disorganised?

[counrty gardener]

They reckon that once you admit to having a problem its easier to put things right.WELL today i realised how disorganised i have been in relation to the clerical side of my buisness.I love hard graft as i do landscaping but since april due to the plonker of an accountant i had, all i had was a big bag of reciepts and not much wrote down.
Well its know 23.53 and i have just finished sorting through everything since 0830 this morning.I must admit that i quite enjoyed it and have come to the conclusion that as i am a sole trader with no staff and being good at mental arithmetic. i am going to handle my records without the help of an accountant.To say i have learnt things on this site is an understatement i am quite hooked on the other side of running a buisness and not just the manual work.
I have sorted through everything and hope that by the time i come to hand my tax return in next year with the help of you lot on here as well as old past threads i should be quite capable.
I know doing your accounts yourself can be frightening at first but im looking forward to learning.
Can anyone recommend any books to self learn or do you think you can get as much info from this forum.Also one of the few things i cannot find out about.......perhaps its illegal But can i get help off a friend who is not claiming any benefits as his mother and father keep to do a bit casual work? ie cash in hand ? Great site this and look forward to picking your brains over the coming months.

 

[maxine]

Hiya

Great that you have done this as bet it gives you a sense of achievement plus you probably know a bit more than you did yesterday about your business

You might want to consider weening your self off your accountant gradually though rather than jump straight in but depends how confident you are, how straight forward things are etc. Also, your accountant should be a great source of advice for you as they will know a lot about your business and have good experience to help you become more profitable (and pay less tax), plus they will help with any changes in rules etc that can sometimes be a bit difficult to grasp initially if you are not experienced.

Why not ask your accountant to set you up a template first to do your own accounts and get them to reduce their fees that way you can have them on hand for support but do the majority yourself.

And yes, cash in hand is illegal. Not because they are taking money and not claiming benefits but because they are not paying tax and national insurance as they ought to be on the money earned.

 

[Williams lester]

And yes, cash in hand is illegal. Not because they are taking money and not claiming benefits but because they are not paying tax and national insurance as they ought to be on the money earned.

Not strictly correct, as long as the employee has no other job and you are paying him below the LEL (lower earnings level), which is currently £90 per week, then you will not need to operate PAYE, you may want to get the employee to sign to say he has received this amount though in case it is queried by HMRC.

 

[Williams lester]

I know doing your accounts yourself can be frightening at first but im looking forward to learning.

I have sent you a pm regarding this.

 

[Billy_Ben]

i think your accountant can give you better advice regarding these matters

 

[oldeagleeye]

OP. Get a standalone software program to do your accounts and invoices etc like Solar and present the number ticking already done to an accountant. That can cut the cost of an accountant by 50%. As for the rest. The fees really are worth it because in the 40 years I have been in business I have found that for every £1 that I pay in accountants fees I get more than £4 back in allowances that I would have missed if I had gone the DIY route and those were in the old days when major changes only happened at most once a year.

In today's world however we have budgets - pre-budgets. Changes are back or forward dated and you really do need to be an accountant to keep up with the changes. Rob

 

[KM-Tiger]

OP. Get a standalone software program to do your accounts and invoices etc like Solar and present the number ticking already done to an accountant. That can cut the cost of an accountant by 50%. As for the rest. The fees really are worth it because in the 40 years I have been in business I have found that for every £1 that I pay in accountants fees I get more than £4 back in allowances that I would have missed if I had gone the DIY route and those were in the old days when major changes only happened at most once a year.

In today's world however we have budgets - pre-budgets. Changes are back or forward dated and you really do need to be an accountant to keep up with the changes. Rob

Excellent advice. Do the bookkeeping yourself - easy with good software - but leave the accountancy to the accountants.

Beware 'cash in hand'. As has been pointed out, it *might* not be illegal in certain circumstances, but it can all too easily become an expectation, and you could find yourself on a slippery slope.

 

[oldeagleeye]

KM. This is the other benefit of an accountant isn't it. All cash businesses come under my scrutiny by HMRC than any other and an investigation can go back 5 years if you get it wrong once. Generally speaking however accounts signed off by a qualified accountant are rarely questioned and once agreed done and dusted. Rob

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Can I just say keeping your 'books' tidy is not in the same league as preparing your accounts and dealing with your tax affairs.

Muddling through trying to save a few pounds on accountancy fees is a very false economy.

A good accountant will potentially save you tax and give you invaluable tax and business advice.

Accountants take many years to learn the skills and knowledge they have - you cant pick this up from a few threads from an online forum.

I can mow a lawn and plant a few flowers in my garden - but that makes me no landscape gardener

 

[counrty gardener]

What i really meant was that i will prepare all my book-keeping and then pay a proffessional to fill in my tax return,is this a viable solution to cut down on costs?

 

[maxine]

Not strictly correct, as long as the employee has no other job and you are paying him below the LEL (lower earnings level), which is currently £90 per week, then you will not need to operate PAYE, you may want to get the employee to sign to say he has received this amount though in case it is queried by HMRC.

Apologies, I assumed over the LEL.

You will still have to consider things associated with having employees such as holiday pay etc.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

What i really meant was that i will prepare all my book-keeping and then pay a proffessional to fill in my tax return,is this a viable solution to cut down on costs?

Yes - VERY good idea!!

 

[oldeagleeye]

Got there in the end.