Access Accounting - Blog

Government Green Bike Scheme Will Not Work

Access Accounting has always been keen to promote cycling to work. We have around a dozen staff that use their cycles - including three directors of the company. Over a period of time we've provided shower facilities, and a secure bike lock-up (AKA a big shed with a combination lock!).

When a member of staff suggested that we look at a Revenue scheme where we can provide bikes - and the staff would get a tax benefit - we were very interested. The essence of the scheme appeared to be that the company would fund the purchase of the new bikes and then deduct monthly payments from the staff who use them. The purported benefit is that these deductions from salary would be made before tax. Great - we thought ! But, like all good Government schemes - they are always more complicated than first thought.

These complications included that we would have to be licensed for credit, we would need to apply for a "Salary Sacrifice" scheme, and each employee would have to declare that their use of their bike to work represented more than 50% of it's use. We could, at a push, still handle all of that administrative overhead but the biggest dis-incentive was yet to come.

The scheme is based on a strict credit leasing agreement. This means that at the end of the period our employee would have to give the bike back to us, and we could then dispose of it at current market value. The employee would not get any recognition of the monthly charges that they had made. This killed the adoption of the scheme dead in its tracks. What employee would want to select their chosen machine, pay for it over 24 months, and not have any option of ownership at anything less than second hand market value. Similarly we, as a company, did not fancy entering the second hand bike market. This appears to be another example of the Government trying to play the "Green" card without serious intent.

Kevin Misselbrook

Vista Start Menu

This is article three of my four Vista blogs. I have spent some time looking at, and working with, Vista and have separated various new features into several different articles. In this article I am going to talk about the Start Menu.

Searching

The search bar in the Start Menu can really save a user’s time and reduces frustration when a file cannot be found - trust me it helps! You don’t have to worry about settings lots of options like you do in the Search window in Win XP either, which makes the whole process a lot quicker. The search will look for files, programs and folders, including control panel options. Users can also select whether to search the computer itself, or the internet.

Fig 1. The Start Menu, showing the search bar, screen tip and icon updates.

Pictures on Start menu

This feature sets a picture for each option, which appears in the top right of the menu. Not necessarily a huge leap forward in user interface, but I think it adds to Microsoft’s increase in user information. See Fig 1 for example.

Kirsty Lowe

Age Discrimination Legislation - Don't Get Caught Out

On 1 October 2006 the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations comes into force. The scope is wide-ranging, effecting recruitment, promotion & training opportunities,  as well as long service payments and redundancy payments. Payroll departments, no matter how large or small need to be aware that these regulations will potentially have an immediate effect on the payroll, and check that they can update their current payroll system in order that it is compliant with the changes effective from that date.  I've outlined below a synopsis of what the regulations entail:

Removal of the lower age limit for the payment of statutory payments

Under 16's will be classed as employees and will then be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) and Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), even though they are not currently liable to pay National Insurance contributions. For the payment of SMP and SPP, the removal of the lower age limit will apply to all women with a baby due on or after 14 January 2007. This may mean that average earnings need to be calculated from as early as July 2006. The lower age limit is also being removed in respect of Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP), however as UK regulations prevent anyone under the age of 21 from adopting this aspect is not an issue. As SSP is not currently payable for under 16's prior to 1 October, even if they are midway through a Period of Incapacity for Work (PIW), their entitlement will only commence from 1 October and waiting days will need to be served from the first qualifying day after that date, and all other current rules followed.

Removal of the upper age limit for the payment of SSP

Employees aged 65 or over will be entitled to receive SSP (there is no current upper age restriction for SMP, SAP and SPP). Prior to 1 October there is no entitlement to SSP if the employee is aged 65 or over, unless they reach their 65th birthday midway through a PIW, in which case the entitlement continues until the end of the absence, or linked absences. From 1 October if an employee aged 65 or over is absent which does not link to a previous PIW, and if all other qualifying conditions are met (e.g. average earnings exceed the Lower Earnings Limit for NICs),  then they would have an entitlement to receive SSP. If the employee has been off sick previously which would link to the new period of sickness, then the qualifying conditions as at the start of the first linked PIW must be reconsidered (excluding age). Where an employee is off sick straddling 1 October again the qualifying conditions as at the start of the PIW will need to be reconsidered, and if the employee was excluded on the grounds of age only, then waiting days will be served from the first qualifying day after that date and SSP will become payable.

With the 1st October fast approaching, time is of the essence. If you haven't already done so, it would definitely be a good idea to check your systems now!

Pip Trowles

Standard Audit File (SAF-T) for VAT

Well, we released the Standard Audit File sofware on 10^th August and I was expecting a barrage of complaints in the media along the lines of us supporting a “Big Brother” state. This Standard Audit File is part of an international initiative to allow tax authorities to take data from businesses in a common data format. This will then allow them to run tests and integrity checks on the data electronically to ensure that tax is being properly accounted for.

We are the first software company to release this in the UK and we had been geared up to defend our stance - but so far, all has been quiet. We did get some coverage in Accountancy Age and today we have had our first user enquiry about the facility.

In Holland, this type of system has been in place since the late eighties and is used by both the tax authorities and the accountants in practice.  Here, it’s adoption is likely to be slower with HMRC only just starting to promote the technology as one of the components within their new BSI specification for accounting software. I guess we’ll just wait for the interest to grow.

Kevin Misselbrook