VAT Man - will he get me???

oldnick

unfortunately the reason so many businesses fail is that they are like you.

Go to business link and learn as much as you can about marketing. At the minute you don't have a business, your husband just has an insecure job.

I sold kitchens for a living for many years. That taught me that price is not the main issue in the consumer market (or in the commercial market for that) What people look for is service! Provide it and you will never have to compete on price.

In the area I live in the council are modernising all the kitchens. Although the units going in could be bought for about £800, the council are paying £4200 per kitchen. The reason they are paying that much is because they needed
several hundred kitchens fitted in a short period of time. The team that fitted mine told me they were paid £600. They thought they were running a business. They didn't make the profit!

I had a discussion with one of the fitters where I worked who was moaning about the problems of running his own business.

I persuaded him to go to business link. With their advice and help he set up a real business. He no longer fits kitchens. All he does is hunt for and price work. Last year he got a contract to fit kitchens for a major DIY house. He employs subbies to do the work, is home every day by by 5pm, and earns ten times what he made doing the work himself!

Try and go the same road. Business is all about leverage. Your husband could probably make more just hunting for business and paying someone else to do the work.

longforgotten

Do you know your customers ? Are they VAT registered ? Was all your work standard rated as far as VAT is concerned ? Lots of questions I know.

If your customers are VAT registered there maybe a way out. Raise new sales invoices for the period when you were over the limit but not registered, invoices showing VAT on top of your original invoice, and credit notes to cancel out the old invoices. The customer will have to pay you extra, i.e the VAT, but will be able to claim it back on his VAT return, so will not be out of pocket. This needs advice off your accountant, or be brave and phone the VAT man, and of course nice customers.

longforgotten

Any thoughts please on my suggestion on re-issuing invoices.