From 2017, each Autumn the Chancellor of the Exchequer publishes an Autumn Budget statement which details the plans for Government funding and spending intentions based on the economy of the United Kingdom over the upcoming year. Before 2017 the budget was released only in the Spring, which has now become the Spring Statement. The Autumn Budget can also contain information on planned changes to tax collection and taxation rules which would affect the country in the upcoming year, whether they affect companies or self-assessment individuals. Usually these tax changes are announced a year before implementation to allow for software providers and users to update their systems. The intended date for the 2019 delivery was the 6th November 2019. Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, wants a general election to be held on the 12 December 2019 which would require a dissolution of Parliament 25 working days before this date. To achieve this, Parliament would need to dissolve on the 6th November itself. Therefore, the Budget Statement for Autumn 2019 has been cancelled.

When referring to individuals involved in a limited company they are sometimes named as “persons with significant control” but determining who exactly is identified as having significant control. Significant control is determined by the shares owned by the shareholders; if a shareholder owns more than 25% of the shares or voting rights of a company they have significant control.

Not only does Xero offer bookkeeping services through its online software, there is an option to add a payroll chunk to the subscription for the business. Payroll settings can be adjusted through the regular settings on Xero and a first review of these settings is advised when starting the payroll system. Xero automatically posts payroll figures into the bookkeeping system once a pay run has been processed using automatic category codes which can be viewed by the settings option and should be checked to ensure the postings are correct.

You may have seen the Xero Advisor certificate and Xero Payroll certificate icons on the front page of our website; these certificates are not just given to online accountants when they sign up to Xero. The software itself has video lessons that can be viewed and are followed by a series of questions to ensure the information has been understood. Once these lessons have been completed, an email with the certificate is sent to the accountant for public display. There is a separate set of videos and questions for payroll which earns another certificate.