More self-employed business advise needed please

[Rose143]

Hi peeps,

I know this is long but I really need some help, losing sleep over this now!

As I mentioned the other day about going to see an accountant, well, I was a little spooked, she smelled of alchohol when I walked in and had a bottle of wine on her desk :Scared: So yeah, first impression not so great. We then we got talking and she said to me that I do need an accountant if I'm gonna start employing somebody and she also said the Inland Revenue is happier accepting tax returns from accountants than from your regular self employed person. When I spoke to Ronald (my b'f) he said I don't need her especially if she is gonna charge me £400 to do a tax return. Ronald believes I am quite capable of doing this thing myself. Now I know most of you do this yourself but I just don't want them to investigate me, This accountant said they would be more likely to investigate me if I didn't have an accountant involved. Then she went on to tell me that she is not really qualified and that she failed her final exam 3 yrs ago :Scared: OMG what was I thinking!!!!! Anyway, I am thinking of going on one of those inland revenue courses again about tax etc but I didn't really learn from the first one. Everybody in my class was more concerned about there own business questions rather than general questions which made it very hard for all of us. Should I get an accountant or do it myself???? I don't want to shoot myself in the foot here but then again, I also don't wanna get ripped off. This accountant also said that other accountants will charge me at least £600 which I didn't believe.

Next question, do I need to open a business banking account? Ronald says I don't need to, the accountant said I have to. So I asked this accountant why I should open an account that the bank is gonna charge me for depositing money into when the transactions are gonna be exactly the same as my personal account, because I'm a sole trader. She couldn't answer me, all she said was, good question! But will I need to anyway seeing as I will be taking someone on?

Any advice you may have would be great, thank you so much!

xxxx

 

[naturalnails]

Hi Rose,

I have an accountant who charges me £200 per year. I do most of my accounts myself, tracking ins and outs using Quickbooks. I do not have a business bank account, I just have a separate current account.

I do not believe that the IR treat you with suspicion if you do not get an accountant to fill in your tax return. You can do it all online without any problems (almost).

The only benefit to having an accountant is they supposedly will know what other things you can claim against your profit in terms of a percentage of your household bills, use of the car etc.

If you want further info I will gladly give you any help I can - PM or e-mail me.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Now my little Rosebud, you need to take it easy and not panic! The Inland Revenue have a small business team who will come out and help you on a one to one basis (again free). I would suggest going on the course first, and if it doesn't cover all you need to know then get them to come and see you.

I did Kelly's pay and payslip ( you can buy them in any good stationers). The first few weeks take a little while to get used to and then it's a doddle, got is set up on the pc and just changed the relevant figures each week. Difficult part is your end of year, but I went into the IR offcie and they did it for me! They also provide a CD ROM that you can use to calculate their pay.

This Accountant sounds like a right rip off merchant. You don't need a business account as they just sting you for bank charges, I think Accountant's like them as it makes their life easier. As far as I am worried I just need to know my income and outgoings and keep a record of them both. Also if you wanted to get a mortgage then most Banks etc prefer your accounts to be done by an accountant - but then you just go self certified.

I have been self employed for 4 years, I used a book keeper to do my tax return in the first year. well she missed stuff out that should have gone on there so I thought I was better to do it myself anyway.

They will not be more likely to investigate you because you do your own books, it is done strictly at random.

Are you sure you weren't speaking to the cleaner posing as the accountatnt on her day off lol!!

 

[Rose143]

Hi Rose,

I have an accountant who charges me £200 per year. I do most of my accounts myself, tracking ins and outs using Quickbooks. I do not have a business bank account, I just have a separate current account.

I do not believe that the IR treat you with suspicion if you do not get an accountant to fill in your tax return. You can do it all online without any problems (almost).

The only benefit to having an accountant is they supposedly will know what other things you can claim against your profit in terms of a percentage of your household bills, use of the car etc.

If you want further info I will gladly give you any help I can - PM or e-mail me.

Thanks for that Fiona I might take you up on your offer actually

I also use Quickbooks and the nice thing is that it is so simple to use and so self explanatory which is why I've learned so much already obvioulsy not everything lol!

Well with regards to what I can claim for, one of my clients has her own business with her husband and she's been doing everything herself for about 18 years and she's already told me what I can and can't claim for. She has also offered to help me with any info, but she is in the construction industry which is totally different and I wouldn't want to take advantage.

Thanks again for your advice hun, really appreciate it!

xxxx

 

[Rose143]

Are you sure you weren't speaking to the cleaner posing as the accountatnt on her day off lol!!

PMSL!!! Best laugh I've had all week Sass!!

I was told I could get fined by the bank and the Inland Revenue for not having a business banking account.

I would rather do this stuff myself becasue I was born a control freak and cannot handle it if I don't know something about what I'm busy with.

I think I'll book one of those courses again and see how it all goes.

Thanks for always coming to my rescue my friend :hug: Mwah!!!!

xxxx

 

[Curzy]

RoseI would go with what the others are saying. I am a qualified chartered accountant and if your business is small, even with a few employees you will be capable of doing it yourself. As part of my job I used to have to do small accounts preps and tax returns. Accountants love them, they charge ££££'s and it only used to take my a morning, if that to do them. Also you find that if the lady worked for a firm it wouldn't be her doing it but a junior member of staff, some who have only been working a number of months.Also be careful of people who are not qualified. They are not regulated by any of the accountancy bodies and often not properly, if at all insured. All qualified accountants have to attend training update courses every year, if they dont they get suspended for the institue. Unqualified accountants knowledge can be very out of date and very patchy. This lady failed her finals because she did not have the knowlegde to pass. Does she have the correct knowlegde to complete your accounts correctly?Like the others say, try it yourself. The inland revenue give you tons of advise. If you are not sure what is allowable or nonallowable expense, give them a call and they will tell you. As for the IR trusting returns filed by accountants, rather than individuals it is not true. I have sat in numerous meetings, some lasting days where my firm has prepared all the booking keeping, accountants and returns and they still go through everything with a fine toothcomb.Banks want you to have a business account with them as they earn more money from you! I have just a personal current account which I put all my receipts and payments through. It is kept seperate from my joint account which contains all my family day to day stuff.As long as you keep all receipts, record all your income, record your mileage to and from clients and wholesalers you will be okay. Seek help from the inland revenue. They are not as scary as some people think. Sorry its a bit long, but its are really bugs me when unqualfied accountants scare people in this way, from my experience they do a shoddy job and charge the earth!

 

[Just Jo]

Totally agree Rose my angel ... you are more than capable of doing it yourself and do not need to pay someone elses drink bill for them lol

I have done my own and I have spoken to the Inland Revenue on more than one occassion and they were really nice and friendly and will take all the time necessary to help you understand and get the forms filled in correctly.

The only thing I did do last year was go on a course with Salford Hundred Venture (dont know if thats only what the Salford one is called) but it is a local business training for self employed and they cover all aspects of being self employed and various people come in and talk to you - inland revenue included, and it was really good - I though it was going to be sooooo boring, but I really did come away feeling more confident and having learned quite a lot and you also have contacts then to keep in touch wiht should a problem arise and they dont charge for that either! I went on a Monday for 4 weeks.
My local was Salford Hundred Venture - if you look it up it may help you to know what is your area equivalent.

Hth's a little babe
Take care
Jo xxxxxx

 

[Rose143]

RoseI would go with what the others are saying. I am a qualified chartered accountant and if your business is small, even with a few employees you will be capable of doing it yourself. As part of my job I used to have to do small accounts preps and tax returns. Accountants love them, they charge ££££'s and it only used to take my a morning, if that to do them. Also you find that if the lady worked for a firm it wouldn't be her doing it but a junior member of staff, some who have only been working a number of months.Also be careful of people who are not qualified. They are not regulated by any of the accountancy bodies and often not properly, if at all insured. All qualified accountants have to attend training update courses every year, if they dont they get suspended for the institue. Unqualified accountants knowledge can be very out of date and very patchy. This lady failed her finals because she did not have the knowlegde to pass. Does she have the correct knowlegde to complete your accounts correctly?Like the others say, try it yourself. The inland revenue give you tons of advise. If you are not sure what is allowable or nonallowable expense, give them a call and they will tell you. As for the IR trusting returns filed by accountants, rather than individuals it is not true. I have sat in numerous meetings, some lasting days where my firm has prepared all the booking keeping, accountants and returns and they still go through everything with a fine toothcomb.Banks want you to have a business account with them as they earn more money from you! I have just a personal current account which I put all my receipts and payments through. It is kept seperate from my joint account which contains all my family day to day stuff.As long as you keep all receipts, record all your income, record your mileage to and from clients and wholesalers you will be okay. Seek help from the inland revenue. They are not as scary as some people think. Sorry its a bit long, but its are really bugs me when unqualfied accountants scare people in this way, from my experience they do a shoddy job and charge the earth!

Hi Curzy,

I was just a little overwhelmed when speaking to her because she really started getting technical and by the end of my visist I thought, this is why I do need one, how am I gonna know all that.

Thank you so much for your help, I think I'm gonna give it a go myself and see how I get on. I will bare in mind all you've said, you speak alot of sense :hug:

xxxx

 

[Rose143]

Totally agree Rose my angel ... you are more than capable of doing it yourself and do not need to pay someone elses drink bill for them lol

I have done my own and I have spoken to the Inland Revenue on more than one occassion and they were really nice and friendly and will take all the time necessary to help you understand and get the forms filled in correctly.

The only thing I did do last year was go on a course with Salford Hundred Venture (dont know if thats only what the Salford one is called) but it is a local business training for self employed and they cover all aspects of being self employed and various people come in and talk to you - inland revenue included, and it was really good - I though it was going to be sooooo boring, but I really did come away feeling more confident and having learned quite a lot and you also have contacts then to keep in touch wiht should a problem arise and they dont charge for that either! I went on a Monday for 4 weeks.
My local was Salford Hundred Venture - if you look it up it may help you to know what is your area equivalent.

Hth's a little babe
Take care
Jo xxxxxx

Hi My little friend,

Thank you for that, I will look them up today and see if I can go on a course like that or similar, sounds quite good actually.

It's just, everybody has said that the Inland Revenue is so helpful, when I phone them the other day to ask them what I need to do and where I start with employing someone, the lady on the other end said to me, do you want to register as an employer and I said, is that what I have to do? She said she would send me some info that would give me telephone numbers and things on who to phone. I asked her loads of questions and she dismissed them and said wait for the info, it won't tell you much but it'll give you an idea. Well, I got the info, not great and needless to say I'm a bit reluctant to phone them now, I didn't know what I was asking for, so I put the phone down feeling like a real chop. I was expecting them to help a bit more than what they did oh well .....

Thanks again Jo :hug:

xxxx

 

[izzidoll]

Hi My little friend,

Thank you for that, I will look them up today and see if I can go on a course like that or similar, sounds quite good actually.

It's just, everybody has said that the Inland Revenue is so helpful, when I phone them the other day to ask them what I need to do and where I start with employing someone, the lady on the other end said to me, do you want to register as an employer and I said, is that what I have to do? She said she would send me some info that would give me telephone numbers and things on who to phone. I asked her loads of questions and she dismissed them and said wait for the info, it won't tell you much but it'll give you an idea. Well, I got the info, not great and needless to say I'm a bit reluctant to phone them now, I didn't know what I was asking for, so I put the phone down feeling like a real chop. I was expecting them to help a bit more than what they did oh well .....

Thanks again Jo :hug:

xxxx

I am surprised at this as I always found the Inland Revenue extremely helpful. I always did my own books )....and my mum would do my final figures for the year as she was a bookkeeper, then I would submit myTax Return...Easy Peasy...Then I took on an Employee and I thought it would be difficult....IT WASN'T....I found the new employers pack quite informative , but I got an advisor to come out and see me 2 of them arrived and they were GREAT...as I had already sussed how to fill out the forms they had more time to go over other things, and when they found out my prospective employee was on income support they gave me the name of someone to contact at another agency and I ended up having half her wages paid by them for the first month and she also got her travelling expenses paid for the first month AND got a uniform paid for......I had made enquiries about things like this with the Benefits Agancy and the like and had got nowhere....if it hadn't been for the Inland revenue guys I wouldn't have got any of it....I got the cheque for her wages 6 weeks after she started and it paid for a new extraction system in the shop!! RESULT!
Also the CD-rom they give you to work out the tax and N.I. is Idiot proof!!, and they are now PAYING YOU!! to send in your returns and such on-line....I honestly do not see at this stage that you need an accountant!!...
But can I just ask you all, should I not have a bottle of wine here on my desk
I mean, hic, it's just a wee bottle to keep me going til lunch!

 

[Rose143]

But can I just ask you all, should I not have a bottle of wine here on my desk
I mean, hic, it's just a wee bottle to keep me going til lunch!

Lol!!!! Izzi, you are such a character

I don't want to offend anyone or point fingers, it sounds like I got somone on a bad day or something but I'm certainly not gonna make up stories I was just a little dissapointed at my experience with them after hearing all the praise.

They really helped you out alot which is fantastic but I suppose it makes their jobs easier down the line too hey?

I also didn't sound very confident over the phone, I was quite nervous because I haven't done this before .... obviously, maybe I just amde it awkward.

I have looked up on Business Link for the place Jo suggested and found a local one to me, Croydon Hundred Venture, I'm going there on Thursday to chat to him about some things.

xxxx

 

[izzidoll]

Good Rose....and try not to be so nervous...you seem very focused and you have done your homework!! in fact you know more than I did when I became an employer!....becoming an employer is a very scary thing to do...I mean you are going to be responsible for the liveliehood of another person!...it scared the bejeesus out of me!! ....and I found that I appreciated that there was a support network offered by the Inland Revenue, even though thankfully I didn't have to use it as it was a lot easier than I thought, and doing my tax return on-line was so easy I didn't even need my mother's services anymore!!:irked:

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Rose, I DEFINITELY think this wine drinking accountant has definitely put accountants in general in a bad light. FIRSTLY, boozing it up in whilst working and in front of the client, nog al (You'll understand this Rose) is a BIG NO NO!! What was the women thinking? £400 is daylight robbery and she probably has to charge that amount because she has no other clients if that's how she conducts business. My husband pays in the region of £200 and his accountant lives in quite an upmarket area and does a good job. However, I have heard that the Inland rev. offer good support if you can't do your own tax returns.

 

[dids]

Hi Rose, Why not open a bank account with the Abbey, its free business banking for life as long as you dont bank more than 3 thousand pounds a month ( I should be so lucky LOL). I agree with every one else, that accountant was ripping you off, my last bill was under £200 and I have a salon although no employees last year. Good luck whatever you do.

 

[Just Jo]

Rose good luck on Thursday and let us know how it goes hun :hug:
There are some good banks that do free banking for at least 12 months and then you can change banks after that for another and there are some like Abbey that offer free banking for life under certain conditions.

Take care
Jo xxx

 

[Rose143]

Rose, I DEFINITELY think this wine drinking accountant has definitely put accountants in general in a bad light. FIRSTLY, boozing it up in whilst working and in front of the client, nog al (You'll understand this Rose) is a BIG NO NO!! What was the women thinking? £400 is daylight robbery and she probably has to charge that amount because she has no other clients if that's how she conducts business. My husband pays in the region of £200 and his accountant lives in quite an upmarket area and does a good job. However, I have heard that the Inland rev. offer good support if you can't do your own tax returns.

Lol!! Nog al, Haven't heard that one in ages!!! I cannot believe that she was the one telling me to beware of these ripper-offers and then she tries to rip me off! £200 is not bad at all, that I wouldn't mind paying!

xxxx

 

[Rose143]

Hi Rose, Why not open a bank account with the Abbey, its free business banking for life as long as you dont bank more than 3 thousand pounds a month ( I should be so lucky LOL). I agree with every one else, that accountant was ripping you off, my last bill was under £200 and I have a salon although no employees last year. Good luck whatever you do.

Thanks for that Diane, I had no idea!!! OMG I am so naive when it comes to this because when I went to Barclays, they said that every bank would charge me for a business account, so I basically just stayed with them as it would be an awful shlep to get all my direct debits and things sorted. Why do people feel the need to lie about things, the world would be a much happier place if everyone was just honest. Now Barclays has cost me more problem for when I do decide to transfer everything

xxxx

 

[Nco London Gina]

Hi Rose

I think you should consider 2 things

1 - make an appointment to see a few more accountants, especially now that you know that the going rate seems to be around the £200 mark

2 - a business account - loads of the banks offer free business banking. Some only offer it for 12 or 18 months and unless you have borrowed money from them or something, then there is no reason why you can't switch banks at the end of that period.

If you are looking at taking on an employee, then your business is obviously growing. You never know where it might go. You might do really really well and expand beyond what you ever imagined!!
One day, you might want to sell that business and having a business account is what you will need. You don't want people nosing into your private affairs.

I think you will sleep better if you know you are working 'above board' and it's not going to actually cost you anything either !

You can also contact your local business link or business enterprise agency. They are all government funded and are there to help you out - all free of charge!!
If you are creating employment and paying your taxes, why wouldn't they want to help you.

The website of our local centre is www.wenta.co.uk I'm not sure what areas they cover, but maybe they can point you in the right direction. Maybe even help you find a decent accountant !!

hope this helps
Gina

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Hi Rose

I think you should consider 2 things

1 - make an appointment to see a few more accountants, especially now that you know that the going rate seems to be around the £200 mark


You can also contact your local business link or business enterprise agency. They are all government funded and are there to help you out - all free of charge!!
If you are creating employment and paying your taxes, why wouldn't they want to help you.

The website of our local centre is www.wenta.co.uk I'm not sure what areas they cover, but maybe they can point you in the right direction. Maybe even help you find a decent accountant !!

hope this helps
Gina

This is good advice Rose. Visiting a few more accountants opens your options and different ones could all give varied advice and then you can feel comfortable that you have at least seen what there is available. Nothing ventured, nothing gained so to speak but at least you lose nothing. Gina pointed me in the direction of Wenta and I did find them very helpful. They basically covered almost everything I had considered but assured me that all my planning was in the right direction. I then received loads of invitations to free seminars re tax, planning etc.... none of which I went to because my hubbies accountant will handle my business affairs, but the option was there.

 

[dids]

Thanks for that Diane, I had no idea!!! OMG I am so naive when it comes to this because when I went to Barclays, they said that every bank would charge me for a business account, so I basically just stayed with them as it would be an awful shlep to get all my direct debits and things sorted. Why do people feel the need to lie about things, the world would be a much happier place if everyone was just honest. Now Barclays has cost me more problem for when I do decide to transfer everything

xxxx

Iv'e just transferred to the Abbey myself and they include a switcher service where they sort out all your direct debits going in and out of the account. They even close your old bank account for you. Its really easy. It took about 3 weeks to get all my paperwork through (cheque books etc.)from when I first applied though as they are being unindated with applicants (no surprise there really lol)