Self employed, doing things correct?

sprucegs

Hi all
I became self employed as a handyman in early 2016. I worked for one person on a farm, doing various jobs and I charged him a day rate, and every week was different. One week was a full week the next could be 2 days etc. I invoiced him for my work and he paid me by cheque. This has carried on up until recently where the work has dried up and I wanted to take a different approach with my work and offer more Garden work. So now I have a lot more customers which I think is better. I make invoices for every job I do, some pay by bank transfer, others pay in cash. When cash is paid, I make a note on the invoice how it was paid and go to the bank and pay it in. Obviously I wait until the cash builds then put it in all at once, otherwise I'd be back and too all the time! I just want to make sure I'm doing things correctly? I've just compeleted my first tax return for last year, and obviously I only had one customer, but my next tax return for this year, will include many different customers, is there anything I need to do differently?
Thanks.

ElefantEd

Thaaat's exactly what I do. So long as you keep records of what work you've done, for whom and when, and when and how they paid you, you'll be fine. You only report the total amount to HMRC but it's obviously important to have good records in case you have to prove anything. You can subtract legitimate expenses from the amount earned - in yoru case I imagine tools as well as travel expenses.

I'm a tutor, not a gardener, but the principle is the same - quite a few regular clients, paying mostly by cash but also by BACS or cheque. Good luck!

Sarastro

What you're doing is fine. Just keep clear records of what you worked and how it was paid. You only submit the totals to HMRC.
You have to earn £83k before VAT kicks in. Make sure you are putting something away to pay your income tax bill, you can pay monthly to HMRC.

trailingspouse

And keep up-to-date records of who owes what, and who's paid what. It can be on a fancy-pants accountancy package, or on the back of an envelope - so long as it's up-to-date and accurate. That way you will notice very quickly who is slow to pay or (and it happens) hasn't paid at all, and you can do something about it.