Please excuse me if this is the wrong place - I'm sure a kindly moderator will move it if this is the case.
Presuming my only MLR recourse is HMR&C registration and that this is £110 per premises can I pass a question around?
There is a self-employed bookkeeper whose methods I admire. Though they do work from their own home the majority of their business is mobile, working on their clients' own premises via the clients' own software licences/packages. Anything tax, depreciation or complex being referred back to the clients' own accountant. (I am happy to depreciate, accrue/prepay etc. but will not get involved in tax or write-down allowances etc.)Just bills for hours input etc.
What would the HMR&C requirements be on premises registration? That the person is self employed and working from a home address base being only one registration required? Or registration at each of the clients addresses too? If the latter, is that a viable cost to pass annually onto the client or is that a bit cheeky?
The premises registration refers to the premises that you work from. It is not a clients premises.
For example. If you have an home office and an actual office then both would need to be registered.
If you have an home office then work on site for a couple of clients only the home office is registered as the reality is that you have nothing to do with the premises that you are working at and the owners may get mighty peeved off when HMRC turn up to inspect their MLR procedures which are nothing to do with them and you may not even be working there... Actually in that situation from the moment that HMRC leaves the premises its a pretty sure thing that you certainly would not be working there anymore.
All you do is register the office(s) that you work from, not the offices that you work at so it's doubtful you would need to spend more than the one registration fee.
HTH,
Shaun.
p.s. lol, kindly moderator.... More like Ghengis Khan with a keyboard.
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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.
"p.s. lol, kindly moderator.... More like Ghengis Khan with a keyboard"
Thank you - what you say makes a lot of sense and you do it in a humorous style So that rules out another possible hiccup/hurdle in my path (am completely tapped - I have nothing to start with!).
Brace yourself for the next one though (this one occurred to me at 04:00 and kept me awake until the young'uns roused...). How do I insulate myself from the Data Protection Act? Obviously, filing cabinets would be locked, computers password protected (with all the usual firewalls, checkers and blockers). What else would I need? A safe for the back-up media? Insurance (or is this included in PII/PLI)?
You just take all reasonable steps to ensure that client information is kept safe and secure.
Loss of data is not really PII territory.
You could if you wanted to go to that level consider something such as data loss insurance with Hiscox but I think that most of us just ensure wide distribution of password protected backups.
Personally I've got an external harddrive, an off network PC and weekly burn to DVD and think that's sufficient although others may disagree.
Filing cabinets needing to be locked is a stange one in that is applicable only if the room that the filing cabinet is in is insecure. However, it certainly doesn't hurt to have belt and braces.
Personally I've got a firesafe but would say thats a bit of overkill. (I bought it when I was spending long periods away from the office and would keep the removable hard drives in it).
I think that the key is just to be sensible with the clients data and in your own mind feel that the data is safe.
No matter what you do always be aware that there is some 12 year old out there who could hack through your security in no time but if you can show that you have taken every reasonable precaution my understanding is that is all that you can be expected to do.
If your system is secure, your files are encryted and password protected and personal information is kept securely then I do not think that you have anything to worry about.
Pre data protection act we just used to call what you are expected to do applying common sense.
All the best,
Shaun.
__________________
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.
And, from your tone, I think you probably have the same opinion of the "Nanny State" as I do...
Oh yes....
Made me absolutely love the pre political correctness gone mad TV series life on Mars... I remember 1973, might as well be a million years away rather than just 40.
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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 too loved "Life on Mars" and "Ashes to Ashes" for exactly the same reasons. SWMBO did too but, being 34 to my 43, she couldn't believe what an accurate depiction of life it was just a few years before she was born. She absolutely adored Gene Hunt: "He Said WHAT!?!?"
Unfortunately I seem to have adopted Gene Hunt as a role model.
I remember that the line that he comes out with about it being beer o clock was in common usage when I started work in 1979.
First job was working as an analyst developer in Payroll operations with the NCB. There was an on site bar open at dinnertimes! Sure that the mornings were all spent correcting the things that we had been doing the previous afternoon!
There was also the old joke that we had half a dozen different meeting rooms within walking distance of the offices.
Good times.
__________________
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.
Certainly sounds it! I didn't start work until 1987 but it was still acceptable then to drink heavily at lunch (banking isn't hard). Nowadays you're frowned upon for a noon-time eye-opening pint!
So that rules out another possible hiccup/hurdle in my path (am completely tapped - I have nothing to start with!).
