The Mantra for Business Leaders

Posted on July 24, 2019 by Noel Murphy

At age just 44 President Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He famously declared in a “Citizenship in a Republic” speech that business men and women should always keep in mind when the going gets tough: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who […]

Payment Services Directive September 14th 2019

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Seamus Parfrey

Will your ecommerce site still be able to take payments after 14 September 2019? You may have heard the ads on the radio or received emails from your payment processors about the new requirements for payments arising from Payment Services Directive 2015/2366EU – in short PSD2. It is important that you act on this, as if you do not it is highly likely that customers will start experiencing problems paying online after the mandatory date 14 September which is just a short time away now. At present the only information that is required when making an […]

How to Avoid Disciplinary Disasters and Grievance Catastrophes

Posted on January 28, 2019 by Noel Murphy

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland recently published advice on employee employment issues. Despite employers often times having sufficient grounds for dismissal, they invariably lose unfair dismissal cases because fair procedures and the rules of natural justice were not adhered to but there are procedures you can follow do to avoid this. It’s unfortunate when an unfair dismissal case is lost because advice from experienced professionals was not obtained before the dismissal procedure was put in place or, in a worst-case scenario, before the dismissal took effect. This is most often the case when it […]

EMPLOYEES ANNUAL TAX FREE €500 BONUS

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Noel Murphy

Employers can reward employees under the Small Benefits Exemption Scheme with a non-cash bonus of up to €500 per year completely tax free. If guidelines are followed neither the employer nor the employee will pay PAYE, PRSI or USC with a potential saving of over €650. To qualify for the tax exemption, only one tax-free bonus may be paid to each employee in any one year. If more than one bonus is given in a year, it is only the first one that will qualify for tax-free status, even if this bonus is less than the […]

Entrepreneur Relief

Posted on November 29, 2018 by Noel Murphy

An individual only may claim relief from CGT in respect of a chargeable gain arising on the disposal of qualifying business assets. There is a lifetime limit of €1 million on the gains made on or after 1 January 2016 that you can claim relief on. If you can claim this relief, you will pay CGT at the rate of 10% on gains from the disposal of business assets. This is reduced from the normal rate of 33%. Up to 31 December 2016, gains from such disposals are charged at 20%. The qualifying business assets must have […]

Entrepreneur Boot Camp

Posted on November 29, 2018 by Seamus Parfrey

Gerard Moran of the Entrepreneurial Boot Camp has provided the following content. His Entrepreneurial Boot Camp’s sole purpose is to take a hard look at your business plan with a detailed review of your business and the likelihood of the success of the plan. It’s also a chance to address the shortcomings and develop answers to tough questions before it is too late. Entrepreneurial Qualities Vision, creativity, persuasiveness, risk tolerance, motivation, flexibility, and decisiveness are the qualities that set you apart from the average person. Your business at all times will need to keep a careful […]

Drucker’s Pricing Sins

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Seamus Parfrey

In his book Managing in a Time of Great Change Peter Drucker writes on the five deadly business sins – avoidable mistakes that will harm the mightiest business. The first and the most common sin is the worship of high margins and of premium pricing as it always creates a market for competitors. And high profit margins do not equal maximum profits. Total profit is profit margin multiplied by turnover. Maximum profit is thus obtained by the profit margin that yields the largest total profit flow and that is usually the profit margin that produces optimum […]

7 ESSENTIAL BUSINESS STRATEGIES

Posted on August 29, 2018 by Seamus Parfrey

To succeed in business, you need to decide on what strategies to implement depending on circumstances. Decide on which of the following strategies you are going to implement immediately. Be customer orientated Put your customer first and ensure that your service performance is second to none. Never lower your standards. Touch base regularly with your key customers and listen to their suggestions on how you can improve your service. Focus on planning Prepare a written formal strategic plan where you document what your current position is and where you personally want to be in 5 […]

Sole Trader V Limited Company Considerations

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Seamus Parfrey

So you have a new business idea and have sketched a brief business plan. What are your options in terms of structure and how do you decide which one is right for you? There are two main options open to entrepreneurs setting up in Ireland – sole trader or limited company. I will briefly outline the differences between the two and the issues you need to consider when making a decision on which structure to choose. Sole Trader Sole trader is the simplest option. To set up as a sole trader, you will need to register […]

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Category Archives: Business Tips