More than one in three small business owners are clueless as to the impact of Real Time Information (RTI), according to a new survey.

In a poll issued by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), 35 per cent of business owners admitted they weren’t sure how the impending payroll changes would affect their business.

These individuals might be alarmed to hear that they need to start reporting their PAYE data in ‘real time’ from April 6. Those who miss this deadline could face fines from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Tax and finance issues such as these should certainly be considered looking to launch their own business or start a franchise.

In an interview with freshbusinessthinking.com, AAT director of professional development Adam Harper was critical of how HMRC has dealt with a number of tax-related issues in recent times.

He said: “The lack of understanding about RTI clearly indicates not enough has been done to guide small businesses through the massive changes to PAYE which will have a big impact on time, resource and spend for small enterprises. It’s a distressing situation given April is fast approaching.”

Manchestergazette.co.uk reports that businesses should have their end of year returns in place by 19 May in order to avoid penalties.