If paying somone to put out leaflets...

[WaterTight]

...and wanting to make these payments deductable off my tax as advertising...am I right in thinking I simply need to make it clear that as they are working on a self-employed basis they are responsible for paying their national insurance and tax, then make up receipts of amounts paid to them and keep them? Or would the taxman want more proof than that like contracts of employment, signed invoices or something?

I know if you use a proper leaflet distributing company you'll get proper receipts from them and those alone would probably suffice but they have quite large minimum drops and are quite expensive, I'm just thinking of getting someone local to do some...How do I make it all legit?

 

[WaterTight]

By the way I'm not lazy I put out my own but I have knee problem that hurts with too much walking so is limiting..

 

[Plumbstar Tom]

Sure you just need a reciept

 

[WaterTight]

One I write out myself and get them to sign? Otherwise it's not much in the way of proof is it?

 

[GQuigley67]

how much are you paying them to leaflet drop ? I wouldnt bother to be honest I'd just put the receipt through for the leaflets, if your paying someone say £20-30 then they wouldnt want to declare it

 

[WaterTight]

Probably about £160 per month. Enough that I'd personally prefer to get in knocked off my tax bill. I'm just wondering how to do it properly. Whether they choose to declare or not is up to them I suppose.

 

[GQuigley67]

I suppose, I thought maybe you were just doing one round. It's alot of money for leaflet drops though, from what I've heard they are not very efficient at creating work.

 

[WaterTight]

Well I've found them to be personally. I've put out many, many thousands. Prob why my knee now doesn't like walking anymore. I might ask mr accountant see what he says. Seeing him next week anyway.

 

[GQuigley67]

you've found them to be a good investment then ?

 

[Barry98]

get them to give you an invoice for the hours theyve done and money they want. just like subbing a job out

 

[WaterTight]

good investment for small jobs where people are more likely to take a punt on the unknown. don't know how good they'd be at generating big jobs since that's not really what i do - although i keep getting asked if i service or install boilers.

yeah that's prob the way to go bod!

 

[dontknowitall]

By the way I'm not lazy I put out my own but I have knee problem that hurts with too much walking so is limiting..

Yeah, yeah ...

 

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

we have also found leaflets to be very good but i deliver them. Don't know whether it would work out so good if we paid other people to do it. Leaflets are cheap to produce but delivering takes a lot of time 300-400 houses in 2 hours.

 

[mcniven]

how much are you guys roughly paying for printing costs of leaflets? if its online, can you link me, i pay around 0.30p per a4 print out.

 

[Ian10261]

good investment for small jobs where people are more likely to take a punt on the unknown. don't know how good they'd be at generating big jobs since that's not really what i do - although i keep getting asked if i service or install boilers.

I agree, a leaflet drop was how i got started off 7 years ago, thinking about doing another one soon as works been fading for a while. me and the wife will do the work as we did last time, not woth the risk of finding a stack of your leaflets in a bin somewhere if you pay someone to do it for you if you ask me.

 

[secret squirrel]

I use leaflets a lot, heres what I've found:

I pay £60 for 6,000 leaflets which are two colour A5. I spend £30 per 1000 for delivery. I ask for a receipt which they give me, tax man and accountant is more than happy with this.
All your doing is paying for a service, whether they pay tax etc is not my problem.

I normally recover the outlay in two/three small jobs which is normally within 2 weeks of being delivered. Then I'm waiting for more calls. I have been called from leaflets over 1 year after them being delivered. People do keep them.

I have had bathroom quotes etc from leaflets but generally have been a waste of time. However, with the people who've got me in to do small jobs I've then became there regular plumber and have subsequently got bigger jobs.

I don't deliver them myself because I can't cover the same area, the girls I've got delivering will deliver 6000 in a week to the area I want. When I do it myself I end up delivering a couple of hundred get a bit fed up, then a job comes in, go to do the job then stop delivering.

My best advice is if not delivering yourself make sure you trust the people doing them!

 

[WaterTight]

My accountant told me the other day that if you're paying someone regularly to put out leaflets you are viewed as employing them and responsible for sorting out the tax. He said the best way to avoid this would be to employ students.

 

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

There are various online companies - vistaprint are good - or use them as base to compare others.
A higher price might indicate thicker and better quality paper or card - which can be good.

We actually use a local Kent company - price is similar to Vistaprint.

Print in bulk - we have printed 10,000 at a time. They last ages but economies of scale they work out very cheap - can't remember cost but was about £200 I think, perhaps less?

 

[WaterTight]

vistaprint will do you 5000 delivered for just shy of 90 quid.

 

[secret squirrel]

My accountant told me the other day that if you're paying someone regularly to put out leaflets you are viewed as employing them and responsible for sorting out the tax. He said the best way to avoid this would be to employ students.

This is what really grips me about being self employed, sole trader, running your own company.

I run a ltd company and my accountant is more than happy with me supplying a receipt for leaflet delivery. I do not employ these women that is there profession, I pay for a professional service, which they do well. They get paid by numerous other tradesmen and local government to deliver leaflets.

So, your accountant tells you the opposite! whose is right? Do we now have to wait for the muppets at the tax office to make a decision!

'paying someone regulary' what is that supposed to mean. Once a month, once a quater, once every six months.

Sorry watertight not moaning at you, but its things like this that grip me. If I pay £250 for leaflets and delivery then I want to claim this back. I don't want in a years time to be screwed by the tax man again.......

Here's another one:

Its my company, my van but because its a company van I pay tax on it if I use it privately. I now claim maintenance etc on my car because on the odd occasion I use it for quotes....

Aaaahhhhhh, if running your own business isn't hard enough as it is............

I'm stopping now.................honest

 

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

Totally withyou Squirel
I am told to keep a diary of miles driven in my car then the accountant gives a milage allowance when he does accounts. i think it might be arround 40p per mile but not sure - not sure if it depends on the car details as well.
As for the van - Mr TP drives a van. Is he really going to tell accountant/tax man that 30,000 miles was for work but there there was a further 2,000 miles on the clock from driving to supermarket or on detour to see Mistress!

 

[Destroyer2813]

Get your dad to print em on the sly at work and all your business cards works for me:yesnod:

 

[stevetheplumber]

Totally withyou Squirel
I am told to keep a diary of miles driven in my car then the accountant gives a milage allowance when he does accounts. i think it might be arround 40p per mile but not sure - not sure if it depends on the car details as well.
As for the van - Mr TP drives a van. Is he really going to tell accountant/tax man that 30,000 miles was for work but there there was a further 2,000 miles on the clock from driving to supermarket or on detour to see Mistress!

youve probably underestimated on the mistress visits