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When someone attacks you,your company’s brand or your personal or business reputation,the last thing you want to do is be complacent. Along the same lines as -,you may need to implement more than one process or strategy to manage your reputation,depending upon the sort of risk your business is open to.

Whether or not you choose to make yourself public on the Internet,you’ll still have an online presence. This isn’t just true of celebrities,this is true of most anybody. Lots of customers find social media the first way to look for a fast response and direct access and get in contact with companies. Naturally,this makes social media the first place you want to broadly and fully deploy your best customer reviews to the public eye.

You can improve your online presence even further with more places to publish reviews,such as a blog,active social media involvement,personal profiles,and more.

In addition,on review sites or online directory listings that you manage,such as Google Maps,you can directly stay in contact with your customers,handle complaints if any,and reply to their comments. Just replying to reviews alone will show an increase in commitment & power on your part as a business owner – especially when it comes to acknowledging the plight of the person you’re replying to.

Which brings us to the next point: verifying the truthfulness of a review. In your online reputation management,you must monitor your customer feedback very closely,and make sure every review that comes to you,matches up to a customer who you’ve actually served and who’s on your records. This is so important because some negative reviews can be from jealous competitors vying for attention.

First of all,to get an idea of whether the complaint is true or false,take a look at the reviewer’s handle,how many reviews they’ve posted,the nature of their reviews if they’ve left more than 1,and their history on Google Maps. If the review is posted by one person only,or that person posts only one type of review – fake negative reviews trying to undermine businesses of all kinds – then most likely their comments are untrustworthy,and asking them: “We’ve never had you on record as a customer…is this a possible competitor review?” Don’t sound angry,sound respectful – because fighting fire with fire in public can backfire and leave a nasty burn on your reputation.

Some fake negative reviews can even be pessimistic,assumptive comments posted by people who,while not having worked with you,approach your line of work with a certain skepticism,and want to never miss the first opportunity to blindly denounce the industry based on hearsay and myths without taking a moment to see its virtues.

While it is much more comfortable dealing with kudoses,negative feedback is not always easy to treat with. When you learn how to correctly handle negative feedback,and bolster the positive attributes of what you do just like - does,there is a better chance you will find another customer giving similar negative feedback in future,apart from anything else.

disagreements} that could lead to legal action being taken against your firm.

Company Administration.

If informal agreements and voluntary company agreements are not possible,you could consider entering into company administration. In these instances,you hand over all the dealings of your firm to an administrator who takes charge of the company to restore its ability to trade. They could well restructure the business or realise some assets to pay any secured creditors. Once you hand the operation to an insolvency practitioner,the creditors are not allowed to make any legal action to get back their monies,without the court’s permission. However,the practitioner will have to be sure that the company will produce better results when put under administration.

Insolvency is an unpleasant reality for many companies. Take advantage of the available company insolvency tips to help you know where to start. It is vital to know the various options you can explore to salvage your business from liquidation. Once you have decided which option has the highest possibility of saving your company,follow it and have an open mind. With the right plan,your company will get back to its feet.

Umbrella Company Pension Schemes – What You Need to Know

Pension schemes help employees put money aside for retirement directly from their wage. The problem for self-employed professionals is that they need to manage this themselves,either by setting up a pension scheme or saving money from their income.

Fortunately,umbrella companies class contractors as employees,giving them all the benefits of employment. That includes a pension scheme,which now requires contribution from the umbrella company too. Let’s take a closer look at the statutory pension schemes available through umbrella companies.

Auto-enrolment pensions

In 2012,the UK Government decided that workers weren’t saving enough for their retirement. People were relying too much on the State Pension,which had not received adequate funding to match the continuing rise in life expectancy and an ageing population.

To combat this,they introduced automatic enrolment. The new system,rolled out from 2012 to 2018,requires employers to automatically enrol eligible employees onto a workplace pension scheme. Employers are also responsible for deducting contributions from their pre-tax income and making a minimum statutory contribution to the employee’s savings.

In October 2012,this minimum contribution was set to 1 percent for employees,which was matched by employers,rising in 2018:

• October 2012 to 5th April 2018: employers 1%,employees 1%
• 6th April 2018 to 5th April 2019: employers 2%,employees 3%
• 6th April 2019 onwards: employers 3%,employees 5%

However for anyone that doesn’t want to contribute to a pension once you’re enrolled you can still opt out.

Umbrella company pension scheme

Working through an umbrella company,contractors are classed as an employee. That means,yes,you are automatically enrolled onto the umbrella company’s pension scheme as long as you meet the following criteria:

• Your work is primarily UK-based
• You earn more than £10,000 per year
• You’re between 22 and the state pension age.

Until 5th April 2019,3% of your pre-tax salary will go directly into a pension fund,with the umbrella company contributing a further 2%. From 6th April 2019,5% of your pre-tax salary will go into the same pension fund,with your umbrella company contributing a further 3%.

The benefits of an umbrella company pension

Some contractors may worry that this will eat away at their wages. Don’t. Pension contributions are made before your wages are taxed. That means anything that goes from your wage into your pension fund is tax-free rather than being taxed at 20% or even 40%. So,instead of receiving 60% of your income,you receive 100% via a pension fund.

Let’s say you earn over £46,351 per year,which puts you in the higher rate band of income tax. Anything you earn beyond that £46,351 per year (roughly £3,863 per month) is taxed at a rate of 40%. You get just £60 for every £100 of income. Why not put the full £100 straight into the pension fund instead?

That’s why many people,especially those in the higher rate band of income tax,choose to put more than the minimum into their pension fund. And this is entirely possible. Contractors can contribute up to £40,000 to their pension scheme per year,comprising tax-free income and employer contributions. Currently,there is a lifetime allowance of £1,030,000 which can be contributed before incurring any tax.

Using your funds

With the increased earnings of contracting,it’s common for contractors to retire early. Alternatively,you might simply want to get some of the money out for a holiday,new car or home improvement. The good news is: you don’t have to wait until the state pension age to access the pension funds you’ve built up through your umbrella company pension.

Once you’re 55 or over,you can access up to 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free lump sum. Anything beyond the 25% will be taxed as an addition to the rest of your income that tax year – either 20% over £11,850,40% over £46,351 or £45% over £150,000,as things currently stand. That’s why most people choose to take their pension as regular income once they have retired,to minimise the amount of tax paid.

What about limited companies?

Contractors who operate as a limited company can still benefit from the tax relief of a pension scheme. However,as with most things relating to limited companies,this requires a lot more effort on their part. Firstly,they have to get the right balance between salary and dividend payments to increase the limit on their pension contributions.

Because employer contributions,such as pensions,count as a business expense,they are subject to tax relief. So,when you contribute to your pension scheme,as a director,the company could save money in corporation tax.

However,this has added complications because it needs to be fully compliant as an allowable expense. Any other employees,for example,should be given comparable packages to prove to HMRC that it is a genuine business expense.

On top of all that,using a limited company pension scheme means setting up and paying into the pension fund yourself. Along with all the other administrative work for limited company owners,it’s definitely worth seeking advice and assistant from a trusted accountant.

Get the right assistance

Whether you’re looking to compare umbrella companies or find the right accountant,you can make the right choice with -. Our online comparison tool lets you assess multiple companies in a matter of minutes. It couldn’t be easier to take the hassle out of contracting. Contact us today for more information.