Accounts, how do you do yours?

[lovin it]

Hi geeks, do u do your own accounts or get an accountant to do it? I've been solo for 3 yrs now and have always done my own but now finding it too much to keep up with. Just wondering what u guys is best?

[jojo@tranquil]

Hi,
I have a spread sheet each day to record takings, and then put it all onto a monthly one to see how much I have taken on each treatment, how much I have sold . How people have paid etc. then I have a folder for each month which all my sheets go into along with invoices, receipts etc and then I give it all to my accountant twice a year. She does my tax return.
I wouldn't have a clue and she is worth every penny !

[lovin it]

Thanks, yeah think I need to get myself one of those!!

[sandwiches]

I put all receipts and paid bill slips in a shoe box along with my diary and hand it over to my accountant to sift through! I have a business and a home life I honestly don't have any room left in my brain for accounts too :lol:

[VerdePurdy]

I shove everything into a folder, then my poor mum (a financial adviser) gets to trudge her way through it!

I would do the same if I had an accountant. As long as the info is there...

Xx

[the beauty room]

just a quick question about accounts just opened a few months ago and i am new to this so forgive me if this is a stupid question lol, but do you class your personal living costs like rent and bills into outgoings or include them in your wage? thanks

[Beansy]

just a quick question about accounts just opened a few months ago and i am new to this so forgive me if this is a stupid question lol, but do you class your personal living costs like rent and bills into outgoings or include them in your wage? thanks

You do not include your personal living expenses in your accounts. Your accounts are solely for business related activities.
If you take money out of the business for yourself, this is recorded as your 'drawings'. You do not need to account for how you spend this money.
Hope this helps but I'd recommend getting on to a HMRC course!

['chelle]

Hi, I have an accountant, for a simple self employed sole trader tax return he only charges me £100, its very worthwhile. I record my daily/weekly takings, and have an envelope with the month written on the front and all receipts for the month go in that envelope, then its sealed at the end of the month, and I hand my takings ledger and the envelopes to my accountant at tax return time and he does the rest. A good accountant can save you a lot of money.

[the beauty room]

Thanks guys, yea im def going to get on a course!! :)

[olabecee]

Hi, I have an accountant, for a simple self employed sole trader tax return he only charges me £100, its very worthwhile. I record my daily/weekly takings, and have an envelope with the month written on the front and all receipts for the month go in that envelope, then its sealed at the end of the month, and I hand my takings ledger and the envelopes to my accountant at tax return time and he does the rest. A good accountant can save you a lot of money.

Hi Chelle, whereabout are you?

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[mrslargelashes]

I do mine at the end of each week in paper and computer form. At the end of each week I have a seperate spreadsheet with all my treatments as headings, I enter the amount clients have spent on each treatment. The computer then tally's up what each treatment made that month. So at the end of the month I can see what has been the most popular, and what has been the slowest treatment. This way I can see the 'trends' throughout the months, and it helps me work out what to promote depending on what time of year it is. Exvel can be your friend, learn how to use it!!

Your 'books' can be as simple as income and outgoings. I recommend a bookeeping course for anyone going into business. I pay my accountant to do my tax return at the end of the year. Ensure you keep all your receipts and mileage if you are mobile. xx

[UK Print Broker]

Hiya,

We can recommend a cheap accountants but we still do 98% ourselves throughout the year leaving us with a tiny bill (always a bouns).

We use a online web accounting program called KashFlow. Worth the money for us. Really simple and can do your own returns with a click of the button! Also SageOne is similar but I found it bit more confusing even that tad cheaper.

Both offer freee trials so give them a whirl and being web based can access them on anything, anywhere :)

Adam,

UK Print Brokers