Accounts for self employed

[themorgatron]

I've recently set up as self employed and was wondering if anyone could recommend good books or websites for help and guidance in doing my own accounts.

Cheers

 

[WHPES]

I borrowed the small business accounting for dummies book, had most of the basic stuff.

Do a search for small business accounting on Amazon.

 

[Puddle]

It is really hard to find software for a small,one man bands accounts, all over the top, I would still recommend the small accounts book as sold by W H Smiths, it has everything you need, all be it, shock horror a written account book, you can keep it with you fill in with incomings and out goings as you go along and just hand to your accountant at the end of the year and he will print up final accounts quite easily from it

The Best Small Business Accounts Book - Yellow Book | WHSmith.co.uk

 

[dontknowitall]

Best one I know of is "Accounts Demystified" by Anthony Rice. Takes an example of a flower shop and explains everything in laymans terms. What a balance sheet is, how to read accounts, etc. Very easy reading and well indexed. And towards the end of the book when things are a little more complicated he still knows the reader is a raw beginner.

Just looked it up on Amazon and the previous version (one I've got) is £2. Highly rated there too.

To me, this is a must have book even if you end up buying one or two others.

Have you tried the local library where books are free?

 

[wnjswozo]

what i do is put all invoices,reciepts for each month in individaul a4 envolpes for each month,ie jan,feb etc then marry them up each month,paperwork is the bind of my life

 

[justlead1]

Hi. The most important thing is invoicing. During my time in business i have tried different methods. And now turned full circle, by using NCR (No carbon required paper) You simply have a pad in the van and write them out on completion of every job, then hand to client. Getting them to write the cheque, then and there. People wont thank you for giving credit. they just think your soft. For the actual accounts "Quick Books " a computor application is ok. I enter the info from the written invoices to this software along with purchases, bank charges, wages, insurances etc. Using this method i only enter info once a week. It works for me. Good Luck

 

[oldplumber]

if your any good with excell then just use that. one page for expenses broken down into materials, office, fuel etc and one page for invoices. why pay for software when you probbaly have all u need already in an excell type package. ask your accountant what colums to put eveything in and buy 2 lever arch files a mall one for all your invoices and a large one for expenses/bills keep them in date order and match delivery notes to each invoice 9merchants often get it wrong and noy in your favour)
sit down weekly and spend an hour at it and lifes easy (or do what i do at this time of year and collate all my paid bills onto a computer spreadsheet to give to the accountant, only tkaes 2 days) dont forget to go through the wifes hand bag for all her fuel receipts, gotta claim wot you can!!!

 

[dontknowitall]

I use an Excel spreadsheet as well - Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss on the front sheet which updates automatically when I put entries in the other sheets. One for expenses, one for invoices, one for stock, one for bank account etc. Around 10 sheets in all.

Each sheet has totals at the top so I don't have to scroll up and down all the time. Some sheets have extras in. Eg bank has a consolidation column so I can see what the balance is and what it will be after the new entries. Invoice sheet puts everyone in as a debtor and when they pay, the debtors is reduced and the bank balance or cash balance is raised accordingly. Stock calculates VAT automatically and if quantity is more than one another column works out how much an individual piece is.

(I'm an Excel nut and have used it for years and years - my favourite software.)

 

[themorgatron]

Cheers for the advice

I've been to the library and got a couple of books which should be a bit of help. I also know my way around excel so I've been playing about with different sheets.

 

[dontknowitall]

Here's a suggestion if you're playing with Excel totals if you want to try them (as per my previous post):

Sheet1 is called Balance Sheet and P&L Account
Sheet2 is called Expenses

On the right hand side of sheet1 is Sales then further down Expenses. (Left hand side has my Balance Sheet, right hand side has my P&L Account). Under Expenses each of my columns has a total and that is copied on to sheet1 in the appropriate place.
On sheet2 the first few columns are date, reference, supplier, etc. Further to the right there are columns for Insurance, Telephone, Printing, etc. Small Tools is in column Q.

Rows 1 and 2 of all columns are the name (e.g. Date, reference etc then further to the right Insurance, Telephone, etc.) Column Q Row 1 is "Small", Column Q Row 2 is "Tools". Row 3 for all relevant columns has the total of the column.
Additionally, the sheet uses "Freeze Panes" which keeps the top three rows visible at all times no matter how far down you scroll. (This is why I keep the totals at the top.)

On sheet1 under "Expenses" there is a cell for "Small Tools" (currently £12.71).
On sheet2 there is a column for "Small Tools" with two transactions equalling £12.71.

Sheet1 has the following formula: =Expenses!Q3 to the right of the cell that says "Small Tools"
Sheet2 has the following formula in Row 3: =SUM(Q4:Q111). Alternatively you can have =SUM(Q:Q) but this adds a fair amount to the computer memory!

I'm not saying you've got to do what I've done, but once set up (correctly!), the whole spreadsheet takes care of itself for the year.

 

[HoodedClaw]

Now I'm not being lazy here, I've created 3 Openoffice spreadsheets from scratch to try setting up some account recording, tested various account packages VT, Solar, Cashbook4, and have not found one that is simple and includes mileage.

I was wondering if anyone might send be their blank template I could play with?

 

[moony]

dontknowitall youve just give me brain ache! ha

 

[dontknowitall]

LOL - it's a while since I typed that lot up and looked earlier this evening at the post. I gave up before I got halfway down it ... !!!!