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J A Neale

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We help you build your business systems and structures to work the way that suits your needs. Assis

Bookkeeping and payroll services for Sole Traders and Small Businesses around Cambridge, Newmarket, Mildenhall and surrounding areas using XERO Accounting Software and Receipt Bank.

10/09/2026

⚡ VAT ON ELECTRICITY BILLS IS CHANGING FROM 1 OCTOBER 2026

A little bit of good news as we head towards winter! 🙌

From 1 October 2026, VAT on qualifying electricity bills in England, Scotland and Wales will temporarily reduce from: 5% ➡️ 0%

The change will run until 31 March 2027.

🏠 For households:

You shouldn't need to do anything — your electricity supplier should apply the 0% rate automatically, including if you're on a fixed tariff.

🏢 And what about businesses?

This is where it's worth paying attention.

It doesn't mean VAT disappears from every business electricity bill.

However, some small businesses whose electricity supply already qualifies for the reduced 5% VAT rate can also benefit from the temporary 0% rate.

For example, electricity usage of no more than an average of 33 kWh per day / 1,000 kWh per month is normally treated as qualifying small-scale use for VAT purposes.

🔥 Important: this change is for electricity only.

VAT on gas and other domestic fuels remains at 5%.

So when your October electricity bills start arriving, it's worth having a quick check that the correct VAT rate has been applied — particularly if you're a small business already receiving the reduced rate.

Small percentage? Yes.

But every saving counts! 💷⚡

📌 Temporary period: 1 October 2026 – 31 March 2027

28/08/2026

Q3 ends 30 September. That gives you five weeks.

Five weeks is enough time to close the quarter in a position you are actually happy with, but only if you look at the numbers before the pressure builds.

Right now, the questions worth asking are:

What invoices are outstanding and when are they likely to be paid? What is the current cash position and is it moving in the right direction? What costs are landing in September that need to be planned for? Is there a VAT return due, and is the liability set aside? Is the overall Q3 position where it was expected to be?

Clear answers to these questions let you make decisions, chase the right invoices, manage the timing of payments, go into September with a plan rather than a hope.

The businesses that finish the year well plan the end of each quarter, not just the end of the year.

👉 janeale.co.uk/contact-us/

27/08/2026

October 2026 is when the next wave of Employment Rights Act 2025 changes land, and most employers have not started preparing.

Three things changing in October that every business needs to know:

The window for bringing employment tribunal claims doubles from three to six months. If any employment practices have been operating in a grey area, the exposure period now extends with them.

Employers must take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment, including harassment by third parties such as clients, contractors, and customers. For businesses in construction and property, this is directly relevant.

Every worker must receive a written statement of their right to join a trade union. This applies to new and existing staff.

Each of these requires action now, not in October when the deadlines arrive.

25/08/2026

If you only check three numbers in your business this month, make them these.

Cash position versus last month. Not just the balance, whether it is moving in the right direction and whether that movement was planned or a surprise.

Debtor days. The average time your customers take to pay. If this is getting longer month on month, a cash flow problem is forming long before it hits the account.

Gross margin percentage. Revenue minus direct costs, as a percentage. If this is drifting downward, either your pricing is not keeping pace with your costs, or your cost base is changing in ways you have not accounted for.

None of this requires complex analysis. But checking these three numbers monthly gives you genuine visibility, and flags problems while you still have time to address them.

24/08/2026

20 years in business. Still going. Still learning.

J A Neale was built on a simple belief, that bookkeeping should do more than satisfy HMRC. It should give business owners clarity. Help them make better decisions. Be a genuine part of the support system around the business, not just a year-end function.

Over two decades working with sole traders, SME owners, contractors, landlords, and property businesses, that belief has not changed.

AAT qualified. Xero certified. Award-winning bookkeeper. Specialist in construction, property, and CIS.

The businesses that grow with confidence are not always the ones with the biggest turnover. They are the ones who know their numbers well enough to trust the decisions they make from them.

If that is the kind of support you are looking for, I would love to talk.

👉 janeale.co.uk/contact-us/

21/08/2026

If your business uses zero-hours or casual contracts, now is the time to understand what is changing under the Employment Rights Act 2025.

The right to guaranteed hours is coming. Workers who regularly work consistent hours over a reference period will be entitled to a contract that reflects those hours. They can decline and remain on a zero-hours basis, but the offer must be made.

New rights around shift notice and compensation for short-notice cancellations are also coming.

For businesses in construction, property, and any sector that relies on flexible labour, this is a meaningful operational change. How you document working patterns, how your contracts are structured, and how you manage shift allocation will all matter.

The consultation on the detail closed 25 August 2026. Implementation is expected in 2027. That window is shorter than it sounds.

20/08/2026

Most cash flow problems are not cash problems. They are timing problems.

The money exists. It is in an unpaid invoice, sitting in stock, or tied up in a project waiting on a stage payment. The issue is that it is not in the account when the supplier bill, the payroll, or the VAT return arrives.

A rolling cash flow forecast, even a simple 13-week view, changes the picture entirely. You can see what is coming in, what is going out, and where the gaps are forming, before they become a problem.

This is not sophisticated financial modelling. It is a habit. A document, updated weekly, that tells you whether the next six weeks look manageable or whether action is needed now.

We build these with clients as part of our growth advisor work. The difference it makes to how a business operates is significant.

19/08/2026

From 6 April 2026, employers must keep records of annual leave entitlement and holiday pay for a minimum of six years — and failing to do so is a criminal offence carrying potentially unlimited fines.

This is not a new obligation in principle, but the six-year minimum and the criminal liability are new. The records must show that the correct amount of leave was given and that the correct payments were made.

For businesses with irregular-hours workers, zero-hours contracts, or part-year employees common in construction and property, getting holiday pay right is already complex. The new record-keeping duty adds another layer.

If you are not confident your holiday pay calculations and records are fully compliant, this is exactly the kind of thing worth reviewing before the Fair Work Agency ramps up enforcement activity.

👉 janeale.co.uk/contact-us/

13/08/2026

HMRC is writing to around one million employees this month about the low earner pension payment.
If you have staff on lower wages in a Net Pay Arrangement pension scheme, they may receive a letter. No action is needed from you as the employer, but your team may ask questions.

The short answer: it is a legitimate HMRC payment correcting a pension tax relief disparity. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to do.

But worth knowing before a team member calls you in a panic mid-August. 💜

10/08/2026

Do you know your gross margin percentage? What about your net margin?
These two numbers tell you whether your business is actually profitable, not just whether it is busy.

Gross margin is what remains after your direct costs. Net margin is what remains after everything: overheads, wages, tax provisions, your own drawings. If that number is shrinking month on month, something in your cost base or your pricing needs to change.

Most small businesses we start working with have never calculated this properly. They know their turnover. They have a rough sense of profitability. But the actual percentage, the number that tells you whether the business model is sustainable... often comes as a surprise.

Pricing decisions, hiring decisions, investment decisions. All of them should start from this number.

If you are not sure what yours is, let us work it out together.

👉 janeale.co.uk/contact-us/

Address

St Andrews Castle, 33 St Andrews Street South
Bury St. Edmunds
IP333PH

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+447566207786

Website

https://janeale.co.uk/

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