Messed up book-keeping

neo1607

So I started a phone/pc repair business March 2013, I kept notes of the purchases and incoming money right up until around Sep - Oct and then after that I pretty much forgot to write stuff down and currently I am around -£300 (due to a few write-offs, broken stock parts etc and using some as expenses but with no receipts)

How would I go about correcting this so I know roughly how much I will owe HM Revenue at the end of the year?

Suarez

Are the figures on your bank statement?

neo1607

Up until around the start of October all cash is accounted for in my bank statements but after that I was using cash for stock purchases and fuel etc which I have no receipts for instead of banking it

Savvy_Sue

Oh Dear.

I hope you've started keeping better records again now, but ... I'd say there are two choices:

Write off to experience what you can't 'prove'

Make very conservative estimates of your expenditure and mileage for the 'missing' period.

The first one is safer, but you don't normally have to submit your receipts to HMRC, so they will almost certainly not be missed. However, if you're asked to justify your figures, you will be up that creek without a paddle.

nlj1520

Not trying to be unhelpful, but just telling you the system, so that when you decide what to do, you make the decision knowing the implications.

On the tax return you have to tick a box if you have used estimated figures. This gives you 6 months to come up with the real figures and file an amended return.

HMRC can fine you a substantial amount for not keeping proper books and records (and are doing so more and more often).

Is there any way at all you can reconstruct the missing information? How good is your memory? Can you find ANY receipts?

Good luck.

plzhelpmesave!

For what it's worth OP, you are not the only one! I'm very much the same and backtracking now to find and collate receipts etc :-( Not good and very avoidable but we live and learn - and am trying much harder now!

neo1607

nlj1520 wrote: »

Not trying to be unhelpful, but just telling you the system, so that when you decide what to do, you make the decision knowing the implications.

On the tax return you have to tick a box if you have used estimated figures. This gives you 6 months to come up with the real figures and file an amended return.

HMRC can fine you a substantial amount for not keeping proper books and records (and are doing so more and more often).

Is there any way at all you can reconstruct the missing information? How good is your memory? Can you find ANY receipts?

Good luck.

Can't find the receipts, believe I have binned them :S

For some of the stock (phone LCD's etc) I had to write off because of accidental damage when I was moving stock around, how would I show this?

Aquamania

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Write off to experience what you can't 'prove'

Good advice

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Make very conservative estimates of your expenditure and mileage for the 'missing' period.

Records of each business mileage trip should also be kept to justify any such expenditure.
So without such 'proof' I would refer the OP to the advice you have already given:)