"Go green now for the sake of efficiency and avoid a backlash from HMRC" is the warning being passed to small to medium-sized businesses by a leading Midlands firm of chartered accountants.

Prime Chartered Accountants, based in Solihull and Coventry, is encouraging businesses to look for ways of introducing innovative online solutions to improve efficiencies, while ensuring their statutory obligations are met in 2010.

HMRC is introducing penalties for those that fail to use online filing and payment systems and even Government departments have taken the lead in becoming more environmentally friendly.  

And, says Laurence Moore, chairman of the Prime Group, it can be financially better because in some instances longer payment windows are provided.

Paper versions of PAYE, VAT and tax returns are all in the process of being phased out, and soon there will be no alternative for businesses than to start 'turning green'.

Businesses with more than 50 employees have been going green for some time but the effect of the changes will now start to be hit SMEs.

Laurence Moore said: "Through education, businesses will become familiar with the changes so that they can deal with them themselves or will alternatively turn to outsourcing the work to professionals.

"We encourage all our business clients to think about their methods of communication and offer a range of secure online solutions that will not only help them to reduce the amount of paper they generate but most importantly save them time and money".