Raw 02 - September 2008 - (Page 37)

dales bookeeping RAW I run Dales Bookkeeping, a small practice in Ipswich, Suffolk which aims to assist small to medium sized businesses to cope with the challenges of preparing accounting records, payroll management, completing various forms such as VAT and CIS, installing & configuring accounts software and training. I am a full member of The Institute Of Certified Bookkeepers, who are a regulated body under the terms of the 2007 Money Laundering Act. Within the next few months, all bookkeepers must either belong to a regulated body or will have to register directly with HMRC. When most people start out in business, filing receipts and paying attention to the accounts is usually the last thing that they think about. The main focus is on how to attract customers and to deliver the end product or service. Before they know it, their year-end has passed and panic sets in when they don’t have the figures ready for their Self Assessment return (sole traders & partnerships) or they’ve received reminders from Companies House to file their annual accounts if they are a limited company. I receive calls from a number of businesses who have done nothing whatsoever with their accounts and will turn up with carrier bags and boxes of loose till receipts, invoices, blank cheque book stubs covering a period of anything from a year to 18 months. This makes life far more difficult than it needs to be when preparing accounts and can be even more serious if the client has realised they’ve reached the turnover threshold for VAT registration and there is then an extra task of working out which expenses can retrospectively claimed for. In addition to making life more difficult for bookkeepers and accountants, it also results in higher bills which can be greatly reduced with careful planning. I would like to outline a few hints which if followed, could save business owners a great deal of stress and money. Most of the principles mentioned here should be applied whether you are a sole trader, partnership or limited company :• Make sure that you have a business bank account and separate business transactions from personal ones. Using the business account for household groceries just makes life more difficult when compiling the accounts. • Ensure that you have paperwork to support any transactions, apart from the obvious ones such as bank charges and interest. Any other entry on a bank statement should be accompanied by an invoice or receipt with an explanation of what the expense or receipt was for. • When paying an invoice, it is good practice to write the date paid and method used. If paid by cheque, write the cheque number on the invoice and complete the cheque stub. • For loose till receipts, a good practice is to fix them to A4 paper as you receive them. If you hire a bookkeeper or accountant, they then simply have to process them rather than spending hours sorting them first. • Make sure you record when cheques are paid into the bank and the paying-in slip number if available. There is nothing worse than trying to work out transactions from a deposit on a bank statement if you don’t know how many payments were received. • If your business is relatively small, you may be able to record your accounts on paper but it is important that you seek help if you’re unsure of what can be claimed as business expenses. businesses, once your turnover in a 12 month period reaches £67,000 you must register for VAT. If you register late, you are likely to be fined and charged interest on the late payment. • There are a number of VAT schemes in operation to certain types of businesses. Seek advice as to the most suitable one for you. Once you are VAT registered, it is definitely advisable to use a computerised accounts package as this saves a great deal of time and money. • A computerised system is also the most efficient way ensuring that suppliers are paid on time and keeping track of who owes you money. • Regular bookkeeping is also the key to knowing the state of your business. It’s no use waiting until after year-end to find that you’ve made a loss, over-spent your advertising budget for the year or finding out that you’ve paid an invoice twice. At Dales Bookkeeping, we have a range of clients who we see on a weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual basis to take the pain out of the tasks mentioned here and to allow business owners to do what they do best. We offer a free 1 hour consultation and will do our best to help you achieve success. When most people start out in business, filing receipts and paying attention to the accounts is usually the last thing that they think about. • Once your business reaches a certain size, you may need to keep computerised accounts but don’t be fooled into thinking you need the most feature rich product on the market. You may not have cause to use many of the features such as stock control or you simply don’t have the resource to use them correctly. • Monitor your turnover carefully. For most For more details of our services, see www.dalesbookkeeping.co.uk or email enquiries@dalesbookkeeping.co.uk Roy Clements MICB CB.Dip PM.Dip 37 http://www.dalesbookkeeping.co.uk

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Raw 02 - September 2008

Raw 02 - September 2008 Contents Scott English Rachael Elnaugh Colin Stroud Heidi Weir Chris Wright Million Impossible Emma Thompson

Raw 02 - September 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.