How do you feel about doing your own bookkeeping?

[lancsguy]

I like to keep my hand in and know where I am up to with everything so prefer to do myself. I tried free agent some time ago now and didn't feel it was value for money at all. My expenses are only very minimal though so I can see how it may be useful for those guys with more complicated affairs.

[zedAccounts]

Hi,

How do people here feel about doing their own bookkeeping? Do you think you would feel more comfortable and in charge of your accounts if you do your bookkeeping on your own?

Or, do some here feel that it some something they could do without as it is dull and boring and would prefer an accountant who would do all?

Really, would love to know your views

I personally prefer to do my own bookkeeping as it helps in knowing exactly where I stand in terms of expenses and income.

Doing your own accounts is pretty easy for a 1-man company. Simply use HMRC's free software for payroll and cheap accounting software like zedAccounts. Apart from saving money I find doing my accounts quite enjoyable and an interesting challenge! Once you get going it's only an 1 hour a month at most, plus a few extra hours at end of FY.

ZED.

[Mark McBurney@CMME]

Hi,

You should also bear in mind that obtaining a mortgage on the basis of your accounts could be problematic if you do not have the accounts signed off by a recognised accountant, as some lenders will require this, and will not lend based on accounts that are not signed off by a suitable accountant.

Kind regards

Mark McBurney

[TykeMerc]

I'm perfectly capable of doing my own bookkeeping and accountancy, however I retain one of the well known contractor oriented accountancy firms to do it for me.

1. I can't be bothered
2. The accountancy fees aren't extortionate, in fact they're ok value for money
3. The fees are a reasonable business cost
4. I'd rather offset the risk of screwups to a professional who carries liability insurance and is after all an expert in their field where as I am an expert in mine (which is why clients pay for my time)

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

The typical size of a PSC means, IMV, contracting out bookkeeping isn't very efficient - the time you spend scanning / posting stuff to accountant / bookkeeper, providing notes on bank statements about transactions, or on receipts as to what were for, means its probably just as easy to do it yourself with a good spreadsheet or portal.

However I know some people have "brown envelope phobia" - they simply aren't good with paper. An enhanced service from an accountant, bookkeeper or umbrella is probably better in those cases.

[mudskipper]

I know some people hate it but the SJD spreadsheet makes this a piece of piss. I am very tempted to try the online portals from the feedback from many people but I just don't see why I need to. My spreadsheet works perfectly so just can't see a reason to stop using it. I have a feeling it will be one of those 'why didn't I change to online before' if I did change but for now 10-15 mins a week max, isn't a problem.

I preferred the SJD spreadsheet to my current online portal.

With the portal you can only see the information they show you. No doubt different portals offer different levels of information.

[Archangel]

When I was contracting I did all my own bookkeeping and for the last 5 years my own accounts.

Now I have a retail shop, staff, stock, capital expenditure etc I still do all my bookkeeping, paye and vat, but have an accountant do the yearend stuff

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I know some people hate it but the SJD spreadsheet makes this a piece of piss. I am very tempted to try the online portals from the feedback from many people but I just don't see why I need to. My spreadsheet works perfectly so just can't see a reason to stop using it. I have a feeling it will be one of those 'why didn't I change to online before' if I did change but for now 10-15 mins a week max, isn't a problem.

You should stick with a system if it works for you, but FWIW, some of the benefits I get from using FreeAgent over a spreadsheet:

* My accountant can just log in and obtain the information he needs, or help me make journal entries when necessary
* I can see at a glance all of the important figures, particularly my retained profit (so I know that I can pay a dividend) and any liabilities.
* It maintains my VAT accounts for me and I can submit my VAT return with a couple of clicks.
* It does my payroll for me (including RTI submissions)
* It lets me track my time and expenses
* It lets me generate invoices and record bills
* It lets me track capital assets
* It lets me keep track of spending and reconcile my bank accounts

Some of the things it doesn't currently do for me:

* Give me a 100% accurate corporation tax calculation, but it gives me one that's close enough (my accountant does the final calculation and return)
* Submit a P11d based on the recorded expenses (most expenses go in Box N or do not appear on the P11d as they were paid for on the company's behalf - I wish it could figure this out) and prior to RTI, my PAYE end of year returns (not sure what happens under RTI yet)
* Make me cups of tea

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Bookkeeping for small, simple businesses like ours is quite simple, especially with great tools like FreeAgent (which I use) or Xero, Kashflow etc.

There are edge cases, some occasional manual journal entries etc. but my accountant advises me on those and also takes care of any end of year adjustments required to bring my books in line with my final accounts (a few examples: FreeAgent's corporation tax calculation isn't 100% accurate and doesn't account for things like deferred tax, nor does it correctly handle small pools allowances, so journals are required to bring the correct liability forward. It also doesn't account for WIP and other subtle issues).

Doing your own books (or getting your partner/spouse to do them) is important IMO as it means you keep on top of your company finances.

[northernladuk]

I know some people hate it but the SJD spreadsheet makes this a piece of piss. I am very tempted to try the online portals from the feedback from many people but I just don't see why I need to. My spreadsheet works perfectly so just can't see a reason to stop using it. I have a feeling it will be one of those 'why didn't I change to online before' if I did change but for now 10-15 mins a week max, isn't a problem.

[craig1]

A standard contractor's accounts are easy really if you keep on top of it. All it needs is a base understanding of what's going on and you can get that by running under an accountant for a year or so and carefully paying attention when something seems complex.

I do the routine bits of my accounting on Friday nights on the train on the way home: Invoicing, expenses, bank reconciliation, etc. That way when it comes to my quarterly VAT return (I do standard VAT rather than FRS) I can balance my books very easily and simply type in my figures to the portal, that quarterly return also acts as a quality check where I match paper against electronic records to double reconcile.

My annual accounts are even easier. I use the last year's as a template and update as necessary, shifting the columns one over and using that as a base. A quick check of the Companies House guidance to make sure there have been no changes to the necessary legal declarations on it and it's off.

[GlenW]

Doing your own bookkeeping and doing your own accounts are two different things.
I do my own bookkeeping, well my wife does it actually, but I have an accountant to do my accounts.

[GazCol]

Bookkeeping is a dying profession; the likes of FreeAgent make it so straightforward it really isn’t worth paying somebody to do it for you.

[autumnleaf]

Hi,

How do people here feel about doing their own bookkeeping? Do you think you would feel more comfortable and in charge of your accounts if you do your bookkeeping on your own?

Or, do some here feel that it some something they could do without as it is dull and boring and would prefer an accountant who would do all?

Really, would love to know your views

I personally prefer to do my own bookkeeping as it helps in knowing exactly where I stand in terms of expenses and income.