Author: Dean Duke

Scores of companies – large, medium, small, startup, and industry veterans – have upgraded to accounting software over the past few years.

In fact, the adoption of accounting software in UK is at an all-time high, with uptake figures soaring through the roof after the pandemic made remote working the norm, rather than the exception. A lot of organizations experienced the convenience of accounting software in order to keep the ball rolling as people moved to remote working, but now that they’ve had a taste, nobody wants to go back to work without it.

Haven’t tried it yet? Here are 5 super-convenient features of accounting software in the UK that you’re missing out on

Quicker, easier data entry

No matter what your business is or what sector you operate in, making your own time and your team’s time go further, is typically something business owners would like to say. That’s because employees are paid for their time and therefore, time is literally money.

With free accounting software in the UK you and your team can simply snap receipts, bills, and invoices, upload them to the software, following which the software’s Optical Character Recognition technology takes over. The OCR tech extracts all key data from the scanned document and presents it as a digital data entry that can be edited or copy-pasted as desired.

In addition, you can link your business bank account to your accounting software to allow data to flow seamlessly from your business bank account to your books.

Error-free data

Automation in data entry ensures the elimination of errors at the data entry stage. Moreover, a copy of the source document is retained with the data entry for checking and reconciliation.

Additionally, the software is smart and able to flag up any errors or anomalies in your data. Moreover, duplicate data entries – which create havoc when trying to make balances tally – are automatically purged from the system.

Easy access

Departmental heads, company bosses, and indeed decision-makers in any organization must have access to updated books of accounts to make sound decisions: everyone agrees on this.

However, in the past, updated books still meant last week’s or last month’s data. While this probably wasn’t the best way to run things it worked while everyone did it. However, today, with free accounting software in the UK becoming increasingly popular, companies that do not work with data as of now, could be left behind.

Since UK accounting software with free trials can be accessed via your phone and data flows directly from your business bank account to your books, you can have live, on-the-go access with free UK accounting software. Now you and your team of decision-makers can make fully informed decisions at all times.

Anytime anywhere collaboration and expense approvals

Accountants and bookkeepers – or anyone in the organization who needs answers – can reach out to anyone in the organization at any time for clarification on specific line data.

Expense approval is at-a-click and company bosses can add tiers to the approvals process in a process of delegation of such duties as companies grow.

Business insights

One of the most useful things a business can have is someone who is able to tell them where their supply chain leaks are, how taxation will affect their profitability in the future, which of their clients are actually profitable, and so on. However, businesses rarely hire someone for such a job. What would he or she even be designated as? The insights manager? Even if such a role existed, it would be hard to beat a computer at it because of its ability to process millions of data points at once.

You can get a trial free with UK accounting software and verify if it really is as convenient as people say it is. What are you waiting for?

As consumers, we like to be spoilt for choices. Be it shopping online for shoes or online grocery shopping or buying a mutual fund scheme, the more options one has the better buying decision one can make. Yes, even with mutual funds one has a plethora of opportunities to choose from. But for someone new to the world of mutual fund investing, knowing that there are thousands of schemes to choose from can be a bit overwhelming. Although mutual funds are easy to invest in, multiple schemes almost possess similar traits and one may end up investing in a scheme that doesn’t align with their investment objective and their risk appetite. 

To avoid this, prospective investors can do some basic research, understand the different schemes available, seek professional consultation if necessary, watch some informational videos and then make an informed investment decision. 

If you have heard about ETFs and wondering how they are different from other mutual fund schemes, this article aims to understand the major differences between these two.

What is a mutual fund?

A mutual fund is an investment vehicle that pools financial resources from investors sharing a common investment objective and invests the sum accumulated across money market instruments and various asset classes. Mutual funds aim to generate capital appreciation through diversification and try to offer risk-adjusted returns over the long term. Investors can buy mutual fund units at their NAV which is determined at the end of the day.

What is an ETF?

Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs are open-ended schemes that predominantly invest in their underlying benchmarks. Their investment objective is to generate returns by mimicking the performance of their underlying index with minimal tracking error. These funds invest in the underlying securities in the same way as they are held in the underlying index. These funds follow a passive investment strategy and do not have the active participation of the fund manager.

Mutual funds v/s ETFs: What’s the difference?

If you have decided whether you want to invest in mutual funds or ETFs, you can start your investment journey with SIP. Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is an effective investment tool that allow investors to save and invest regularly. One can also refer to SIP calculator to calculate the total returns that they will earn by investing in mutual funds/ETFs at the end of their investment journey.

When it comes down to it, household debt is a major concern for many families across the country. In the first quarter of 2021, household debt hit a record of $14.6 trillion in the United States, showing just how real of a challenge debt is for families especially right now. Paying off debt often means making some adjustments in your lifestyle so that you can pay off your balances, however, this process doesn’t have to be an incredibly painful one. With the advent of personal budgeting software and other tools to support your financial literacy, creating a plan and making the right spending choices will help you pay down your debt in no time. Check out some of these tips for cutting your expenses so that you save money and can put it towards paying off your debts.

1. Keep Track of Your Spending Habits

If you’re looking to save money, the first and best place to start is to make sure you have a thorough understanding of your spending habits. In order to do this, gather all of your credit card statements, debit transactions, bill payments, cash withdrawal receipts, and any other record of your spending. When going through your expenses make sure you’re considering sub-categories as well. Don’t just look at how much money you’re spending on coffee every day, but how much you’re spending on food outside of what you cook. This will help you get a realistic depiction of your spending habits so you know where to make some cuts.

2. Budget Planning

Sadly, most people don’t have the luxury to just spend with abandon and buy whatever they want. When your paycheck rolls in, it’s so important to have a pre-existing plan of where that money will go so that you’re not tempted to overspend when the cash influx happens. In order to make a proper monthly budget, there are tons of amazing budgeting software tools that you can use. Check online for personal budgeting software, budgeting templates, and useful budgeting apps. Some of these even include incentive plans for when you stick by your budget and achieve long-term goals, so make sure you do some brainstorming to find the right motivations for your needs.

3. Reduce Home Expenses

When you’re looking to save on bills, it’s important to not only evaluate your spending habits but also your living situation. For example, what are your common practices when it comes to electricity? Are you leaving the lights on? Running the AC all night? Keeping unnecessary electronics plugged in and operating? Cutting down on electricity bills can be a huge help in saving money to pay off debts.

It’s also important to make sure you’re properly evaluating the amount of your income going towards housing. The recommended amount by financial advisors is that 30% of pre-tax income should be geared towards housing. If you’re finding that number is grossly below your monthly housing bills, then maybe it’s time to re-evaluate some of those larger home expenses.

4. Re-Consider Subscriptions

When you’re reviewing your monthly budget plan and group everything into sub-categories, make sure to pay close attention to the amount of money you’re spending on subscription services. Things like media streaming such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Patreon memberships, food box subscriptions, and anything that you pay on a monthly basis that isn’t a necessity. When you’re looking to make cuts, take a hard look at these subscription services and maybe even do some ranking in terms of most useful to least useful. We often sign up for subscription services and then forget about them until the bills roll around, so it’s important to be thoughtful of what you’re paying for on a regular basis.

5. Cut the Take-Out

One of the largest expenses that many people incur when it comes to monthly budgeting is eating out and take-out meals. For those who live busy and active lives, finding the time to cook multiple meals a day can be challenging, and grabbing something from a café or restaurant just seems like the easiest option. If you’re looking to save money, however, then these expenses will definitely be a huge obstacle to saving. Instead of just resigning yourself to spending hours a day working in the kitchen to cut costs, try looking for some alternative solutions. For many people, meal prepping is a great option to make sure you have quick and affordable meals on hand throughout the week. Also, depending on how much money you’re regularly spending, a meal kit delivery service might actually save you money in the long run as well.

6. Pay With Cash

These days, it’s so easy to just tap and walk out of the store. Most people barely even look at their total expenditures anymore! Unfortunately, this mindset is not very conducive to conscious spending and can make it that much more difficult to track where your money is going. Instead of using your debit and visa card for everything, try using cash for your daily spending. This will allow you to tangibly see how much money you’re spending, and easily count how much of your budgeted amount is left.

While businesses are required by law to maintain financial books and records, individuals are not. However, not doing so is more likely to hurt you from an economic and tax perspective.

There are various reasons behind this, like incorrect credit card statements, due bills that may hurt your credit score, and overlooking some tax benefits. Therefore, it makes sense to keep track of your finances, and this is where a professional accountant comes into the picture.

On the other hand, hiring an accountant for personal finances might appear as an unnecessary expense. In the UK, failure to file a tax return attracts a penalty of at least £100, which professional accounting services can help avoid. Moreover, they will often save you more money than the cost of hiring them.

The best practice would be to find out more information about the accountant or accounting service provider to see how they can benefit you in managing your finances.

For example, if you’re in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, you can look up accounting for individuals in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and check for yourself the range of services offered. However, if you’re still in a dilemma, here’s a primer article to help you decide.

Why Should You Hire an Accountant?

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has set the deadline for self-assessment on October 5th, 2021, with paper tax returns and online tax returns set for October 31st, 2021, and January 31st, 2022, respectively. This means tax season is here and according to IRS reports the error rate for paper tax returns is astonishingly high at 21%.

It is often caused by overlooked details because of the complexity of tax laws. A trained accountant or accounting firm should be able to spot and address these small overlooked details.

Additionally, if you are an individual who falls in a higher salary bracket, an accountant will prove beneficial since your taxes will be higher. The UK has an Alternative Minimum Tax method, which ensures that higher-income individuals are taxed fairly compared to middle and lower-income households.

That means there are more tax deductions and rebates available to higher-income groups. An accountant would help you find these tax deductions, especially if you have multiple sources of income.

Apart from these, a dedicated accountant or accounting firm will also help you through an audit, major financial decisions, and achieve financial goals realistically.

Who Should You Hire?

Now that you know how crucial it is to manage your finances and have a financial advisor, you must know about various financial experts based on your requirements. Here are some professionals whom you can hire.

Bookkeeper

A bookkeeper is a professional that offers concierge personal finance services. These may include maintaining your financial records like balancing your checkbook or looking over your credit card statements. Typically a bookkeeper may or may not have special training, and as such, they are more affordable.

Accountant

An accountant is more qualified than a bookkeeper as they have a college degree in accounting and required training for financial accounting and bookkeeping. For this reason, they charge more than a bookkeeper.

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

A CPA is a finance professional with a college degree, a master’s degree in accounting, and certification from Certified Public Accountant Professional or CPA Professional UK (CPAPRO) or similar professional bodies. Most CPAs offer both accounting expertise and bookkeeping but delegate the latter to an employee in their firm. These experts are considerably more expensive than an individual bookkeeper or accountant.

Accounting Firms

Lastly, accounting firms offer a range of accounting services for a reasonable hourly or monthly charge. These accounting firms have a team of experts equipped with the knowledge to deal with whatever accounting service you may need.

These services include bookkeeping, self-assessment tax returns, tax planning, CIS returns, asset management, and more. Therefore, individuals can decide what accounting service they need help with and get focused expertise in that department.

Moreover, accounting firms typically have a team of experts with years of experience and skills. There are dedicated accountants to deal with a particular accounting service who do the same task day in and day out. For example, they will have dedicated bookkeepers, tax planners, and asset managers, to name a few. Therefore, you get expert advice and assistance, no matter which service you avail.

The takeaway here is that while hiring an expert for managing your finances might seem like an additional expense, it’ll save you more money in the long run. However, make sure to keep your finances separate from the accounting of any business you might own. For best results, integrate the personal accounting cost into the household budget.

After hearing so much about cryptocurrency in the news or social media, it is easy for people to get allured. But most people who are just starting out in the digital currency world don’t have enough capital. If that’s the case, then you might’ve heard about leverage trading in crypto. If not, then this blog will tell you everything about leverage trading crypto.

Leverage trading has become increasingly prevalent in the Crypto exchange markets. This tendency can be seen in the similar expansion of brokerage platforms that allow investors to trade with leverage. In addition, current and significant exchanges have lately changed their platforms to include it, or expanded their leverage allowance to match the rising demand.

What is Leverage Trading?

Leverage trading is also known as margin trading that entails borrowing funds in order to increase potential returns while trading bitcoin. When you trade with leverage, you have more purchasing power and can start positions that are much bigger than your current account balance.

Tips and Tricks For Leverage Trading Crypto

Now understanding leverage trading crypto can be a little overwhelming for anyone. Before dipping your toes in it, it is better to know more about leverage trading crypto. Here are some tips and tricks that might benefit you.

1. Always Start Small

A common mistake that investors make while trying their hands in leverage trading in crypto is to put in a tremendous amount of money with no knowledge. This is not the right approach. Recognizing the hazards of leveraged crypto trading and beginning small is the best approach to get started. Do not dive in headfirst. Keep your portfolio to a bare minimum.

2. Have A Game Plan

Without a plan, you’ll eventually lose in the crypto market. So always make a plan, as margin trading is a risky business. So it is advisable to consider all the pros and cons beforehand. Giving a significant amount of time on studying the market regulations can be really helpful.

3. Try Hand in Spot Market

You might have heard about the spot market which is nothing but the market where one can easily sell and buy assets. The point is the chart of the spot market is consistent and can be of significant benefit to learn more about leverage trading. Once you start making a constant profit in the spot market, you can try leveraging crypto.

4. Protect Your Capital

It is hard for people to resist the crypto market when they make early profits which can then lead to losses. So it is crucial to protect your capital at any cost. It’s important to make gains on successful transactions as you move along. Always take profits if you’re investing in leverage and assessing risk to benefit.

5. Quality Over Quantity

Always go for quality over quantity. This is a keynote. The desire to constantly trade is a common error by Crypto leverage traders. In margin trading, pursuing the market amid difficult conditions is not really a good idea. Always go with deals that have a fair chance of winning rather than losing.

6. Manage Risk

In trading, neither certainty exists, nor exists any assurance. As a result, risk management is critical for mitigating loss. Fundamental analysis is a powerful tool for reading price activity and determining the strategy.

That’s it! As of now, you are aware of what leverage trading crypto is and tips to get the most out of it. It is wise to learn all about cryptocurrency before dipping your toes into it, as it will help you make a profit and cut losses.