STANTA Community Update
`Read the STANTA blog here: smallbizguru.wordpress.com
In this issue all the latest events, dates and details:
- Legal and financial surgeries
- What help would you like?
- Networking opportunities
- Training
- The STANTA Community – how do I become a member?
NEWS
Are you keeping your books up-to-date? watch out for the tax man:
Inland Revenue has announced that they will be starting a new programme of inspections not as part of their normal random selection of businesses for full tax audit but just to check if they are meeting the requirement to keep books. If not, an immediate fine may be applied. So if you are not fulfilling this requirement, get started now - it is easy money for the tax man - a few minutes visit delivering a significant fine.
If you need help with bookkeeping, then why not attend STANTA's free bookkeeping course - in the New Year.
- And are you trading legally?
HMRC launches 'web robot' to search out tax cheats
Meanwhile, HMRC is to launch a new wave of tax evasion campaigns using "cutting edge" measures to identify people and businesses who are not paying the right tax. The new measures include "web robot" software that will trawl the Internet for information on those who are trading without telling HMRC. So far, some £600 million has been raised through campaigns inviting people to disclose unpaid tax voluntarily or risk greater fines if they are caught out later. Industries to be targeted in forthcoming campaigns include private tutors and coaches and those trading through e-marketplaces.
Improve your search engine presence:
If you have not visited St Albans District Business Directory, here's the link
Improve your web presence - Click here and make sure you are listed FREE on The St Albans District Business Directory.
Workspace:
There is currently several different sized suites available at Stanta Business Centre (suitable for 3-10 people). Click on the premises tag for price details.
Don't forget to visit the St Albans shopping website: www.shopstalbans.co.uk. This initiative from St Albans Chamber of Commerce will help both shoppers and retailers. Help us make the site a success by logging on yourself and telling all your friends and contacts about the site.
Useful Sites:
Tax payment a problem? Call HMRC's business payment support line for advice: 0845 302 1435.
Finance: look at the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme on Business Link: www.businesslink.gov.uk
Looking at supplying the public sector? Click on Supply2.gov.uk.
Need Specialist Help with Legal or Financial Issues?
Surgeries are free to Community members. See below to find out how to join. Here are the key dates:
- Our next Free Legal Surgery is Wednesday 14th December. The surgery is one-to-one and is held at STANTA Business Centre provided for STANTA Community members by S A Law. Please contact us if you would like to book a slot of up to 1 hour. (Surgeries are usually held on the second Wednesday morning of each month and are booked up quickly).
- Our next Free Finance Surgery will be set based on demand. Contact us if you are interested. It will be at STANTA Business Centre, provided for us by Lloyds TSB Bank. You can talk personally on a one-to-one basis to a banker about any area of business finance.
- St Albans Credit Union – the Credit Union can provide small (up to £5,000) personal loans to STANTA clients for their business and are happy to talk to STANTA Community members at STANTA Business Centre about how to go about securing a loan from any source, and all issues around business and personal finance. By appointment.
For any of the above, call Ginny at STANTA on 01727 837760 or e-mail advice@stanta.co.uk
What Business Help would you like?
If you have not already done so, let us know by completing the online questionnaire (our thanks to those of you who have). It will only take a few minutes and we are using this to look at how we might change our services to better meet your needs.
Want to get better-connected ?
Then STANTA can help with contacts with many local networking groups, and especially the St Albans Chamber of Commerce and St Albans Business Womens' group (which is administered by STANTA’s Ginny Cooper). Events coming up:.
- St Albans District Chamber of Commerce events: Details of all forthcoming events and to book on to any of their events, log on to the Chamber website: http://www.stalbans-chamber.co.uk/.
- Festive Evensong with Christmas Music: Wed 7th December at 5pm at St Albans Cathedrol followed by Mince Pies and Mulled wine in the Cathedral refectory
- St Albans Business Women's Group (SABWG). The next event will be be on Wed 1st February 2012 - lunch with speaker: Philippa Steel "Making better decisions and judgements in Business". For details about future events or how to join this networking group with a small annual membership cost, e-mail Ginny on: ginny@stanta.co.uk or call 01727 837760.
- St Albans Networking Cooperative is on Monday 12th - a Christmas party at Kashu. To find out more see the St Albans networking co-operative under groups on Linked-in or e-mail sabra@cercocommunications.com.
Other Events:
Federation of Small Business meet on the first Thursday of each month at the County Constitutional.
Contact Patricia Rowe on 07739 807755. E-mail: pmrowe@virginmedia.com
Don’t forget, seminars can also be networking opportunities - see Seminars section below.
- For details of other networking groups across the district, visit our website www.stanta.co.uk and click on the networking page.
Let's Talk Starting in Business
FREE business start-up and planning workshop run by STANTA in conjunction with Barclays and the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies. This is suitable for anyone who is thinking of, or has just started running their own business. These run from 9.15 am to 3.30 pm and cover the following topics:
- Sole trader vs limited company
- How to write a good business plan
- Sourcing finance
- Managing cash flow
- Taxation and VAT
- Marketing
We hope to run more Let's Talk seminars in 2012 - watch this space for details!
Free Half-Day Bookkeeping Course at Stanta Business Centre (free)
Tuesday 7th February 2012 at 9.3am to 12.30pm in the conference room
Topics to be covered:
- Manual / spreadsheet bookkeeping
- Bookkeeping software
- Legal requirements
- Internal benefits
- Profit and loss account
- Balance Sheet
- Bank reconciliation
- Year end
If you would like to book a place, send us an email: advice@stanta.co.uk
Watford Enterprise Agency Courses: Click on this link for Wenta's full list of training courses: http://www.wenta.co.uk/training-and-events
Computer Friendly will be running low cost courses in January and February in St Albans & Harpenden: :
Microsoft Word
Digital Photography
Introduction to Computers
Introduction to the Internet/E mail
Family History Course
Excel
Contact them by email: courses@computerfriendlystalbans.org.uk or log on to their website: www.computerfriendlystalbans.org.uk for a full list of venues and prices.
Training U courses: full details on their website:http://www.trainingu.co.uk/site/home/index.php
Courses in Word, Excel, Access and Powerpoint.
Planning Your Financial Future - Making business ownership work (Free!)
We hope to run this in the New Year.
Worried about the year end return, or handling payroll, or self-assessment? Tax doesn’t need to be taxing! And to prove it HMRC run a number of free workshops to help you get it right:
Becoming an Employer Thurs 2nd Feb Luton Thurs 1st March Bedford Newly self employed Thurs 1st Dec Milton Keynes Mon 12th Dec Luton Wed 11th Jan Bedford Mon 16th Jan Stevenage Tues 17th Jan Luton How VAT works Thurs 12th Jan Watford Mon 20th Feb Stevenage Business Expenses & capital allowances for the Self Employed Thurs 1st Dec Milton Keynes Wed 11th Jan Bedford Mon 16th Jan Stevenage Mon 23rd Jan Luton
Self Assessment Online Wed 7th Dec Luton Wed 14th Dec Watford Mon 16th Jan Luton Thurs 19th Jan Bedford
Call 0845 603 2691 to check dates and availability and book.
There are also workshops on International Trade, The Construction Industry Scheme, Calculating National Insurance for Directors, Paying Expenses and Benefits, Statutory Sick Pay and Statutory Payments.
How you can join the STANTA Community
If you are a pre-start business or in your first year of trading, you are entitled to a 45 minute introductory meeting at no charge where your initial questions will be answered. If however, you need further advice and a more in-depth discussion, there will be a charge of £100 which entitles you to a 2 hour one to one advice meeting and further meetings and telephone advice at no extra charge - until the end of March 2012.
If you are an existing client and in order to ensure that our one-to-one advice service can be available as required and not rationed, we ask for a single payment of £100 per annum for membership of the STANTA Community. And we are adding as many new benefits as we can for our members as you can see in this newsletter - free legal and financial surgeries, discounted training opportunities and low cost seminars. We will try to add other services: your feedback from our research (see “What Business Help would you like?” above) will help us decide what we offer in the future.
Stanta is an acronym for St Albans Enterprise Agency Ltd (Reg No 1789726), Stanta Services Ltd (Reg No 2202645) and St Albans Property Services Ltd (Reg No 4952442 - VAT No 842690024). All three companies are registered at Companies House Cardiff. Stanta, Suite 19 Stanta Business Centre, 3 Soothouse Spring, St Albans, Herts, AL3 6PF. Tel: 01727 837760. Registered Office: Gloucester House, 72 London Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 1NS.
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