Author Archives: Gary Stoker

The Chancellor’s Budget includes changes affecting savings, property income, business disposals, payroll, pensions and the way tax is reported and paid. Some measures are new, while others confirm plans announced previously. Many will not take effect immediately, giving taxpayers time to consider their options. This update highlights developments likely to be of interest to individuals, […]

Could businesses benefit from greater software choice? The Competition and Markets Authority has announced a new investigation into competition within the UK business software market, raising questions about whether organisations have sufficient freedom to select, combine and change the software they use. On 16 October 2026, the regulator proposed designating Microsoft as having strategic market […]

Concern about energy costs among UK businesses has reached its highest recorded level since the Office for National Statistics began asking its current survey question in March 2026. According to figures published on 8 October, 72% of businesses expressed some degree of concern about energy prices, with the proportion rising to 91% among businesses operating […]

Cyber security is becoming an increasingly important concern for businesses of every size, particularly as criminals develop more convincing methods of impersonating suppliers, customers and senior employees. The Government’s announcement on 12 October 2026 of further measures to strengthen Britain’s defences against emerging artificial intelligence risks highlights the growing sophistication of cyber threats, although smaller […]

Small businesses considering taking on an apprentice have a new financial incentive to investigate following the introduction, from 1 October 2026, of a £2,000 hiring payment for eligible employers in England that do not pay the apprenticeship levy and recruit an apprentice aged between 16 and 24. The incentive forms part of the Government’s wider […]

When businesses think about recruitment, they can easily concentrate on attracting younger workers. The latest employment figures suggest there may be another group worth considering. Official PAYE statistics for August 2026 show that the number of payrolled employees aged 65 and over increased by 62,000 compared with August 2025. Over the same period, the number […]

Another significant change to payroll is now only six months away. From 6 April 2027, employers will have to report and account for tax on several common benefits in kind through payroll in real time. The first phase covers company cars, car fuel, vans, van fuel and employer-provided medical benefits. At present, many employers deal […]

Most business plans assume that things will broadly go according to plan. Unfortunately, customers, suppliers and the economy do not always cooperate. One useful exercise is therefore to ask what would happen if sales unexpectedly fell by 10%. The answer may be reassuring. Alternatively, it may reveal that the business has far less room for […]

Modern accounting software can give business owners access to financial information almost instantly. That does not necessarily mean they are looking at the right information. A dashboard containing turnover, bank balance and profit can be useful, but these figures may tell only part of the story. Consider a business where sales have increased by 10%. […]