9th April 2021 – Hillmans Weekly Update

Below I have summarised all the main tax related updates we have seen this week.

• Recovery Loan Scheme Launches
• Start an Online Store
• New - The Restart Grant Scheme
• Partially exempt VAT registered businesses affected by coronavirus (COVID-19)

If you have any queries about this week’s content, or if you need any assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

I hope you have a good weekend.

Stay safe and well.

Cheers,

Steve

Steven Hillman BSc (Hons) ACA
Chartered Accountant
Tel: 01934 444100

Start an Online Store

Given the current economic challenges, we've had a number of clients ask us how they can set-up an online store or website to start selling their products or services online to generate a new income stream. One popular option is www.shopify.co.uk.

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that provides businesses with the tools to create an online store. It is an incredibly popular platform and is used by over 1 million businesses worldwide.

Shopify provides a lot of flexibility in terms of products and services that you can sell - it allows digital as well as physical products to be sold on the platform.

The Shopify platform offers lots of useful tools and features. The online checkout page is customisable - you can add your company logo, colours and fonts so that everything fits with your firm’s branding. The system also supports international shipping functionality, if needed.

Shopify is a hosted solution, which means it runs on its own servers. Users don’t have to buy web hosting or install software. Businesses using Shopify pay a monthly fee to use the platform. As long as you have access to the internet you can manage your online store from anywhere.

Shopify offers a range of subscription packages for different sizes of business. Businesses can start off with a free 14-day trial to test the platform. In order to start selling products or services you need to sign up to a monthly plan. Basic Shopify starts at £23.48 per month. Users can have unlimited products, abandoned cart recovery and various other features. Upgrading to the Shopify package costs £63.95 per month and includes additional features such as reports, analytics and up to five staff accounts.

Finally, the Advanced package costs £242.04 per month and includes more advanced reporting, calculated shipping rates and more.

In addition to the monthly subscription fee, Shopify charges for any payment made through any payment provider other than Shopify Payments. The charges range from 2% on the Basic plan to 0.5% if you are on the Advanced plan. Shopify Payments accepts most major payment methods.