Business tasks to outsource

Price Mann • December 1, 2021

How we can make your lives easier.

As a business owner, you will find that few things in your line of work are as precious as your time – time that would be better spent doing something other than accounting. Many people come to us asking for help with tasks that usually result in time slipping through their fingers, because of their often onerous nature to the layman.

If that rings true with you, it might be time to consider offloading some of that work outside of your expertise in order to give yourself back the time you need. For those who might be uncomfortable with that concept, consider the fact that even we outsource certain non-accounting tasks which allow us to spend more time helping you. There is no shame in looking to lighten the load within your business. Here are some accounting tasks you should consider outsourcing to us and why.

Bookkeeping

The first rule of running a successful business is to keep accurate books. By this, we mean records of all your transactions, assets and debts. Doing this means you’ll know precisely how much customers owe, how much you owe to suppliers, how profitable your business is and how much cash is available.

This enables you to make better decisions that can lead to improvements in cashflow and profitability. We can become an extension of your business by offering a reliable, trustworthy and highly efficient bookkeeping service, giving you peace of mind that your finances are under control.

Company secretarial

‘Company secretarial’ doesn’t mean answering calls and managing your appointments for you; this service ensures corporate governance, administration and compliance with legislation, laws and regulations that govern companies.

Our company secretarial service abides by Companies Act 2006, while stringently maintaining records relating to the board, the company and its shareholders. We can take care of incorporating your company with Companies House, offer a registered office and service address for the directors to ensure your details stay out of the public domain. All correspondence comes to us in this instance.

By outsourcing these responsibilities to our experienced team, you ensure your incorporated business is following sound business practices and fulfilling your legal obligations. In our experience, company secretarial minimises risk of financial penalties for non-compliance, while businesses that outsource these tasks to us often save money on training costs and implementing technology.

Payroll

Around 1.4 million businesses in the UK had employees in 2020, and all of them have one thing in common: the legal requirement to run payroll. Running payroll eats up large chunks of time each month, with many processes involved to comply with legislation and pay workers on time.

Many of the UK’s medium and large-sized employers have their own in-house human resourcing teams that take care of payroll. But for the vast majority of small firms, those with 49 or fewer workers, removing this burden can free up time and resources.

Making deductions

Whether you pay your workers weekly or monthly, certain deductions need to be made from their gross pay packets. We deduct income tax, workplace pension contributions, National Insurance contributions (NICs) and student loan repayments from their gross pay before paying them on time.

Our payroll service complies with legislation to ensure your workers all receive at least the national living wage, which for over-23s is £8.91 an hour until 5 April 2022. These hourly pay rates are uprated on an annual basis.

Class 1 NICs for both employees and employers are increasing by 1.25% from April 2022. Not only will we deduct these at source, we will pay them to HMRC via PAYE on your behalf.

Auto-enrolment

If you have any staff who are aged 22 or over and earn more than £10,000 a year, they need to be automatically enrolled into your workplace pension scheme. Eligible employees must commit at least 5% of their pay packet, while you must contribute a minimum of 3% into their workplace pensions. However, workers can voluntarily opt out.

The national living wage is due to increase to £9.42 an hour for over-23s from April 2022, meaning a worker only needs to work for 20.4 hours a week to be enrolled. Our payroll service will identify staff who qualify for automatic enrolment, enrol them into your workplace pension scheme, deduct contributions from their pay, and pay those deductions and the employer contributions into the pension scheme.

Taxable benefits

Each taxable employee benefit you provide to reward or incentivise employees is calculated differently and can be taxed through payroll, assuming you registered with HMRC before the start of the tax year on 6 April. If you failed to meet that registration deadline, P11D and P11D(b) forms might need to be submitted to the tax authority for any member of staff who received taxable benefits. This helps HMRC calculate how much you need to pay in class 1A employer NICs, as well as how much PAYE tax is due from the employee on the benefit. This is then normally collected from the employee by adjusting their tax code.

Tax affairs

There’s no legal obligation to appoint us to take care of your tax returns, but it’s often better to let us handle it unless you fully understand your tax obligations and the penalties regime.

What’s more, the Government is in the midst of digitising all of the UK’s major taxes. Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT is already in play, MTD for income tax is due to take effect from April 2024, followed by MTD for corporation tax in April 2026 at the earliest.

That means you will soon need to implement MTD-compliant software in your business if you haven’t already done so, regardless of whether you are liable for income tax, corporation tax or UK VAT. We are ready to run you through your options, teach you how to use this software, and collaborate with you to ensure your taxes are paid on time, every time.

Self-assessment

If you’re self-employed, you need to file a tax return via self-assessment on or before midnight on 31 January each year. This is also the date by which you need to pay your tax bill. By appointing us to fill in and send in your tax returns, you will be in the best possible hands. We deal with numbers every day, we know the rules inside out, what you are entitled to, and how to reduce your tax liability.

Corporation tax

If you run an incorporated business, you will need to file a company tax return and pay corporation tax on any profits your company makes in its accounting period. We can also prepare your annual accounts, including all the paperwork, before submitting them to HMRC and Companies House to ensure total compliance.

VAT

All businesses with annual taxable turnover of more than £85,000 in the last 12 months need to register for UK VAT, and charge VAT on any sales of goods or services. This is a complex area of our tax system. We can handle VAT registrations, help you choose the most suitable payment scheme, and manage your returns in line with MTD for VAT.

Get in touch to discuss any of the above.

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Managing risk in your investment portfolio

By Price Mann • September 17, 2025

Managing risk in your investment portfolio Tips for a balanced investment approach. Investment markets rise and fall, yet the goals that matter to you – retirement security, children’s education, a comfortable buffer against the unexpected – remain constant. Managing risk means giving each goal the best chance of success while avoiding avoidable shocks. You can do that by holding the right mix of assets for your timeframe, using tax wrappers efficiently, and controlling costs and emotions. The 2025/26 UK tax year brings unchanged ISA and pension allowances. This guide explains the key steps, such as diversifying sensibly, rebalancing with discipline, safeguarding cash, and monitoring allowances, so you can stay on track whatever the markets deliver. It is an information resource, not personal advice. Start with a clear plan Define goals and timeframes: Decide what each pot of money is for (for example: house deposit in three years, retirement in 20 years). Time horizon drives how much short-term volatility you can accept. Short-term goals usually need more cash and high-quality bonds; long-term goals can justify more equities. Set your risk level in advance: Ask yourself two questions. Risk capacity: How much loss could you absorb without derailing plans (linked to your time horizon, job security and other assets)? Risk tolerance: How do you feel about market swings? Use a more cautious mix if you are likely to sell in a downturn. Ring-fence cash needs: Keep 3-6 months’ essential spending in easy-access cash before you invest. This reduces the chance of selling investments at a low point to meet bills. Choose simple, diversified building blocks: Broad index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) covering global equities and high-quality bonds provide instant diversification at low cost. Avoid concentration in a single share, sector or theme unless you are comfortable with higher risk. Diversification: Spread risk across assets, regions and issuers Diversification reduces the impact of any single holding. Practical ways to diversify include the following. Assets: Use both growth assets (equities) and defensive assets (investment-grade bonds, some cash). Regions: Combine UK and global holdings. Many UK investors hold too much domestically; global funds spread company and currency risk. Issuers: In bonds, mix UK gilts and investment-grade corporate bonds to diversify credit exposure. Currencies: Equity funds are commonly unhedged (currency moves add volatility but can offset local shocks). For bonds, many investors prefer sterling-hedged funds to lower currency risk. A diversified core helps the portfolio behave more predictably across different market conditions. You can add small “satellite” positions if you wish, but keep any higher-risk ideas to a modest percentage of the whole. Use tax wrappers to reduce avoidable tax and trading frictions Efficient use of ISAs and pensions is one of the most effective risk-management tools because it protects more of your return from tax. ISAs (individual savings accounts) Annual ISA allowance: £20,000 for 2025/26. You can split this across cash, stocks & shares and innovative finance ISAs. Lifetime ISAs (LISAs) are capped at £4,000 within the overall £20,000. Junior ISA (for children under 18): £9,000 for 2025/26 (unchanged). ISAs shield interest, dividends and capital gains from tax. Rebalancing inside an ISA does not create capital gains tax (CGT), which helps you maintain your chosen risk level at lower cost. Note: There has been public discussion about potential ISA reforms, but the current 2025/26 allowance is £20,000. If government policy changes later, we will let you know. Pensions (workplace pension, personal pension/SIPP) Annual allowance: £60,000 for 2025/26 (subject to tapering for higher incomes; see below). You may be able to carry forward unused annual allowance from the three previous years if eligible. Tapered annual allowance: If your adjusted income exceeds £260,000 and threshold income exceeds £200,000, the annual allowance tapers down (to a minimum of £10,000 for 2025/26). Money purchase annual allowance (MPAA): £10,000 for 2025/26 once you’ve flexibly accessed defined contribution benefits (for example, taking taxable drawdown income). Tax-free lump sum limits: The lifetime allowance has been replaced. From 6 April 2024, the lump sum allowance (LSA) caps total tax-free pension lump sums at £268,275 for most people, and the lump sum and death benefit allowance (LSDBA) is £1,073,100. Pensions are long-term wrappers designed for retirement. Contributions usually attract tax relief and investments grow free of UK income tax and capital gains tax while inside the pension. Personal savings: Interest allowances Personal savings allowance (PSA): Basic-rate taxpayers can earn up to £1,000 of bank/building society interest tax free; higher-rate taxpayers up to £500; additional-rate taxpayers do not receive a PSA. Starting rate for savings: Up to £5,000 of interest may be taxable at 0% if your other taxable non-savings income is below a set threshold. For 2025/26, that threshold is £17,570 (personal allowance of £12,570 plus the £5,000 starting rate band). Dividends and capital gains outside ISAs/pensions Dividend allowance: £500 for 2025/26 (unchanged from 2024/25). Dividend tax rates remain 8.75%, 33.75% and 39.35% for basic, higher and additional-rate bands, respectively. The annual capital gains tax (CGT) exempt amount , £3,000 for individuals (£1,500 for most trusts). CGT rates from 6 April 2025: For individuals, 18% within the basic-rate band and 24% above it, on gains from both residential property and other chargeable assets (carried interest has its rate). HMRC examples confirm the £37,700 basic-rate band figure used in CGT calculations for 2025/26. CGT reporting reminder: UK residents disposing of UK residential property with CGT to pay must report and pay within 60 days of completion. Other gains are reported via self assessment (online filing deadline is 31 January following the tax year; if you want HMRC to collect through your PAYE code, file online by 30 December; payments on account remain due 31 January and 31 July). Why this matters for risk: Using ISAs and pensions lowers the drag from tax, allowing you to rebalance and compound returns more effectively. Outside wrappers, plan disposals to use the £3,000 CGT allowance and each holder’s tax bands and consider transfer to a spouse/civil partner (no CGT on gifts between spouses) before selling where suitable. Bonds and cash: Interest-rate and inflation considerations Interest rates: The Bank of England reduced the Bank Rate to 4% at its August 2025 meeting. Bond prices can move meaningfully when rates are high or changing, especially for longer-dated bonds. Consider the duration of bond funds and whether a mix of short- and intermediate-duration exposure suits your time horizon. Inflation: Headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation was 3.6% in the 12 months to June 2025, while the CPI including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) rose by 4.1%. Inflation affects the real value of cash and bond coupons, and can influence central bank policy, affecting bond prices. Review whether your mix of cash, index-linked gilts and conventional bonds remains appropriate as inflation and interest-rate expectations evolve. Cash strategy: For short-term needs, spread deposits to respect Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) limits. For longer-term goals, excessive cash can increase the risk of falling behind inflation. Control costs and product risk Keep fees low: Ongoing charges figures (OCFs), platform fees and trading costs compound over time. Favour straightforward funds and avoid unnecessary expenses. Understand the product: Structured products, highly concentrated thematic funds or complex alternatives can behave unpredictably. If you use them, size them modestly within a diversified core. Use disciplined trading rules: Avoid frequent tinkering. Set rebalancing points (see below) and resist acting on short-term news. Rebalancing: Why, when and how Markets move at different speeds. Without rebalancing, a portfolio can “drift” to a higher or lower risk level than you intended. Follow this simple rebalancing framework. Invest in something that will rebalance automatically (i.e. certain ETFs) Frequency: Review at least annually. Thresholds: Rebalance when an asset class is 5 percentage points away from target (absolute) or 20% away (relative). Tax-aware execution: I prefer to rebalance inside ISAs and pensions. Outside wrappers, use new cash or dividends where possible; then consider selling gains up to the £3,000 CGT allowance and factoring in dividend and savings allowances. Implementation tip: If markets are volatile, use staged trades (for example, three equal tranches a few days apart) rather than one large order. Safeguard cash and investments with the right protections FSCS protection (cash deposits): Up to £85,000 per person, per authorised bank/building society group is protected. Temporary high balances from specific life events can be covered up to £1m for six months. The Prudential Regulation Authority has consulted on raising the standard deposit limit to £110,000 and the temporary high balance limit to £1.4m from 1 December 2025 (proposal stage at the time of writing). FSCS protection (investments): If a regulated investment firm fails and your assets are missing or there is a valid claim for bad advice/arranging, compensation may be available up to £85,000 per person, per firm. This does not protect you against normal market falls. Operational risk checks: Use Financial Conduct Authority authorised providers, check how your assets are held (client money and custody), enable multi-factor authentication, and keep beneficiary and contact details up to date. Currency risk: When to hedge For equities, many long-term investors accept currency fluctuations as part of the growth engine, since sterling often weakens when global equities are stressed, partly offsetting losses. For bonds, many prefer sterling-hedged funds to keep defensive holdings aligned with sterling cashflow needs. A blended approach works: unhedged global equities plus mostly hedged bonds. Behavioural risks: Keep decisions steady Common pitfalls include chasing recent winners, selling after falls or holding too much cash after a downturn. Tactics to keep you on track include: automate contributions (regular monthly investing), which spreads entry points write down rules (what you will do if markets fall 10%, 20%, 30%) separate spending cash from investments so you do not sell at weak prices to fund short-term needs use portfolio “buckets” in retirement. Retirement planning: Sequence-of-returns risk and withdrawals If you are drawing an income from investments consider the following. Hold a cash buffer (for example, 12–24 months of planned withdrawals) to avoid forced sales during sharp market falls. Be flexible with withdrawals: Pausing inflation-indexing or trimming withdrawals after a poor market year can help portfolios last longer. Use tax bands efficiently: Consider the order of withdrawals (pension, ISA, general investment account) to make use of personal allowance, PSA, dividend allowance and the CGT annual exempt amount. Take care around the MPAA if you are still contributing to pensions after accessing them. Putting it together: A repeatable checklist Confirm goals and time horizons. Check emergency cash (3-6 months). Map your target asset allocation. Use wrappers first: Fill ISAs and workplace/personal pensions as appropriate. Keep costs low: Prefer broad index funds/ETFs. Set rebalancing rules: Annual review + thresholds. Document tax items: Monitor dividend/CGT use; note 60-day property CGT rule; plan for 31 January/31 July self assessment dates if relevant. Review protection limits: Spread larger cash balances across institutions in line with FSCS; note proposed changes for late 2025. Schedule an annual review to update assumptions for interest rates, inflation and any rule changes. Get in touch if: you are unsure how to set or maintain an asset allocation you plan to draw income and want to coordinate wrappers and tax bands you expect large one-off gains or dividends and want to plan disposals or contributions you have concentrated positions (employer shares, single funds) and want to reduce single-asset risk tax-efficiently you are considering more complex investments. Wrapping up Risk management is not a one-off task but an ongoing discipline. By defining clear objectives, spreading investments across regions and asset classes, using ISAs and pensions to shelter returns, and reviewing allocations at least annually, you create a framework that limits surprises and keeps decisions rational. Document key dates – self assessment payments on 31 January and 31 July, the 60-day CGT rule for property, and the annual ISA reset on 6 April – so tax never forces a sale at the wrong time. Check deposit limits and platform safeguards for peace of mind, and keep a written record of your rebalancing rules to prevent knee-jerk trades. If life events or regulations change, revisit your plan promptly. A measured, systematic approach lets your portfolio work harder while you stay focused on the goals that matter most. Important information This guide is information only and does not account for your personal circumstances. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. The value of investments and income from them can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invest. Tax rules can change and benefits depend on individual circumstances. If you need personalised advice, please contact a regulated financial adviser. If you’d like advice on managing your portfolio, get in touch.