Blog has moved

Firstly, apologies for the rather large time-delay in posting.  I am attempting to catch up!  You can view the new blog (which is being slowly updated) at www.happyaccountant.com
If you are linking to or blogrolling “The Happy Accountant”, please update your links.
Also, if you are blogging on a relevant or related topic (such as tax, spreadsheets, marketing, [...]

Figurate!

On a more personal note – the name of my own company is now Figurate Ltd.
The legal name change at Companies House was quite straightforward.  It took a little more time to communicate the change to my clients and bank.  However, what will take the longest is changing all the directory/advertising entries that had been set up [...]

Other Things To Do when Renaming your Company

People to tell: 

Your customers
Your employees
 Your suppliers
Your bank
HMRC (the tax man)
Professional bodies/trade associations

 Other things to do:

maximise the marketing opportunity
change your business stationery
obtain a new domain name and relaunch your website.
update all your advertisements

Change of Company Name by Written Resolution

The other method of changing the name of a limited company is by written resolution.
This is a resolution passed unanimously by the members (shareholders) of a company.  All the members are then required to sign and date the document.
A Change of Name by Written Resolution form (NC20) is also available for download at the Companies House [...]

Change of Company Name by Special Resolution

There are two ways of changing the name of a limited company, the first of these is by Special Resolution.
This is a resolution that must be passed at a general meeting of the company with a majority of 75%.  An ordinary resolution only requres a 51% majority.
A Change of Name by Special Resolution form (NC19) [...]

Renaming Your Company

It’s always best to chose a good name for your business at the outset , but in case you hadn’t, it is possible to change the name of a limited company after it’s registered.
You must first check to make sure that the new name you have chosen is available.  This can be done online using Comapnies House [...]

Working From Home and Time Management

I know it’s a cliche but  time management is even more important when working from home  to avoid an unproductive merging of work/home/family.  Here are just a few blogs on work/time management sites:
Time Management at Home
A Matter of Time
Mark Forster
 Pick the Business

Choosing an Accounts Package

I’ve recently been in the position of choosing accounting software, so this has been forefront of my mind.  This is a (by no means exhaustive) list of things to consider (in no particular order). 

price
functionality
ease of use/user friendliness
accounting knowledge
upgradeability
upgrade cost
ongoing support costs
flexibility
does it meet your legal obligations

Duties of a Sales Ledger Clerk

Some of the duties may be carried out by the Credit Controller, rather than the Sales Ledger clerk, if the company is big enough to have this segregation.  Again, this is only a generic description and some duties may not apply or may have been omitted. 

Match dispatch notes to customer orders
Produce sales invoices
Allocate customer payments to the correct [...]

Duties of the Purchase Ledger Clerk

This is a general list.  Some may not apply to all businesses.  Equally, there may be some things that I have missed off, but may apply, particularly to specific industries.

log all the purchase ledger invoices (either on paper or into the accounts system) that have been received.
match  invoices to the Goods Received Note (GRN) and/or [...]

Why use Accounting Software

The whole point of using accounting software is to make your life easier by saving you time and money.  Therefore, if it doesn’t and you can meet your legal requirements without it, you should question whether it’s worth the effort.
It should save you time because:

the whole process of bookkeeping should be faster (although setting up a [...]

Following the Trail of Journals

In doing a journal, it is important that it is cross referenced properly so that later, if you or your accountant needs to, you can follow the original “logic” for having done the journal.  Accountants refer to this as being able to follow the audit trail.  This applies whether or not you actually have your [...]