HI as a bookkeeper (new) do I suppose to charge VAT on my services? (I am not VAT registered)

Slightly worrying question there considering that you are setting up in practice.

You cannot charge VAT unless you are registered for VAT. Nor can you reclaim it on purchases.

Have you done the AAT business and personal tax modules yet?

kjmcculloch83 wrote:

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I thought likewise, seems this question has been duplicated.

Kris

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 Yes Sorry I posted it at first at wrong place.

You are, of course, right. Each person needs to start somewhere. I think Shauns point, and my feeling is that if you are going to practice as a bookkeeping professional you should have a basic grasp of certain principles. One of which is when to register for VAT and the impacts of VAT on businesses. This is something clients will look to their bookkeeper for help on.

Kris

Ok Experts

I sense that I've peeved you off a little which is not at all the intent and I appologise as I have no wish to discourage anyone.

Its not a matter of being experts. Its purely a matter of approaching getting to where one wants to be in this business slowly, dilligently and systematically.

Nobody was born knowing double entry. We all learn as we go, even the most knowledgable chartered tax advisor started from nothing.

And that CTA will have learnt to learn accountancy, then they will have learned a framework within which to build their knowledge, only then they will have added meat to the bare bones of their knowledge... Its only the meat that sells.

There is no shortcut to that, no fastpath to knowledge.

All that we can do is ensure that we are in the best position that we can be before we start but in the knowledge that we cannot possibly know everything but do we know enough.

The list in my previous message should be viewed as guidance to know that you are basically in a position to open the pandoras box of self employment and start learning the job from the academic foundations that you have already acquired.

This site and the professional bodies are here to try and make sure that as few people as possible fail in this profession as this is a profession littered by those who fell by the wayside without even recouping their investment in training.

We do that by helping members get the right start and learn that this is not a job but rather a way of life where every day is a new learning opportunity.

Moving forward you will find that you spend just as much time reading as you do working and that never, ever stops.

Good foundations in AAT which is what you are building will give you that framework upon which to start your journey.

I wish you every success in your business but would advise that before you do start, just review that list from my previous message and ask yourself how confident you would be explaining each of those elements to someone completely new to this such as the new owner of a business.

Then ask yourself how confident you would be discussing each of those points with an accountant?

Think on that when making your go / no go decision for your business and you will find that you will know when you are ready, or conversely when you are not.

Don't get me wrong, when you start it will be a struggle and it will seem that nothing that you learnt prepared you for the real world. But when you hit that stage you will be having issue with the detail not with more fundamental issues.

Of course, it doesn't help that many of the contributors to this site see (and make a good living from) on what seems a daily basis the work of those who started before they were ready.

Basically I just want to say do not be annoyed or put off by what I wrote but rather consider it an opportunity to reflect on whether you are ready to be at the position you find yourself at or should you perhaps concentrate on completing level AAT IV before considering self employment.

kind regards,

Shaun.