[Perfectly Clean]

Hi, Just sorting out my books.  I know I will need to show what jobs I have done during the course of the day but do I need to show the value of each job or just the total earnt?

Any tips on booking keeping would be greatfully received.

Many Thanks

Paul

[Sir Squeaky]

I don't even break down the days, just a total for the day and added up to a total for the week.
This will be the same amount as in your paying-in book for that week.

Except I pay it in, then work out the figures later. Shhh!

Roger.

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

oh no i dont use paying in book i just pay cheques and cash in and thats it ,,

shawn

[Sir Squeaky]

Eh? 
How do you pay them in without a book?

You must have to use a bank slip every time.
Then you'd have to keep that as proof of paying in anyway.

If you don't have a record of pay-ins how do you account things?

Sorry, just a bit confused here..

[Moderator David@stives]

get george it will tell you everydat what you have earned and what you have taken.

[Perfectly Clean]

Hi David, I have similar software and was going through the report pages and it just showed the total for the day, I just thought I had to show the value of each job.

Thanks Paul

[Perfectly Clean]

Have another question, Do I have to send off bank statements? I.e if I pay for something with a debit card do I need to mark it off on the bank statement as well as keeping the receipt? This is a personal acct not a business account.

Thanks

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

i pay cash in and just give my bank card . in . at the desk.


shawn

[Moderator David@stives]

george will give you a dailly summary with every single job on it
and i think it will keep the tax man happy as well shows you are being thorough

[easycleanwindows]

at the end of the financial year you need to be able to show how much you earnt total against all the outgoings for you business.if you work from home then you take into account all the things used for your business.any overdrafts,loan interest etc etc.dosent matter if you use a personall account i used to have business account with 3,000 overdraft and 1,500 business card would never use again as i was paying 200 per month charges for putting cheques,cash in and taking out.the inland revenue will only want to see how much you make against what you spend on your business whats left is where he will do the tax deductions

ie your turnover is 30,000 your overheads are 10,000 he will do the deductions on 20,000 whether you bank it or not keep all your receipts for business

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

are bank statements ok , i ddint have many outgoings really for the business just fuel and say 500-600 for other bits have reciepts .


shawn

[Moderator David@stives]

yes anything that you can actually prove you spent the money.
but reiepts always better.

[easycleanwindows]

yes bank statements are ok if you say you spent 100 on petrol you need to back that up rembering if you use you work car for pleasure too you will only be able to take a % of that 100 thats why i got van you can claim the whole 100% back

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

all i have of proof for income is bANK STATEMENTS . NOTHING ELSE DONT HAVE RECORD OF CUSTOMERS JUST A LIST ON A PIECE OF PAPER.

i have all my receipts but i dont earn loads as it were about 700-800 per month .


SHAWN

[Sarah Sarill]

Gosh Shaun - so many questions so little time.

Are you self employed and are you VAT registered. ?

Do you have a wiz of a wife/partner who has access to excel ?

You must keep a list of your customer activity as proof of income for the Inland Revenue. Sheets of paper are not acceptable. 

You could either purchase a bespoke computer system like GEORGE or set up your own which me lovely, talented, beautiful....... wife did, and manages for me !!!

From a self assessment point of view you need to keep 2 types of accounts. Incomings and outgoings.  How you set these up is up to you - personally we have geared then up to fit our business using microsoft excel. Our single income sheet also doubles as our debt collection list and also our scheduler as it shows 6 months of activity on one page. Who had a clean, what date, how much (to give you a total income ) and when it is next due for a clean. Its simple to set up (just takes a bit of time) and easy for me to manage whilst cleaning.

We then have a second excel sheet showing the outgoings by Invoices received or payment made (for petrol, equipment etc).  

At the end of each day the wife updates the days work sheets and enters all my expenses for the day and WOW excel adds them all up for you.  When this is done I take the updated sheets out as my collection sheets as they show the non-payers.

It therefore does not matter how you bank or how you pay as you must get a receipt for all expenses anyway. If you pay by debit/credit/transfere or BACS you must ensure you get a receipt to put through your books - statements are NOT accepted by the IR as they do not show the Vat. (I know cos they have been through my records).  Dont forget to save any bank fee, charges and loan sheets from the bank as these need to be logged as expenditure too.

As a self employed person (if you are) you will be taxed on ALL your income anyway so why are you banking your cash ?

Finally (and thank goodness), list all your commercials on the incomings sheet irrespective of their payment method - once its on the sheet its sorted.

Let me know if you would like to see any examples - I'm more than happy to send them to you.

[Moderator David@stives]

the best advice i can give you is get an accountant .and start from now recording your daily takings.dont lose sleep over it .i think we all are a bit slack in the first few months until we know what you are doing.

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

i registered as self employed in jan this year i have still not recieved my self assesment haverung them loads of times they say its ion the post . an example of how you do yuors would be great .. shawn

[thewindowcleaner1]

Set up a second private deposit accounct with some one like the Halifax (No bank charges) use second account for bussiness if you need money for self just transfer it to your private account, pay all bussines expensise from this second account never pay cash (unless your not going to declare) the bank statement for second account makes keeping your books straight a breeze. I use M/money to keep accounts good system easy and user friendly

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

i declare all my money as i work for people doing sub contracting etc .. and my normal round . but its just iam not very good at getting round to sorting things out .


shawn

[Sarah Sarill]

Great advice from David.

 We had an accountant for the first year and got all the tricks from him ie claiming 40% of your home telephone bill, a % of your gas, electricity, morgage etc and well worth the first years fee he charged.

Also they tell you what you cant claim - we tried to claim unprinted t-shirts and jeans when thats not acceptable either.

Once you've got the knowledge you can go it alone and put his fees towards a holiday in spain for you and the family !!!.

Me wife fills my self assessment form in on line but any accountant will do it for you the first time.