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Date: 05/03/21  |  Author: Sean Toomer
VAT 0 Comments

What is Domestic Reverse Charge VAT? Does it affect you?

Date: 19/02/21  |  Author: Ben Steele
VAT 0 Comments

The VAT deferral payment scheme will be live on the 23rd February 2021. Read on for the main points.

Date: 05/01/21  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19 0 Comments

As we head into another national lockdown, here's a reminder of what support is available to small businesses.

Date: 18/12/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
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A poem by Sean Toomer.

Date: 14/11/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Accounts 0 Comments

It’s surprising how many people, even business owners, haven’t got a clue what us accountants do. Sure, most know we work out how much tax you have to pay, and like a good fiddle with a spreadsheet, but what should a good accountant be doing for you?

Date: 01/11/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19 0 Comments

Guess what's back? Back again? Lockdowns back! Tell a friend...Read on to see the available support as we prepare for our 2nd National Lockdown during the current COVID-19 Pandemic.

Date: 28/10/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19 0 Comments

The rules for the Job Support Scheme, which replaces the Job Retention Scheme, have now been released. Read on for the main points.

Date: 21/10/20  |  Author: Lisa Gilham
TipsEcommerce 0 Comments

E-commerce basically means selling stuff online from a website. This could be from a hosted website such as Shopify or Wix, selling any products - e.g. jewellery, clothing or tech stuff.

Date: 30/09/20  |  Author: Lisa Gilham
TipsSide Hustle 0 Comments

A side hustle (also called a 'side job', 'side gig') is something that you do alongside your current (usually full-time) job in order to make some more money.

Date: 16/07/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19 0 Comments

As part of the Governments support package to help the struggling Hospitality Industry is the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme, which pretty does what it says on the tin.

Date: 15/07/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19VAT 0 Comments

As part of measures to get the economy moving, our lord and saviour Rishi dropped the VAT Rate from 20% to 5% for the hospitality and accommodation industry as of today until January 2021. However, as with most things VAT, it's not as simple as it sounds!

Date: 10/07/20  |  Author: Lisa Gilham
TipsFinancial 0 Comments

Welcome to the one stop FREE shop of some tips to improve your credit score.

Date: 08/07/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19Financial 0 Comments

The Chancellor today announced a welcome host of new measures to help further support the struggling hospitality industry and small businesses.

Date: 06/07/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
TipsFinancial 0 Comments

I’m self-employed what benefit is a pension for me? Being self-employed it is more difficult to start the habit of saving into a pension than employed people. You have no-one to choose the pension scheme, no employer contributions and your income can be quite irregular to begin with. But you should start thinking about saving for your retirement and the quicker you do the better.

Date: 02/07/20  |  Author: Lisa Gilham
COVID 19 0 Comments

With the previous rules in place that restricted movement and effectively closed the majority of businesses being slowly lifted, we've put together some tips and advice on how to put your business back on play (but with a few changes like being not allowed to play loud music because when people sing, they tend to spit everywhere. You have to sit on different tables if you aren’t family - meaning that you have to shout, but you’re not allowed to shout. Sounds like our PM’s speech all over again - you can go out, but not out out, but stay in unless you have to go out out out out out).

Date: 01/07/20  |  Author: Lisa Gilham
Tips 0 Comments

If you've uploaded a Bill to your Xero via Receipt Bank, but you paid for it personally (on your personal card, cash etc), here's how to deal with it.We’ve written the steps here, so you don’t have to; put that notepad and pen away.

Date: 01/07/20  |  Author: Lisa Gilham
Tips 0 Comments

If you're using Receipt Bank and Xero to run your business, this quick post explains how to 'match' the Bills you're entering via Receipt Bank with bank transactions on the bank feed. We’ve written the steps here, so you don’t have to; put that note pad and pen away.

Date: 30/06/20  |  Author: Lisa Gilham
Free Stuff 0 Comments

Diverso has joined forces with Ingenio IT to give all Diverso clients FREE IT Support.

Date: 28/06/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
IR35 0 Comments

Contrary to popular belief, the rules surrounding IR35 are NOT changing. But what is changing, is who is responsible for deciding if your contract is 'inside' IR35 (bad) or 'outside' the IR35 legislation (good!).

Date: 15/06/20  |  Author: Lisa Gilham
Tips 0 Comments

Online meetings may be the way forward for the future - so why not learn how to perfect them now?With the current climate, the world is moving to more online based communication methods. This can be the case for many things - from interviews to client meetings.We're here to help you with this.Here's some top tips to help your success:

Date: 05/06/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19 0 Comments

The rules of the new Flexible Furlough Scheme coming into place from 1st July have now been announced.

Date: 12/05/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19 0 Comments

Good news for small businesses as the Chancellor has announced an extension to the Job Retention Scheme to the end of October and the first applications for the Self Employed Income Support Scheme goes live.

Date: 04/05/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19 0 Comments

With most businesses now either seemingly on indefinite pause or just about managing to trade on a significantly reduced basis, the announcement of the Bounce Back Loan (BBL) facility is a lifeline for small businesses who have slipped through the cracks with the governments other support packages.

Date: 27/03/20  |  Author: Ben Steele
COVID 19 0 Comments

Everything you need to know about The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme & furloughing your staff.

Date: 27/03/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19 1 Comment

Rishi Sunak has said the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will help 95% of those self-employed. We'll be the first to call 'bullshit' on that. Read on for more information on who is eligble for the scheme, who isn't, what's on offer and how to get it.

Date: 24/03/20  |  Author: Ben Steele
COVID 19 0 Comments

Given recent announcements, thousands, if not millions of people are being forced to work from home. Some perhaps even for the first time. These are some of our tips to help you actually get some work done instead of procrastinating like there’s no tomorrow.

Date: 24/03/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19 0 Comments

With the new rules in place restricting movement and effectively closing the majority of businesses, we've put together our tips and advice on how to put your business on pause and the kind of things you should be doing whilst it is.

Date: 23/03/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Free Stuff 0 Comments

We've partnered recently with Fluidly; cloud-based cashflow software which links to Xero and we're giving all clients access to a 3 month rolling cashflow forecasting software for free.

Date: 21/03/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19 0 Comments

Here's our second update on the Financial Assistance offered to small businesses during the covid-19 outbreak and when, and how, they're likely to get it.

Date: 20/03/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19 1 Comment

As the world seemingly desends into chaos, here's a quick update on what we know in terms of the assistance being offered to Small Businesses and when, and how they're likely to get it.

Date: 18/03/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
COVID 19 0 Comments

All small businesses are facing challenges right now.We'll be keeping you up to date as much as we can on how you can get your hands on Government Cash, what you can do to avoid a crisis and our tips for small businesses to stay alive.

Date: 12/02/20  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Financial 0 Comments

Employee Expenses are a pain in the ass. Employees lose receipts, random Excel sheets to track them and payrun cut offs mean they won't get paid for a month. Now there is a better way, with Soldo.

Date: 04/11/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
FinancialVAT 0 Comments

VAT can be tricky for small businesses and is often met with a negative view. However, there can be benefits to a small business registering for VAT if done correctly.

Date: 10/10/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

The Start-up Business Guide is a complete guide on how to start a small business, or what to do if you're already running one. Includes free workbook to complete as you go; to give you a fully working business plan.

Date: 10/10/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
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We now come to the end of our Startup Business Guide. I’ve put all the experience I’ve gained over my career as an accountant and business owner to create this guide which I hope can help as many small business owners as possible to avoid some of the mistakes I made and hopefully make a success of their business. I leave you now with my ultimate, top 10 tips for starting a business.

Date: 10/10/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
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As we mentioned in our first section, Can you Handle being a business owner, it’s damn tough. That’s why having a support network is vital to help you through it.

Date: 10/10/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
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By bookkeeping, we mean how you’re going to look after the numbers day in, day out, and how this data (the numbers) and the system you use to keep track of them feeds a vital role in planning and business growth.

Date: 07/10/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Free Stuff 0 Comments

The Diverso Team are super excited to announce our new partnership with Hybrid Legal offering Diverso Clients free legal guidance on all their business legal issues. Be it an issue with a contract, needing advice on an employee’s behaviour or a difficult customer who refuses to pay, Hybrid Legal are on hand to help Diverso Clients.

Date: 06/09/19  |  Author: Ben Steele
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‘Open Banking’ is a new regulation designed by the Competition and Markets Authority coming into effect 14th September 2019. In broad terms this means that your bank must let you share your financial information with other authorised providers.

Date: 03/09/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

How to save hours and hours eash week on your accounts by using the Receipt Bank App.

Date: 07/08/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

Generally, we only recommend one business structure and that’s a Limited Company. It has the most credibility, it’s agile in terms of owners/management and it’s usually most tax efficient. So that’s it, see you later. Perhaps we could explain more…

Date: 07/08/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

Branding? Isn’t that marketing? No. Your Brand is a set of values that encompasses your business as a whole; what you stand for and why you’re doing it. Your brand needs to be clear, easy to understand and consistent in everything you do.

Date: 23/07/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

Ah, business plan! What?! My sentiments exactly. But, the good news you’re going to hear from me is that you don’t need a business plan - or not a 40 page pile of rubbish full of SWOT and graphs in the traditional sense.

Date: 03/07/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

For the breakeven point in a small business startup, you don’t need a degree in economics nor do you need to know any complicated formulas. Just a bit of good planning and knowing your costs, which we’ll map out in this section.

Date: 03/07/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

Suppliers are all too overlooked as not being too important; you pay them, so they need to do as you say, right? Wrong. Suppliers can have a huge impact on your business and they are a vital cog in your machine that delivers awesomeness to your customers. They need to be cared for and chosen based on a number of key factors.

Date: 12/06/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

Over 500,000 new business start each year. One third fail within the first year and more than half within 2 years. The biggest reason is cash, or lack of. In most cases, this will be because of poor planning from the start. Cash is the oxygen of a small business and you cannot afford to not get it right - from the start. Most businesses that fail due to lack of cash, is because of poor planning within the startup phase.

Date: 29/05/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

I’ve seen many small business owners go almost crazy stalking their competitors, thinking of them as the enemy. This should not be the case. They are the reason you’ve created an innovative solution more attractive than theirs. It keeps costs competitive and ensures your customers get great customer service.

Date: 20/05/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

So, we’ve got an idea, we’ve done some Market Research and we’ve looked at the right Business Models. But who are we going to sell to and how? First, we need to establish who we are selling to, as that is likely to at least give a pointer on how we sell to them. That’s what we’ll be looking at in this post.

Date: 14/05/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

The answer is simple; right now! As I explained in my earlier topic, Can you handle being a Business Owner, starting and running a business is tough. Not can be tough, it is tough! When the time comes to make a decision on when you start, I guarantee you will be able to list at least 10 reasons why now is not the best time to start.

Date: 14/05/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

The vision for your business is a vivid mental image of what you want your business to be in the future, based on your goals and aspirations. Having a vision is important as it will give your business a clear focus, and can stop you heading in the wrong direction. Whether for you that means being a market leader, creating a world class company that operates across the globe, winning business/industry awards or just making a massive pile of cash.

Date: 14/04/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

First question - what is a business model? It’s not just a word a lot of people in business use to try and look smart. A business model explains what you’re providing your customers (relieving a pain, making life easier, fulfilling a need etc), why your solution works better than competing ones, how and when they pay for it, and how to maximise profits. Basically it’s how the whole damn thing works.

Date: 08/04/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up SeriesTipsFinancial 0 Comments

One of the most common questions we are asked by a business owner is ‘what can I claim?’. We summarise the main points in this blog post.

Date: 07/04/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

Market Research has been the reason for many lost hours, lost £’s and lost souls for budding entrepreneurs. It’s a task I believe is almost taken too seriously and has too much importance placed upon it. Make sure you don’t waste your time and, most importantly, budget on it.

Date: 06/04/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
FinancialTips 0 Comments

The minimum contributions you and your staff pay into a workplace pension will increase from 6 April 2019.

Date: 12/02/19  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Financial 0 Comments

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is the Government’s new initiative to move all business and personal tax affairs online. The first phase of this comes into play shortly for all businesses with a turnover above the VAT threshold of £85,000. For all VAT periods starting on or after 1st April 2019, businesses must now keep digital records and file their VAT Returns using compatible software, such as Xero.

Date: 05/04/18  |  Author: Ben Steele
Financial 0 Comments

On 1st April 2018 both the National Minimum Wage & National Living Wage are set to increase as per the recommendation from the Low Pay Commission.

Date: 18/05/17  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

The Diverso team would like to invite small business owners who are new to Xero to our training based workshop

Date: 18/05/17  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Financial 0 Comments

If you want your business to work smarter, faster and save loads time, cloud accounting software is for you. Working in the cloud gives you a better overview of your business, in real-time, and improves collaboration with your team.

Date: 18/05/17  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is the Government’s new programme to move all business and personal tax affairs online. This has been promoted with the popular tag-line of ‘The Death of the Annual Tax Return’. Although this statement sounds glorious at first, the proof of that is yet to be seen.

Date: 16/03/17  |  Author: Ben Steele
Financial 0 Comments

On 1st April 2017 both the minimum wage & living wage will increase. The Government’s goal is for the minimum wage to be £9 an hour by 2020.

Date: 14/03/17  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

As a big slap in the face for small businesses, here's our take on the important changes affecting you the most.

Date: 09/03/17  |  Author: Ben Steele
VAT 0 Comments

There’s a change to the VAT Flat Rate Scheme which will affect many businesses using the scheme and could potentially cost them thousands in additional VAT per annum.

Date: 21/07/16  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

This is a question that many potential entrepreneurs (I believe) take all too lightly. It takes a lot to be a business owner; you’ve probably heard different variations/opinions from different people on the good and bad parts of being a business owner, but one thing is certain; it’s damn tough. You’ll be faced with challenges you didn’t even know you were capable of solving and it takes real mental (and sometimes physical) fortitude to do so.

Date: 09/06/16  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

If you’re thinking of starting a business, you probably already have an idea. Not many decide ‘I want to start a business’ and that’s it and then try and create something. It’s backward. It’s usually an idea they have come up with, maybe solving a problem, creating something new, or simply doing the services of their own field of expertise themselves. Starting the business is the vehicle you use to fulfil that and it’s necessary.

Date: 19/05/16  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Tips 0 Comments

Our Client Focus allows us to feature some of our clients in more detail and allows them to showcase themselves to our other clients and contacts.This week, we caught up with Tom from Evolve Websites.

Date: 19/05/16  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Tips 0 Comments

The hourly rate has been around probably since the dawn of time. In this post, we’ll discuss why you need to stop charging by the hour, why it’s hurting your business and profits and what the alternatives are.

Date: 17/03/16  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

The New National Living Wage comes in to play as from 1 April 2016. This means those workers aged 25 and over will get a 'premium' on the National Minimum Wage. It's important you check all members of your team are paid above the new rates.

Date: 16/03/16  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Financial 0 Comments

The law on pensions has changed. Now, every employer with at least one employee has to provide their employee’s with a pension. It’s called ‘Automatic Enrolment’ (AE) because it’s just that – automatic. Employees do not have to do anything – but Employers (that’s you) do. Whether you’re a hairdresser, an architect or employ a personal care assistant, if you employ at least one person you are an employer and you have certain legal duties.

Date: 12/02/16  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

As you may well be aware, in the Autumn budget there were changes announced to the way dividends are taxed. We were all hopeful these would not stick, however, as no further announcement has been made, these are now likely to stay in place, and come into effect as of 5th April 2016. Whilst this means that many businesses will now face additional personal tax bills from next year, there are opportunities for those that take action prior to 5th April 2016.

Date: 22/10/15  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Tips 0 Comments

As companies grow, so does their difficulty maintaining standards. There have been many occasions clients have discussed with us employees who have crossed a line, or done something they perhaps should not and their response is usually to create a new restrictive rule that applies to all.But that’s where a company’s culture will be destroyed.

Date: 13/10/15  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Tips 0 Comments

There are 1,440 minutes in a day. Here is how the most successful people on the planet make the most of it.

Date: 05/08/15  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

Coming up with a business idea is easy. Coming up with an awesome business idea is totally different, and particularly rare. Trying to figure out the awesome from the pants is very difficult, especially from an inside only view. Here are 8 signs to look out for.

Date: 29/07/15  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Financial 0 Comments

Our top 7 tips on how to manage your cash effectively in your business to avoid a cash flow crisis.

Date: 17/03/13  |  Author: Sean Toomer
TipsFinancial 0 Comments

You’re Employee’s are everything to your business. Treat them right and you’ll make a bomb. Treat them bad, they’ll destroy you.

Date: 17/03/13  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Financial 0 Comments

An interesting, simplified look at the how the tax system works, explained in a manner we all understand; beer.

Date: 17/03/13  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Tips 0 Comments

Wherever I look, I see adverts, on Facebook, Google, via E-mail, post, all over the place, for so called Sales Gurus and Marketing Experts who brag about a new found idea that’s changing businesses overnight, increasing sales by a trillion percent or some crap (you must have seen them).

Date: 20/12/12  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

Ever feel de-motivated, lazy, or just a bit down? Watch this; it'll bring you back to kick-ass mode!

Date: 02/11/12  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Tips 0 Comments

How many times do people tell you that a business needs to stand out from the crowd, be unique somehow or talk about your unique selling points? Most go about this entirely the wrong way, usually on advice from others who have already wasted their businesses life doing exactly the same. There is only one way to achieve rapid growth and a lot of money. Be Remarkable.

Date: 02/11/12  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

I just read a book: 'It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be' by Paul Arden. Buy it (not a recommendation, just do it). It's bad ass. Here's a snippet that caught my eye.

Date: 21/09/12  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

People make money when times are good. People make money when times are bad. The Recession is an excuse for the weak.

Date: 14/09/12  |  Author: Sean Toomer
TipsStart Up Series 0 Comments

What do most people do? Most people go with the very basic; one dimension. All people care about is their clients/customers and don’t even consider the others. They put all their efforts into how they can make it better for their customers, how they can make it cheaper, how they can bring more value. They’re too ignorant to realise how ignoring the other things will mess it all up. If you’ve got an employee that isn’t happy, that’ll show to your customers. If your suppliers aren’t happy, they’ll give you a higher price, which means you’ll charge your clients more. 1D works, but doesn’t kick-ass.

Date: 14/09/12  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Start Up Series 0 Comments

As an accountant, I’m asked this question a hell of lot. There are a few reasons why you’d start your own business when you do:

Date: 01/08/12  |  Author: Sean Toomer
Free Stuff 0 Comments

The DiversoDream Team are taking part in a 12 Hour Football Marathon (5th August 2012) to raise money for Winchester & District Young Carers. To make sure we raise as much as we possibly can, anyone who sponsors us via our Just Giving page will go into a prize draw for the chance to win free accountancy for a year.

Date: 10/07/12  |  Author: Sean Toomer
2 Comments

Have you got spare cash? Do you have a tax bill each year? If yes to both, you could get a 50% reduction on your tax bill if you invest in a business under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme.

Date: 09/02/12  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

Are you a small business coming up to your year end? Here are some HMRC-Owning tips for you to think about before your end of year. It's important to read and take note now - most of these need to be implemented before the end of the year - leaving it until it has passed could be too late!

Date: 13/12/11  |  Author: Sean Toomer
0 Comments

Happy Christmas you lovely lovely person! As our Christmas gift to you, we've posted 12 of our best tax tips, free for you to use to help you save as much tax as possible. Enjoy!