The National Business Awards are the leading programme in recognising excellence in business achievement, innovation and success in the UK. With coverage in over 500 publications, featured on Sky TV and referred to by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as the ‘Business Oscars,’ the awards programme recognises excellence across a broad spectrum of measurers including: customer service, innovation, the environment, business growth and employee relations.

These awards are without a doubt the most prestigious business awards in the UK with the likes of: ASOS, Co-Operative Group, BSkyB, NatWest, Jaguar, Waitrose, Lloyds TSB, Norwich Union (Aviva), HM Revenue & Customs, BT…to name just a few who have been past winners/finalists.

The winner of the Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year Award will be announced on 9th November 2010.

SJD Accountancy

SJD Accountancy are the UK's largest specialist provider of fixed fee, limited company accountancy services to contractors; we've been acting for contractors across the UK since 1992 and have more than 10,000 clients.

We are the only National specialist firm of accountants with offices in all major UK cities so you’ll never be far from your accountant. SJD also have more qualified staff than any other firm in our market with qualifications from the following major tax and accountancy bodies - ATII, ATT, ACCA, CA, ACA, FCCA, ACMA. You’ll also be pleased to know that we are one of the lowest priced as well.

Free face-to-face meetings. This is another unique service, only SJD offers free face to face meetings - tax is complicated and sometimes only a meeting will do.
Unlimited access to your own dedicated accountant. No call centres, no outsourcing, no automated call handling. Simply telephone, e-mail or meet your own dedicated accountant face to face.
Money backed service guarantee. All your telephone calls and e-mails will be answered the same day or we will refund your monthly fee's.
Outstanding reputation. We have won more awards for customer service and accountancy excellence than any other firm in our market.
All inclusive low cost monthly package which includes completion of accounts, payroll bureau, dividends and corporation tax computations, personal taxation, free bookkeeping software, unlimited access to your accountant and all company returns. All this for a fixed monthly fee of £95 plus VAT, which is one of the lowest prices in the market.

Appoint SJD Accountancy and never worry about your tax or accountancy affairs again!

You may also find the following pages, guides and case studies useful:

Take home pay calculator - How much could you be taking home
Contractor FAQ - All your frequently asked questions and their answers
First time Contracting or Freelancing? - A summary of the alternatives along with pros and cons
Step-by-step Guide to Contracting - Download a FREE copy of our guide
Limited or Umbrella? Can't decide? - We help you decide which is best for you
Take home pay case studies - Examples of contractors using limited and umbrella companies
Expenses Guide - Know exactly what you can claim
Umbrella company guide - Everything you ever wanted to know about umbrella company services
IR35 Guide - A great plain English guide to IR35

If you still have questions about contracting then you can contact our New Client Services team on 0500 152 500 or email Rachel@sjdaccountancy.com

In the Young Accountant of the Year category Louise Bowman aged just 26 is up against the mighty big four: KPMG, PwC, Deloitte and Ernst & Young. Louise was recently promoted to Director of Small Business Services making her the youngest Director at SJD.

Managing Director Simon Dolan commented: “SJD are very lucky to have Louise, she is a delight to work with and passionately cares about her clients needs. SJD has a reputation for promoting within, with nearly all Directors being home grown”.

The awards ceremony takes place on 17 November 2010 at the Battersea Park Arena, London.

About SJD Accountancy
SJD Accountancy is the UK's largest specialist provider of fixed fee, limited company accountancy services to contractors, freelancers and Small Businesses. It is the only national specialist firm of accountants with offices in all major cities, and is the chosen accountancy firm for more than 10,000 clients. It is also the only national accountancy firm in the UK to be accredited as a Quality Accountant (QA) by the Professional Contractors Group (PCG).

SJD Accountancy has been acting for contractors and small businesses since 1992 and is the most recommended accountancy firm on the Internet. It has more qualified staff than any other specialist firm, with qualifications covering the major Tax and Accountancy bodies, including ATII, ATT, ACCA, CA, ACA, FCCA, ACMA.

SJD Accountancy offers a complete package including completion of accounts, payroll bureau, dividends, corporation tax computations, personal taxation and all company returns.

On top of all that, SJD have also won every relevant industry award possible, including:

• ‘Small Firm of the Year’ - Winner Accountancy Age 2007 & 2004
• 'Best Accountant for Contractors' - Contractor UK 2009, 2008, 2007 & 2006
• ‘Best use of Internet’- Finalist Accountancy Age Awards 2008
• 'Santander Small to Medium Business of the Year' - Finalist National Business Awards 2010
• ‘Excellence in Customer Services’ - Finalists National Customer Service Awards 2009
• ‘Business of the Year’ - Finalists National Chamber of Commerce Awards 2008
• 'Extraordinary Three Star Status' - Sunday Times Best Companies Accreditation 2009 - 2007
• ‘Sunday Times Best Small Companies to Work For’ - Award 2009 - 2007
• 'Compliant Accountant' - APSCo

And most importantly, in a recent survey 98% of their clients rated SJD as 'better than other accountants' - and they are working hard to convince the other 2%!

Further information

Contact:     Luisa Burrows

Tel:            0500 152500/01442 275789

Email :       luisa.burrows@sjdaccountancy.com

Many of these will be contracts leveraging existing offshore and energy expertise. Scottish Renewables Policy Director Jenny Hogan commented, “The international market for offshore wind is growing every year. We can sell development and deployment technologies into the growing global market just as our world-leading subsea engineering sector has done.”

You may also find our Engineering Contractors page useful. Also, if you enjoyed our Energy Contractor story then visit our Contractor News page for all other news.

If you have any queries or would like further advice please do not hesitate to contact us on 0500 152500/ 01442 275789 or email: nikki.hanlon@sjdaccountancy.com.

John Lynes, director of the Ashdown Group, said that the IT jobs market looks set to remain strong for the remainder of the year, and that a marked increase in contract vacancies had been witnessed – partly due to lingering economic uncertainty dissuading permanent hires, and also as a result of a software development ‘talent gap’.

If you enjoyed our IT Contractor story then visit our Contractor News page for all other news.

If you have any queries or would like further advice please do not hesitate to contact us on 0500 152500/ 01442 275789 or email: nikki.hanlon@sjdaccountancy.com.

Alasdair Reisner, CECA head of industry affairs, welcomed the news, stating, "At a time when the industry is still struggling to bounce back from the recession, this improvement in contractors' workloads is welcome.”

Earlier this week it was announced that the construction industry saw growth of 8.6% in the second quarter of the year.

If you enjoyed our Civil Engineering Contractors story then visit our Contractor News page for all other news.

If you have any queries or would like further advice please do not hesitate to contact us on 0500 152500/ 01442 275789 or email: nikki.hanlon@sjdaccountancy.com.

Alexandra Kelly, director of the firm, said the recent increase in recruitment activity is undoubtedly a good indication of the confidence levels of financial services companies - especially given that summer tends to be a quieter time of year. She added, “If we compare the number of job offers in July to the corresponding month last year, we see that overall recruitment levels have improved considerably.”

If you enjoyed our Rise in Sector Jobs story then visit our Contractor News page for all other news.

If you have any queries or would like further advice please do not hesitate to contact us on 0500 152500/ 01442 275789 or email: nikki.hanlon@sjdaccountancy.com.

We were recently sent a tweet from a contractor who wanted to claim for a dinner jacket - although work clothes are covered in expenses, anything that could be worn out of work is not legally allowed to be claimed.  

If you're not sure what you're allowed to claim, heres a quick break-down:

• Meal Allowances - when you're working remotely, away from your usual place of work
• Travel - entitled to 40p per mile is you drive. You can also claim if you use public transport
• Accommodation - this cost must be deemed 'reasonable'
• Clothing - only covers clothes you need for work 
• Training
• Pensions
• Accountancy fees

There are other conditions that vet which expenses contractors can claim - for a more detailed break down have a look at our expenses guide.

If you're still unsure about what to claim (for instance the contractor with the dinner jacket scenario) call your accountant and they can advise you. If you think your accountant is telling your porkies, make sure you get a second opinion.

Speak to one of our experts on 0500 152 500 / 01442 232 700 or email jaime.thorpe@sjdaccountancy.com

www.sjdaccountancy.com

Follow our tweets!

For new contractors or those just wishing to stay on top of the latest news in contracting, it's certainly worth a look.

Click here to have a look at the new blog.

What do you think? Any burning issues you'd like covered? Leave a comment on the blog or email sophie.hubble@sjdaccountancy.com 

Issues covered so far in the blog:

• Beware the online accountant
• Companies House Changes
• IR35 reform
• Rates of pay for contractors

SJD Accountancy

SJD Accountancy are the UK's largest specialist provider of fixed fee, limited company accountancy services to contractors; we've been acting for contractors across the UK since 1992 and have more than 10,000 clients.

We are the only National specialist firm of accountants with offices in all major UK cities so you’ll never be far from your accountant. SJD also have more qualified staff than any other firm in our market with qualifications from the following major tax and accountancy bodies - ATII, ATT, ACCA, CA, ACA, FCCA, ACMA. You’ll also be pleased to know that we are one of the lowest priced as well.

Free face-to-face meetings. This is another unique service, only SJD offers free face to face meetings - tax is complicated and sometimes only a meeting will do.
Unlimited access to your own dedicated accountant. No call centres, no outsourcing, no automated call handling. Simply telephone, e-mail or meet your own dedicated accountant face to face.
Money backed service guarantee. All your telephone calls and e-mails will be answered the same day or we will refund your monthly fee's.
Outstanding reputation. We have won more awards for customer service and accountancy excellence than any other firm in our market.
All inclusive low cost monthly package which includes completion of accounts, payroll bureau, dividends and corporation tax computations, personal taxation, free bookkeeping software, unlimited access to your accountant and all company returns. All this for a fixed monthly fee of £95 plus VAT, which is one of the lowest prices in the market.

Appoint SJD Accountancy and never worry about your tax or accountancy affairs again!

You may also find the following pages, guides and case studies useful:

Take home pay calculator - How much could you be taking home
Contractor FAQ - All your frequently asked questions and their answers
First time Contracting or Freelancing? - A summary of the alternatives along with pros and cons
Step-by-step Guide to Contracting - Download a FREE copy of our guide
Limited or Umbrella? Can't decide? - We help you decide which is best for you
Take home pay case studies - Examples of contractors using limited and umbrella companies
Expenses Guide - Know exactly what you can claim
Umbrella company guide - Everything you ever wanted to know about umbrella company services
IR35 Guide - A great plain English guide to IR35

If you still have questions about contracting then you can contact our New Client Services team on 0500 152 500 or email Rachel@sjdaccountancy.com.

This cutting-edge functionality will allow IT contractors to search for local and national daily pay rates in a variety of skill sets. Working in partnership with Technojobs, the new webpage will link through to a job search on Technojobs' website covering the most up-to-date jobs including C , Developer, Java and many others.

Simon Dolan, Managing Director of SJD Accountancy notes how "SJD focuses on giving as much advice and guidance to contractors as possible. We're specialists and have been helping IT contractors make the transition from permanent work to contracting - we hope our new contract rate checker can make the transition that little bit easier."

This is the first time SJD has partnered with Technojobs - Anthony Sherick, Sales and Marketing Manager of Technojobs hopes the relationship will continue to grow; "The page has huge value for those entering the contractor market as well as experienced IT contractors'. This project seeks a natural fit between the two companies. We have a number of other projects on the go and have plans for future partnerships that will further benefit both contractors and recruiters alike."

SJD Accountancy

SJD Accountancy are the UK's largest specialist provider of fixed fee, limited company accountancy services to contractors; we've been acting for contractors across the UK since 1992 and have more than 10,000 clients.

We are the only National specialist firm of accountants with offices in all major UK cities so you’ll never be far from your accountant. SJD also have more qualified staff than any other firm in our market with qualifications from the following major tax and accountancy bodies - ATII, ATT, ACCA, CA, ACA, FCCA, ACMA. You’ll also be pleased to know that we are one of the lowest priced as well.

Free face-to-face meetings. This is another unique service, only SJD offers free face to face meetings - tax is complicated and sometimes only a meeting will do.
Unlimited access to your own dedicated accountant. No call centres, no outsourcing, no automated call handling. Simply telephone, e-mail or meet your own dedicated accountant face to face.
Money backed service guarantee. All your telephone calls and e-mails will be answered the same day or we will refund your monthly fee's.
Outstanding reputation. We have won more awards for customer service and accountancy excellence than any other firm in our market.
All inclusive low cost monthly package which includes completion of accounts, payroll bureau, dividends and corporation tax computations, personal taxation, free bookkeeping software, unlimited access to your accountant and all company returns. All this for a fixed monthly fee of £95 plus VAT, which is one of the lowest prices in the market.

Appoint SJD Accountancy and never worry about your tax or accountancy affairs again!

You may also find the following pages, guides and case studies useful:

Take home pay calculator - How much could you be taking home
Contractor FAQ - All your frequently asked questions and their answers
First time Contracting or Freelancing? - A summary of the alternatives along with pros and cons
Step-by-step Guide to Contracting - Download a FREE copy of our guide
Limited or Umbrella? Can't decide? - We help you decide which is best for you
Take home pay case studies - Examples of contractors using limited and umbrella companies
Expenses Guide - Know exactly what you can claim
Umbrella company guide - Everything you ever wanted to know about umbrella company services
IR35 Guide - A great plain English guide to IR35

If you still have questions about contracting then you can contact our New Client Services team on 0500 152 500 or email Rachel@sjdaccountancy.com

About Technojobs

Technojobs is an award winning specialist IT and technical job board and has been online since 1999. Technojobs is one of the top IT jobsites in the UK and has over 12,000 IT contracts advertised every month. Technojobs currently has over 125,000 registered candidates.

For more information contact jaime.thorpe@sjdaccountancy.com or call 0500 152 500 / 01442 232 700

Pay……..the holy grail of contractor work. Always on the look out for the best rates, contractors want to know they’re getting paid more than the local and national averages. Our new contractor rate checker is your holy grail map........................

Visit the blog here!