I was quite excited when the opportunity of putting Boox together as a business was presented to me towards the end of 2010. I was looking for my next challenge and so the timing was perfect. I met my co-directors of the business and between the 3 of us, we realised we each brought something completely unique to the table. One was an entrepreneur who thrives on technology and the latest must have gadgets. I bet he was in the first 100 people in the UK to get an Ipad! Another came from a sound working background in the banking sector, but was keen to rid himself of the large corporate red tape and go into business for himself. Despite sunning it up around the world on a 2 year professional wind surfing circut, he has some pretty key connections that would help give Boox its competitive edge. The last, …
Blog
Jul
Jul
boox.co.uk
I come from a background reading boring legislation and crunching numbers so I had no idea what I was getting into when I offered to be part of the web team responsible for putting boox.co.uk together. I know we needed a website for our clients and our on line accounting portal (watch this space folks!), but how much work was really involved? We agreed that if we were going to do something, we were going to do it properly. Call in the Design agency, call in the Web Developers, call in the client facing accountants – we’re building a website. It’s amazing what can be achieved with the right people and the right enthusiasm on board. With a team of 5 to 6 very experienced individuals, from design and branding partners to technically skilled developers to our accountants who know what our clients expect of our service, we’ve put pen to paper and started developing our website. Keep an eye …
Jul
The Budget Speech and a few quirks
Posted by Andrew Halgryn Every March (or around Easter time) the Chancellor of the Exchequer stands up in front of the House of Commons to let the nation know what he plans to do with the country’s money in the next 12 months, and where he plans to get that money from. This is traditionally very boring, so here’s some interesting points to lighten the mood… 1. The word “budget” comes from the term “bougette” – a wallet in which either documents or money is kept. 2. The Chancellors are allowed to have alcoholic drinks during their Budget speech (and we trust these guys with the country’s finances!). 3. Traditionally, the Leader of the Opposition – not the Shadow Chancellor – replies to the Budget speech. 4. The longest Budget speech is believed to have been by William Gladstone on 18 April 1853, lasting four hours and forty five minutes. 5. …
Aug
A pinch and a punch
Posted by Andrew Halgryn A pinch and a punch for the first of the month. It’s incredible how a little sunshine put’s a smile on Britain’s face. The tourists visit, the bars are packed and contractors look forward to their ice cold Friday drink after a week’s hard work. Whether your tipple is a pint of the amber nectar or an ice cold refreshing coke, slug it back and enjoy the fruits of your hard earned labour! I always take this time to reflect back on the first 7 months of the year. How’s that personal To Do List coming along? And the goals for 31 December? Reflect, review and re-align (if necessary). Enjoy the summer! Boox
Aug
What’s in a name?
Posted by Andrew Halgryn So, you’ve got a new contract. You’re excited to kick things off and make the most you can out of it, so you decide to go Limited Company. You choose an accountant with a top notch service and he asks “Have you thought of a name for your Limited Company?” – There it is… bang… brick wall…stumped. What’s in a name? You’d be interested to know that over 1,000 new companies are registered in the UK every day, so names are getting fewer and fewer. Plus, your Limited Company name has to be unique. It’s like a website, once it’s gone it’s gone. You could try incorporate ’Microsoft UK Consulting Limited”, but you’ll have some pesky US solicitors knocking on your door before you hit the submit button! If you’re going to have a website for your business then it’s a good idea to search available URL’s first. A Limited Company is very likely to have a website …
Aug
Insurance malarky
Every week I’m truly amazed by the questions, forums and in some cases even other contractor accountants’ views on insurance for contractors and freelancers. 10 years ago we had the easy trio of PI, EL and PL (Professional Indemnity, Employers Liability and Public Liability) and all a contractor needed to do was to be sure they were covered under the relevant one. Now there’s a massive array of contractor insurances out there… one example is Office Insurance, to protect your office equipment if anything goes wrong. I can understand this might be a concern for the start up where funds are low and they’re pushing through the bowls of the J curve, but a) I believe we should really be using the cloud more and kiss goodbye to big expensive server rooms and b) basic desktop hardware really isn’t that expensive anyway! Don’t get me wrong, the right insurance is imperative to have, but don’t OVER insure. This is costly and …
Sep
A fresh month, a fresh outlook
Where has the year gone? We’ve had a great 8 months at Boox since 2011 started and we’re really excited for the run up to Christmas. We’ve got some exciting things planned… sshh! For now it’s a new month and I always say we should use the 1st day of the month to review where we’re at and look at what we want to achieve in the next 30 days. If I were a contractor the one thing I’d start getting my head around is my tax return. HMRC has this ‘paper’ deadline for 31 October. Where if you’re an old school contractor who doesn’t use an accountant and you complete your self assessment return on paper, then you have until 31 October to get it in. Most contractor accountants nowadays have some swish software that does all the number crunching and the return goes to HMRC electronically. But if you’re old school, start thinking about it. The …
Sep
Umbrella vs. Limited Company? Which is right for me?
At Boox, we frequently hear this very question. In the current economic climate, there has never been a better time to be a freelance worker or contractor. Many high earning contractors are considering working through their own personal limited company, thereby maximising their earning potential. However, is this really right for you? As contractor accounting specialists, we provide personal, impartial advice to all our prospective customers, advising them on the benefits and limitations of contract work, through a limited company. However, it is not always the right way to go. The limited company option requires more responsibility and commitment from contractors, as they become the director of their own limited company. Whilst we at Boox provide advice and guidance, to make this process as simple as possible, it does require slightly more work. However, this effort is usually rewarded with substantive tax savings, resulting in higher take home pay. If …
Sep
Choose the right contractor accountant
Are your business accounting needs in safe hands? Choosing the right accountant for your limited company is an important decision for an aspiring director. You need someone to advise you on how best to manage your business’ income and tax provisions (we are not all born with a calculator in our hands)! We hear many stories from customers of how they’ve been let down by their previous accountants or payroll providers. Complaints range from poor customer service through to unclear information and missed deadlines. If we at Boox were in their situation, we would feel frustrated as well. At Boox, we proactively engage with our customers, providing them with all the necessary information and advice they need to make informed decisions (e.g. tax planning and profit extraction). As specialist contractor accountants with a total of 8 years’ experience in the game, we know what you require to make contracting through …
Oct
Those darn banks!
I’ve recently worked closely with 4 to 5 of the UK’s high street banks and it never ceases to amaze me how each one can be so frustrating to work with. One bank will give you everything that you need within hours, but then has a terrible reputation for after sales service. If you have a problem after dealing with them, you just become a call centre victim. Another bank will give you exactly what you need, only if you jump through the flaming hoops and hurdles because they’re so riddled by their own red tape. If you’re lucky to find one that has a good combination of speed and service, then you get nailed on cost! How do you choose a bank in this day and age? Andrew














