Once you have registered with HMRC as self-employed you are free to run your business, but at some point you will ask your self ‘What Records Should I Keep?’

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It is important that you keep your business’ records accurate and up to date from the very first day you commence trading. Not only is it easier for you/your bookkeeper to compile your year-end accounts/tax return, but it means you can instantly see how your business is performing.

You must keep records of all your sales and takings, along with all your purchases and expenses. In the eyes of HMRC the transaction never happened if you cannot produce the proof. These documents include:

• Sales invoices
• Receipts
• Mileage records
• Bank statements
• Capital expenditure – high value items such as computers, vehicles etc…

It’s also a good idea to set up a cash-book for your business to enable you to track your turnover and expenses. These are fairly simple to set up (depending on the business), if you would like any help please contact me.

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You must keep these records for a minimum of 6 years. If storage space is a problem you are allowed to store all these documents electronically provided that you capture all the information on the document. It’s also a good idea to make a back-up and store it away from your premises in case of fire or theft.

If you are still unsure about what records to keep speak to your bookkeeper or accountant who will be able to advise you, or post a comment below…

Part 2

I hope you read yesterdays post (part 1) and got something out of it. Today I’ll list a few more tips and ideas about how you can make yourself more organised for your small business. Staying organised might seem like a pain and a chore but it is key to your business being successful. If you don’t know exactly what is happening with your business and can’t find something when you need it, it could mean the loss of an important contract or worse.

It needn't be a headache

Major companies employ hundreds of office workers to keep things organised so that the person at the top of the chain knows what is happening and what state the business is in. Sometimes it even goes wrong for them. They spend thousands upon thousands of pounds implementing new systems, how can you expect to compete with them? A few simple tips could help massively.

1. Keep a diary of all your appointments and add them to your phone as well. This way you can easily plan out your week ahead to make the best use of your time. It is fantastic attracting a lot of new business, but not if you cannot find the time to do what you said you’d do. Try to arrange appointments for the morning and to work in an afternoon. If you work in the morning you may become bogged down with something and turn up for your appointment/meeting under prepared.
2. Set up a simple spreadsheet with a list of your invoices raised, who to and when payment is due. Cash flow is vital for keeping a business running. If you have a new client contact them a couple of days before payment is due just to make sure that everything is OK. If you need any helping setting up a spreadsheet to do this please contact me and I can send you a spreadsheet (for free) that will help you.
3. Keep a clean desk. It seems simple enough, but at the end of each day make sure that your workspace is tidy. If you leave it looking like a bomb-site there is a very high probability that you might mis-place something and then have to waste valuable time looking for it. Even if you’ve not finished the work and need to carry it on tomorrow, put it away in a draw and leave yourself a note to remind you to do it the next day. At first it may take a while to get into the routine, but try building it into your schedule to finish 15 minutes early each day and use those 15 minutes to tidy up

Simple but Effective

Hopefully these will help you become more organised in whatever line of business you are in – you can even try them if you don’t work for yourself.

If you want to re-cap yesterday’s post please visit it here: Tips for Keeping Organised – Part 1 and remember to sign up to the RSS Feed or bookmark this Feeburner page to keep totally up to date.

Tips For Keeping Organised – Part 3

Is your office like this?

With the current economic situation more and more people are setting up as self-employed either as their main job, or alongside their main job. Regardless of how you operate your business, one thing is vital: you need to keep yourself organised

Tips

One of the biggest pains in the backside is keping your paperwork in order. Over the next 3 days I’m going to make 3 blog posts giving you some tips on how to get your paperwork organised. Some of the tips might seem fairly obvious, but they will all help.

1. Go out and buy yourself some lever arch folders, plastic wallets and dividers. As a minimum I would suggest buying 2 folders; one for expenses and one for invoices raised. In your expenses folder have a different plastic wallet for each month and put the receipts for each month in the relevant wallet (easy huh?). Use the dividers to separate HMRC paperwork, expenses, bank statements etc… Use the 2nd folder to store all your invoices, job sheets and quotes in. Keep them in number order so that you can find them easily
2. As soon as you have incurred an expense, raised an invoice, been paid etc… make sure that you get the paperwork dealt with and filed away immediately, or at the very least within 7 days. It’s all too easy to say ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ but we all know tomorrow never comes. This can also help with any cashflow forcasting you need to do.
3. If something needs doing but you cannot do it right there and then, make a note. There is nothing more annoying than sitting down to sort it out later and forgetting the details. Most of us have smart phones now, just drop yourself an email with a simple ‘take care of xyz’ in the subject field. If you’re working on the computer at the time make use of Sticky Notes. These stay on your desktop until you delete them

That’s all for today. I’m deliberately keeping the posts short in an effort to keep your interst. Sign up to the RSS Feed for further updates, follow me on twitter or alternatively come back tomorrow.

Tips For Keeping Organised – Part 2

Tips for Keeping Organised – Part 3