Content Directory
- The Importance of Goal Setting
- Five Steps to Smarter Financial and Compliance Goal Setting
- Financial Goalposts: Dates for your Diary
- Compliancy Challenges and Goals for 2025
- Partner with CH4B for Financial and Compliance Success
The Importance of Goal Setting
Financial goals are crucial for business success. Whilst there may be one long-term over-arching goal, it’s important to break this down into smaller, achievable and actionable goals. For example, if an accountancy firm’s goal is to double profit within 5 years, what are the steps they need to take to reach this goal? This may include goals to review and reduce overheads, increase customer retention or grow expertise within the team.
Setting compliance goals will enable you to create a stable foundation for your business. It also helps to build trust with clients, who will be looking to you for expert advice. For example, clients of email marketing services want to feel that all GDPR, data and privacy protection is being taken care of for them. It’s vital to ensure that your business is compliant, but increasingly, it’s important that B2B services are correctly advising their clients and mitigating regulatory risks on their behalf.
It can be challenging for busy SME business owners to digest financial reporting requirements, develop actionable and achievable goals and stay ahead of rapidly changing compliancy challenges. CH4B’s Expert Business Advisors support SME business owners to develop a manageable and actionable plan with our Roadmap to Success. We help businesses streamline processes, adhere to complex compliancy requirements and set milestones that enable business leaders to achieve their goals. If you’d like to find out more, you can book a complimentary Taster Strategy Session.
Five Steps to Smarter Financial and Compliance Goal Setting
- Audit – assess your current position. What is your financial status? Are you up to date with filings? Are all compliancy areas met? Address gaps. CH4B’s Expert Advisors can help you to strategically assess your current position, and make a plan for the future.
- Align goals with financial reporting requirements and compliancy – For example, align revenue growth with tax filings and compliancy dates. Align sustainability goals with ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) reporting requirements. CH4B’s Roadmap to Success helps SMEs set realistic goals.
- Prioritise compliance deadlines for 2025 – for example, accountants need to ensure that clients are complying with digital taxation laws and real time reporting. CH4B exists to support small businesses, and help them stay ahead of the curve with insights, news and business tools delivered straight to your inbox.
- Set SMART goals – Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Work with CH4B to be accountable for your goals through coaching and accountability sessions.
- Monitor and adapt – regularly review and adjust goals to stay on track. CH4B can help with audits, compliancy software and dashboards that will help you to effectively track milestones.
Financial Goalposts: Dates for your Diary…
As a small business owner in the UK, it’s crucial to be aware of key financial dates to ensure compliance and effective financial management.
One of the most important goals your business can set is to be financially compliant with HMRC. With the Financial Times reporting that UK businesses are being hit with record levels of fines due to late filings, here’s a round up of important dates to ensure that you are financially compliant in 2025:
January
- 31 January: Deadline for online submission of Self Assessment tax returns for the 2023/24 tax year. This is also the due date for any remaining tax owed for 2023/24 and the first payment on account for 2024/25.
February
- 19 February: Deadline for PAYE, Student Loan, and CIS deductions for the period ending 5 February 2025. Electronic payments must clear by 21 February 2025 or by 22 February if using Faster Payments.
March
- 6 March: Spring Budget announcement, which may include changes affecting small businesses. It’s advisable to review the Budget for any updates on tax rates or reliefs.
- 19 March: Deadline for PAYE, Student Loan, and CIS deductions for the period ending 5 March 2025. Employers using Faster Payments must ensure funds clear by 22 March 2025 to avoid penalties or interest.
April
- 5 April: End of the 2024/25 tax year. Ensure all financial records are up to date for accurate reporting.
- 6 April: Start of the 2025/26 tax year. New tax rates and allowances come into effect. Review any changes to ensure compliance.
- 19 April: Deadline for final Full Payment Submission (FPS) for the 2024/25 tax year under Real Time Information (RTI). This submission informs HMRC of the total pay and deductions for each employee in the tax year.
- 22 April: Deadline for electronic payments of PAYE and NICs to reach HMRC for the month ending 5 April 2025. Timely payment ensures compliance and avoids interest charges.
May
- 31 May: Deadline for providing employees with a P60 form, summarising their total pay and deductions for the 2024/25 tax year. This is essential for employees’ personal tax records.
July
- 6 July: Deadline for submitting P11D and P11D(b) forms to HMRC, detailing benefits and expenses provided to employees during the 2024/25 tax year. Also, provide employees with copies of their P11D forms.
- 19 July: Payment deadline for Class 1A National Insurance contributions on benefits provided during the 2024/25 tax year. Ensure payments are made to avoid penalties.
October
- 5 October: Deadline to register for Self Assessment if you are a new business or have newly chargeable income in the 2024/25 tax year. Timely registration is crucial to meet future tax return deadlines.
- 31 October: Deadline for submitting paper Self Assessment tax returns for the 2024/25 tax year. Note that online submissions are due later, by 31 January 2026.
December
- 30 December: Deadline for online Self Assessment tax returns for the 2024/25 tax year if you want HMRC to collect tax owed (less than £3,000) through your PAYE tax code. This option is available if you submit your return online by this date.
Staying informed of these dates and any changes announced in the Spring and Autumn Budgets will help you maintain compliance and manage your business finances effectively. Consider setting reminders and consulting with a financial advisor to ensure all obligations are met promptly.
Compliancy Challenges and Goals for 2025
As professional services firms, particularly accountants, navigate a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, compliance challenges will intensify in 2025. Firms must stay ahead of key changes in ESG reporting, digital taxation, and audit requirements. Here’s what to expect, how to prepare for these hurdles and set goals that will see your SME achieve compliance in 2025:
- Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting – ESG reporting requirements continue to strengthen, and often clients expect to see business’ setting goals and achieving compliance in this area. Accountants need to be ready to advise clients on carbon emission reporting, social impact metrics and governance policies – as well as ensuring their own firm is staying compliant.
- Digital Taxation – whilst the UK’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative isn’t new, it is expanding and more businesses than ever are required to report digitally. By 2026, if you are self-employed and earn over £50k you must follow MTD requirements. If you need to take steps towards meeting this regulation, a great starting point is considering which software is best for you to manage finances. Set a goal to have selected and be using a digital platform by mid 2025. More on this from HMRC.
- Audit requirements – in response to corporate scandals the pressure to be transparent has increased. All businesses should be prepared for scrutiny from regulators, such financial investigations to audits that validate non-financial data such as carbon emissions. CH4B can work with you to set goals for processes that mean you’ll always have peace of mind, should you come under scrutiny.
Partner with CH4B for Financial and Compliance Success
At CH4B, we offer holistic solutions tailored to SME businesses. We can help you to:
- Set realistic and achievable goals for success.
- Stay compliant with evolving regulations.
- Streamline your processes with the right tools.
- Protect your clients and your firm from risk.
