Accounts, Please Helppppppp??

[CreativeDesigns2007]

Hi everyone again,

When ive set up my new business how do i keep track of my spending on materials etc... and is there a good way of filling things, do i have to keep reciepts incase of the tax man wanting it. I think il invest in a accounting folder from asda or somewhere lol

Please help me thanks donna x

[Annette]

Hi Donna

There are quite a few accountants members who will give you a more adequate reply, later on.

All I know is that you must keep all your receipts. At the end of the tax year you need to know everything you have spent and everything you have taken as payment. These must be kept for a number of years (need to look it up 6 possibly?).

You can keep a very simple ledger either on paper or on the computer using Excel.

If you look on the most recent threads there is quite a lot of information on them - take a look. There are Revenue and Customs day courses that will give you all the info that you will need. They are worth going on when you first become self employed.

[mjbelkin]

I record everything in an Excel spreadsheet - I have one page for all sales, and another page for all expenses. You can either get yourself just a standard notebook, or if your feeling adventurous, an analysis book. The main thing you need to be able to identify in your expenses are which items are direct costs (the items that you need to sell your product, which make up your product), and indirect costs (expenses you incur that are not directly as a result of your sales, such as stamps, stationery, bank charges (or Paypal fees), that sort of thing).

Keep a record of everything. Keep receipts where possible, but the tax man will only want to see your records if your return gets selected for investigation.