If you are looking to lease a van, then it stands to reason that you want to make sure that doing so will represent good value for money, as well as help you transport heavy or bulky items with ease. For that reason, it can be useful to know if leasing a van is tax-efficient.

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Good news for business owners

The good news for business owners looking to lease vehicles for their employees to use on the job is that it can make an excellent choice from a tax point of view. Read more about the benefits of leasing vehicles for your company here.

When you lease a van, you are allowed to reclaim 100% of the VAT spent on the rental, as well as 100% of the VAT spent on maintenance costs. And, if you are interested in van leasing Bristol, it makes sense to see what’s available from reputable providers such as Autolyne.

To stay in control of tax obligations for any vans being leased by the company, it’s important for business owners to keep monthly mileage records for each vehicle, to indicate which journeys were made for work or personal use, and if the fuel used for such personal journeys was reimbursed by the company.

Rules for employees

For everyone else, the rules on tax will vary depending on whether you are registered as a sole trader or an employee.

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Employees who use a van leased by their employer can qualify for a BIK (Benefit In Kind) tax, which is also commonly known as Company Van Tax. This is the tax that is applicable when you receive any advantages or perks outside of your regular contracted salary. This usually refers to any times that you may make use of company vehicles for your own personal use, and not when you are driving the van as part of your job. The rate for BIK tax is Ł3,170 for any type of light commercial vehicle, which, for a 20% rate taxpayer, would work out as Ł52.84 a month, or Ł634 a year.

Hiring is a strategic, complex process that requires an effective team. While hiring is about more than just publishing job ads, screening CVs and providing a shortlist of candidates, at its core it’s an organisational function that determines the strength and health of a company.

Recruiter

A recruiter spearheads the recruitment planning and overall process and maintains the lion’s share of communication with applicants throughout the interview and assessment stages. A good recruiter will use an efficient, well-organised system to streamline the entire recruitment process, from ad creation to candidate sourcing and evaluation. For information on a procurement recruitment agency, go to Talent Drive, a leading procurement recruitment agency.

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HR & Office Manager

The rest of the recruitment team is composed of various people depending on the company size and industry. There might be one dedicated Recruiter, or a larger HR team (HR Generalists and/or Head of Talent). HR professionals are responsible for the administrative aspects of recruiting – putting in requisitions, interviewing, disqualifying and/or moving candidates through the pipeline, sending assessments and ultimately making a decision on new hires. They will also work with the recruiter to help coordinate the recruitment process with other teams within the organisation, especially the Office and Finance managers.

Employee Referrals

Having an internal referral programme can be very effective and reduce the time it takes to find a quality candidate. However, it should be an added tool in your recruitment arsenal – not your only source of quality talent. Additionally, if you rely solely on employee referrals, you can risk building homogenous teams, as candidates are often connected to others who have similar backgrounds and career paths.

Job Boards

There are a number of job boards that can be useful for finding qualified candidates, such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor. When submitting jobs on these platforms, it’s important to include clear job descriptions and specific requirements to make sure you’re getting the right kind of candidates.

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Past Applicants

Keeping track of applicants who were rejected at an earlier stage in the recruitment process can be very resourceful. The best way to do this is by offering constructive feedback and providing a positive candidate experience.

Keeping track of the input versus output of your team will let you know when there is a hiring need. When an existing employee hands in their notice, or you are not able to meet a project deadline with the current headcount, it’s time to start thinking about new hires. Moreover, it’s good to keep up with the performance of your existing team and note any gaps that need to be filled.

No matter what business you are in or if you are running a leisure or Recreation site there is a  vital need to have an evacuation procedure in place should the worst happen.   The most common occurrence with such things is usually a fire risk.  Should the fire alarm be activated it is essential that everybody is evacuated as soon as possible and that everyone is accounted for who is on site or in the building.  This is why many businesses look to use a Visitor sign in system, like those from suppliers like https://www.ofec.co.uk/visitor-management-system-uk. These systems allow staff and Fire officers the ability to know that  all of the members of staff and public have been successfully evacuated from the property safely.

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With this system it means that safety is of paramount importance and will act as a protection for incoming fire service members.  The last thing that they will need to do is have to enter the building to ensure that everyone is out safe.

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If this means that you will need to work with your staff to create evacuation points outside of the building so that people can be accounted for when they reach them.  The best way to do this is to allocate space to different departments and teams so that everyone is organised into small manageable groups to be counted.  It also means that teams and staff have a location to head for.

USA is the country with the highest penetration of smartphones, with 66% of mobile users, according to the latest comScore report recently highlighted. This smart device accompanies us in our day to day, we use it to find information, compare prices, find leisure and entertainment content and, of course, access Social Media. 62% of users use their mobile almost daily to access their social networks. Continue reading Mobile and its impact on the reputation of companies and brands →

In case you have not noticed, the marketing has changed: it has become a “new world” in a new general state of things. Consumers do not like outdated marketing methods have been pushing broadcast on television, radio, newspapers and magazines. Consumers are reacting more positively to those areas where they can be more involved and interacting way. Not only that, consumers are now deciding how they want to receive our marketing messages.

Consumers choose where they want to receive your messages

Computers, smart phones and tablets have become stiff competition for traditional communication channels. Consumers are much more mobile.Reach them in their chairs while watching their big screen TVs is no longer the best way to reach them. The reality is that the vast majority are up to date through their computers or mobile devices, where they can from being at the time of the news, connect to friends through social networks, search for products or information of interest, and actually everything what do you need.

In a world where consumers are addicted to being connected with everyone everywhere, we as business owners have to make adjustments in our marketing strategies. Continue reading The metamorphosis of marketing, it’s time to tell good stories →