The UK Tax and Accounting Podcast from I Hate Numbers:

How do you see your business future, optimistically, pessimistically, or is the jury out? Whatever your outlook, you cannot afford to stand and be swept away by inaction.

In this episode of ‘I Hate Numbers’ I talk about looking at your business future in terms of growth and using the MCP approach to driving forward and growing your business. To be fair MCP is also needed if you want your business to stand still.

MCP is not some new medication or drug, MCP is shorthand for

• Mindset
• Capacity
• Performance

As words they mean nothing, or different things to different people. Let me give you a flavour of each, the podcast delves deeper

Mindset: It affects how we tackle anything, and spoiler alert, we need a combo

Capacity: Capability is another way to describe this, and no one business has it all.

Performance: Be less dog, do not chase your tail. Check & manage your progress

You need to set your own Northern Star for your business. Your Northern Star represents your business destination, your business goals.

MCP is nothing unless you know what your Northern Star is. MCP is there to help you reach that destination point.

It is largely in your hands as to how your business and financial story unfolds.

This doesn’t mean that prosperity is guaranteed, though that would be wonderful if I could guarantee that. However, not taking MCP on board gives you that edge, that extra opportunity.

Do not over stress if your business growth does not go in a straight line. All of us in business make mistakes, if you have not then you are extremely fortunate or telling lies.

Grab a coffee, make yourself comfortable, sit back and listen.

I love doing this podcast and sharing my love of Numbers with you. Check out the link to subscribe and do not miss an episode. Help me spread that Number Love by downloading it, listening, and acting!

• Understanding the MCP approach for your business growth
• Knowing that progress depends on a destination point and setting milestones
• Appreciating that MCP is not just a checklist and it’s perfectly natural that flip ups will, and do occur
• Developing your own Numbers confidence and decisions
• Take more control of your numbers to help make you money, survive and thrive

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast/id1500471288

https://play.google.com/music/m/I3pvpztpjvjw6yrw2kctmtyckam?t=I_Hate_Numbers

https://open.spotify.com/show/5lKjqgbYaxnIAoTeK0zins

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business–Economics-Podcasts/I-Hate-Numbers-p1298505/

If you are self-employed, you are basically your own boss. This was the topic of my podcast last week. Check it out if it you haven’t had a chance to listen to it, or need a refresher

In this episode of ‘I Hate Numbers’ I talk about tax and your self-employed business. I dive deeper in this week’s podcast and look at the difference and add some numbers.

Sole trader vs limited companies

There are approximately 3.5 million sole traders and 1.9 million limited companies in the UK alone. It seems right to look at these two ways to ruin your self-employed business, partnerships get a look in.

Tax and Choice of Business Structure

“Death, taxes and childbirth! There's never any convenient time for any of them.” - Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind.

You should not ignore tax when deciding which business structure. Tax is factor in your decision making.

Different business structures mean different tax consequences. The heavy lifting of reading the tax rules, how it works, how much and impact has bene done for you.

Being aware of how you are taxed, helps you plan for it, minimise it (legally of course) and not get caught out

What Next

Grab a coffee, make yourself comfortable, sit back and listen.

I love doing this podcast and sharing my love of Numbers with you. Check out the link to subscribe and do not miss an episode. Help me spread that Number Love by downloading it, listening, and acting!

In This Episode

• Understanding how the different taxes work
• Knowing the various taxes for sole trader’s and companies
• How you decide what is your best business structure for tax purposes
• Developing your own Numbers confidence and decisions
• Take more control of your numbers to help make you money, survive and thrive

Links

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast/id1500471288

https://play.google.com/music/m/I3pvpztpjvjw6yrw2kctmtyckam?t=I_Hate_Numbers

https://open.spotify.com/show/5lKjqgbYaxnIAoTeK0zins

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business–Economics-Podcasts/I-Hate-Numbers-p1298505/

When setting up a business one of the first considerations you will have to make is what business structure you should choose. The common options are whether to operate as a limited company, a sole trader, partnership, or a charity!

In this episode of ‘I Hate Numbers’ I talk about the options available for choosing your business structure (also known as business form), and how to decide. Mini spoiler alert if you are your own boss then you are self-employed!

Once a decision is made your actions will have consequences in a number of areas, including

• Your financial records and accounts
• Personal liability
• Taxes
• Raising money
• Tax planning
• Management structure and decision making

In most things in life and in business there are always options. That is no different when it comes to deciding on your business structure.

Many end up with a business structure by default, without thinking what is best for their business now, and for the future.

This episode lays down the foundations (excuse the play on words) for

• Options
• Features
• Decisions
• Money and taxes

Your business structure can change and evolve over time. You can even have differing types to suit how your business empire is made up, and where you are in your business cycle.

In my next podcast I get down and dirty with money and taxes. Different business structures = different tax consequences

Grab a coffee, make yourself comfortable, sit back and listen.

I love doing this podcast and sharing my love of Numbers with you. Check out the link to subscribe and do not miss an episode. Help me spread that Number Love by downloading it, listening, and acting!

• Understanding the differing types of business structure
• Knowing what each type of business structure has as its strengths
• How to decide what is suitable for your business
• Developing your own Numbers confidence and decisions
• Take more control of your numbers to help make you money, survive and thrive

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast/id1500471288

https://play.google.com/music/m/I3pvpztpjvjw6yrw2kctmtyckam?t=I_Hate_Numbers

https://open.spotify.com/show/5lKjqgbYaxnIAoTeK0zins

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business–Economics-Podcasts/I-Hate-Numbers-p1298505/

Your Future Business Story, shorthand budget, translates and converts your business story and action plan into financial terms.  Check out my previous podcast which talks about why your business plan is a smart way to map out your future story.

In this episode of ‘I Hate Numbers’ I am going to be talking about developing, producing and using your budget to help turn your business dream into a closer reality

Your budget is your 12-month footprint, that normally connects with your three to five-year business plan.

Budgets create accountability and targets.  Clear targets motivate people to high performance levels.  The numbers in your business are used to create a budget, a plan, an aspiration.

Budgets are your stories of tomorrow. They show choices, aims and objectives. Targets are typically shown in terms of money, i.e. income, costs, and profits.  Targets play their part in motivation and performance.

In this podcast I talk about starting with your business story and then using number Lego bricks to build the numbers you need to know.

Actions have consequences, and in the world of business, business have consequences for your numbers.  Sales and costs, profit and cash all come money in and money are affected by our actions.  Listen to find out more

“Your numbers are there to measure how well your business journey is going.  Use your numbers to translate your business story into financial outcomes.  If income is more than expected, and/or costs less expected then this is over performance.  If income is less than expected, and/or costs more than expected then this is under performance.

A cliched phrase is what ‘gets measured gets done’.  While we are talking clichés let us throw in another, ‘manage what your measure’.  When you start measuring and managing using numbers, performance improves.  Do not use any old measures, use ones that are controllable, relevant and meaningful to your business.

Numbers can be used to set targets.  If you have targets you can control and improve.  Be careful though, if targets are too tight and difficult then getting the best from your team will not happen. Looser, or easier targets, which have little motivational effect, will usually be achieved.

Grab a coffee, make yourself comfortable, sit back and listen.

I love doing this podcast and sharing my love of Numbers with you.  Check out the link to subscribe and do not miss an episode.  Help me spread that Number Love by downloading it, listening, and taking action!

• Understanding the importance of your business story to create your budget
• 
  
• Knowing how to assemble the key parts of your budget, using number Lego
• 
  
• The vital role that your budget plays in delivering your business vision
• 
  
• Developing your own Numbers confidence and decisions
• 
  
• Take more control of your numbers to help make you money, survive and thrive

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast/id1500471288

https://play.google.com/music/m/I3pvpztpjvjw6yrw2kctmtyckam?t=I_Hate_Numbers

https://open.spotify.com/show/5lKjqgbYaxnIAoTeK0zins

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business–Economics-Podcasts/I-Hate-Numbers-p1298505/

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” - Benjamin Franklin.  That saying applies perfectly to business planning, or as I like to see it, planning your business journey.

In this episode of ‘I Hate Numbers’ I am going to be talking about Planning your Business Journey, how to turn your business dream into a closer reality

Your business plan is a smart way to map out your future story. Lots of businesses do not bother writing one, then again lots of businesses do not survive and thrive. If you fancy running a business and making money, then have a listen.

If you would rather have a time-consuming hobby and chase your tail, then read no more. You hear business plan, and think it is only needed when you are after funding. You hear business plan and think a waste of your time and energy. You hear business plan and think what I need one for, I know what I am doing.

If that is what you think or been told, think again,

A good business plan makes sense of your jumbled-up thinking. A good business plan helps you focus, chucks that outdated thinking onto the rotting veg pile. A good business plan focuses the mind, brings clarity to where you want to take your business and helps you make money.

We need to consider the main building blocks to our business story, to our business planning.  We need a coherent and consistent story.  The main chapters, the main building blocks include

✅ Business Summary & Purpose

✅ Business goals and objectives

✅ Markets and competitors

✅ Sales and marketing

✅ Operations (not the medical kind)

✅ Your Numbers

✅ Risks

✅ Monitoring and accountability

“A Business Plan with no numbers & detail is like going to a restaurant that doesn’t serve food, it’s pointless”,

Your numbers for your business plan reflect the story to be told.  Numbers come second, get your story straight, overlay the numbers, edit, review, and publish.

Your business plan is there to help make you money, not run a hobby. If you want to make money, you need to spend, understand risk, control, and bring that money in.

“Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth.” Mike Tyson.

Your business plan is not cast in stone, you need to react and adapt to changing circumstances.  You need to grab opportunities that come your way, ones that you had not envisaged.  However, keep a focus, and do not be distracted by shiny business baubles.  Put in that sweat to get that equity.

Grab a coffee, make yourself comfortable, sit back and listen.

I love doing this podcast and sharing my love of Numbers with you.  Check out the link to subscribe and don’t miss an episode.  Help me spread that Number Love by downloading it, listening, and taking action in your business.

• Understanding the reasons why your business planning is about story telling
• 
  
• Knowing the key parts of business planning and how they fit together
• 
  
• The vital role that your numbers play in your business planning
• 
  
• Developing your own Numbers confidence and decisions
• 
  
• Take more control of your numbers to help make you money, survive and thrive

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast/id1500471288

https://play.google.com/music/m/I3pvpztpjvjw6yrw2kctmtyckam?t=I_Hate_Numbers

https://open.spotify.com/show/5lKjqgbYaxnIAoTeK0zins

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business–Economics-Podcasts/I-Hate-Numbers-p1298505/

“There is no such thing as luck. Luck is when opportunity meets preparation. Ice T “

In this podcast I talk about the steps required to migrate to Cloud Accounting.  Last week’s episode talked about how Cloud Accounting connects you more easily to your numbers, navigating your business present & future with ease.

Your mobile phone can double up as part of your Cloud tool kit, it also is useful for making calls!

The 3 stages to Cloud Migration, Onboarding if you want, are covered, these stages are

This involves

✅Agreeing on the applications to plug into

✅The people in your business to involve

✅The training and support required

✅What products, services and/or projects to track

✅The date to go ahead

✅The Cloud version that suits the business

This is where the heavy lifting part is carried out.  It is the transferring & setting up what your business wants and needs, and covers

✅Existing financial info

✅Customer & supplier records

✅Bank accounts

✅Meaningful account headings

✅Information Display Dashboard

✅Sales invoices and quote templates

All is ready for your new Numbers world to go live. Once that is done it's all about moving forward

• Knowing the stages involved in Cloud Migration, i.e. getting ready for Cloud Action
• 
  
• The part that your mobile phone plays in running your Cloud Systems
• 
  
• Using your Cloud Accounting system to help your business keep the cash wheels moving
• 
  
• Developing your own Numbers confidence and decisions
• 
  
• Take more control of your numbers to help make you money, survive and thrive

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast/id1500471288

https://play.google.com/music/m/I3pvpztpjvjw6yrw2kctmtyckam?t=I_Hate_Numbers

https://open.spotify.com/show/5lKjqgbYaxnIAoTeK0zins

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business–Economics-Podcasts/I-Hate-Numbers-p1298505/

Recording and Capturing your Numbers is a must do if you want to take your Business seriously.   Last week’s podcast looked at the how bookkeeping gives life to your financial and business activities – and helps you make money.

In this episode of ‘I Hate Numbers’ I am going to look at the options for keeping your financial records, the pros and cons, my thoughts and suggestion.

Watching paint dry, taking a cold sales call, or a poke in the eye with a sharp stick seems more enjoyable than dealing with, and recording your numbers.

Numbers make you accountable, showing you the impact of your successes and fu** ups.  To Above all, learning to love & use your numbers means you a better chance of making money, what is not to love Numbers have feelings & are the misunderstood actors that give life to your business script.

Recording and Accessing your Numbers comes down to basic choices. You can either go manual, which to me is spreadsheets (electronic pen and paper) or tap into the Cloud.   Each has their pros and cons, make your decision not on how big your business is, but where you want your business to go.

In the Business Number world Cloud Accounting is the new kid on the block. Born into the NetSuite family back in 1998, its only friends were large & rich business types. Smaller businesses just pressed their noses against the Cloud Window & looked enviously in. Face forward to 2010 and then accounting on the move came about.

Your business no longer must be chained to your desk to record financial data, & gain insight into your business story.  A decade later and the cosy club of Cloud Accounting has opened its doors, and adolescent businesses rub shoulders with businesses that are older and bigger.

When you have mastered numbers, you will in fact no longer be reading numbers, any more than you read words when reading books. You will be reading meanings.” W.E.B. Dubois.

Grab a coffee, make yourself comfortable, sit back and listen.

I love doing this podcast and sharing my love of Numbers with you.  Check out the link to subscribe and don’t miss an episode.  Help me spread that Number Love by sharing it this podcast and others with your network.

• Knowing the options for how to keep financial records
• 
  
• The pros and cons of Manual v Digital Systems
• 
  
• Understanding the power of Numbers
• 
  
• Developing your own Numbers confidence and decisions
• 
  
• Take more control of your numbers to help make you money, survive and thrive

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast/id1500471288

https://play.google.com/music/m/I3pvpztpjvjw6yrw2kctmtyckam?t=I_Hate_Numbers

https://open.spotify.com/show/5lKjqgbYaxnIAoTeK0zins

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business–Economics-Podcasts/I-Hate-Numbers-p1298505/

Welcome to today’s episode of I Hate Numbers where Bookkeeping is the topic. Travel back to Ancient Mesopotamia, Babylon, Assyria & Sumeria and you will see they have got their bookkeeping & accounting sorted. Documents from ancient Mesopotamia show lists of expenditures, & goods received & traded. Nearly 7,000 years later how records are kept has changed, however the reasons for doing so remain the same.

We take videos and pictures to capture moments that we will treasure for life. We do that so we never forget.  Your business may process 100s of transactions daily.  With all that going you cannot keep reliable mental notes. You need to make a record of your business financial events.

Bookkeeping is one business task that you cannot fully escape. Your financial transactions show what you spend, what you earn, the ins & outs of your bank accounts – note them, somehow. Information for all over needs to be recorded. Our paper receipts, e-mail receipts (damned you Amazon), and the ones keeping the office draw company

“In business, people with expertise, experience and evidence will make more profitable decisions than people with instinct, intuition and imagination.” Amit Kalantri .  An effective bookkeeping systems brings immense satisfaction, power, knowledge.

Business decisions should be based on more than instinct.  Instinct is useful, evidence is stronger.  In addition, you need to be aware of your profits or losses.  Bookkeeping gives life to your financial and business activities.

When you have your business engine ready, a decent bookkeeping system then your life can feel liberated. The power of this insight and knowledge is numbers gold

If you do not capture the moments from your transactions, then you have no number business story to tell. Financial records are words to our story. Those words show us how much money we are making, where the money is going, helps us figure out what our financial future holds.

Grab a coffee, make yourself comfortable, sit back and listen.  Start thinking about the many financial transactions that carry out in your business. We want to make calm out of chaos.

I love doing this podcast and sharing my love of Numbers with you.  Check out the link to subscribe and do not miss an episode.  Help me spread that Number Love by sharing it this podcast and others with your network.

• Why keep financial records
• 
  
• Capturing the words to your business story
• 
  
• Developing your own Numbers confidence and decisions
• 
  
• Take more control of your numbers to help make money

Welcome to today’s episode of I Hate Numbers where we talk about Break Even. Making profits is what your business should aim to do. The financial milestone before that is for you to break even. Knowing your break even gives you better business insights, greater accountability and helps you make more profit in your business.

Your business breaks even when your sales covers all your costs, neither a profit nor a loss is made. However, you can look at break-even for your whole business, or for your individual products and services. Listen in to learn more.

Figuring out and looking at your costs is the first step. You need to understand costs in terms of how they react and behave according to your business activity. In this podcast we revisit Fixed and Variable costs. We talk lemonade selling to illustrate break even, listen to find out more.

However, that is not all, break-even analysis can also show you how much profit or loss you can make at different sales levels. Break-even is your powerful business management tool.

Grab a coffee, make yourself comfortable, sit back and listen.  Start thinking about the costs that stay static and those that change in your business. Think about your own business break-even.

I love doing this podcast and sharing my love of Numbers with you.  Check out the link to subscribe and do not miss an episode.  Help me spread that Number Love by sharing it this podcast and others with your network.

• Why knowing your break-even is such a big deal ?
• 
  
• How to calculate your break even
• 
  
• Developing your own Numbers confidence and decisions
• 
  
• Take more control of your numbers to help make money

Welcome to today’s episode of I Hate Numbers. Knowing your costs makes you money, a statement of the obvious perhaps. The thing with statements of the obvious is we sometimes forget the business basics. In this episode of ‘I Hate Numbers’ I am going to take a real cool way to look at your costs and for you to get great insights into your business. I don’t mean whether they're naughty, or nice, but how they react according to what your business does.

Having a great product, customer focus, working hard, marketing, are all important.  Knowing your costs helps you with a lot more, including:

• Calculating your profit, current and future
• What prices to charge
• Your break-even
• Putting together your budget
• Controlling what you spend
• Which customers lose you money

Cost behaviour is all about how your costs react and change.  We need to factor in business activity to complete the picture.  Some of your costs stay the same, whatever your business does; some of costs change, based on what your business does.  Listen to find out more.

When you understand your costs more, you’ll inject oomph into your money making.  The power of this insight and knowledge is numbers gold

Grab a coffee, make yourself comfortable, sit back and listen.  Start looking at your costs and see if you can match make them to your business activity.

I love doing this podcast and sharing my love of Numbers with you.  Check out the link to subscribe and don’t miss an episode.  Help me spread that Number Love by sharing it this podcast and others with your network.

• Knowing your costs makes you money
• Why understanding your costs is a big deal
• Understanding what costs behaviour means
• Developing your own Numbers confidence and decisions
• Take more control of your numbers to help make money

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast/id1500471288

https://play.google.com/music/m/I3pvpztpjvjw6yrw2kctmtyckam?t=I_Hate_Numbers

https://open.spotify.com/show/5lKjqgbYaxnIAoTeK0zins

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/proactiveresolutionss-podcast

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/I-Hate-Numbers-p1298505/