Reply to: New Contractor questions

Re: Doing your own accounting - "No effort"

The free Nat West deal I was thinking of was arranged by SJD, and was available to all CUK users. It seems to have been replaced on this site with a free deal from Cater Allen, so maybe it’s no longer available.

Re: Doing your own accounting - "No effort"

When I started out contracting I used NatWest because my personal a/c is with them.

The free banking lasted a year only. The only way to get interest (and the rate was cr@p) was to constantly juggle money between the current and reserve accounts.

Might all be different now of course.

Re: Doing your own accounting - "No effort"

Banks. The most important thing is to get one with little (or no fees). Lots of people (me included) use Cater Allen. They are OK, but no online banking. Someone else on here recommends Abbey. You can get free business banking with Nat West (there should be details somewhere on this site)

Re: Doing your own accounting - "No effort"

Thanks for all the advice guys. I've decided to set up a limited company. I now have a couple of other questions if I could trouble you guys some more:

I need to set up a bank account for business and personal - any recommendations, or are the usual lot fine (Natwest/Barclays etc)

Can anyone recommend an IR35 specialist in London? I want to see a specialist to go through my contract and give me general advice on how I should operate to maximise my profits. The accounts I'll do myself (Well the wife will anyway).

Appreciate all the advice you guys are giving, many thanks.

Doing your own accounting - "No effort"

OK. It was no "no effort".

Each month I would make a few book-keeping entries onto a spreadsheet. I would have done this if I had had an accountant anyway, so counted it as "no extra effort". With some Excel formulas (no macros or VBA), it was set up to give quarterly VAT totals, and feed values to the company's annual P&L and Balance Sheet statements.

But at company and PAYE year-end there was extra work. Eg the decisions about divi payments, changing tax and NI rates in the PAYE calculator, and supplying completed documents and returns. Otherwise for small companies Corp Tax is zero, and I did not have a car or stock to be depreciated through the company. Maybe this effort was about 7 hours per annum.

Thanks for the offshore scheme offer, but the above is written in the past tense, since I have already been operating offshore for a year.

Re: Doing your own accounting

ZZZAAA - it's nice to see somebody giving that miserable sod antagoneyes some stick but you still haven't answered my inferred question about how long your "no effort" takes each month.

As you are clearly not impressed with my accountancy offer perhaps I could tempt you with a nice offshore scheme that we (Fiddle & Rhino) are now offering.

Antagoneyes - perhaps you'd like to have a pop at that too?

Re: Doing your own accounting

Unfortunately Intellectual sparring with you ZZZAAA would be like being slapped across the wrist with a piece of wet lettuce.

I am content to deal at your level and trade insults - not too taxing in your case - thats a pun by the way:rollin

Re: Doing your own accounting

"Clearly limited on the intellectual front..."

If someone is to judge my intellect, I'd rather it were not someone incapable of performing a VAT calculation. And not someone whose idea of a cerebral activity seems to be tinkering with cars.

Re: Doing your own accounting

I don't think the guy is boring

Quite entertaining actually. Clearly limited on the intellectual front though - for ZZZAAA read Mr. 80. :lol

Re: Doing your own accounting

> aim to rise above scraping the barrel of inarticulate mediocrity

you clearly need to read`the forum T&C - all posts have to be boring tulipe - yours have indeed met those conditions so you are safe.

Re: Doing your own accounting

Anatgoneyes,

Even your insults are dull cliche-ridden unoriginality. Forget the car. Give your brain a major service, and the next time you write, aim to rise above scraping the barrel of inarticulate mediocrity.

Re: Doing your own accounting

The truth is ZZZAAA I think you are an Ass and I would seriously like to kick you or possibly insert a hardback Haynes Manual where the sun don't shine.

Re: Doing your own accounting

If you're that clever I'd suggest you bin IT and take up accounting old boy - IT will be dead in the UK in a few years.

Mind you with IR591 contractor accounting will be too even sooner - the few left in the game will either be using umbrellas or offshore schemes.

Doing your own accounting

Antagoneyes,

"I am not arrogant enough...."

But you are arrogant enough to claim of those doing their own accounts "most have either missed opportunities or made costly mistakes". What's your evidence?

"Your generalisation that doing your own accounts is the way to go"

My "generalisation" was expressed as "my simple case". Maybe it's the same thing to someone whose main reading literature is Haynes manuals.

"perhaps you are not one of these but who cares!"

Contradictory. You ask me a question, then change your mind and claim not to care. It sums up the quality of your comments.

Re: not guilty

> an actuary is someone who finds accounting too exciting
yes - I watched About Scmidt too - glad I didn't buy it

Oh - another point about that £50 - it's £50 pre taxation - if I left it in the company and drew it as divvi or salary I doubt I'd see much more than £30