Self employed while being employed.

pitkin2020

fengirl wrote: »

To correct pitkin's post, you no longer have 3 mths in which to register with HMRC. The rules have changed and you need to register as soon as possible after you start to trade.
I do, however, agree that a spreadsheet is quite sufficient to record your ins and outs to start with.

HMRC requires that you notify them within three months of becoming self-employed. This is easy to do, either by filling out the online form or phoning the Newly Self-employed Helpline on 0845 915 4515.
Don’t forget though, or you will be fined £100.

when did it change then???

fengirl_2

It changed earlier this year - I think to stop people running up debts on Class 2 NIC's.

RobertoMoir

Baxter111 wrote: »

Other than sage, what would you suggest??

I'd rather drink paint than use Sage but that's just me. In the first instance, I like the suggestion of Excel. Not a lot of point in spending a lot of money on accounting software until you need it, if you see what I mean.

pitkin2020

fengirl wrote: »

It changed earlier this year - I think to stop people running up debts on Class 2 NIC's.

my accountant is going to get a slap then as i only asked him last week if it was still a 3 month starting grace and he said it was damn accountant

pitkin2020

RobertoMoir wrote: »

I'd rather drink paint than use Sage but that's just me. In the first instance, I like the suggestion of Excel. Not a lot of point in spending a lot of money on accounting software until you need it, if you see what I mean.

sage is a really good bit of software, but like i said to most peoples needs its a bit of overkill, its like using a jcb to weed your flowerbed.

Excel is very basic and you probably already have it so no expense incurred, use a new tab for all the different areas you need to account for and use the simple sums button to keep a running total.

The only good thing about proper accounting software is the reports process where by you can generate reports at anytime to see how the business is performing, although tis can still be done in excel you have to do it for yourself though.

personally i used excel for the revenue expenses and capital expenses and i used access to create quotes and the invoices, i would then import the invoice data to excel on a regular basis with a totals page in excel to see how the finances were holding up

negg

I have used TAS Books for accounts for many years. The latest version is called TAS Books Basic, is a free download. It has some restrictions to try to get you to buy one of the full blown versions, but I have never needed to upgrade.

It can help handle the boxes on your tax return when you categorise each transaction (against 'postage' or 'car expenses' for example). It also can do the VAT returns for you, should you ever get to that stage.