I called HMRC about myself. I have a 64-8 in place so I can act as my own agent and use the agent telephone number. But when they realised that I was me they said I couldn't use that number and I would have to call again using the normal number. That's pretty annoying.
I see Vince is as bad as me when it comes to punching holes in paper. With me the crease in the paper depends on the number of sheets. 1-4 sheets and it will be all sheets. 5 and above it will just be the top sheet. If you're punching 100 sheets in one session just creasing the top sheet is going to be 10 different creases as my hole-puncher will only do about 10 sheets at a time. Hence the slider. Most of the time I use a puncher without slider as it just annoys me.
Margins - if something is going to be hole-punched and archived, why do people write in the margin?
Stapling of sheets mentioned above - what gets me is if there are 4 sheets originally stapled together and then another 2 sheets added and they are stapled onto the 4. Then another 2 sheets added and they are then stapled on. I'll admit I do get a bit extreme and remove the original staples and try and staple through the same holes again. Staples are a last resort for me as it's paper clips then foldback clips for me.
Looking at this thread, there may be some people that come on this forum looking for advice and possibly thinking of getting a bookkeeper and now will be scared stiff of us.
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
Years ago I installed an IT upgrade for Westminster City Council and one of the guys there had created a database detailing all of his shirt and all of his ties.
He wrote a little program that created the highest number of mixtures without wearing the same combination twice.
Each morning he would get dressed in what the readout told him to wear.
Made for some absolutely tragic combinations but bless his little cotton socks, can't say that I ever saw him in the same combination twice.
So, no matter how crazy we may believe that our little foibles are always remember that we are comparatively normal to the crazies over in IT side of the fence. (I think that the writers of the IT crowd had definitely worked in that environment as there is so much truth in the characters (especially Roy)).
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
God Shaun, How funny is that. Must look at my data bas first to see what I am going to wear!
That has made my day, I need a laugh today as I am going grey this month!
@ PEasie, what happens when all the paper to be hole punched is of different sizes, ie delivery notes and purchase supplier invoices they are all done on different printers some are still dot matrix with though horrible holes punched down the side. God thats another pet hate, I have to remove them and if there are no perferations I get the scissors and get them off!
Aren't we a weird bunch, I reckon that's why we are all bookkeepers/accountants because we are so pedantic! (not sure if that is the right word, english is not my strong subject).
I called HMRC about myself. I have a 64-8 in place so I can act as my own agent and use the agent telephone number. But when they realised that I was me they said I couldn't use that number and I would have to call again using the normal number. That's pretty annoying.
I love the irony of this. An agent who finds it easier to get an agent
Of course, a simple way to reduce the clients VAT bill by increasing your fee's (assuming that your VAT registered).
Just thinking outside the box there.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I dunno. Somehow I suspect the answer to the question of how soon I can expect payment would be something along the lines of when hell freezes over. :)
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Vince M Hudd - Soft Rock Software
(I only came here looking for fellow apiarists...)
"No problem, my fee will be £10,000 plus VAT! How soon can I expect payment?"
-- Edited by VinceH on Thursday 31st of January 2013 11:53:31 AM
I had that actual conversation with a client a couple of weeks back. He was not very happy with the size of Corporation Tax bill, so I said, well tell you what, next year when we work out your profit, I'll invoice you for the total amount of it, that way you have no CT to pay, and I'll have a huge bill to pay, but I am prepared to make that sacrifice in order to make you happy.
He declined my offer. Which is a shame coz that one invoice would double my invoicing for the year!
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Jenny
Responses are my opinion based on the information provided. All information should be thoroughly checked before being relied on.
Sorry for dragging this thread back but I just need to have a bit of a rant
Clients and accountants who think you have nothing else to do than work on what they want.
About a month ago I started chasing a client for all of his accounts papers so I could prepare their VAT return, got most of it apart from the bank statement (they are on cash accounting ), after much chasing I finally got it then within a day of receiving it was asked when can we have the info (client files own return) because we go on holiday at the end of the week and want to get it done. It's as if I had been sitting at an empty desk just waiting for their statement.
And now this morning had a call from a clients accountant asking for their data. Their previous accountants had told me that as they were sole trader they would have a March year end even though the business started trading in November, so I set the system up accordingly. Before the end of March '12 the client changed accountants and in June'12 I sent them the accounts info for what I thought was the March '12 year end. Never heard anything more from them until today, when they have phoned up saying that as the business started trading Nov '11 they would have a November year end and can they have the accounts. So I politely told them No and that they can have it in a week or so as I need to change the year end date on Sage and make sure that the accounts are fully reconciled & tidy etc because I was working to a March year end, this didn't go down well with them.
Is it just me or do they all think you are at their beck and call with no other clients work to deal with
I'm not kidding - I'm sitting in a client's office now looking at one year's worth of statements, and they completely fill a lever arch file.
A quick check shows that if they used A4 and the same font size etc, for every three A5 sheets they currently use, they'd use a single sheet of A4 - so they are in effect using 50% more paper for their statements than they need to. Wasteful.
And if they did that, there could be three year's worth of statements in that file instead of one.
Also: If you make a payment through their online system (Bankline) it takes up FOUR lines on the bank statement - and with their A5 statements, that means you only get six transactions per sheet if they're all such payments.
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Vince M Hudd - Soft Rock Software
(I only came here looking for fellow apiarists...)
I'm not kidding - I'm sitting in a client's office now looking at one year's worth of statements, and they completely fill a lever arch file.
A quick check shows that if they used A4 and the same font size etc, for every three A5 sheets they currently use, they'd use a single sheet of A4 - so they are in effect using 50% more paper for their statements than they need to. Wasteful.
And if they did that, there could be three year's worth of statements in that file instead of one.
Also: If you make a payment through their online system (Bankline) it takes up FOUR lines on the bank statement - and with their A5 statements, that means you only get six transactions per sheet if they're all such payments.
Royal Bank of Scotland's are not much larger than that and it is a source of annoyance for me. They reduced the size of them in October 1992 (although the height remained the same). Another gripe I have with RBS is they don't have pdf statements you can download for their online banking. If they switched to A4 and had pdf statements I'd switch - but not until. And they insist on puinching their own holes in the statement - ok if it is the same location each time. It may be centred on the page but the distance from the edge can vary and for an OCD person like me that can tip me over the edge.
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
NatWest and RBS are the same bank using (essentially) the same IT systems Peasie.
There are differences in the front end / statements but basically they come from the same machines using the same software and under the bonnet they are the same (The reason that RBS wanted Natwest was for the Payments system).
Oh, and I agree, I hate the A5 statements that seem to be produced on the thinest, cheapest paper available (Which do not do justice to the banks that produce them).
Overall, despite last years hiccup which I know what caused it but can't (won't) say, I trust those two banks not just to get it right but to take personal pride in getting it right.... Note that front line branch staff do not always do justice to the real bank that underpins the service but such is true of all retail banks.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I'll match that with Lloyds "we are going to hold you hostage" attitude.
My up country branch is being sold to Co Op TSB. As it is nearly 300 miles away, and as I have had the account since 1980, I thought I would be loyal, and change to a more local branch. Apparently I am not allowed to, even if I opened a new account in the local branch, it will still be linked to the up country branch. As there is no local branch of Co Op TSB (the nearest being another Lloyds bank 20 miles away, that is being sold too). I think I will have to switch banks but really didn't want to
It appears that Lloyds customers are assets that are being sold along with physical branches
I'm lucky Bill in that my branch is one of those remaining Lloyds but I do know what you mean.
I've seen the bank go from the days of walking in and the manager and staff knowing you to going in and being told that I need to phone my internet account manager which I did and they told me that I needed to go into the branch.... Which I did... Who told me that they could not talk to me about my business even though my business had been with them since 1990 and I had been with them since 1979.
They also told me that my account was marked as one type of business so could not be used for banking of any other form of business (as if management consultancy and accounting are a million miles from each other!).
So I walked straight over the road and into Natwest who surprise surprise did want to talk to me.
I didn't close the Lloyds account as too much history there but now my business goes through Natwest then a bit gets transfered to Lloyds to pay standing orders, salary, etc. just to keep my bank history ticking over.
Funny old world innit.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
It appears that Lloyds customers are assets that are being sold along with physical branches
RBS are the same. Even though I live in Scotland, because my account is held with their direct banking team I am officially an English RBS customer and therefore 'up for sale'. I tried to move recently to Barclays who told me the nearest business banking manager was 40 miles away and would call me to arrange a meeting, that was before Christmas.
Guess I'll need to wait and see who buys my part of RBS.
..... for example, I had one recently that sent his wife to a spa for the day to make up for hubby missing an evening meal due to working late!!! (straight to DLA for that one).
