How to free up extra Christmas cash for your business
Too few small businesses keep unnecessary costs to an absolute minimum. Here are six ideas that might pay for a Christmas bonus.
![Lottery tickets](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gJBZfkiJeGWuw4Hg6zsnaW-415-80.jpg)
Too few small businesses keep unnecessary costs to an absolute minimum. Here are six ideas that might pay for a Christmas bonus.
Claim tax breaks
Many small firms do not realise they can claim valuable tax breaks. Consider tax credits for research and development (R&D): you can set anything you spend on eligible R&D against your corporation-tax bill, plus another 130% of the spending. This doesn’t have to mean conducting breakthrough research – the criteria are broad. You may qualify if you have taken a risk by attempting to “resolve scientific or technological uncertainties”. That might mean creating new products, but it could just mean changing what you currently do.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748-320-80.jpg)
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Bear down on bills
Too few small businesses shop around. It’s not just a case of finding the cheapest energy and broadband packages: the small-business price-comparison site smallbusiness.co.uk can help you bag cheap deals on items from card-payment machines to public-liability insurance.
Cut national insurance costs
Small businesses with a total employers’ national insurance liability of less than £100,000 over the course of the financial year can claim the Employment Allowance when making electronic filings to HMRC. There is the potential to reduce your total national insurance bill by up to £4,000 a year. You can also claim the Employment Allowance for the last four tax years if you have previously overlooked doing so.
Consider outsourcing
Outsourcing contracts don’t have to be the preserve of large businesses buying in large volumes of support services. The cost of recruiting staff is rising and small businesses often don’t have enough of some kinds of work to justify full-time roles. In which case, hiring specialist support as you need it can make sense. While you’ll know what’s core to your company – and therefore needs to be kept in-house – support services such as bookkeeping, digital marketing and payroll administration are often better delivered by an outside expert.
Move to the cloud
Renewing computing equipment is expensive: software goes out of date quickly and data-storage space fills up fast. With cloud computing, you rent space on a cloud provider’s network and can subscribe to software you need when you need it – as a service – and tap as much data storage as you require. Over time, the savings can be huge.
Grab a grant
There are hundreds of grants available from public sector bodies, charities and private companies. These range from the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s support for local economies to Innovate UK’s awards for new product development. And the devolved nations all offer cash too. The government’s Business Finance and Support web pages are a good place to start.
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
David Prosser is a regular MoneyWeek columnist, writing on small business and entrepreneurship, as well as pensions and other forms of tax-efficient savings and investments. David has been a financial journalist for almost 30 years, specialising initially in personal finance, and then in broader business coverage. He has worked for national newspaper groups including The Financial Times, The Guardian and Observer, Express Newspapers and, most recently, The Independent, where he served for more than three years as business editor.
-
Revolut finally bags a UK banking licence – what's next for the fintech?
Revolut has finally been granted a UK banking licence following three years of negotiations with the regulator
By Kalpana Fitzpatrick Published
-
Could Labour impose a “double death tax” of more than 50%?
Speculation is mounting that capital gains tax will be reformed in the Budget - and one option is to charge bereaved families the tax on top of inheritance tax. We explain how it could work
By Ruth Emery Published
-
Could the new Growth Guarantee Scheme help boost your business?
The new government-backed Growth Guarantee Scheme is aimed at helping businesses recover from the pandemic. Is it worth considering and are you eligible?
By David Prosser Published
-
Revolut founder Nik Storonsky cashes in – what's next for the fintech billionaire?
Nik Storonsky has shaken up the banking industry with Revolut. He is now preparing a new project that could do the same to the venture capital sector
By Jane Lewis Published
-
Is local production making a comeback?
Companies return production closer to home and shorten their supply chains due to the pandemic and geopolitical turmoil. How should investors react?
By Dr Matthew Partridge Published
-
French election: an unexpected win for the left-wing
The snap French election delivered a stalemate. What does this mean for the country's stability?
By Dr Matthew Partridge Published
-
Business owners watch out for capital gains tax reforms
If you plan to sell your firm, look out for changes to capital gains tax rules by the new government
By David Prosser Published
-
How businesses can cut energy costs and boost efficiency
Here's how small businesses can monitor energy costs even though they don't benefit from the Ofgem energy price cap.
By David Prosser Published
-
What could a general election mean for apprenticeships?
Labour and the Conservatives have competing approaches when it comes to apprenticeships and funding young workers. But how are they supporting small businesses?
By David Prosser Published
-
Is online anonymity a necessity for economic and political freedom?
Online anonymity can be abused by trolls, but it remains central to our economic and political freedom, says Dominic Frisby
By Dominic Frisby Published