Bookkeeping

Choosing Bookkeeping/Accounts Software
* Choosing bookkeeping or accounting software for your business or organisation is a big step. There is so much available on the market, with new vendors and products coming out all the time. So, how do you decide which is the best for you? How much you are prepared to pay? There is such range of [read more]
The Consequences of Being Inside IR35
*The financial consequences of being inside IR35 are mainly (there are other consequences) you lose the tax-avoidance facility of dividends. Essentially, if you are within IR35, you must calculate a “deemed payment” and pay NICs and PAYE (tax) on that deemed payment. The tax-deductible amounts that you can claim in travel and expenses will also [read more]
When to Register as an Employer
*As soon as you take anyone on where any of the following conditions apply, you need to register with HMRC as an employee. the employee already has another job the employee receives a pension (state or occupational) the employee will earn at or over the PAYE (tax) threshold the employee will earn at or over [read more]
SAGE VAT codes
*Sage uses the following codes for VAT: T0 – zero rate VAT T1 – standard rate VAT T2 – exempt (eg. stamps, insurance, aire fares, bank charges, financial services T4 – EC Sales T5 – lower rate VAT (eg. electricity, gas, women’s sanitary products) T9 – not involving VAT/outside scope of VAT (eg. suppliers that [read more]
Registering for VAT and Keeping VAT records
*You must register for VAT with HMRC. This can be done using a paper form or online. Once registered, you generally have to keep reocrds of: the VAT you charge on your sales (output VAT) the VAT you have paid on your purchases (input VAT) the total amount of sales excluding VAT the total amount [read more]
Using Excel for Accounts and Bookkeeping
*The great thing about MS Excel (and others say it’s greatest downfall) is that it is so adaptable and because it normally comes bundled with the PC you bought for your business, it’s cheaper than buying accounting software. For start ups and possibly for the sole trader or small limited company, it’s a very easy way of keeping track [read more]
Why have an Accountant?
*Because… Doing the accounts takes you away from your real business An accountant could do the job quicker and more accurately An accountant could save you money in the form of tax-savings as well as sometimes finding other areas for savings and efficiencies. Professionally produced year end accounts will be taken more seriously by banks and [read more]
What is the Difference between Bookkeeping and Accounting?
*The two really overlap: Bookkeeping is part of accounting. It is the recording of the day to day transactions of a business – either in “manual” books, or on computer software or spreadsheets. Therefore, bookkeeping can play an important role in the efficient running of a business: Purchase Ledger – A business needs to pay [read more]
Simple Bookkeeping
*You need three basic “books” (or ledgers): – a cashbook to record all cash/cheques/bank transfers going in and out of your business – a purchase ledger, to record details of all the purchases that you make – a sales ledger to record details of all the sales that you make (if you are a retail outlet, [read more]
Advantages of a limited company
*Obviously, the main attraction of forming a limited company is the “limited liability” of its owners, the shareholders, as it protects the personal assets of the owners. Should the company fail, the company is liable without limit for its own debts, but its shareholders’ liability is limited to the amount oustanding (if any) on their [read more]
What do you need to set up a company
*Essentially, before you begin, you need: a company name, which can be almost any name that has not previously been registered. a Director a Company Secretary (which cannot be the sole director) (or you could have two directors, one of whom could also act as Company Secretary) a shareholder (which can be either the director [read more]
Choosing Your Accountant
* Speak to your prospective accountant on the phone first and then, if you are still happy, set up an initial meeting – which should be free of charge. Ensure that they are professionally qualified and are current members of a professional body (Chartered Accountant (ICAEW/ICAS/ICAI), Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA), Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) for [read more]

Advantages and Disadvantages of Factoring 25/08/2011 Advantages and Disadvantages of Factoring Posted by Happy Accountant at 9:00 am No Responses Accounting, Credit Control, Sales Ledger *Advantages of Factoring It is a quick boost to cash flow (assuming that the Factor’s conditions can be met) Some customers take Factors more seriously and pay quicker (also, the reverse is true) Non-recourse Factoring can protect against bad debts. Factors will credit check your customers which will help reduce bad-debts. Some Factors will withhold [read more] Full Article	Bookkeeping for Factoring 24/08/2011 Bookkeeping for Factoring Posted by Happy Accountant at 9:00 am No Responses Bookkeeping, Sales Ledger *It’s advisable to treat the Factoring Account as a bank account. Treat all withdrawals of funds from the Factor to the business’s own bank account as a bank transfer. The sales ledger in the bookkeeping should mirror that of the Factor’s Sales ledger. This means entering all sales invoices and customer payments to the relevent [read more] Full Article
The Factoring Process 23/08/2011 The Factoring Process Posted by Happy Accountant at 9:00 am No Responses Accounting, Credit Control, Sales Ledger * Every time a sales invoice is raised, a copy must be sent to the Factor as well as to the customer. (Some Factors will also raise the sales invoices, which would cut out this step). The sales invoice is marked as being factored, and the customer is required to pay the Factor direct. The business can [read more] Full Article	Tax for eBayers 28/07/2011 Tax for eBayers Posted by Happy Accountant at 11:00 am No Responses Bookkeeping *You must decide on your trading structure – eg whether to trade as a sole-trader or a limited company (if the latter, you must make it clear to your customers that you are trading as a limited company). I’ve blogged previously on the advantages and disadvantages of trading as a limited company. You must register [read more] Full Article
PayPal Accounting 27/07/2011 PayPal Accounting Posted by Happy Accountant at 9:00 am No Responses Bank Rec, Errors, Saving Money *If you are doing any volume of PayPal transactions at all, it’s probably easiest to look for accounting software that will handle PayPal transactions by data import or full integration. PayPal accounts would normally be set up as an additional bank account in your accounting software, (this will also give you the option of paying suppliers [read more] Full Article	eBay Accounting 26/07/2011 eBay Accounting Posted by Happy Accountant at 9:00 am No Responses Bookkeeping, Excel, Software *If you are serious about starting an eBay business, then it’s important to get the accounting and bookkeeping in place from the start. eBay traders generally do low value – high volume sales. This means that if you neglect your bookkeeping, the backlog can buildup quite quickly. Leaving it until “year end” will create a [read more] Full Article
EBay Trading 25/07/2011 EBay Trading Posted by Happy Accountant at 9:00 am 1 Response Bookkeeping *From it’s humble beginnings in 1995, where one of it’s first auctions was the sale of a broken printer, eBay is one of the dot.com’s success stories. Trading on EBay has exploded in recent years and many people use an eBay shop as their sole online outlet. The Advantages of Selling on eBay It’s easy to [read more] Full Article