Guiding you through your business lifecycle

Throughout the entirety of a business lifecycle, business owners encounter a series of pressures, driving important decisions that carry tax consequences.

We have identified the key stages of your business lifecycle: Create, Grow and Exit. Below you will find a variety of useful resources to help guide you through each stage. Our team are here to offer you support throughout the process, from creation to exit, allowing you to give more time to focus on what really matters to you and your business

Create Grow Exit

Creating your business

In the early stages of a business, one of your most important decisions is its structure.

A business can take many forms; sole trade, partnership or company, and each has its advantages. The key is knowing which structure suits your individual venture.

When thinking about the best structure of your business, it’s important to look ahead. Consider how you want the business to grow and, equally, your exit strategy at the end — whether that’s selling the business or passing it over to family or employees.

To help with your decision-making process, here are a few questions to consider:

Who needs to be involved?
Which legal protections do you need?
Where will the business be based?
Do you intend to extract profits regularly from the business?
How do you intend to exit the business and pass it over or down?

How can we help?

Business structuring advice

Ensuring your business is structured in the best way to suit your wants and needs for the future can enable the effective growth going forward. Understanding how different structures will benefit different businesses can be important to find the right one to suit yours.

Incorporation support

Although a business may have started as sole trader position, or a partnership, converting this into a limited company might create future opportunities. Planning and advice can be essential to avoid tax charges without the cash funds available for them.

VAT registration and advice

VAT can be a complicated process, it is vital your VAT affairs are in order and meet the legal requirements to minimise the risk of unforeseen liabilities.

Employee tax administration

Employment tax legislation is constantly evolving. The obligations and responsibilities fall on your business to operate PAYE and NIC accurately when paying your employees, or even yourself.

Growing your business

As your business grows, you’re bound to face hurdles and challenges. Sensible planning and advice will help you overcome them.

For example, in the future, you might need external funding to increase working capital or enhance the remuneration packages of key employees to encourage their loyalty. At some point, you may choose to part ways from your business partners.

Whatever your next steps for growth, we can guide you.

To help with your decision-making process, here are a few questions to consider:

Do your employees, or key employees, require further incentivisation?
Is external investment required to enable further growth?
Will the business be expanding outside the UK?
Are all available tax reliefs being utilised?
Have you considered the extraction of profit and your personal tax position?

How can we help?

Employee share incentives

The people in your business matter. Providing share incentives to employees is a great way to encourage them to stay with you and to help develop your business.

Transfer pricing

The transfer pricing landscape is complex and constantly evolving in the UK and internationally. As the business expands and changes, the transfer pricing policies should continue to align with the operating model.

Investor incentives

When looking to raise capital to grow the business, the government offers a range of tax reliefs for the investors in qualifying businesses. If your business qualifies these reliefs can help encourage external investment. We can also help with EIS/SEIS registration.

Corporate tax planning

It is important the business meets the relevant Corporation Tax obligations. However, is the business making the most use of valuable tax reliefs such as capital allowances, R&D or other tax incentives for the business. Planning around strategic decisions and expenditure needs to also work with the tax plans.

Exiting your
business

There are many ways to exit your business. You could be selling the business, stepping away but letting it continue, or simply passing it down to the next generation.

All routes have their own challenges. You will obviously want to make the right decisions, and maximise the available tax reliefs, so planning your business exit could take many years.

We’re also aware that selling your business is not necessarily the end of the journey. You may have ties to the buyer, ongoing profit or sales targets — or this could be your opportunity to start a new venture.

Whatever your plans, it is crucial to obtain professional advice.

To help with your decision-making process, here are a few questions to consider:

Is one person looking to leave, or sell the whole business?
Are you going to have continued involvement with the future owners?
How do you expect your ‘exit’ to look?
What is your understanding of the market, and how these transaction work?
Do you have a specific timeline in mind?
How would you like your family to benefit from these decisions?

How can we help?

Exit planning

Trying to sell, or depart, a business can be an exciting, but complicated process. Understanding these complexities and planning from an early stage is imperative to enable a smooth exit.

Transactional support

A transaction can be complex and will have associated tax consequences affecting the company and the shareholders throughout. Advice will be required relating to how the transaction will actually be completed and the nature of the payments and consideration.

Personal tax planning

An exit can bring with it trigger points from a tax perspective, not just for key shareholders, but for shares held by the employees. It is important to understand these positions and plan appropriately for the tax liabilities.

Inheritance tax advice

When exiting a business, shares that potentially offer an inheritance tax shelter may be converted to cash which will not have the same benefits, along with opportunities to pass wealth to future generations.

PKF promotes Wendy Liang to Partner

CapitalQuarter: Summer 2024

Mustang Energy Plc

PKF promotes Wendy Liang to Partner

CapitalQuarter: Summer 2024

Mustang Energy Plc

Guiding you through your business lifecycle

Creating your business

To help with your decision-making process, here are a few questions to consider: