and motivated during these tough times, when many of us are working at home.…

December has now begun, and we are now officially allowed to say the “C” word (Christmas!). This year Christmas parties and meals with your team will look a little different from usual. However just because we can’t be together in…

The seventh way to grow your business is to reduce your overheads. These are the fixed costs in your business that don't change much as your sales increase, e.g. phone, power, rent, interest, etc. How often do you review your…

The sixth way to grow your business is to reduce your variable costs. These are the costs which increase as sales increase. By reducing your variable costs, you increase your profit margin. For some businesses, focusing on reducing variable costs…

The fifth way to grow your business is to encourage your customers to spend more each time they buy. There are hundreds of ways to do this. The key is to develop strategies that add value to the transaction instead…

The fourth way to grow your business is to entice your customers to buy from you more often. Remember, it's easier to sell to an existing customer than to a new one. Many of the strategies to increase transaction frequency…

The third way to grow your business is to increase your conversion of prospects to sales. This is relevant to all businesses, but particularly relevant to those who prepare proposals and quotes on a regular basis. What you can measure…

The second way to grow your business is to generate more leads. A lead is someone who has responded to your marketing in some way; they have some level of interest in your product. When it comes to generating more…

It's easier and cheaper to make a sale to an existing customer than it is to a new one. Happier customers come back more, spend more money and, most importantly, talk to others. And yet, so many businesses seem focused…

On Friday 27th November at 10am we will be hosting our next complimentary business development webinar: 7 ways to grow your business. Join us to learn the key areas within your business which you can influence, and the strategies you…

Do you work long hours in your business without seeing the results you want? Do you find yourself spinning multiple plates with little time to focus on the things you want to be working on? Business owners usually want at…

On Friday 30th October at 10am join us for our next complimentary webinar: Build a Better Business in 10 Steps You’ll learn ways to make your business more successful and you’ll leave with practical strategies which you can implement so…

Making time to look over your financial reports each month is an important task for any business owner. If you are not taking the time to do this, either because you’re too busy, or perhaps you don’t really understand what…

Understanding your financial reports, or knowing your numbers, is critical to business success. It allows you to make better business decisions, measure the impact of those decisions, take corrective action where necessary and, ultimately, enjoy better results. By understanding your…

It’s common for trades business owners, and business owners in general, to focus on their sales figure as a measure of how well their business is doing. This may give you some insight, however it doesn’t give the full picture.…

Join us on Friday 25th September at 10am for our next complimentary webinar: Know Your Numbers. You’ll gain a better understanding of your financial reports, which will help you make better business decisions. The benefits of attending • Learn what…

Join us on Thursday 27th August 2020 at 1.30pm for our next complimentary business growth webinar: The 3 Essential Tools for Business Success. You’ll learn the tools most powerful for business success and how to use them. The benefits of…

A business budget is one of the essential tools in managing your business finances and actively building your business. A budget shows what you plan to do with your cash over the next year. For a complete picture of your…

It’s often thought that as long as your business is showing to be making a profit in your profit and loss (P&L) account, everything is great, your business is profitable, and you can take home cash. However, this isn’t strictly…

For your business to make money, you need to generate revenue. You produce revenue through your usual business activity, by making sales, getting your invoices paid, or taking cash from paying customers. So, the better you are at selling your…

When you started your business, you probably dreamed about flexible hours and highly profitable, stimulating work. Ideally, you would’ve adopted best practice and documented those dreams in a one-page Business Plan. The plan would specify how much cash you need…

Managing the gap between the receiving money into your business and paying money out of your business is vital for sustaining viability. Debtor days is the average number of days taken for a business to receive payment for goods or…

As businesses begin to emerge from Covid-19 restrictions, for many ‘Business as Usual’ has become ‘Business Unusual’. So, how do we navigate our way towards a sustainable new normal? During lockdown, we focused on crisis management, activating relevant Government support…

As a business owner, it’s always been helpful to have an understanding of accounting – but in the post-lockdown world, it’s never been more important to have a good grasp on your finances. With the business world irreparably changed by…

We have now added an extra evening date for our Business Recovery Planning Webinar! If you can't make it along to our first Business Recovery Planning webinar (Thursday 11th at 3pm), we hope you can make it to our second…

Right now, it’s ‘Business Unusual’ as businesses reopen after the Covid-19 crisis and adapt to an unfamiliar environment.  We’re on the frontline of business support and we’re doing all we can to help our clients get to a new ‘Business…

From today (1st May) The UK Government have removed VAT from all eBooks. This means that in the UK you can purchase any electronic book without paying the usual 20% VAT on it. This is a great opportunity to work…

Having a great team is important in order to run a successful business. If you want your team to provide a great service, it’s important you ensure they feel valued in their job. Frequent communication is key to building a…

Cash has always been king, but it’s more important to your business now than ever. It’s a difficult time for businesses and their customers right now, and the way in which you go about asking for payment from debtors may…

We know these are difficult times for businesses and their owners. There are so many different conflicting messages and a lot of misinformation out there. After discussions with many of our clients, we thought it would be best to create…

These are unprecedented times for businesses and their people.  We want to provide you with practical advice to help you minimise the impact of this global pandemic on your business.  On Friday 27th March at 3pm-4pm we are hosting a…

Weekly-and-Daily-CashflowDownload   Cashflow forecasting is always useful to keep in control of your business’s finances, and with the current uncertainty for business owners, due to COVID-19, forecasts only become more necessary. If you are worried about how the current situation…

The current guidance from the government is to work from home if your job allows, and to practice social distancing wherever possible. But what happens if you own a business which cannot function by working from home? All businesses are…

Due to the uncertain and unstable times we are currently in, we all have to change and adapt the way we work and live. We know many people aren’t in the fortunate position where they can work from home, due…

During this unsettling time, It is understandable that many small business owners are currently concerned about the impact that COVID-19 may have on their business, and we are too. The information from the government and in the media can be…

A key benefit of owning your own business is choosing your working hours. That was probably something that drew you towards starting your own business. Chances are, you planned to spend less time in your business and more time with…

Join us on Thursday 26th March 2020 for our next business growth seminar: The 3 Essential Tools for Business Success. You’ll learn the tools most powerful for business success and how to use them. The benefits of attending Understand the…

Due to the success of our last "Build a Better Business in 10 Steps" seminar, we are hosting another on Thursday 13th February. If you missed out on the last one, come along to our next seminar and learn the…

As the new year begins, why not treat 2020 as a clean slate and set some business resolutions to keep you on track to build a better business! Here are four useful tips, which when put into action, can help…

On Friday 17th January 2020, come along to our next seminar and learn the 10 steps to build a better business! You’ll learn ways to make your business more successful and you’ll leave with practical strategies which you can implement…

10 steps to build a better business If you are tired of being stuck in the same routine, not really making any progress within your business, then take a look at these ten steps to building a better business and…

We recieved a few requests, from people who couldn't make the last Cashflow Seminar, to host the seminar again, so we are hosting another in November! On Friday 15th November, join Ian McLeish and the Rosslyn Associates team to learn…

On Friday 25th October, join Ian McLeish and the Rosslyn Associates team to learn how to improve your business’s cashflow. Get 50% off tickets! As with all our seminars, we are offering discounted tickets to anyone subscribed to our newsletter!…

To build a great business, it is important to have a plan in place, and to set achievable and ambitious goals. When you’ve completed these steps, how are you going to ensure you stick to the plan and achieve these…

Due to the success of our first 7 ways to grow your business seminar, we thought we would host the seminar again with a new group of attendees! Come along to discover the key areas within your business which you…

Creating a business plan gives you the chance to think about what it is you really want from your business, set goals, and work out what actions you must take to reach them, keeping you on track to building a…

On Friday 16th August 2019, Rosslyn Associates will be hosting their first seminar, and you’re invited! The seminar is titled “7 ways to grow your business”. It will help you discover the key areas within your business which you can…

Having a strong team culture within your business is important. Not only will it improve satisfaction within your team, this will lead to open commutation, employee commitment, increased efficiency, and increased profits. There are different ways of enhancing your organisation’s…

Job Vacancy - Client Manager Location: Edinburgh, Midlothian Job type: Full-time, permanent Rosslyn Associates are a professional accountancy practice with an office in the beautiful surroundings of the Bush Estate. We are currently looking for an experienced Client Manager, who…

Are you getting the service you deserve from your accountant? When equipped with the right coaching skills, your accountant can provide you with much more than accounts and compliance work. When thinking of the role of an accountant, numbers, tax…

APPLY Rosslyn Associates is a fast-growing owner-managed modern accountancy practice which specialises in business advisory work and tax planning. We strongly believe in the principle of going above and beyond for our clients. We are based in a beautiful parkland…

Now that we are into the new year, why not treat 2019 as a clean slate and set some business resolutions to keep you on track and build the business you’ve always wanted! Here are four useful tips, which when…

Setting goals is a good way of ensuring we get things done, both personally and in a business setting. The trouble is, we often set goals which are difficult to achieve. Here we will look at how to set achievable…

Following on from one of our previous blogs “8 inspiring books for any business owner”, here we’ve lengthened the list and added a few more books. These books are particularly useful for self-development and leadership, in a business setting. Check…

When chatting with clients who aren’t seeing the profits that they want or expect, we often find, after taking a look at the numbers, that their pricing isn’t right. Most commonly, we find that pricing is too low, and the…

We’ve compiled a list of eight must-read, inspiring business books for any business owner serious about growing a successful business. The books we’ve chosen have helped with the growth of Rosslyn Associates as well as with the work we do with…

Limiting beliefs are beliefs that we have about ourselves that stop us from achieving things that we want. We often tell ourselves that we can or cannot do something, or that we are or are not the “type of person”…

On Saturday 18th August, some of the Rosslyn Associates team braved the cold, wet and windy weather and took part in the Rough Runner 10K obstacle course. With your help we managed to raise a massive £1,250 for HopScotch Children’s…

Having a clear set of values is essential in order to run a good business. Your values help shape every element of your business such as recruitment, marketing and how you operate. Once your business’s values are clear, everyone involved…

Running a business is like driving a car. When you’re driving you need to look at the dashboard to see how much fuel you have and how fast you’re going.  When you’re running a business, you need to keep track…

Managing your cashflow well can be difficult, but it is an essential part of running a profitable business. You need to get the cash into the bank which you are owed by your customers and strategically plan your outgoings to…

It is important to pay attention to your business’ break-even point. Here we'll explain how to work out your breakeven point and why it's such an important thing to keep an eye on. If you know what you have to…

APPLY Rosslyn Associates are a continually growing team, looking for a new member! We are currently looking for someone to take on the role of Client Service Coordinator. This role involves: Maintaining the client database including additions, deletions and changes…

So, you think you know a lot about tax...? Or maybe not. Either way, here are six tax facts we’ve put together that you may not know and could be useful! If you have any other tax related queries, please…

This month we have a few things we want to update you on, so we thought we would put them in a blog. Due to the new GDPR laws, and to make file sharing a little bit simpler, we’ve now…

After taking part in a treadmill marathon in the office in January, some of the Rosslyn Associates team have decided to take on a bigger challenge! On the 18th of August 2018 we will be taking part in Rough Runner!…

So, your accounts say you have made a decent profit, but your bank balance says otherwise? Business owners are often confused about where all their business’ profit has gone. To properly understand what has happened to your cash you have…

Business owners often ask how much their business is worth. Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is often nothing. When we look at the real profitability of the business, it often turns out that they are actually making a loss. This is…

You may already know from your own experience that HMRC seem to consistently make errors. Whether its arguing that tax returns should be completed when the tax legislation says they don’t need to, or HMRC’s own software miscalculating the amount…

Gathering and sorting through information for your tax return can be a bore. It often gets put off until December or even January, and you are left to frantically get everything sorted. For some people, it gets pushed to the…

Business owners often get to a stage where they feel like they have hit a plateau. Business is going ok but what they really want is to grow, bring in new clients, free up some time and increase profits. It’s…

We did it! On Friday 12th January, the whole Rosslyn Associates team took part in a charity treadmill marathon. We brought a treadmill into the office and took it in turns to run (or walk) until we reached 26.2 miles!…

As we approach the end of 2018, you may be reflecting on the year which has passed and preparing for the year ahead. A new year is often a time where we create new goals for ourselves. Whether your dream…

Christmas is fast approaching and It’s the time of year when many business owners are feeling generous. If you’re thinking of treating your team or clients to a meal, night out or a gift this Christmas, there are certain tax…

As we approach the festive season, many of us begin to give more generously. Christmas is the biggest period for charitable donations in the UK. Whether you are thinking of donating to charity this Christmas, or you make donations at…

Is your salary around £30,000- £40,000 a year? Do you own a buy to let property? Are you paying a mortgage for the property? If so, you could face a dramatic increase in your tax bill! The new changes in…

Reflecting the continuous growth of Rosslyn Associates, we would like to introduce you to our new member of the team, Rebecca Easton. Rebecca will take on the role of client service coordinator, as well as bookkeeping. Rebecca’s duties as client…

Are you a business owner who gives employees gifts and benefits to celebrate birthdays or other special occasions? Before the new rules on trivial benefits came into effect in 2016, you would normally have had to pay national insurance on…

Deciding whether to have a company car, or to claim mileage can be a difficult choice for business owners. The most tax efficient choice differs depending on a number of factors. As tax legislation has changed, there are fewer instances…

    Exciting new things are happening at Rosslyn Associates and we want to share them with you! We have recently rebranded and launched our new website! Please take a look and let us know what you think. As forward-thinking…

  Cloud accounting means storing your accounting data on an online platform, rather than on your computer’s hard drive. The data is live and can be accessed from anywhere and on any device with an internet connection. There are many…

Many fraudulent emails and texts that appear to be from HMRC are received by taxpayers. Although scams are sometimes obvious, some are more sophisticated and appear genuine. Here is a quick guide on how to recognise when HMRC are genuinely…

There are so many issues which could be affecting the growth and profitability of your business. Sometimes it can be difficult to identify which ones are affecting your business and to devise a plan to solve them. Here are some…

With summer holidays just around the corner, it’s nice to have some money saving tips to help you through the rest of the year! Holidays are made for relaxing, but that’s sometimes difficult when they can cost so much. Here…

A business coach who fully understands the numbers can add a huge amount of value to your business. It is common to seek help from a business coach and an accountant separately, but if you find someone who is good…

Working with a business adviser  can really help your business grow. However, it’s important to remember you need a strong relationship with your adviser, based on trust and empathy, so you can work together in the most effective way. A…

Nobody wants to pay more tax than they have to. Tax rules and legislation are constantly changing, which can make it difficult to keep up. With the changes made to the way dividends are taxed, which came into action in…

Traditionally accountants have been at a disadvantage when advising on business growth. Manual records meant that accountants were always working in the past, with no real time financial data available. With the emergence of cloud accounting and software such as…