The Concur Christmas checklist – tips to survive the festive holidays

Christmas is just around the corner and with the busiest expense week being upon us, we’ve put together a handy guide to keep you, your team and HMRC happy over the festive season. Here’s to finishing the year out strong – not to mention preparing for an even better 2018.

Remember... PANTOS

[P]arties for staff; what are the tax rules?

One of the biggest tax questions around staff parties is whether they’ll involve P11Ds (end-of-year expenses and benefits) come April. The answer is: it depends.

You won’t trigger P11Ds if your party meets all these criteria:

• The party is a regular annual event, not a one-off.
• All employees across the entire business are invited to at least one party (something to bear in mind if you have multiple sites).
• The total cost is £150 per head (including costs such as taxis home afterwards); if the costs are more than £150 per head you will need to report the full costs for each employee.

[A]dditional cover – are you going to need it?

For many businesses, Christmas is one of the quieter times of year. It means you can get by with a skeleton staff. But even though it might feel as if life is on pause until January, ask yourself:

• Will be there be enough staff in the office even if a couple of people call in sick (a higher-than-likely possibility given the coughs and colds around over Christmas)?
• Are all the important processes and procedures documented so if something can’t wait, the cover will be able to sort it out?
• Create a holiday calendar. Do you have a policy or rota system in place so the same people aren’t expected to come in year after year?

[N]ail your travel, expense and invoice processes 

For many it’s simply a matter of tying up loose ends before the end of the calendar (and/or financial) year. For others, it’s a good time to reevaluate how well your finance team performed, where there are gaps and how you can set your business up for success in 2018.

• Review your current processes: Look for opportunities to cut out error-prone, paper processes and spreadsheets that have been holding you back in 2017.
• Implement small process changes: Use the time to update out-of-date travel & expense and invoice policies so they are more relevant and realistic in the New Year.
• Plan for automation next year: Investigate the tools and next steps you will need to take as you build out your plan towards greater automation and efficiency.

[T]aking clients out – what’s OK and what’s not?

Christmas is an ideal opportunity to thank suppliers, customers and subcontractors for their support over the past year. But here are some useful reminders when you’re thinking about entertaining these groups over the festive period.

• Entertaining customers and suppliers isn’t tax deductible and you can’t reclaim any VAT
• Subcontractors are considered to be employees when it comes to food and drink, so you can reclaim the VAT on this; on anything else, you can’t

[O]fferings – how do you deal with tax on gifts?

A gift is the perfect way to say thank you to employees, clients and suppliers. Whether its coffee, cookies or lunch, if you’re planning to do this, here’s what you have to remember:

• The cost of gifts for your team are tax-deductible.
• If all the gifts you give to an individual employee over a 12-month period amount to less than £50, they are not tax deductible.
• Before buying gifts for people outside your organisations, check what their policy is. Anti-bribery laws have resulted in greater scrutiny – even for Christmas gifts.  

[S]et the stage

It can be a very busy time as you career towards the finish line, so here are some things not to forget.

• Don’t forget to get in the spirit – it’s Christmas after all. Dust off the Christmas jumpers and join in the secret santa.
• Allow for breaks, especially lunch: Don’t burn the candle at both ends. Take a walk, don’t eat lunch at your desk (if you can help it) or get a cup of coffee with a coworker.
• Don’t forget to turn on your out-of-office and if you are going anywhere exciting, be sure to include it in your message.