Beam Accountancy

Cyber security is sometimes treated as a problem for large organisations with specialist IT departments. In reality, smaller businesses can be particularly vulnerable because they often have fewer resources available to detect an attack and recover afterwards.

The Government continues to strengthen its approach to cyber resilience, including the planned Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. However, individual businesses can take several practical steps now.

Start by asking what would happen if staff could not access the accounting system, customer records or email tomorrow morning.

Backups are essential, but having a backup is not enough. Businesses should periodically test whether important data can actually be restored.

Access controls also matter. Multi-factor authentication should be used wherever possible, particularly for email, banking, accounting software and other systems containing sensitive information.

Employees remain another important line of defence. A convincing email asking for an urgent payment or a change of bank details can bypass sophisticated technology if the recipient acts without checking it independently.

Businesses should therefore have simple procedures for verifying unusual payment requests and any change to supplier bank details. It is also worth preparing for what happens after an incident.

Keep contact details for IT support, insurers and other key advisers somewhere that can be accessed if the main computer network is unavailable. Decide who will take responsibility for communicating with staff, customers and suppliers.

Cyber security does not require every business owner to become a technology expert. However, it does require preparation.

A short discussion about what the business would do if its systems became unavailable can quickly expose weaknesses that are relatively inexpensive to correct today. The aim is not to guarantee that a cyber-attack will never succeed, but to ensure that one incident does not bring the entire business to a halt.

Businesses waiting for cheaper borrowing may need to reconsider their plans.

The Bank of England kept Bank Rate unchanged at 3.75% in September, but three members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted for an immediate increase to 4%.

The concern is inflation. UK inflation has moved above the Bank’s 2% target and higher energy costs are creating additional pressure. If those costs continue feeding through into wages and prices, interest rates may need to remain higher for longer.

For businesses, the important point is not to try to predict precisely what the Bank will do next. Instead, make sure that borrowing and investment plans remain viable under more than one interest-rate assumption.

A business considering new finance could prepare three forecasts. One might assume rates remain broadly unchanged; another could model a modest increase and a third could show the effect of rates eventually falling.

This can materially affect an investment decision.

A project that looks comfortably affordable if borrowing costs fall may leave little financial headroom if rates remain at present levels. On the other hand, an investment that still produces an acceptable return under a higher-rate scenario may be worth pursuing rather than waiting indefinitely for cheaper money.

Existing borrowing should also be reviewed. Businesses with fixed-rate loans approaching renewal need to understand what refinancing might cost. Variable-rate borrowing and overdrafts should be monitored because higher finance costs can gradually erode profit and cash flow.

The practical message is simple. Rather than basing decisions on hopes of lower interest rates, businesses should stress-test their plans.

Knowing what happens if borrowing remains expensive provides a much stronger basis for making investment and financing decisions.

When a couple divorces or separates, they need to agree how their finances will be divided. This can include property, pensions, savings, investments and maintenance payments. Where possible, reaching an agreement without going to court can be quicker and less expensive. In England and Wales, however, an agreed division of assets will generally need to be approved by a court through a consent order if the couple want the agreement to be legally binding.

Tax is an important consideration when restructuring assets. Under current Capital Gains Tax rules, separating spouses and civil partners are given an extended period during which assets can be transferred between them on a "no gain, no loss" basis, meaning that no immediate Capital Gains Tax (CGT) liability arises. The normal period runs until the earlier of the end of the third tax year following the tax year in which the couple ceased living together, or the date on which their divorce, annulment or civil partnership dissolution becomes final.

There is an important further concession. Where assets are transferred between former spouses or civil partners in accordance with a formal divorce or separation agreement or court order, no gain/no loss treatment can apply without a time limit. This means that qualifying transfers may still benefit from the relief even where they take place some years after the couple separated.

No gain/no loss treatment does not normally eliminate the underlying capital gain. Broadly, the person receiving the asset takes over the transferring partner's CGT base cost, so the accumulated gain may become taxable when the recipient eventually disposes of the asset. Special rules can also apply to the former matrimonial home, including provisions affecting Private Residence Relief.

Anyone dealing with significant matrimonial assets should therefore take specialist legal and tax advice before assets are transferred. The timing and terms of the divorce or separation agreement can have important consequences for the eventual tax position.

Pensioners who do not want to receive the Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2026–27 have until September to opt out. The payment will be recovered through the tax system from those whose total income exceeds £35,000.

In England and Wales, pensioners who receive a State Pension can opt out through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Manage your State Pension service by 11:59pm on 20 September 2026. The same deadline applies to those using DWP's online opt-out form. Those opting out by telephone must do so by 6pm on 18 September.

Opting out will not affect entitlement to the State Pension. It also applies to future years, so a person does not need to opt out again unless they subsequently choose to receive the payment. They can opt back in to receive the payment for winter 2026–27 by contacting the Winter Fuel Payment Centre before 31 March 2027.

For taxpayers with income above £35,000, HMRC will recover the payment through the tax system. This may be done through self-assessment or by an adjustment to the taxpayer's PAYE tax code. HMRC provides an online tool to help people check whether and how the payment will be recovered.

In Scotland, the equivalent Pension Age Winter Heating Payment is administered by Social Security Scotland. Pensioners wishing to opt out must complete the online opt-out form by midday on 19 October 2026. It is also possible to opt out by contacting Social Security Scotland by telephone, the same opt-out deadline, midday on 19 October 2026 applies.

The tax treatment of some crypto assets is set to change under draft legislation for Finance Bill 2026–27. The proposed changes include new rules for qualifying stablecoins, crypto asset loans and liquidity pools.

Eligible stablecoins are expected to be treated more like money for Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Income Tax and Corporation Tax purposes. The government intends to introduce rules to provide greater certainty over how these assets are taxed, with the changes expected to apply from April 2027.

New rules will also apply to certain transactions involving cryptoasset loans and liquidity pools. Qualifying disposals will generally be treated as taking place on a ‘no gain, no loss’ basis for CGT purposes. This is intended to prevent a taxable gain or loss arising where there has not been an economic disposal of the cryptoasset.

The measures follow calls for clearer tax rules as the use of crypto assets continues to develop. HMRC has published draft legislation and supporting material for technical consultation, with further guidance expected before the new rules take effect.

Businesses in the vaping sector are reminded that the new Vaping Products Duty and the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme will take effect from 1 October 2026. HMRC is urging manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retailers to make sure they are ready for the introduction of the Vaping Products Duty and the associated Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme.

Vaping Products Duty is intended to form part of the government's wider measures to tackle youth vaping, improve public health and support its ambition to create a smoke-free generation. The duty is expected to raise more than £550 million a year by 2030–31.

The new rules will affect the supply chain in different ways. Businesses that manufacture vaping products or handle products under duty suspension need to ensure they have the necessary HMRC approvals before the new regime begins. Retailers and wholesalers should check with their suppliers that the products they stock meet the new requirements.

UK representatives and warehousekeepers can buy transitional duty stamps until 30 November 2026 and affix them until 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027, only digital duty stamps can be affixed to vaping products. Retailers and wholesalers can also continue to sell eligible unstamped vaping products already held before the new rules take effect until 31 March 2027. This gives businesses some time to adjust their stock and supply arrangements. From 1 April 2027 all vaping products sold or supplied in the UK must carry a valid stamp.

Consumers will also start to see changes to vaping product packaging from October. New rules will apply to travellers bringing vaping products into the UK for personal use from 1 October 2026. There are different rules for travellers entering Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

HMRC has warned that businesses failing to comply with the new requirements could face civil or criminal sanctions.
 

HMRC is reviewing proposals to introduce new powers for recovering lower-value, persistent tax debts from individuals and businesses that repeatedly fail to engage with collection efforts. The proposals, set out in a public consultation earlier this year, would allow HMRC to recover debts through affordable monthly instalments taken directly from a taxpayer's UK bank or building society account. The measure is intended to address debts that are difficult and costly to recover using existing enforcement methods. HMRC estimates that more than 750,000 lower-value debts, worth over £2 billion in total, remain unresolved each year after standard collection attempts have failed. Under the proposed framework, the automated direct deductions would be capped at £5,000 for individuals and £10,000 for businesses. 

The proposed process would only apply after HMRC's standard collection procedures have been completely exhausted. Taxpayers would first receive a formal Pre-Deduction Notice (PDN), giving them a final opportunity to pay the debt, contact HMRC, arrange a Time to Pay agreement, or raise a formal objection. A 14-day notice period is currently proposed by the government, though several professional stakeholders are calling for an extended notice window of at least 30 days.

HMRC has also proposed safeguarding measures for individuals requiring extra support or experiencing genuine financial hardship, including mandatory affordability checks and manual case reviews where appropriate.

The technical consultation closed on 28 August 2026, and the government is expected to publish a formal summary of responses later this year.

HMRC has launched an improved online service to make it easier for individuals to register for self-assessment. Anyone who needs to submit a tax return for the first time for the 2025–26 tax year should notify HMRC by 5 October 2026 to avoid a potential penalty.

The new service is available through a Personal Tax Account and includes pre-populated information, online support during registration and the ability to save and return without losing information. Taxpayers will also receive confirmation by email or text when their registration is complete.

Once registered, taxpayers receive a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), which is needed to complete their tax return. Under the new service, the UTR should appear in the taxpayer's online account within 72 hours, instead of taking up to 15 days to arrive by post.

Taxpayers who are unsure whether they need to submit a tax return can use HMRC's online checking tool. Those who need to register may include newly self-employed individuals with gross trading income above £1,000, a new partner in a business partnership and taxpayers with more than £2,500 of untaxed income.

The deadline for submitting the 2025–26 self-assessment tax return and paying any tax due is 31 January 2027.

Anyone who no longer needs to complete a tax return should tell HMRC as soon as possible. Until HMRC confirms that a self-assessment return is no longer required, taxpayers should continue to meet their self-assessment filing obligations.

The new registration service is currently available to individual taxpayers with a Personal Tax Account. Agents must continue to use the existing registration processes, including using forms CWF1 or an SA1, to register.

Seeking to claw back training costs from wages is common practice. However, a recent ruling has set clearer boundaries as to how this can become an unenforceable restraint of trade. An appellant joined an IT services provider as a trainee quality assurance engineer and entered into an employment contract alongside a separate "contract of training investment" which levied a "training cost debt" of over £8,000 for mentoring and internal support.

Under the scheme, this debt would gradually be ‘paid off’ if the claimant remained with the company, although if his employment were to be terminated for any reason other than redundancy, the remaining balance was to become immediately recoverable.

The appellant resigned after 8 months to accept a better-paid role elsewhere, prompting the employer to initiate legal proceedings to recover the full sum. After initial setbacks, the appellant took his case to the Court of Appeal, arguing that such a clawback scheme constituted an unlawful restraint of trade.

The Court unanimously allowed the appeal, setting aside the previous judgements and firmly rejecting the employer's argument that an unconditional repayment obligation falls beyond the restraint of trade doctrine, as it was framed as a debt. Such financial penalties and liabilities effectively create an indirect restraint by acting as a powerful deterrent against changing employers.

The contractual clauses failed as the pernicious repayment obligation applied, regardless of the reason for departure, and were written irrespective of whether the employee moved to a higher-paid job in the same sector or left the workforce entirely. This decision has significant implications for employment law and HR practice, particularly for how organisations structure training arrangements, financial incentives, and employee retention mechanisms.

Reframing clawbacks as commercial debts rather than as traditional post-termination restrictive covenants no longer confers immunity from the doctrine of restraint of trade, and employers can no longer rely on such universal and indiscriminate repayment clauses. To be enforceable, a clawback provision must be carefully tailored and may not impose heavy financial liabilities on junior staff who are paid at or near minimum wage. From this point, employers must ensure that any training cost recovery schemes are proportionate, reflect any value already returned to the business, and do not unduly restrict an individual's freedom to change employment.

The British Business Bank has launched a £210 million investment fund to help smaller businesses in the South East of England start, develop and grow.

The South East Investment Fund will offer loans ranging from £25,000 to £2 million, together with equity investments of up to £5 million. The area covered includes Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Sussex, Surrey and Kent.

Although this particular fund is restricted to the South East, British Business Bank-backed investment funds are now operating across every UK nation and region outside London. Businesses elsewhere may therefore find that comparable sources of finance are available in their area.

The announcement provides a useful reminder that funding should form part of a business’s wider growth strategy. External finance might be used to purchase equipment, recruit employees, develop a new product, enter another market or provide additional working capital.

Before applying, the owners should be clear about how much money the business needs, what it will be used for and how the investment will improve its performance. Borrowing more than necessary increases costs, while borrowing too little may leave a project unfinished.

The choice between a loan and equity investment also requires careful consideration. A loan will normally need to be repaid with interest, but the owners retain control of the business. Equity investment does not usually require regular repayments, although the investor receives a share of the business and may have a say in important decisions.

Prospective funders are likely to expect current management accounts, financial forecasts, a business plan and evidence that the owners understand the risks involved. Preparing this information can also help management decide whether the proposed investment is commercially sensible.

If you are considering raising finance, early planning is important. We can help you assess the funding requirement, prepare forecasts and present the financial case clearly to prospective lenders or investors.