Avery Martin Accountants - Northumberland

Local Business Advice

🌞 Heading into June with a clean set of books? Here's your end-of-month checklist:

📌 All bank accounts reconciled in Xero
📌 Sales invoices sent for May work
📌 Outstanding customers chased (politely but firmly)
📌 Receipts uploaded — Smart Document Capture makes this 30 seconds
📌 Payroll run and submitted to HMRC
📌 VAT bucket checked if you're on quarterly returns

Doing this monthly instead of once a quarter is the single biggest stress-reducer we see in our clients. 💪

Have a brilliant Bank Holiday weekend, North East. ☀️

📞 0191 484 1745
📍 Across the North East

💡 Xero tip most people miss: bank rules.

If the same payment lands in your account every month — Spotify, your accountant 😉, that one supplier — set up a bank rule once, and Xero codes it correctly forever after.

5 minutes of setup. Hours saved over the year. Cleaner reports. Fewer "what was this £43 again?" moments at month end. ✅
If your Xero is feeling cluttered or your bank reconciliation is a Friday-afternoon dread, that's usually fixable in an afternoon with the right help.

📞 0191 484 1745

UK Tax Update

🏛️ Big change for family businesses and farms — Inheritance Tax reform is now live.

From 6 April 2026, the 100% rate of Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief is capped at a combined £2.5m per person. Anything above that gets 50% relief — meaning an effective IHT rate of 20%.

For many North East family businesses and farming families, that's a meaningful change to succession plans drawn up years ago. 🚜
If you've not revisited your Will or share structure since this was announced, it's worth a conversation now — well before it ever needs to be.

📞 0191 484 1745
🌐 www.averymartin.co.uk

Local Business Advice

Reminder for employers — P60s are due by 31 May.
Every employee who was on your payroll on 5 April needs theirs.

Limited company directors who pay themselves a salary count too (yes, even if you're a one-person band).

Late or wrong P60s create hassle for your team and questions from HMRC nobody enjoys answering. 📋

If you run payroll through Xero or another platform, it's usually a couple of clicks. If it isn't — that's probably a sign your payroll setup needs a friendly second pair of eyes.

📞 0191 484 1745

👀 Have you logged into Xero recently? It looks different.

Xero's new homepage rolled out with widgets that surface what actually needs your attention — overdue invoices, bank feeds waiting to reconcile, key numbers for the week. No more hunting through five menus to find your cash position. ✨

Most people don't realise you can customise it to show only what matters to you. Worth 10 minutes of your day.

If you'd like us to set yours up the way we set ours up, just ask.
📞 0191 484 1745
🌐 www.averymartin.co.uk

🏡 Landlords — this one's important.
If your rental income (gross, before expenses) was over £50,000 in 2024/25 or 2025/26, you're now in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

That means:
📌 Digital records (no more spreadsheets-and-vibes)
📌 Quarterly updates to HMRC
📌 A digital end-of-year return
The £30,000 threshold lands in April 2027. The £20,000 one in April 2028. So even if you're not in scope yet, you will be.
Getting set up properly now is far less painful than scrambling later. Xero Simple was built exactly for this — and we're Xero specialists.

📞 0191 484 1745

⚠️ Farm or family business owners — this one's important.

From April 2026, changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) mean inheritance tax planning has become significantly more complex.

A combined 100% relief limit of £2.5 million now applies. Anything above that faces a 20% effective inheritance tax rate.

For many Northumberland farming families and long-established businesses, this is a major shift.

Early planning is everything here. We can help you understand your exposure and explore your options — please don't leave this until it's too late.

Get in touch for a confidential conversation. 🌾

Biggest tax mistakes we saw this season (and how to avoid them) 👇💸

After reviewing dozens of returns, these were the most common (and costly) mistakes:

1️⃣ Mixing personal & business expenses
This creates confusion, missed deductions, and red flags.
👉 Fix: Open a separate business account and keep it clean.

2️⃣ Not tracking expenses properly
Guessing at year-end = lost money.
👉 Fix: Use a simple app or spreadsheet and update it weekly.

3️⃣ Leaving things until the last minute
Rushed filings often mean missed opportunities.
👉 Fix: Set a monthly “money day” to stay on top of things.

4️⃣ Assuming everything is deductible
Spoiler: it’s not. And claiming incorrectly can cause problems.
👉 Fix: Ask before you claim or get proper advice.

5️⃣ Not planning ahead
Tax isn’t just a once-a-year thing.
👉 Fix: Start thinking about next year’s tax NOW, not next April.

The good news? Every one of these is fixable with the right systems in place. Want to avoid these mistakes next year? Drop us a message and let’s get you set up properly 📩

💻 www.averymartin.co.uk
☎️ 0191 484 1745
📥 [email protected]

🏘️ Running a business in Northumberland? Here are 3 things to check right now.

Spring is the perfect time for a financial MOT. Here's where to start:

1️⃣ Are your payroll settings updated for 2026/27? (New NI thresholds, stat pay rates and student loan plans are now live.)

2️⃣ Are you on the right software for Making Tax Digital? HMRC-approved software is now a legal requirement for many businesses.

3️⃣ Is your salary/dividend split still tax-efficient? Dividend rates changed in April — your old setup may need a tweak.

We're your local accountants here in Northumberland — always happy for a no-pressure chat.

📞 [Your phone number]