Reply to: Expenses vs company purchase

[DS23]

There is a lot of bollox being talked in this thread.....Stop worrying about it and just ******* buy it.

...... This is paid into the "loan account" a virtual stash of money on the balance sheet the company owes me.

When I need cash to live i take some money out of that.

whs +

[Sockpuppet]

So can I. Only difference is, MyCo buys its own supplies.

I do it the same way.

If I buy anything on a personal card, which can happen, I put the invoices/reciepts in and do an expense claim one a month along with running payroll. This is paid into the "loan account" a virtual stash of money on the balance sheet the company owes me.

When I need cash to live i take some money out of that.

All above board, what the directors loan account is mean to be used for so I can't see the issue.

[Sockpuppet]

If you buy a PC / laptop you should account for it as a fixed asset and NOT as an expense. You can claim for annual depreciation expenses, but not for the initial outlay.

Peripherals can be expensed but not big pieces of kit IIRC.

There is a lot of bollox being talked in this thread.

Expenses are no different to buying it with the company CC. Expenses refer to the company paying you what you paid out for it - nothing else. Just becuase it usually covers car parking and the odd coffee doesn't mean it can't be used for anything else. An employee could buy a 747 on expenses if he wanted and get the employer to pay him for it. Doesn't mean they can't depreciate it in normal ways.

Stop worrying about it and just ******* buy it.

[Billy Pilgrim]

Buy it using your company visa/mastercard/cheque book - assuming you have one

Insure it on your company insurance policy - assuming you have one

Depreciate it over 3 yrs in your accounts - assuming you have one

If you have none of the above then ask your umbrella company about it

[Andy2]

I dont have company credit card so i use personal card for company expenses like travel,equipments etc and reclaim from company account.
is there any issues using this method ?
My accountant never objected to it

[malvolio]

So can I. Only difference is, MyCo buys its own supplies.

[centurian]

And what is the business justification for intermingling your money and YourCo's money in that way?

No wonder we get problems with HMRC not understanding the concept of a one-man business...

My accountant believes it is a very clean approach. Not saying that accountants are always right, but they have no issue with it.

The key part is that it is clear a) Who owns the item and b) How the company ends up paying for it.

As long as you have a very clear trail of what's happening, what's the issue. I can provide a credible business justification for every single item and exactly how the company pays it.

[tim123]

don't be such a curl of butter. everything is not always black and white.

it might be best practice to run expenses direct from a co business card exactly as you state but it is not always possible to manage finances that way.

when i started my business i was refused a credit card. i lived off personal cash and credit and expensed it as necessary until such a time as the business had built up reserves and had a decent revenue streams.

now i have a co credit card and do as you do but is misleading and frankly wrong to state that you cannot do it any other way.

I suspected what he meant was:

If you buy it on your personal credit card and expense it back from the company it still belongs to the company.

Thus, the insurance bundled with the CC will not apply as it wasn't a personal purchase.

BICBW (about what he meant. I am not wrong about the insurance being void in this instance - if they find out)

tim

[malvolio]

And what is the business justification for intermingling your money and YourCo's money in that way?

No wonder we get problems with HMRC not understanding the concept of a one-man business...

[centurian]

Hi All,
It's been suggested to me that for larger expenses, laptops etc, it would be more sensible from an accounting perspective to buy them through the company rather than buy them personally and expense them.

The only down side I can see with doing this is that I won't get the free insurance I would get buying stuff on a personal credit card.

What does the panel do?

I buy stuff using a personal card, keep the receipt, put it into a file. At the end of the year my accountant assigns the cash value of all the receipts to the directors loan account - except I'm the one loaning the company money.

Once the annual accounts are filed, I withdraw the full total of last year's directors loan account owed to me.

I don't think it matters too much how you do it - as long as it looks clean and above board. If HMRC investigate, then can see the receipts, total them all up and see a single payment to deal with this. It's when they see money moving back and forth like a see-saw that they get suspicious.

[Evil Hangover]

Hi All,
It's been suggested to me that for larger expenses, laptops etc, it would be more sensible from an accounting perspective to buy them through the company rather than buy them personally and expense them.

The only down side I can see with doing this is that I won't get the free insurance I would get buying stuff on a personal credit card.

What does the panel do?

If you buy a PC / laptop you should account for it as a fixed asset and NOT as an expense. You can claim for annual depreciation expenses, but not for the initial outlay.

Peripherals can be expensed but not big pieces of kit IIRC.

[SueEllen]

Put it this way: last time you were a permie, how many times did you buy your own PC and put in an expense claim?

Actually I know a permie who has had to do this.

This is because the company concerned doesn't want to pay for equipment which is specified to suit that particular employee and then have the employee walk out in 2 months. So all their employees have to wait at least 6 months before they get the cost of their laptop back.

So to every rule there are exceptions but to answer the OP post if the company owns the laptop then you don't consumer protection on it anyway.

Also from my own personal experience larger companies tend to treat business customers better than consumers. For example I've had companies ring me back and I know from having friends and family who are with that particular company as a consumer they don't get this.

[DS23]

If it belongs to the company, then the company pays for it. If it doesn't, then you do. Don't mix the two up.

HTH

don't be such a curl of butter. everything is not always black and white.

it might be best practice to run expenses direct from a co business card exactly as you state but it is not always possible to manage finances that way.

when i started my business i was refused a credit card. i lived off personal cash and credit and expensed it as necessary until such a time as the business had built up reserves and had a decent revenue streams.

now i have a co credit card and do as you do but is misleading and frankly wrong to state that you cannot do it any other way.

[malvolio]

All company expensiture - travel, accomodation, parking, whatever - is through the company business card (in my case HSBC's, which is paid back monthly by DD). That way I don't worry about expense claims since I rarely need to make any and I have a really boring P11D every year. The card has exactly the same protections as any other.

Put it this way: last time you were a permie, how many times did you buy your own PC and put in an expense claim?

[Weltchy]

If it belongs to the company, then the company pays for it. If it doesn't, then you do. Don't mix the two up.

HTH

Surely ownership is with the company regardless of whether paid for direct from a company account, or paid for on behalf of the company and then claimed as an expense by the employee?