[P @ F]

You'll have to forgive me on this one , i'm not at all sure what i'm doing , now i have had a small ammount of insight into the world of the w/c , i think its about time i got regisered with all the proper people , i know all about PL ins , so no help needed there , what i want to know is what i need to be doing to prepare myself for taking on commercial work ..........

Do i need a company account to get paid ?
Do i need to be VAT regd ?

I could go on for ever with the Q's , but all i really need is for sombody to talk me through what they needed and did to get up and running , above board.

The last thing i want is to do the work to get commercial stuff , and fall on my face when the customer asks me for somthing i dont have .

All help greatfully accepted ,    Rich nice but thick   P @ F   

[AuRavelling79]

No - any bank account (that carries the name you are known to the customer as) and that accepts electronic transfers will do.

No - you need not be Vat registered. If you are asked whether your quote includes Vat simply tell them you are not Vat registered.

[P @ F]

Hi MalcG,  so i can use my own account in my own {not company name} and this will be ok ?
I always thought that it had to be paid to a co account for tax reasons,
so what you are saying in short is that i can just put any chq or electronic payment into my account , but wont this be hard to work out my tax at the end of year ?  or will book keeper do that for me ? see what i mean about my lack of business sense !
I really need help here !

   Rich P @ F

[Davindo Cleana]

Hi Rich - you need to be on 50k (or whatever the figure is) turnover to be vat registered
You can use your own account and yes it will be fiddly sorting the tax and non tax stuff
I just opened a business account cos quite a few people started to write cheques to my company name - plus and I don't know if Malc would agree, but I think when you go for the bigger fish, it looks better to have a business account

the other thing I nearly forgot to say is if you use a company debit card with your businees account and just get into the habit of using it for the business, it means you can see your expenditure at a glance from the statements

[P @ F]

Hi DAVINDO , i think maybe as you say is the way to go , my bro was a mobile mech and he just used his account and he had real bad time at end of year , my only concern is the charges on business accounts , are they high ?

Well theres no danger of me hitting 50K yet so thats sorted !

Is there any thing i am missing ...PL insurance
                                                     Bank account
                                                     
Another thing , when i set up with my wfp the other day i paid with my credit card , will i be able to do anything with this against tax ?

And finally , what sort of % should i be putting back for my tax each week ?

  Help i'm STOOPID ,    Rich   P @ F

[Central Window Cleaners]

Try the Abbey they do a free business account for banking cheques and notes, banking the change can be a problem but worth the hassle for what i save. Been using them for 8 months now with no problems.

[Thecleanerservice]

And finally , what sort of % should i be putting back for my tax each week ?

  Help i'm STOOPID ,    Rich   P @ F

Try keeping back about 20% of net profit.  ie the amount left each month after expenses.  At least you won't be too shocked at end of year.
Don't worry you'll be fine......And relax
Pj

[gaza]

    First of all :A personal  account shouldnt be used  to run a buiss through I. THE TAX OFFICE WONT LIKE IT
                       2, AS YOU PROGRESS IN BUISS IT GETS HARDER TO KEEP.

 TRACK OFF PERSONAL MONEY/BUISS MONEY.

IF THE TAX OFFICE  FIND OUT THAT YOU HAVENT SEPERATED THEM
YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO
A buiss account looks better using a trading name mine is 1st-ABC.CO.UK.

YOU CAN GET 1 YR to 18months free banking with new buiss accounts
RE C/CARD just keep you reciepts and put them through your books as normal,I just pay the money into my visa card and claim the interest back GAZA

[P @ F]

I'm chillin man , just been runnin around like a headless chicken lately , tryin to sort it all out , i'm gettin to the point of being too old {32}
HA HA HA , Thats gonna upset some of the wrinkleys ! ! !  LOL

   Rich P @ F  

[gaza]

p@f :Dont forget to make a loss in your 1st year

gaza

[gaza]

p@f your not young enough to know it all are you?


 gaza

[AuRavelling79]

I had no probs using my personal account to start with - the tax man does not care but he does want proof of all your claims - so in practical terms a seperate business account is a good idea and probably a must if your business name is different from your own personal name - which mine isn't.

Your wfp is claimable as a business expense - it may be that it is capital equipment (like your car/van) in which case you write it down over (typically) four years. So if it cost £1000 you write off 25% against tax. In year two 25% of the reduced balance (£750), Yr 3 25% of that reduced balance etc.

If you sell it on then what you sell it for is profit - less the reduced balance value that prevails at time of sale!

See an accountant bookkeeper for advice or just simply get a list of Q's and phone the tax office - if you're straightforward and honest they are really helpful - or be lucky like me (Mrs Malc does my books - deals with the Tax people etc - and I pay her for her efforts (which is a legitimate business expense too!))

[Sarah Sarill]

Hi Rich,

I am a firm believer in getting an accountant for your first year - that way you get to know how to keep books the legal way.  Once you see how its done ditch them and get the wife to do them by just following the same formats.

There was a great debate titled book-keeping sometime at the end of August when forum members gave their opinion on some of these issues. 

Its worth reading.  My advice - dont chance anything - start as you mean to go on, all above board and legal, that way if you are unlucky enough to get our books checked you can blame the accountant !!!!!!!

Sarill

[Majestic]

Abbey do free business banking , all transactions can be  done through the cash machine on the wall.So if you need to put any cheques into the bank you can do it after office hours

[P @ F]

All righty then people , thanks a lot for your input , i have been on the phone to a friends parent who runs 3 businesses , they are gonna help me out in any way they can , i reckon if i ask them nice they might even do my books for me .

But as i said , thanks for all your help , i know a lot more now than i did this morning .

           Rich   P @ F   

[gaza]

SLEEPING BETTER TONIGHT AS WELL

GAZA