VERY small business accounts software
Discussion
So, the time has come to prepare accounts for my VERY VERY VERY small business (turnover <£2000pa).
Are there any decent cheap/free accounts packages or am I best off just sticking to Excel for my purposes. We average about 50 transactions a year and have assets worth approx £2500.
Apologies if been asked before but all my searches ended up at SAGE/QuickBooks et al.
I've seen one free one called turbocash, anyone got any experience of it?
Are there any decent cheap/free accounts packages or am I best off just sticking to Excel for my purposes. We average about 50 transactions a year and have assets worth approx £2500.
Apologies if been asked before but all my searches ended up at SAGE/QuickBooks et al.
I've seen one free one called turbocash, anyone got any experience of it?
Excel would be perfect.
At the level of business you are at what is there to account for?
The Revenue will only require "three line accounts" i.e.
Turnover less Expenditure = Profit
They have a special section for this simple type of Income and Expenditure account on page SE1 of the "Self Employed Supplementary Pages" of the Self Asserssment tax return.
At the level of business you are at what is there to account for?
The Revenue will only require "three line accounts" i.e.
Turnover less Expenditure = Profit
They have a special section for this simple type of Income and Expenditure account on page SE1 of the "Self Employed Supplementary Pages" of the Self Asserssment tax return.
Edited by Eric Mc on Thursday 5th July 17:28
Eric Mc said:
Excel would be perfect.
At the level of business you are at what is there to account for?
The Revenue will only require "three line accounts" i.e.
Turnover less Expenditure = Profit
They have a special section for this simple type of Income and Expenditure account on page SE1 of the "Self Employed Supplementary Pages" of the Self Asserssment tax return.
Thanks Eric, I don't actually get a self-assessment tax form (my main job involves me being paid by the government so after a couple of years of self-assessment they took me off it), would it be in my interests to go back onto it (I don't take a salary from my small business, merely repaying directors loan to the company at the moment)?At the level of business you are at what is there to account for?
The Revenue will only require "three line accounts" i.e.
Turnover less Expenditure = Profit
They have a special section for this simple type of Income and Expenditure account on page SE1 of the "Self Employed Supplementary Pages" of the Self Asserssment tax return.
Edited by Eric Mc on Thursday 5th July 17:28
OK - this does change some of the assumptions I was making.
As a director of a trading company, it is almost certain that you SHOULD be completing a personal Self Assessment tax return. This would be to ensure that you return to the Revenue:
a) any salaries received from the company
b) any dividends received from the company
c) any benefits in kind received from the company
d) details of any expense claims you made to the company
Even if the company did not do much in the way of trading and perhaps none of those events listed in a) to b) above actually happened, it is still advisable to complete the Self Assessment return showing "Nil" income from the company.
Salaries (including "Nil" salaries, Benefits and Expense claims are all shown in the Employment Supplementary Pages of the Self Assessment tax return.
As you already have a "normal" PAYE job, you would be required to complete TWO sets of "Employment Supplementary Pages" - one to cover your two sources of employed income - your job and your directorship.
I also think that it is advisable that trading companies should register for PAYE - even if salaries are not actually being paid out. This will ensure that all factors to do with Employment Tax issues can be dealt with properly by the company.
As for the company itself, as you would expect, annual accounts need to be completed at the end of the accounting year. These accounts have to be prepared in accordance with Companies Act provisions and accounting standards.
The accounts need to be submitted to Companies House within TEN months of the end of the accounting year - although the first set of accounts usually has a somehat shorter filing deadline.
If there is any Corporation Tax liability arising on the company's profits (not likely in your case), it needs to be paid within NINE months of the end of the accounting year. Again, the first set of accounts often has a shorter payment date for the tax bill.
Finally, the Corporation Tax return form (which is also under a form of Self Assessment system) needs to be submitted to the Revenue within TWELVE months of the end of the accounting year. The return needs to be accompanied by the annual accounts and supporting Corporation Tax computations and schedules.
As a director of a trading company, it is almost certain that you SHOULD be completing a personal Self Assessment tax return. This would be to ensure that you return to the Revenue:
a) any salaries received from the company
b) any dividends received from the company
c) any benefits in kind received from the company
d) details of any expense claims you made to the company
Even if the company did not do much in the way of trading and perhaps none of those events listed in a) to b) above actually happened, it is still advisable to complete the Self Assessment return showing "Nil" income from the company.
Salaries (including "Nil" salaries, Benefits and Expense claims are all shown in the Employment Supplementary Pages of the Self Assessment tax return.
As you already have a "normal" PAYE job, you would be required to complete TWO sets of "Employment Supplementary Pages" - one to cover your two sources of employed income - your job and your directorship.
I also think that it is advisable that trading companies should register for PAYE - even if salaries are not actually being paid out. This will ensure that all factors to do with Employment Tax issues can be dealt with properly by the company.
As for the company itself, as you would expect, annual accounts need to be completed at the end of the accounting year. These accounts have to be prepared in accordance with Companies Act provisions and accounting standards.
The accounts need to be submitted to Companies House within TEN months of the end of the accounting year - although the first set of accounts usually has a somehat shorter filing deadline.
If there is any Corporation Tax liability arising on the company's profits (not likely in your case), it needs to be paid within NINE months of the end of the accounting year. Again, the first set of accounts often has a shorter payment date for the tax bill.
Finally, the Corporation Tax return form (which is also under a form of Self Assessment system) needs to be submitted to the Revenue within TWELVE months of the end of the accounting year. The return needs to be accompanied by the annual accounts and supporting Corporation Tax computations and schedules.
Edited by Eric Mc on Friday 6th July 08:25
Eric thanks for all above!
I'd sort of worked most of it out from the Companies House website, but you have managed to explain it in English!
I'm keen to get back onto self-assessment anyway as for the 5 years I was on it I managed to get a few £hundred back anyway!!! Perhaps that's why they took me off of it....
Interesting about registering for PAYE, hadn't thought of that one. Cheers!
I'd sort of worked most of it out from the Companies House website, but you have managed to explain it in English!
I'm keen to get back onto self-assessment anyway as for the 5 years I was on it I managed to get a few £hundred back anyway!!! Perhaps that's why they took me off of it....
Interesting about registering for PAYE, hadn't thought of that one. Cheers!
The Revenue have been assiduously taking people off Self Assessment when those individuals are continuously claiming tax refunds.
This is marginally legal as the onus on whether Self Assesment tax returns should be made rests entirely on the taxpayer, not the Revenue. They are legally wrong to take the initiative. They certainly would be quick to jump on any taxpayer who decides to take himself/herself out of the system if they owed tax liabilities.
I would strongly advise you to review the years when you WEREN'T submitting Self Assessment returns and calculate if you would have received tax refunds or not. If you were, then submit the tax returns anyway, whether they asked you for one or not. You can go back six years.
This is marginally legal as the onus on whether Self Assesment tax returns should be made rests entirely on the taxpayer, not the Revenue. They are legally wrong to take the initiative. They certainly would be quick to jump on any taxpayer who decides to take himself/herself out of the system if they owed tax liabilities.
I would strongly advise you to review the years when you WEREN'T submitting Self Assessment returns and calculate if you would have received tax refunds or not. If you were, then submit the tax returns anyway, whether they asked you for one or not. You can go back six years.
Edited by Eric Mc on Friday 6th July 09:25
LeeME3 said:
Are there any decent cheap/free accounts packages or am I best off just sticking to Excel for my purposes. We average about 50 transactions a year and have assets worth approx £2500.
If you're handy with it, Excel will be fine for your bookkeeping. I'd suggest worksheets for:- Invoicing/Income (No, item, Client, Activity, Date Raised, Date Paid)
- Expenses (Date, Client, Item, Receipt Y/N, Payment Method, Cost (categorised to suit your accounts), Payment Record (Visa bill and/or cheque reference), CapEx element
- Shared costs calculator (car, phone, mobile, internet, etc.)
- CapEx/Depreciation assessment
- Perhaps a timesheet/mileage calendar
Summing off all these you can then create:
- Accounts Summary
- Tax summary for the business
Finally, if you want, add sheets for:
- Other personal tax (salary & income tax, bank interest, pension, dividends, CGT), following the tax form layout,
- Tax "Rules", (thresholds & rates)
and you can then have a final worksheet that summarises the key numbers to input on the tax form, box-by-box, and an estimate of tax payable or due.
Keep a blank version as a template, so you can start afresh every year. One small tip: colour code cells that are formulae, or receive data from somewhere else in the spreadsheet - it makes it easier to see which boxes you should input data, and which you should not touch.
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