Money is a very emotive subject. Money is also very psychological. We each choose how we spend our money. The more one earns the more one theoretically could and should save. The same is true of spending. In both cases, it is all relative.
The Time to Pay scheme was implemented set up during the recession to allow businesses to defer their tax payments. Over half of requests for rearrangement concerned less than £10,000 of tax, underlining the importance of the scheme to small businesses.
According to research by payment behemoth Bacs, Britain’s small and medium businesses are being bent over the proverbial barrel by large corporates, who continue to be the worst offenders in terms of prompt payments. According to Bacs, half of the UK’s SMEs have suffered late payments – the average payment period being a staggering 52 days.
One unfortunate side-effect of being self-employed is having to manage your own company finances. Nobody gets into freelancing to be an accountant (except, perhaps, freelance accountants), and chasing payments can be a colossal drain on time and morale. We’ve already published a straight-forward guide to getting paid on time, but what happens if your clients refuse to pay?
While people are increasingly being refused the option to defer tax payments via the Time to Pay scheme, one professional service provider predicts that the year ahead will see the highest levels of personal insolvency on record. RSM Tenon offer the stark warning after the last quarter of 2010 saw a 24% drop in insolvencies compared to the same period in 2009.
Joycellyn Akuffo | Lifestyle & Time out
Although it feels as if the worst of the economic crisis is over, and the outlook for freelancers and contractors is relatively positive, the emergency ‘austerity’ Budget is a stark reminder that the recovery is still fragile.
Should unemployment strike, it’s important to ensure that your self-esteem doesn’t go through the floor.
Jocellyn Akuffo is the founder of a website for working mums, and has some timely advice…
In this economic climate there are few letters which are worse to receive than a letter saying that your client has gone into administration or bankruptcy owing you money. But the number of these letters being sent out is on the increase. As a freelancer or contractor you will rank behind the banks, the Revenue and employees for payment and the prospect of getting money out of a company at this stage is remote at best. How then to stop your debts going bad?
