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Article by GoSimpleTax

The new UK tax year began on 6 April, as it has for more than 225 years. As well as being the date when UK tax rules can change, it can also be a great time for sole traders and landlords to make simple changes that leave them better organised, more in control and better off. Even small changes can make a big difference. So, what improvements should you make?

1. Reconsider your prices/rent

Your costs are likely to have increased in many if not all areas in the past 12 months. And although you might be nervous about increasing your prices or rent, for fear of losing customers or tenants, not doing so will leave you worse off. Knowledge of your market should tell you whether you can increase your prices/rent and, if so, by how much. You also need to be mindful of how much others charge, because you must remain competitive. Customers and tenants may appreciate why you’ve put up your prices/rent. Obviously, there are rules regarding rent increases.  

2. Minimise your costs

Keeping a tight lid on your costs should always be a top priority. It’s essential if you want to keep your sole trader cash flow healthy or protect your landlord profits. Assess your current sole trader or landlord costs. All of them. Are you wasting money anywhere? Are you being charged too much by some suppliers? Could you be getting better value? Find cost-savings where possible. Try to negotiate better deals with your suppliers. If you’re a sole trader, set monthly spending budgets and stick to them, because spending too much can have disastrous consequences.  

3. Better organise your financial records

With Making Tax Digital for Income Tax due to be introduced, now’s the right time to start using accounting software. If you’re already using it, maybe you need superior accounting software that’s better suited to your needs. Get into the habit of updating your financial records more frequently. A “little and often” approach can make bookkeeping much less painful, while your figures will be more useful to you. Set aside time each week (month latest) to fully update your financial records. Use all of the time- and effort-saving features your accounting software offers. Record and categorise your costs and expenses as they arise (linking a credit/bank account to accounting software can make this really easy).

4. Start working with cash flow forecasts

When businesses fail, it’s usually because they’ve run out of cash and can’t pay their bills when required. The best way to try to avoid serious cash flow problems is to produce cash flow forecasts based on estimated likely future income and costs/expenses. Comparing the two enables you to identify times when you’re at risk of running out of cash, so you can do something about it now, when you still have time.

5. Put enough money away each month for tax

Suddenly being confronted with a tax bill that you can’t pay is literally the stuff of nightmares. It’s far better to put away a percentage of your monthly income (20%-25%) into a separate bank account, so that you have enough set aside to cover your tax bill. Government website GOV.UK has a free online tool that will give you an estimated Self Assessment tax bill based on the weekly or monthly income figure you enter. Accounting software can also tell you roughly how much tax you owe based on the figures you record.   

6. File your Self Assessment tax return sooner

Why not get your Self Assessment tax return done and filed much earlier this year? Who needs all of the hassle and panic every January, as the online filing deadline fast approaches? You can file any time after the new tax year begins on 6 April (each year, some 300,000 people file their tax return in the first week of the new tax year, almost 10 months before the online filing deadline). Filing earlier doesn’t mean you have to pay your tax bill any sooner, but it will mean that you know how much tax you owe much sooner, so you can budget and save to pay your bill when due. You may even be lucky enough to find out much sooner that you’re due a tax refund.

7. Find out about UK tax changes for 2025/26

Several important changes to tax rules will be introduced in April 2025 and some might affect you. These include:

• A rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions (NIC) by 1.2% from 13.8% to 15%. And the threshold at which employer NICs become payable will fall from £9,100 to £5,000, which many employers certainly won’t welcome.

• Thankfully, the Employment Allowance will become more generous. Currently, it enables businesses with employer NIC bills of £100,000 or less in the previous tax year to deduct £5,000 from their employers’ NIC bill. From 6 April, the allowance will rise from £5,000 to £10,500, and the £100,000 threshold will be removed, which will enable more employers to benefit.

• Some minor inflationary changes to Scottish Income Tax thresholds will also take effect from 6 April 2026.

• Voluntary National Insurance rates will increase slightly for 2025-26. Class 2 NICs will rise to £3.50 a week, while Class 3 NICs will increase to £17.75 a week.

• National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) increases will take effect from 1 April 2025:

• For 21 year olds and over, NLW will rise to £12.21 per hour.
• For 18 to 20 year olds, NMW will rise to £10.00 per hour.
• For 16 to 17 year olds, NMW will rise to £7.55 per hour.

• From April 2025, the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax regime will be no more. Income and gains from FHL properties will be subject to tax treatment in line with all other income and gains from property.

About GoSimpleTax

Simple, straightforward and designed to save you time and money. GoSimpleTax is a fully HMRC recognised online tax software for anyone who needs to file a Self Assessment tax return.

Get started with GoSimpleTax it’s free to try!

Starting or managing a business comes with many responsibilities, and with so much to oversee, it’s easy to misunderstand critical administrative details. A Director’s Service Address is one of these — an essential element for maintaining legal compliance. If you’re unfamiliar with this term, you might be wondering what it means and why it’s so important.

What is a Director’s Service Address?

A Director’s Service Address is the official point of contact for formal notices, government communications, and other essential business documents. It ensures that important paperwork is delivered securely and efficiently.

What is the Difference between a Director’s Service Address and a Registered Office Address?

While both addresses are vital for a company’s operations, they serve different purposes. A Director’s Service Address is where communications for the director are sent. In contrast, a Registered Office Address is the official address for receiving corporate documents, such as tax filings and registration papers, from government bodies.

Should I Use My Home Address as My Director’s Service Address?

Using your home address is not mandatory. However, many directors prefer to use a third-party service address or their company’s registered office address to maintain privacy. This ensures that official correspondence stays separate from their personal residence. For small businesses or entrepreneurs without a registered office, outsourcing this service can be a practical and efficient solution.

At MYCO, we offer a professional Director’s Service Address as part of our Registered Office and Director’s Services Address package. This service provides a secure, private address for receiving official communications. We handle all statutory mail from HMRC and Companies House, with options for daily forwarding (at £0.50 plus postage per item) or complimentary scanning and uploading to your client portal. This way, your personal address remains private, while your business stays compliant.

Why Should I Avoid Using My Personal Address for My Director’s Service Address?

Using your personal address as your Director’s Service Address exposes your private details to the public, as this information is registered with Companies House and available to anyone researching your business. This can compromise your privacy and result in unwanted mail or contact. Moreover, it can blur the boundaries between your personal and professional life.

What Happens If I Don’t Provide a Director’s Service Address?

Failing to provide or update a Director’s Service Address can result in legal penalties. Missing important communications may lead to serious consequences, including financial and legal complications. To mitigate these risks, it’s essential to keep your Director’s Service Address accurate and current.

Conclusion

A Director’s Service Address is more than just a formality; it’s a critical part of safeguarding your business’s legal and financial health. Whether you choose to use your home address or outsource this responsibility, it’s essential to ensure that your director’s address is properly registered. To simplify compliance and protect your privacy, our Director’s Service Address package offers a secure and hassle-free solution. Don’t risk missing critical communications—keep your address accurate, secure, and compliant today.

To learn more, click here.

Article Provided by PolicyBee

If you’re wondering, “Do I need professional indemnity insurance?” this guide is here to help.

But before we look at why your business needs professional indemnity (PI) insurance, let’s shed some light on what it actually is.

Professional indemnity insurance is there to protect you if a client claims you didn’t do your job properly. It mops up the costs associated with the legal process, pays any compensation owed, and – with any luck – upholds your reputation along the way.

You might think you’re immune to messing up, but we all do it from time to time. Even the most professional professional gets things wrong on occasion. Or someone gets it wrong on their behalf.

Even when you’ve done nothing wrong at all, but somebody says you have – you’ll need legal advice and representation. 

So who needs PI insurance?

You’ll need professional indemnity insurance if your business:

• provides professional services, such as expert advice, consultancy, or creative work like graphic design or web development,
• faces potential disputes over quality, negligence, or copyright infringement,
• is regulated by an industry body that requires you to have PI cover, eg RIBA for architects.

In other words, if your expertise and reputation are central to your business, professional indemnity insurance is essential.

How important is professional indemnity insurance?

Things don’t always go as planned. Subcontractors might mess up, delays might occur, or errors might happen. Even if the mistake isn’t yours, you can be held accountable. And clients can sue for the entire project’s value, not just your share, which makes the legal costs skyrocket.

For certain professions, such as architects and accountants, professional indemnity insurance isn’t just advisable – it’s compulsory. Even though professional indemnity insurance isn’t a legal requirement, regulatory bodies often require their members to have it. Especially in high-stakes professions where mistakes can have serious consequences.

For example, architects and surveyors are responsible for structural safety, while accountants and IT companies deal with sensitive, personal, and financial data. In these fields, mistakes can lead to significant financial losses, legal disputes, or even risks to public safety, making PI insurance essential to safeguard both professionals and their clients.

Most professional people are exactly that and do a grand job. Ironically, you need the most help when you haven’t actually done anything wrong…spurious accusations happen all the time and are ferociously expensive to fight.

So, how does PI help? Is professional indemnity insurance worth having?

What are the benefits of having professional indemnity insurance?

If you’re on the receiving end of a claim, regardless of its validity, it’s going to be emotionally and financially draining to deal with on your own. You’ll be confused about the legal stuff and worried about what’s going to happen to you and your business.

The only certainty is the sleepless nights, where you’re left wondering:

What happens if I don’t have professional indemnity insurance?

Can I afford a long legal battle? Or even a short one?

Will I have time to deal with this and look after my clients?

Who can I go to for advice?

What happens if I lose?

Your time, your money, your business, and your reputation – these are the things your professional indemnity policy protects.

How? Well, your insurer has two essential things that you (probably) don’t: legal expertise and deep pockets. It hands the legal stuff to its solicitors to prepare your defence and fight your corner. It pays their bills and compensates your client if needs be too.

You have to give them the stuff they need to help, of course, but otherwise you can more or less let them get on with it.

No eye-wateringly expensive bills. No legal action. No lost clients. No lost reputation. Just business as usual.

Still unsure? Here are 5 reasons why you need PI insurance:

1. We all make mistakes

All the will in the world, all the best intentions, and a shedload of knowledge and expertise go a long, long way. But they don’t make you perfect.

Sometimes the smallest of mistakes can lead to bigger things. Better safe than sorry.

2. Your Ts & Cs aren’t enough

Asking a client to sign a contract before you start a job and having terms and conditions written in is always a good idea. They set out the parameters of how you’ll work, what’s expected, and what’s not.

You can make them as feisty and as detailed as you like. Seemingly watertight even.

But if something does go wrong, your client won’t care two or even three hoots what your Ts & Cs say. If they’re left out of pocket and think it’s your fault, they’ll want you to pay. And who can blame them?

3. You have a duty of care

You may think the world of your clients and under normal circumstances, they might have a pretty high opinion of you too.

Building your working relationships on trust and transparency, with respect and good faith as the cornerstones, is a good thing. But if you think there’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a chat, a handshake, and a smile, you could be in for a rude awakening.

Respect and good faith alone will be worth nothing when a client’s asking why their project’s gone £50k over budget. Or why their new website isn’t generating the revenue you said it would. Or why they’ve got a big fine for filing a late tax return.

Clients trust you to deliver. Having PI insurance shows you’re professional, responsible, and prepared.

4. You’re in it for the long run

One of the best things about running your own business is being your own boss. If you work on a contract basis it means you’re able to get in, get out, get paid, and move on.

But your liability doesn’t just stop when your contract does. And mistakes can take weeks, months, even years to rear their ugly heads.

Contract length and timing is actually pretty irrelevant. If your mistake has cost your client, no matter how far in the dim and distant past, they’ll come after you regardless.

5. The numbers add up

Maybe you view professional indemnity cover as an expensive luxury. You could do without having to shell out for yet another monthly Direct Debit. (Interest-free, by the way.)

There are many, many more important things you could spend a couple of hundred quid on. That new iPhone, for example. Or a caramel latte every other day (don’t forget the croissant).

Besides which, if something does go wrong, you can call your solicitor for help. They only charge about £150 an hour or something…

Maybe professional indemnity insurance isn’t so expensive after all.  

The ultimate safety net

More than just a certificate and a ticked box, professional indemnity insurance is a brilliant mix of counsellor, legal expert, comfy sofa, bodyguard, PR guru, and exceptionally large money box.

So, really, do I need professional indemnity insurance? If you’ve read all the way to the end of this blog, the answer is likely: yes.

Click here to get your personalised quote with PolicyBee and get started today!