Accounts

carkeyz

Hi all
Just wondering - as you are all so clever
If anyone had a spreadhseet they use to keep records of their income and expenditure??
And if I could possibly pinch it
If not, what is the best way you have found to do this?
Many Thanks
Carla

wonka

Martin Lewis has actually created this spreadsheet that you could use as a base for recording income/expenditure.

aurorahelios

The Martin Lewis spreadsheet is great for personal use but not really suitable for business use.

OP I think you need to think about what information you need to extract from the spreadsheet. Is it simply for recording info to help you do your tax return or are you looking for more analysis of costs and income?

carkeyz

Its more for tax purposes at the moment x

aurorahelios

It's fairly easy to set up a simple spreadsheet yourself. At the most basic level I would suggest a page for income with columns for date, invoice no and amount. I would put expenditure on a seperate page with columns for date, description with some sort of referencing system so you can refer back to your receipts if necessary, and the various columns dependent on how you want to view the break down of your costs.

It is worthwhile thinking about what you really want from your spreadsheet and designing it accordingly so it meets your business needs. A bit of work at the start can save you a lot of work in the long run, I used to work in setting up cost analysis systems and the hardest part of my job was trying to establish what information would be required going forward. A system that includes everything usually ends up being too time consuming and complicated, while something that is too basic will not give you enough info. What I'm trying to get across here is - think about what you really need now and in the short to medium future, design your spreadsheet accordingly.

Pennywise

Spreadsheets get too big too quickly for even the smallest of businesses. At the very least you need:-

1. Date of transaction
2. Date of payment
3. Name of customer/supplier
4. Amount
5. How it was paid (i.e. which bank or credit card account)
6. Analysis of payment across several columns to match the tax return
7. If you're VAT registered, then you need to add in VAT and net columns and analyse the net instead of gross.
8. All the above needed for in's and out's on separate sheets.
9. Control account to ensure that the spreadsheet balances exactly to the bank and credit card statements to ensure all transactions have been entered and the amounts are right.

You then have to be able to sort it on transaction date as opposed to payment date as SA tax returns have to be prepared according to date of transaction, not date of payment.

If you give or take credit from suppliers or customers, you then have to do some sorting to give you a list of unpaid items to keep you up to date with your debtors and creditors so that you can plan cash flow and chase debts.

All in all, a very tall order for an amateur spreadsheet creator!

You'd be far better buying some proper software - i'd suggest www.vtsoftware.co.uk who do a downloadable very good ledger system for about £125 one off payment. They also do a free cash-book download if you don't give or receive credit that's also excellent.

Beef

Have a look at http://www.diyaccounting.co.uk/

It's only £14 for a suite of linked Excel sheets that do everything you need. Even creates your self Assessment form

Can easily be set to your circumstances, e.g. whether or not you are VAT registered, and if like me you have used your tax threshold PAYE with an employer but are self employed part time, you can set the threshold to suit.

You can claim the £14 as an expense, and the chap that sells it is very helpful if you need advice. This is the third financial year I've been using it.

indierocker85

I have one I put together you could use/have.

PM me, I would need to email it to you

Magpie27

This is also something I was wondering as I'm in the process of becoming self employed as well as full time PAYE. Indierocker85 is it OK to get a copy of your spreadsheet? And how to calculate how much tax I'm likely to owe with being PAYE?

xrjtg

There are good free accounting packages that can be used to keep books for small businesses. I've used Gnucash (free and open source), and it does everything I need.

indierocker85

Magpie27 wrote: »

This is also something I was wondering as I'm in the process of becoming self employed as well as full time PAYE. Indierocker85 is it OK to get a copy of your spreadsheet? And how to calculate how much tax I'm likely to owe with being PAYE?

PM me your email, I have an accounts template I knocked up, and also a tax and NI calculator for anyone who is also PAYE (as I am)