As thehairybabysmum says, if you are selling your time to businesses (as opposed to selling goods, or selling to individuals), you should look at the flat rate scheme even if you are below the threshold. For instance if you charge £20,000 in a year it could be worth £1,300 to you.

sorry for dbl post.

You could also look at the flat rate scheme for VAT as it is much more simple. HMRC has a set % that you pay dependant o your line of work (12.5% for my DH), you then just pay this % of your total sales as a fee each quarter.

Your accountant should at least advise you about this. You also get a further 1% discount in the firat year.

link

It depends on your line of busimness but for my DH he charges out the VAT at 17.5% then just pays the 11% so we actually make some money on this. He is just under the VAT threshold but it is worth registering for this reason. His business doesnt really involve buying any goods, just charging out his hours, hence we make money.

I have also requested paper returns as then you get something physical through the post to remind you.

You could also look at the flat rate scheme for VAT as it is much more simple. HMRC has a set % that you pay dependant o your line of work (12.5% for my DH), you then just pay this % of your total sales as a fee each quarter.

Your accountant should at least advise you about this. You also get a further 1% discount in the firat year.

link

It depends on your line of busimness but for my DH he charges out the VAT at 17.5% then just pays the 11% so we actually make some money on this. He is just under the VAT threshold but it is worth registering for this reason. His business doesnt really involve buying any goods, just charging out his hours, hence we make money.

I have also requested paper returns as then you get something physical through the post to remind you.

MrVibrating - you are a star. I'm away from my pc at the moment and just checking in but when I get home I'll download the spreadsheet and set about getting my house in order!

I really, really appreciate it - thanks again.

I just like the little piggy banks in Dosh - simple things..

Just got back to the computer. You will find the Sales Invoice spreadsheet here -enjoy!

TracyK you are wrong, the turnover test is not applied quarterly. Here are the exact words from the HMRC web site (my emphaisis):

When you must register for VAT

If you are in business, you must register for VAT if your turnover for the previous 12 months is above £67,000. This is known as the VAT registration threshold. It changes regularly, so you should regularly check your turnover against the current threshold.

You must also register for VAT if:

- you think your turnover may go over the threshold in the next 30 days
- [... some other conditions that are not relevent here]

I agree about Sage, if your needs are simple it isn't good. Fab for more complex businesses though. The partners at work try and get people using Sage when they really only need a good spreadsheet. I think that's mainly due to the fact that's it's been so long since they did any bookkeeping type work blees em

I've used Dosh cashbook (came free with my lloyds business account) for the last 5 years. It is sooooo simple! We tried Sage and found it too complex for our simple needs

yes LuLu - I'm a book keeper. Remember - it's not just a 12 month rolling - but a quarterly rolling. But then if the following qtr fell below - it might be as well using the annual rolling.

Do you have a business only bank account? If so then just add up all the income side - ignoring any capital deposits from you etc.