An In-Depth Guide to Claiming Business Expenses
As a creative business owner, keeping on top of your finances may seem dull, but it is also business 101. However, having been accountants in the creative industry for many years, we are always surprised to find just how many businesses are in the dark about their...
End of Financial Year Tips You Need to Know for 2024
For many business owners, the end of the financial year can leave you wanting to tear your hair out. Missing receipts, inaccurate numbers and a pile of unpaid invoices are all why you’ll most likely need the help of a skilled accountant to get you through it.
How will the Spring Budget 2024 affect your creative business?
This year’s budget has just recently been announced, which means some financial changes that you as a business owner need to know about…
How To Do Bookkeeping: A Beginner’s Guide
Bookkeeping is a fundamental part of any business, no matter how big or small. It works by keeping your finances in check, ensuring they are in excellent working order and that you don’t get an unwanted knock on the door from HMRC…
Should You Get A Business Coach?
So, you’ve caught yourself wondering “Should I get a business coach?”. Unfortunately, like most questions in life, there is no straightforward ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. A booming, yet often underutilised industry, only one in six businesses have used business coaches in the past. However, almost 90% of business owners that have used them say that their help is almost invaluable.
What is the difference between bookkeeping and accounting?
So, your business is going from strength to strength, the cash keeps rolling in and now you find yourself in need of some financial help. If you are considering hiring a professional to assist you, then you may be unsure of whether a bookkeeper or accountant is the way to go. So what is the difference between bookkeeping and accounting, and which one is the perfect match for your business?
12 Days of (Accounting) Christmas Tips
When Christmas comes approaching, business accounting is often the last thing on people’s minds. However, this is often an astute time of year to make sure that everything is in ship shape. Both now and for the New Year that looms around the corner. Here we have...
How to Use Xero Properly: Making the Most of Your Account
Many business owners know how to use Xero, but when it comes to getting the most out of the platform, many users are caught scratching their heads. Whether you are new to Xero or are a seasoned user hungry to learn some more tips, we are here to help you get the very...
SME Business Finance Tips You Need To Know
Are you a small to medium-sized business owner in need of valuable finance tips? Well you're in the right place. Our team of accountants specialises in crunching the numbers so you can stay one step ahead in the business game. As the old adage goes, "Failing to...
How to Use AI in Accounting: The Dos and Don’ts
Unless you have been living under a rock over the past year or so, you will be well aware of how AI has been transforming the way businesses operate. From automating tasks, to boosting productivity, to streamlining processes. However, as with any powerful digital...
What Exactly Does The Change in Corporation Tax Rate Mean?
Running your own creative business is full of upsides, from the freedom and flexibility it allows to the glitz and glamour it can bring. But, just like with everything in this world, these tend to go hand in hand with some downsides too, and for many of our clients, one of the most common pet peeves comes in the form of corporation tax.
7 Very Handy Accounting Tips For Startups
When you decide to start your own business it often means figuring things out as you go along, which isn’t always a bad thing. In fact this is how true innovation takes place, at least from what we have seen. But having a few aces up your sleeve when you are first starting out can really help you in the long run. After all, getting a successful startup off the ground can be tricky.
Team Feature – Louise
Back by popular demand is the second instalment of our team feature series. This time in the Raedan hotseat we have the wonderful Louise, one of our superstar accountants. Louise knows accounting like the back of her hand and is here to help our creative clients reach their business goals through her top notch accounting knowledge.
How do I choose a business structure when setting up my new business?
Becoming a business owner is a brave and wonderful thing. There are some foundational things to square away first, so you can get to the fun stuff confident you’re all set up properly. The first and most important choice is how to structure your business.
Small Business Expenses Every Creative Business Should Know About
So you are a small creative business and you are looking to claim a few expenses, but you’re not exactly sure how to go about it… Well, don’t fear as we are here to help. As small business accounting maestros, we are here to make sure that all your expenses are claimed correctly, so you don’t get in trouble with the taxman.
How Cash Flow Forecasting Software Can Help Your Creative Business
Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and if it stops flowing it won’t be long until you find your business six feet under. In creative businesses, there’s a lot going on, and sometimes things get missed – that’s where the use of effective cash flow forecasting software can help.
Team Feature – Rommel
This week we interviewed Rommel, our incredible client assistant at Raedan. He’s the one that makes sure our clients’ business accounts are in better shape than Chris Hemsworth’s personal trainer.
Why Xero is the Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses
Xero is the cloud accounting software that really did descend from the heavens. Blessing small businesses everywhere and taking all the time, stress, and boredom out of bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll and more.
Xero FAQs – The 6 Most Common Questions About Xero
Cloud accounting has recently morphed from an innovation to the norm. Gone are the days of manually scouring through a mess of muddled records or ticker tape. Now, everything happens in a theoretical cloud at the behest of a fingertip’s delicate touch. It’s no secret...
The Best Xero Integration Apps In 2023
You know what they say - teamwork makes the dreamwork. In modern working conditions, this term applies to both the workforce and the apps that they are using. As we head towards what seems like an I, Robot-esque future where machines rule over all, it should come as...
What Is Xero Accounting? A Guide On Why Xero Could Suit Your Business
If you have found yourself asking “What is Xero accounting?” it is safe to presume that you are either on the search for a new accounting software, looking to learn more on the subject of Xero as a platform or stuck in an...
Why Xero Is The Best Accounting Software For Creatives
Shopping around for the best accounting software for creatives falls into the bracket of tasks that are not necessarily the most thrilling, but are undeniably essential. Like remembering to let the dog out before bed, signing up with the local GP after moving house,...
Our Xero Setup Guide For Creative Businesses
The first steps on a new journey are often the most exciting. However, making mistakes at the early stages often leads to bigger problems further down the line. Xero is designed to help simultaneously optimise and simplify your business’ finances. Making sure that you...
How to Accurately Measure Your Profit Margin
So, you’ve got your dream business up and running but you aren’t entirely sure quite how well it is running… Should you be using sales as your financial yardstick? Or maybe reductions in costs? Not quite… In this blog we detail how to measure profit margin and why it...
“Why Are Accountants Boring?” – Busting Common Accounting Myths
As accountants, we face a barrage of negative and inaccurate press on a daily basis. Everything from the inaccurate “Do accountants have to be good at maths?” to the downright hurtful “Why are accountants boring?”. Well, in this blog we are looking to debunk some of...
Sick of bookkeeping? We got you.
You’ve made a business out of doing something you love and now you're playing catch up with your books every month. It’s stressful and annoying. Your focus is probably on delivering your service and that totally makes sense. Your service is what gives you the numbers!...
At What Stage Does Your Business Need Help From An Accountant?
It’s a familiar situation for any new business owner. Your business is growing, and with that comes excitement, ambition and a hell of a lot of questions. One of the most common ones that budding entrepreneurs ask us is: “Do I need an accountant for my small...
How To Calculate Your Business Rates
Starting your own business is always an exciting venture. Driven by dreams of ambitious rags to riches success stories, who can blame new business owners for foreseeing themselves as future frontrunners in their given sector? However, much of that glamorous...
How Accounting Can Take Your Start Up To The Next Level
Finance is regularly considered one of the core pillars of any successful business. While money may not legitimately make the world go round, it is a pretty crucial factor in both measuring the success of your business and guiding it on its next steps. After all, if...
From Dreaming to Dream Life: Friend Productions Case Study
“I had a dream of how my finances could work and it’s everything I wanted it to be.” This is how Luke Jacobs of Friend Productions feels about running the financial side of his company now. But it was a very different story two years ago. As part owner of a...
Do I have to pay my employees sick pay?
Whether it’s strep, sniffles or the stomach bug, we all get sick. As a business owner, you have to juggle both the wellbeing of your team and your business, and while you’re happy for an employee to take all the R&R and ibuprofen they need to get back on their...
Do I need an accountant to file my R&D tax credits?
As a creative business owner, you know better than anyone the level of innovation and experimentation your industry requires. This is the exact business model that R&D tax credits were designed to reward. Introduced in 2000, this scheme by HMRC incentivises...
How An Accountant Can Boost Business For Your Marketing Agency
Running your own marketing agency is no mean feat. Juggling the constant stream of responsibilities that are fired your way all while delivering quality work and keeping the clients happy can be a full on experience at the best of times. Here we run down just some of...
What is an R&D claim and does my creative business qualify for it?
When you hear the phrase “research and development” you probably think of scientists in white coats, mixing chemicals in a lab. You certainly don’t do anything like that in your creative business, so you’ve always assumed you weren’t eligible for tax relief through an...
Payments on Account: What is it and do I have to pay it?
Let’s face it: paying taxes isn’t the most exciting thing about running your own creative business. In fact, it just might be the part you dread the most. Good thing you only have to deal with paying income tax once a year when you complete your Self Assessment...
Is it easy to switch to Xero?
For any creative there comes a point when your need to focus on finances grows, as one of our fab clients coined it, “the shit gets real”. At that point it’s vital you have a tech solution that you can use alongside your accountant or bookkeeper to get ready access to...
Preparing Your VAT Return – 4 Things To Remember
“VAT returns”... The two words that have the ability to make a small business owner shrivel with dread. It's one feature of creative business accounting that brings about confusion and panic before the process has even begun. After writing “how to prepare a VAT...
Common Tax Codes and What They Mean
Tax codes. They're frustrating. They're confusing. And to most people they can seem a downright bore. What do my tax codes mean? Am I being taxed the right amount? Am I missing out on potential benefits that I am not even aware of? That is why we have created this...
How Accountants Can Help Your Creative Business Take The Next Step
The route to success in any creative industry is a road rife with immeasurable enthrallment and gut-wrenching setbacks. Realising that you want your idea to go beyond a paying hobby to become a fully-fledged business endeavour is a brave step. With this leap of faith...
Five Best Underused Xero Features
Coming to grips with a new tech platform in any context can be a tricky task. Each and every virtual business tool comes with an array of alluring yet often confusing features these days. Therefore many people don’t feel the need to delve any further than the most...
Why We Love Being Creative Industry Accountants
As creative industry accountants, we often get asked why it is that we focus our services towards creatives. Surely that narrows your potential work opportunities? Aren’t creative industries some of the trickiest to manage financially? We appreciate that it may narrow...
Can I get help from the government to cover maternity pay?
You’ve just found out that your first employee is pregnant. Exciting! As part of your legal requirements as an employer, you know you’ll have to provide Statutory Maternity Pay, or SMP, to your employee for up to 39 weeks of maternity leave. This rule regarding...
My first employee’s pregnant, what do I have to do as an employer?
One of your employees has just shared the good news: they’re pregnant! While you couldn’t be happier for them during this exciting time, you’re also thinking about what this means for your business and what the standard employer responsibilities for pregnant employees...
Do I Need An Accountant If I Have Xero?
We couldn’t even begin to fathom how many times we have heard this question. In fact, in the UK alone, people type (verbatim) “Do I Need An Accountant If I Have Xero?” into the search bar fifty times a month on average. It’s fair to say that there are a few small...
Accounting Tips For Agencies Part 2
And we’re back! As previously mentioned, we love this sort of stuff. And equally, we appreciate that many creative agency types couldn’t think of anything more unappealing than organising the financial element of their business strategy. That’s why as experienced...
Is Xero Easier Than Quickbooks?
We understand that accounting can seem like a very daunting - and often dull - prospect for any growing business. Invoices. Tax. Expenses. It can seem a little overwhelming for even the most numerically astute business owners. That’s why keeping it all in one...
Accounting Tips For Agencies
Running your own creative agency is an exhilarating experience. Following a dream and setting out into the big (not always bad) world of business, with nothing to guide you towards success other than your heart and your head. Arguably nothing is more rewarding than...
What is Salary Sacrifice?
As a creative business owner you’ll no doubt be looking for the best ways to reward your team and yourself. That will include basic pay but also pensions and possibly other benefits (no we don’t mean the taco night or the office...
