I would appreciate if someone could help me. I am not an accountant but I worked a little bit with the accountant for six years. We used Sage for our accounts.
Now my partner opened a company 3 years ago (he is a sole trader). For the last 5 months hes been VAT registered. Until last month we used an accountant to whom we had to take all our documentation when we wanted her to do any work. So basically when we needed the VAT do be done, we had to book an appointment with her, bring the numbers and she would do VAT return based on the figures we gave her. However she had plenty of people like us and was always to busy to even answer her phone.
So we decided its time for me to help my partner and I started a book keeping course. I also will work on his accounts. When I asked the accountant for all PL accounts and balances which I believe I will need to enter into my Sage she gave me just an HMRC Tax calculation.
I would like to ask if this is all I need to start working on Sage?
My next question is how do I enter petrol receipts into Sage?
We have a company office in our house, not a separate room, just a desk in one of the rooms. Can we put some expenses like mortgage, council tax, water, electricity bills in to it as well?
And what about car which is in my partners name (not companies name); can we put car insurance etc. Into Sage?
Reading the above and your other recent posts, I strongly suggest you go and see another Accountant or qualified bookkeeper. In no way do I wish to cause you any offence but it's pretty clear you need help with a lot of basic information. I understand you've had a bad experience but you need to find someone you are comfortable with.
Based on the brief details above , no you cant put the car costs through Sage as they are not tax allowable, but your husband can claim 40p a mile, broadly, on the journeys he makes for business purposes. You can't claim all your petrol but you can claim vat on part of the 40p mentioned above.
Your home is more difficult, depending on what business your husband runs you will be restricted to , say , £3 per week. As you've mentioned you are using a desk in a room, so you couldn't say the whole house is being used for business, so all the other bills are your own I'm afraid.
Do you know if your former Accountant prepared a Balance Sheet? This is what you would enter into Sage. Technically you could prepare the Vat return from Sage without it but you will need it before the end of the financial year.
As I said in the beginning, I really would suggest you get some one-to-one advice.
Good luck.
-- Edited by ADAS on Wednesday 27th of April 2011 09:13:30 PM
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Tony
Responses are intended as outline only. Formal advice should be sort from your Institutes Technical Department or a suitably qualified Accountant.
This is what I would like to do to find an accountant who will do the job as is should be. I am fully aware I am nowhere to do it myself yet. Thank you for yoyur answer.
I am not able to work onsite, but with sage it can be done in an accountants office and then the backup loaded onto your system to start working on. As Tony has said you can start posting on but you will need opening balance posted on for the end of financial year.
If you are interested please email me directly, as I maybe able to help you.
That is very nice of you but I think we will need someone here to se all the documents. I'm not sure how it would work. Do you think you coul do that working from your place? As I mentioned we've had bad experience with our previous accountants and this time I have to make sure all is done correctly.
Michelle I will have plenty of questions knowing myself..:)) I am not an accountant so I will be coming back for sure. Would you mind if I asked you a question not related to my toppic? I started a bookkeeping course level 1 but I would like to train as an accountant. But it is all so confusing.. What courses and where are the best? There is so many collages and other organisations and I really do not now where to go from here. Only if you do not mind of course....:))
I started working in accounts for a travel company many years ago, and went to night school to study AAT, took 3 years, I find this good as it's very practical and started right from the basic's as writing out cheques etc..
Now looking to start ATT which is tax based.
Some accountancy firms offer Trainee position where they pay for studying etc, working in practice gives you a wide scope of knowledge.
Just for your information, you can now claim 45p mileage allowance this came in force from 6 April 2011, for further information look at the HMRC website or any site summarising the recent budget.
I'm in Essex, but probably too far away from Loughton to be of help onsite. With regards to training to be an accountant, I personally would go for AAT in the first instance. This is a good starting point. I worked for 6 months at a Chartered accountants and this is what he started me on. Unfortunately I was unable to pursue this due to ill health, but am now doing bookkeeping with the ICB.
Good luck with your studies and I'm sure there must be local accountants in Loughton
