Brain-frying IT course to zap UK skills crisis

Microsoft can now be learnt in minutes; Cisco in seconds.

Contractors' Questions: Do two opt-outs affect if I can charge interest?

Legal expert unties a contractor in a knot about rights and regulations.

Contractors' Questions: How to invoice while waiting for VAT number?

Tax expert answers a new contractor thrown off by HMRC's pay day question.

Moving from an umbrella company to a limited company

When, why and how to make the switch from brolly to limited. 

Contractors' Questions: Is my umbrella company ripping me off?

What comes out before and after is making one salaried IT contractor feel cheated.

PSC consultation 'due before May IR35 Forum'

Public sector PSC consultation 'due before May's IR35 Forum.'

How to Impress Your Boss

We all want to impress our boss.

It’s kind of in our genes to try to please the person in authority in our life.

We’d like our boss to like us and to consider us when special opportunities or promotions come up.

Of course, it’s not just your winning personality that’s going to get you that consideration.

So here are five ways to wow your boss at work.

Come Early and Leave Late

Nothing impresses a supervisor or manager more than seeing an employee get into work before them in the morning or stay behind after regular hours.

It may be true that in today’s working world extra hours are often par for the course in many occupations, but the boss will be appreciative if they see an employee, especially a new employee, make that extra effort.

It shows commitment to the job and to the organization when someone stays later to finish off a project or arrives a few minutes early to get a quick start on the day.

Employers notice this commitment and it seldom goes unrewarded when it comes time for bonuses, special recognition, or promotions.

Volunteer

Volunteering is another good way to get your supervisor to see your dedication and commitment to the organization.

People who volunteer for extra work after they have completed their own or offer to take on a difficult assignment become the go-to guys and gals of the organization.

It doesn’t have to be a lot, and it certainly doesn’t have to be all the time, but sticking your hand up every so often will bring a lot of benefits.

These include a smile on your boss’s face and often much more than your well-deserved pat on the back. Volunteers create their own buzz at work, and managers and employers love people who volunteer.

Take Responsibility

When things go wrong at work, many people just duck under their desks and pretend that nothing happened. Or that they had nothing to do with whatever bad thing just occurred.

If you want to get noticed in a positive way by your boss or supervisor, the next time there’s a screw-up, speak up.

Take your own share of the problem that has been created, acknowledge your part, and whatever else you do, don’t blame anybody else!

Even if it was almost all a certain person’s fault, it is not your job to lay blame or finger the culprit. This will only make you look weak and ineffective in front of your manager. You can talk to the other person later, but don’t publicly name them or their mistake.

Fix Your Own Mistakes

Speaking of mistakes, there is nothing that will make a boss glow like an employee who can fix their own mistakes. The first time you make a mistake you will almost certainly have to ask for help.

That is after all how we learn. But by the second or third mistake your boss would really like you to figure it out and fix it on your own. Once you master that you can work on not making the mistake ever again.

That will really wow your boss. Because that will mean that you are finally acting like an adult in the workplace, not only cleaning up your own messes, but making fewer of them as you learn and grow at work.

Ask for and Listen to Feedback

Some employees say that they’d like feedback on their performance at work, when in reality all they want to is to hear their boss say that they’re doing a good job.

That’s nice when it’s true, but from an employer’s perspective, they want employees to continuously improve at work, both in performance and productivity. The way to improve is to practice and to be coached in order to hone our strengths and improve on our weaknesses.

If you really want to wow your boss, then start paying attention when they give you advice and guidance, and go even further by asking for feedback.

If you listen to their suggestions and actually implement some of them in your work you will not only impress your superiors, you will be moving solidly into wow territory.

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We all have different ways that have helped us impress our supervisors. What has worked for you? Please share in the comments.

Contractors' Questions: Should I fight ex-client's 'no parking' policy?

Legal breakdown for a contractor written-off by a client who curbs cars on-site.

What's wrong with the Budget's PSC tax clampdown

Five anomalies exist, further to a long list of questions that HMRC needs to answer.

Salary-sacrifice employers urged to review

Act now while the government isn't, says PwC.

Public PSCs vow to quit over Osborne's attack

First potential deserters emerge, amid fears the private sector's next.

Disguised remuneration contractors hit for not caving in

Budget reveals a taxman 'desperate' to cash-in on those who refuse to fold.

Number-crunch looms for 'Ltds' planning loans

Budget tax hike on close companies favours dividends if you don't want to repay.

Contractors' Questions: Is my home a workplace for expenses purposes?

A trio of considerations face one IT contractor, just so he can claim for necessary travel.

Contractor sector assesses Osborne's damage

Collateral of Budget 2016 includes outsourcers and consultancies supplying PSCs.

Budget 2016: 13 changes, unlucky for some contractors

Overview of where PSC and brolly workers will feel Osborne giving and taking.

Budget 2016: contractors' personal finance review

Osborne says he wants to help some people keep more of their money; are you one of them?

Osborne targets public sector PSC contracting

Chancellor gives some PSCs a NICs let-off, but will still hit contracting as a whole.

Budget 2016 – chancellor's full speech

Osborne will 'act now so we don't pay later, putting the next generation first.

Contractors, are these 10 tax breaks helping you earn?

Soften potential blows in today's Budget by boosting your income with the following.

Osborne 'to overhaul public PSC contracting'

Chancellor tipped to shift the liability from worker to engager in a £400m tax raid.

Why Entrepreneurs' Relief changes are the lesser concern

For winding-up contractors, April looks worse than any March Budget reforms to ER.

Contractors' Questions: Is National Insurance pro-rata?

When it's deducted is the key NI difference between employees and directors.

Osborne urged to delay T&S legislation

Use Budget to end sticking plaster approach to contracting, say 55 MPs.

Contractors' Questions: How to handle scope creep?

When to know if that little something extra is too much.

Why contractors aren't cut out for IT roles

Outside IR35 contractors know to leave job titles at the door.

Contractors' Questions: Can I pay myself via a pension?

The lowdown for tax-savvy over-55s who want to earn through retirement funds.

Budget 2016: What looms for contractor finances

Contractors occupy too many financial positions to get off scot-free on Wednesday.

When the dividend tax bites is the real rub

Forget the how, what and why – it's the when of the dividend tax that'll sting.

Contractors' Questions: Should my CV include our company logo?

CV expert helps an IT contractor worried his design might distract.

IT contractor jobs index posts 31-month low

REC warns of scaled back recruitment in wake of April's tax changes.

OTS tables sole trader-style PSC reforms

Review likes the look and feel of the unincorporated, but wants safety like a ‘Ltd.'  

OTS small company tax review – main points

At-a-glance: the tax unit's most important major and minor recommendations.

Contractors' Questions: Which expenses are outside the T&S rules?

Law firm pinpoints what is and isn't claimable post-April.

Contractors' Questions: Will the 24-month rule catch my trip to client's HQ?

Meeting his client is an allowable expense for one IT contractor, even once T&S tax relief is restricted.

'Rogue SMEs' raising your risk of VAT investigation

Hardcore of tax dodgers blamed for genuine oversights triggering HMRC inspections.

5 Common Snags Costing Your Business Efficiency

Running a business isn’t for the faint of heart. Maybe you’ve already solved some huge company challenges like creating a compelling brand, or developing products your consumers love – but in the business world, there’s always fat to trim and processes to improve upon. Operational problems and inefficiencies will always exist in some form or another, but it’s all about getting to the root of the problem.

Keep reading below to see if these five common snags are costing your business precious efficiency.

A Freewheeling Sales Department

Depending on what you sell and to whom, your sales department could function in any number of ways. You could have a bunch of senior guys working to win big accounts over time or you could have a room full of eager youngsters pounding the phones for the next promising lead. However, in any environment, you need to make sure you have a handle on your sales team.

A common problem plaguing organizations of all sizes is when sales people go “rogue.” Instead of pitches and pricing communicated uniformly across the board, suddenly every pitch is completely different, and pricing comes down to the particular negotiation between the salesperson and potential client. Non-uniform sales processes can hurt your organization by overpromising to clients, leave you less margin for profits, and in general creates a case-by-case basis of promises and expectations your company will ultimately have to live up to in order to keep that client’s business. Every step of the sales process, from initial reach out to getting that SOW signed, should be formulaic. Don’t give your sales team the liberty to waver on pricing or customize orders at their discretion.

Poor Inventory and Order Management Insight

Sales people work on commission, thus it’s understandable they can at times be blinded in trying to close a deal, so much so that they sell inventory without confirming the order can be fulfilled. Develop a system in place so that your sales team always knows an accurate count of in-stock product. This will help avoid backorders and annoying your customer with a delay in shipping they were never told about.

One effective way to eliminate miscommunications is to employ a order to cash software system offered by providers like Kenandy. Instead of selling product hoping it’s in stock or that the latest inventory spreadsheet is correct, you’ll have a real-time comprehensive solution giving you insight on current inventory, production schedules and estimated shipping fulfillment. Your sales people get to sell stuff they’ll actually make timely commission on and your customers won’t be misled. When your order management system isn’t automated, minor (or major) kinks will pop up throughout the cycle, leading to delayed billing and an unsteady cash flow.   

Operations in Silos

A well-oiled business doesn’t operate in silos. Your sales team should know what’s going on in the warehouse just as your marketing team should be well aware of how your sales team is communicating to prospective clients. When information is free flowing and accessible to all less mistakes are made and priorities become aligned. Instead of department heads and managers fighting over their respective agendas, all teams can come together for the betterment of the company. If your company is stuck in the silo muck, consider taking a look at your leadership team to see if an ego or two is getting in the way of unified productivity. When there’s transparency and agreed-upon goals among the various departments of your business, employees spend less time cross checking different platforms and talking in circles about issues with no clear solution in sight.

Too Much Email

Even if you consider yourself to be a light email user, you’re still probably using it too much. Email, while fast and convenient, is dangerous in being too fast and convenient: when we’re curious about something we rifle off an email instead of having a two-minute chat with the person of interest. Rex Huppke wrote in a Chicago Tribune piece last year that, “with email, consider how many times the tone of a note has been misinterpreted. Or how a simple question has led to a lengthy back-and-froth of additional questions and clarifications.” This is the reality plaguing organizations of all sizes across the globe.

According to a survey from WorkFront and conducted by Harris Poll, U.S. employees spend about 15 percent of their work week in email. While that number doesn’t jump out as excessive, that’s not even factoring in-person meetings and other administrative tasks. Even widespread remote teams could lay off the email, turning to video conferencing services that get both parties in front of each other to solve issues instead of relying on ambiguous email exchanges. Having a daily SCRUM or weekly status meeting with your team never hurts to clear up confusion and eliminate trickling emails throughout the week either – just be sure to keep the conversation on track.

Too Many Meetings

We’re overly reliant with meetings just as we are with email. The same Harris poll referenced above found that employees spend an astounding 40 percent of their work week in meetings. With so much room allocated toward discussion, how’s any work supposed to get done? When the time spent emailing and conducting meetings are combined, it equates to half the hours in a work week. That leaves only 45 percent of weekly work hours for actual job duties, and that’s not even factoring in breaks and time spent switching between tasks! What’s worse is many meeting fanatics sandwich half hour or hour blocks in between meetings so they can refocus their energy, leaving your workday idle amidst discussions that may or may not have been productive. According to research from a study conducted by the University of California Irvine, it takes workers 25 minutes to refocus after they’ve been interrupted by something. Think about that the next time you get dragged away to another meeting.

Contractors' advisers size up Budget 2016

At least on IR35, what one expert wants to see on March 16th is what they expect to see.

Contractors' Questions: Is not using consecutive invoice numbers risky?

Client fears over status seem to lurk at the bottom of an odd invoicing request.

Contractors' Questions: When can I go direct-to-client?

Legal points for a contractor with a client who wants to cut out the agent.

'Hirers won't compensate contractors for T&S losses'

End-users to defy government expectations on travel and subsistence crackdown.