Small businesses are losing out on savings of up to £373 per employee each year by failing to make childcare vouchers available to working parents.
Vouchers can be bought for staff at a cost of 5% of the value of the voucher but this is offset by savings on the employer's contribution to that person's national insurance payment of 12.8%, according to Early Years Vouchers.
It claims other benefits of implementing such a system include greater levels of productivity, a higher return-to-work ratio for parents, improved staff retention and reduced levels of absence.
Early Years Vouchers believes smaller firms are put off offering such benefits because of a misconception that childcare voucher schemes are designed for bigger companies.
"There is an assumption that implementing a childcare voucher scheme will be very complex and employers are afraid that they will have to dedicate a section of their HR department to deal with the running of it," explained Amanda Ward, director of Early Years Vouchers.
"If employers knew how simple it really is plus the financial and social benefits to them as a business, they wouldn't think twice about signing up."
Meanwhile the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is reminding businesses that bicycles they purchase will not be subject to tax providing they are made available to all employees and that more than half their journeys are travelling from home to work.
Employers will also not be able to avoid paying tax or national insurance on the cost of providing parking for the bicycles and they can also pay staff 20p a mile tax-free for using bicycles for business travel.
"Regular cyclists who commute already know that cycling is a good deal cheaper than running a car, especially with rising fuel costs," said Anita Monteith, technical manager at the ICAEW tax faculty.
"There are other benefits as well to employers. Car-parking problems can be eased and company bikes are easier to maintain than company cars. It can also be beneficial to a business' image to be seen as environmentally friendly."