You’re a skilled tradesperson with a thriving business that you want to maintain and grow. But you’re not sure how. We all have out concerns about our business and how to stay on track with business revenue, taxes and expenses. And frankly, you have enough to do without adding accounting, bookkeeping, Vat, finances and payroll on to the list. Those issues are best handled by the professionals, so you can do what you’re best at. Today, we wanted to take a look at the common problems tradespeople encounter in accounting, and how we can help you solve them.
Expenses For Tradespeople
As a tradesperson, there are a lot more things you need to buy, sell and use to make your business work. Which begs the question, what exactly are you allowed to claim as a business expense, and what do you have to pay for out of your own pocket? It’s one of the most confusing elements tradespeople come across, and luckily one that we can help answer.
Tools of Your Particular Trade:
Every business person, no matter what industry they work in, has their own tools of the trade. And while for an accountant they may be office supplies and software, for tradespeople they can be paint, hammers, saws and materials. As long as you only use your tools for business purposes, you can claim them as an expense.
Mobile Phone Calls:
We all need a way to be contacted, but for tradespeople who are often out on the road or on a job, a landline isn’t always feasible. So instead, a separate mobile phone is the best way to be on call for your clients, and you can claim the cost of handsets and ongoing contract or call costs as expenses.
Transportation Costs:
Transport costs are incurred every time you visit a client or collect supplies, so these can mount up quickly. Luckily, the costs of fuel is expensable (currently at 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, then 25p per mile after that) – just make sure you keep your receipts! If the vehicle is owned by the business, then servicing costs can also be expensed.
Protective Clothing & Accessories:
If you need to wear protective gear for your job (like overalls, goggles, masks, steel-toed boots or hard hats) then these can all be claimed as expenses.
Insurance Expenses:
All businesses need insurance, and tradespeople usually need a lot more than other types of businesses due to the increased amount of expense and risk. Luckily, if you can prove that the cost of the cover is for business only, and not for any personal benefit, then it will be counted as a business expense.
Of course, there are other things that you may need to buy that aren’t so obvious, and it’s here that the value of your accountant will shine through. Your accountant should be able to tell you whether what you are looking at buying is allowed as an expense or not, and how you need to process it. This means you will never accidentally expense the wrong things again and wind up frustrated at the end of the year when the accounts are due.
How Can An Accountant Help?
Of course, that’s all great in principle. But keeping up with all of this can easily become an unmanageable headache for a busy business owner, which is why you should ask your accountant for help. Accountants who specialise in small businesses and trades businesses (like us)
Tax Compliance & Strategy:
HMRC is not shy about creating new and confusing rules for businesses and sole traderships. So much so that it can be a challenge to understand how everything works together and exactly what it is you need to do (and what you don’t). Particularly when it comes to tax. An accountant can help you work out a tax strategy that fits your business perfectly, and isn’t just a cookie-cutter template. We will work with you to decide if you need to be registered for VAT, what expenses you can claim to save you money and how your business can operate more tax efficiently.
Wealth Management:
Wealth management might sound a bit posh, but in reality every business owner should be thinking about it. All it means is the best way to manage your assets to get the most out of them. So looking into your retirement plans, asset protection, investments and even legal business structure are all ways you can manage your business wealth and ensure you make the most of all your hard work.
VAT:
There are no 2 ways about it, VAT can be a pain. Whether it’s figuring out what type of scheme you need to be on, compiling all of the documents you need or filling in the return, it’s enough to drive some people mad. It’s also dangerous to get wrong – with some hefty fines or even the risk of overpaying. A good accountant will be able to sit with you and help you through the process, or even handle it for you completely. So you can be sure your VAT returns are filed correctly and on time, every time.
Business Finance:
Of course, we wouldn’t be accountants if we couldn’t help you manage the finances of your business more efficiently. From carrying out your day to day bookkeeping and filing annual returns to ensuring your payroll is run every month, a good accountant can save you a lot of time and money, while making sure you are running your business as efficiently as possible.
At Cove Accountancy Services, we specialise in supporting small businesses and one man bands in the trades sector. Unlike other accountants, who will treat you like a standard professional services business, our experts are from a trades background, which means we understand exactly how your business works. Our advice and support means that you can focus on running your business and doing the job – rather than panicking about the finances. To find out more, just get in touch with us today.