Sole trader help!

[polsonm87]

hi,

am currently a sole trader as a joiner/carpenter
i am no VAt registered. very new to this so sorry in advance!

i am needing help setting up invoices, can anyone send me some templates. i have searched for templates biut all the ones av found have VAT on them do i just have to simply charge for my total hours x rate?

also how many days should i put for the money due? 7 days?
what % of tax do i get charged?

any help would be appreciated

[Nicola J]

hi,

am currently a sole trader as a joiner/carpenter
i am no VAt registered. very new to this so sorry in advance!

i am needing help setting up invoices, can anyone send me some templates. i have searched for templates biut all the ones av found have VAT on them do i just have to simply charge for my total hours x rate?

also how many days should i put for the money due? 7 days?
what % of tax do i get charged?

any help would be appreciated

Hi

You could prepare your invoices in many ways - two bits of software which may help are -

https://hamiltonjonescharteredcertifiedaccountants.freshbo oks.com/signup/

http://shop.sage.co.uk/free.aspx

Alternatively you could just use a duplicate book - something like you'd get in WH Smiths.

You can indeed charge your services at an hourly rate, or another way is to agree a fixed charge for a job - somethimes people prefer this.

Payment terms are something you must decide, but personally I take the view that once you have completed a job why should you give someone interest free credit? I would advise you work on the basis that your bill is to be paid once you have completed your work. It saves you chasing payments and risking bad debts.

The tax you will pay is based on the profit you make ie your income less business expenses less your tax free aloowance, and you get taxed at various rates depending on the level of income. At this point you'd be really wise getting some advice from an accountant. They can claim lots of expenses for you to minimise your tax.

[Fernhurst Solutions Ltd]

Welcome to the forum ... I am in the process of setting up an invoicing service, just for people like you - feel free to PM me for more information, or e-mail via the tab in my signature.

:)

[polsonm87]

thanks for the replys!

can any one send me an template of an invoice that i would be likely to use? without the VAT

just so i can get an idea!

cheers

[dp0848]

PM me your email address and I'll send something over to you.

David.

[CassioAcc]

Are you using a bookkeeping package? Some of these will produce the invoice fro you.

[Nicola J]

thanks for the replys!

can any one send me an template of an invoice that i would be likely to use? without the VAT

just so i can get an idea!

cheers

Try this -

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT101172551033.aspx?ofcresset=1

Should be just what you need - plenty of choice.

[polsonm87]

thanks
just what i was looking for!

any other help or sites i can read up on things!

[CassioAcc]

If you are going to use an Accountant, appointing one at an early stage will mean that you have someone to answer all your questions.

If you agree a fixed fee then make sure this includes advice and support over the year. The information you get will then be relevant to you and up to date.

[Nicola J]

Glad to have helped:)

I think Business Link is pretty good for general business info -

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/home?domain=www.businesslink.gov.uk&target=http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/

Is their something specific you wanted to research?

[Nicola J]

If you are going to use an Accountant, appointing one at an early stage will mean that you have someone to answer all your questions.

If you agree a fixed fee then make sure this includes advice and support over the year. The information you get will then be relevant to you and up to date.

Definitely very good advice - whilst it can be useful to get some basic info from the net nothing beats proper professional advice.