Microbusiness under pressure
 

Britain’s 5.3 million strong army of sole traders and micro businesses estimate they are spending the equivalent of 2.5 million working days collectively each month on managing their finances, a figure which could be a serious underestimation according to the Onepoll/Kashflow research.
 
As part of the study, KashFlow (www.kashflow.com) considered a list of 16 tasks that are part of the financial management activity for sole traders and microbusinesses – all of which, respondents said that they were trying to fit into less than half a day a month.
 
“Many could well be overlooking important finance management tasks, and the impact of non- compliance on small firms and sole traders should not be underestimated,” warns Oliver Shaw, CEO of KashFlow.  “Penalties being enforced for late payment and filing, or mistakes with a broad range of things including tax returns, statutory accounts to Companies House, PAYE, P11D and National Insurance, can have serious consequences for micro businesses.”
 
It’s a sentiment echoed by Roy Maugham, Tax Partner at UHY Hacker Young, “There is increasing pressure on small and mid-sized businesses to spend their time and money on systems to ensure that tax affairs are accurate and up to date.  Without adequate care, small businesses are at risk of being pulled up over minor mistakes or small disparities, which could incur disproportionately heavy fines and penalties.”
 
The research was carried out by OnePoll on behalf of KashFlow surveyed hundreds of sole traders and business owners with 1-9 employees in April 2017.