If you have an accountant, they will have been talking to you for months about filing your tax returns, and paying the tax you owe before the end of January. But think a little further ahead for a moment – to the end of the 23/24 tax year, on 5 April. To help minimise the tax you pay next time round, are there any business expenses that you can make now and offset against your tax bill?
For instance, updating the text in your website, or getting some leaflets printed, or preparing some case studies that can be shown to potential customers?
If f these are things that are on your horizon already, then you could do yourself some favours by talking to your friendly neighbourhood copywriter sooner rather than later, to get those invoiced before the end of the tax year.
Why update your website?
When you started your business, you probably wrote your website yourself, and you may even have designed it yourself on WordPress or Wix or another platform that’s set up for users who don’t speak HTML. Is it still reflecting the direction your business has taken since then? And is it as professional and crisp as you need it to be now?
If your business has actually taken a slightly different slant than you first envisaged, you will probably need to update at least the words on your website to reflect that. You may also want to refresh the look of the site.
Why get leaflets printed?
Good-looking, informative leaflets are not passé , even in this day and age. People still like something that they can hold on to, and re-read later. And if you’re at trade shows, or networking events, then they can be a great tool for giving to people you don’t have chance to have a longer conversation with. You could potentially use them for a leaflet drop in your local area, or as paid-for inserts in a magazine, to target a specific demographic.
Why get case studies made up?
A carefully curated suite of case studies is a valuable tool. It can show potential customers how you work with ‘people like them’, and point out the benefits you – specifically you – could bring to their lives, businesses or homes. A range of tidily-presented case studies, showcasing different types of clients, can be a valuable asset to your marketing efforts. They can be downloadable as PDFs from your website, and also printed out to put on trade stands, or in your customer waiting room.
Talk to your copywriter now, and get some really beneficial projects in before the tax deadline. With all due respect to HMRC, who are only doing their job, we don’t really like giving them money if we can avoid it!