Timesheet APP Anyone?

From the Desk of the Bookkeeper Derby

Timesheets are a bit of a 'fried sausage'.

Past experience has taught me that just before month end there would be a departmental rush on the obligatory 'green form' followed by the scratching of 160+ pens as people endeavoured to remember which meetings off site they'd cover during the past month.  Some epistles were worthy of the Man Booker Prize - Fiction category.

Needless to say some of the most creative ones were moofed and returned to the hopeful author along with a fresh new green form for a rework.  So then began the challenging game of trying to get a work of fiction past me. Shlupppp.

Nooo....what we need is a Timesheet APP that can be downloaded to the phone or laptop.  Just prod a relevant button and it records all the data for you.  Then at the end of the month - do the wireless connectivity thingy and hey presto - out pops something that could nearly be considered genuine data.

Perhaps for an extra subscription you could get a voice activated Timesheet APP.

Perhaps I should now rush off and copyright my idea.


BKD


Inspirational Quote for Today:

"I have opinions of my own - strong opinions - but I don't always agree with them."
George Bush.

"Accounting for the Terrified"

From the Desk of the Bookkeeper Derby

Client Question: What sort of records do I need to keep?

The subject of record keeping is probably one of the greyest areas for anyone who has set up and is running their own business.  Their day is full enough trying to win contracts, dealing with clients/customers/members of the public that often times any thoughts towards setting up AND maintaining any sort of accurate detailed record keeping system is one of those AROUNTOIT jobs that keeps on getting pushed further and further down the line.

HMRC guidelines are amazingly and sweetly simple:

Basic records you must keep

You must keep records so that you can fill in the return fully and accurately.
Your basic business records must include:

• a record of all your sales and takings
• a record of all your purchases and expenses

You (or your book keeper) can then use these records to create a profit and loss account. It shows the sales income you've received and the expenses you've paid, and what profit/loss you've actually made.

But the key to any good (ie remarkably low) tax bill is the QUALITY of the records. 

Therein lies another painful decision - should the records be kept on a manual system or electronic?

If you've only just started out or are perhaps a year or so into your business then perhaps a manual system is a good starter for ten.  It is relatively cheap, around £15 and not only covers the ins and outs but has options to record telephone calls, mileage and other useful (to your bookkeeper) data that is perhaps not so obvious to the new-to-record-keeping-entrepreneur.

One of the easiest manual accounting systems for the Non-VAT Registered Small Business (and highly recommended to me by my mother-in-law) is the aptly named:

The Best Small Business Accounts Book (yellow Version): For a Non-VAT Registered Small Business ; This is ideal for those businesses with mostly cash sales.

There is also (equally recommended)  for the non-VAT small businesses with mostly invoiced sales also inspirationally entitled:

The Best Small Business Accounts Book (blue Version): For a Non-VAT Registered Small Business

Still find yourself  in the 'terrified' category?  Contact us here at Bookkeeper Derby - we may just be be able to help.


 BKD

Catch up with us later at Twitter:  @BookkeeperDerby

PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) - is it working?

from the desk of Bookkeeper Derby

Camping holidays are nice.  They are an opportunity to 'get away from it all' especially if one is forced to leave behind all means of connecting with the outside world, including my mobile-that can send emails/posts to twitter/facebook/surfs the net- phone.  It does mean though that on ones return to civilisation one is forced to spend a nominal day playing 'catch-up'.

There are several topics that caught the attention, the most intriguing being the topic of  PAYE Real Time Information (RTI). 

In an article posted on the HMRC website:  The tax revolution starts – PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) pilot begins

David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary suggested that:

”RTI will remove administrative burdens of £300 million a year from employers, mainly from the abolition of the end-of-year PAYE returns process – the biggest single contribution that any tax change could make.”

Currently the pilot scheme involves 10 volunteer employers with this number increasing to 310 employers joining in May and June 2012.  By March 2013 nearly 250,000 employers will be on board.

In the grand scheme of things introducing an up to date reporting system makes perfect sense, year old data is useless in anyones books.  And if it saves us all money -  well surely all of us will benefit. 

And I use the word 'benefit' loosely.

 RTI will eventually support the operation of universal credit, the government's welfare programme that brings together means-tested in and out of work benefits, tax credits and support for housing.

 Suddenly the call of the wild outdoors is very hard to resist.



BKD

External Sources:

HMRC:  The tax revolution starts – PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) pilot begins

The Guardian:  Real Time Information PAYE pilot goes live at HMRC