Comments on: Tax

By: Mike Padgett

Mike Padgett — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:41:15 +0000

“Sitting there thinking ‘I’m getting paid £1000 next week so I can go and spend £1000′ would only lead to a tragically short-lived business career. ”

Ridiculous isn’t it, Phil, but my other half actually knew a wet-behind-the-ears contractor who did just that! He was using an umbrella company and he just figured that what he was getting paid out was the end of the story!

Went and bought a fast car and everything, bragged to all his pals about how well he was doing, should have done it years ago, why waste your time working for the Man and all that.

Hate to have been him when he got his self-assessment through the post.

Lastly, take care when posting any dosh-related topics. I know from hearsay that the Rev have got Google and they’re not afraid to use it! You’ve got nothing to hide, of course, but you could definitely do without the hassle :-D

By: Phil Thompson

Phil Thompson — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:21:29 +0000

I think you’re right – if they’re good they’ll save you money. I have no doubt about that.

By: Phil Thompson

Phil Thompson — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:19:21 +0000

It’s very difficult to state whether doing my own taxes saves me money. Having not used an accountant it’s impossible to state whether they could/could not have saved me money. Actually, that’s not 100% true because I have spoken to accountants and they have made suggestions that could have saved me money that I didn’t especially want to pursue.

I did learn at the tax talk about the flat rate VAT scheme. This was something that had I gone to an accountant when I started and asked questions about such matters I probably could have *made* a bit more money.

I’m the type of person who wouldn’t be happy handing over all my financial information to someone else (even a very well trained professional) without keeping track of it all myself therefore I think the cost saving in terms of my time wouldn’t be applicable (for me).

By: Chris Gibson

Chris Gibson — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:48:33 +0000

I always think that the question of whether to do your own bookkeeping comes down to how long it takes you, and how much you charge for your time. If you spend four hours a month doing your own taxes [in my experience, a conservative estimate] and charge £30 an hour, and if you can pay an accountant £100 a month to sort everything out for you, then doing them yourself is surely wasting money? Not to mention the other benefits of using an accountant, as mentioned by other posters — peace of mind, suggestions you may not have thought of an so on. Do you find that managing your own finances actually saves you money?

By: James Stiff

James Stiff — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:00:43 +0000

Another interesting post Phil. It’s definitely beneficial to have a good working knowledge of accounts and to keep a close eye on them, but having an accountant can really take the pressure off at times. If they’re any good, they’ll save you much more money than they charge and it’s reassuring to know that there’s someone watching your back and reminding you of those looming tax deadlines. We use a combination of online software and real accountant to keep track of all our accounts so we can focus more of our time on the business of being creative. Hats off to you for the strict saving regime!

By: Phil Thompson

Phil Thompson — Tue, 19 May 2009 07:55:00 +0000

Stephen I can definitely appreciate that.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:04:12 +0000

Hi Phil,
I did my own accounts for the first few years of freelancing, until I got too busy (and lazy) to bother. Then I found a brilliant accountant and he saved me a fortune; so much that it made me regret doing my own books for the previous years. In retrospect, it’s sort of like when a client decides they can do design work. They can, and it might even look ok… but it’s never as good.

By: Phil Thompson

Phil Thompson — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:45:37 +0000

I think there definitely has to be a point where taxes need to be done by a trained professional. Luckily I’m in situation as aone-man operation where I can afford the time and don’t mind doing it.

By: Phil Thompson

Phil Thompson — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:44:34 +0000

Thanks MIke

I doubt you will ever need to worry about your taxes with your girlfriend’s mad tax skillz:)

By: Mike Thornley

Mike Thornley — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:12:35 +0000

Phil,

Long time reader – first time poster.

Interesting post. Not something I’m overly thought about taxes but which clearly people who intent to go freelance need to.

I’m new to the whole industry – getting certs for development and pursuing Front End work eventually, self employed or otherwise. My girlfriend is a Sage bookeeper & ATT student so i expect she’ll manage my books for free, well I may pay her in kind ;->.

Love the blog posts, they’re always very informative and highly, useful to newbies like myself just starting out.