Sub-contracting Information Again!

[gupster]

Im just about to finally get my van in a couple of weeks now (when the company that went bust 6 months ago finally pay me)!

Whats the situation about claiming fuel and running costs back? I havent got a clue!

I know i will NEED an accountant but cant sort that just yet due to non money. Do i need a CIS card, do i need to be VAT registered?

Loads more questions as well (always been employed).

Thanks

[Truss and France]

Gupster

You should be able to see an accountant for some advice without paying him straight away and if he is any good he will answer all the questions you have asked, we have had two accountants in the past and you really need to find one that is 'switched on' and knows what you can and can not do.

Good luck

Kev

[leesutton]

You can try your local business link as they can give you all the advice you need and if theres any grants available......

lee

[whistle]

I went to see 3 / 4 accontants then came across the one we use now.

I find him very good at his job and has already saved me a lot of money.

[whistle]

Agreed i have been trading for 6 months now and not paid a penny to my accountant yet.

[Guest]

Agreed i have been trading for 6 months now and not paid a penny to my accountant yet.

is your account five months over due?

[leesutton]

I went to see 3 / 4 accontants then came across the one we use now.

I find him very good at his job and has already saved me a lot of money.

What accountant do you use whistle, can you pm me there details please

lee

[The Trautbec]

Remember its in the accountants own interest to get you up and running as they normally take 1% of your takings for doing books.

[gupster]

Thanks for all the info guys. Im ok on the sage part my friend is a sage approved business partner (that saves me a load of cash)!

Because i got made redundant and lost a lot of money due to it its very hard even though i have all my tools & paperwork all ready setup (general business forms etc). I need to speak to an accountant very soon. At the miniute ive just kept a very basic spread sheet of everything i have paid for and money coming in.

Obviously most people that sart being sub contractors would like to have there own business at some point in the future with engineers working with\for them.

I have decided my business name and have a website etc and do jobs for myself, but when sub contracting do most people sort of hide this from the firms they are working for? As in when you invoice them for subby work only have your name and address on the invoice only?

,

[Guest]

Thanks for all the info guys. Im ok on the sage part my friend is a sage approved business partner (that saves me a load of cash)!

Because i got made redundant and lost a lot of money due to it its very hard even though i have all my tools & paperwork all ready setup (general business forms etc). I need to speak to an accountant very soon. At the miniute ive just kept a very basic spread sheet of everything i have paid for and money coming in.

Obviously most people that sart being sub contractors would like to have there own business at some point in the future with engineers working with\for them.

I have decided my business name and have a website etc and do jobs for myself, but when sub contracting do most people sort of hide this from the firms they are working for? As in when you invoice them for subby work only have your name and address on the invoice only?

,

Gupster

In my humble opinion Sage is pants. You need to be an accountant to understand all the features and the jargon (i am very computer literate) . We have always used Quickbooks as the interface is easy, and also you can modify stuff after you post it, very handy. The software is cheap, easy to set up, and you can modify all the forms to include logo etc. without having to buy pre made stationary. It even handles wages if you employ someone to help you.

When you do subby work for companies you are expected to be of the highest integrity. In short we would never dream of taking a contract from one of our subbie partners and would also decline to quote against them. Most of your nationals expect there subbies to do a small ammount of their own work and it's never an issue. We invoice our nationals on the same invoice we invoice our own customers. We just use a different invoice code on quickbooks, so we know where our income comes from and which client.

As for VAT, I think this is a must for you. The only issue is you will have to charge VAT to your domestics, obviously if you wasn't VAT reg you would still have to pass on the equipment VAT. Saying that if your competition are any good, they will be in VAT threshold and will have to do the same. The Nationals won't give a monkies either way as they just claim the VAT you invoice back. The benefit for you is you can claim the VAT back on all your businesss purchases including vehicles, fuel, screws, rawlplugs, PIR's etc... Manging VAT is easy with Quickbooks, it will print you a VAT return report and even tells you what box number the figure goes in! You can claim VAT back on any item you bought for business for many months before you started (check with accountant how long). We bought a laptop three months before, very handy!

As for vehicles when I first started I didn't have much cash and bought a 2nd hand van on a credit card! I very quickly got a brand new van on contract hire . We deal with a company called Tilsun Group where we got our Kangoo with all the toys air con etc. for