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I am now self employed as a dispatch rider!!

Was better than sitting at home on the dole (after my old job was made redundent just before xmas) on ?60 a week.

Any others here self employed and can give me any tips on what things to do and what records to keep etc etc

I am keeping fuel receipts and receipts for anything thats loosly anything remotly tied to my new job.
Anything else I should be doing?

Any tips welcome !!

Get an accountant. Accountant costs x taxman demands y. An accountant will save you money on things you are not aware of. Your leathers crash helmet, boots, and anything else you need to do your job can probably be claimed
If the accountant costs you ?100 but saves you ?200 ,work it out yourself.

Keep records of everything you earn, everything you spend.

Use an accountant, (as above) Their fee is deductible.

Put 30% of your earnings away to save for your tax bill.

Definitely get an accountant to give your books a look over for a few years 'til you get the hang of it at least, but don't forget you are liable for any, thankfully rare, mistakes they might make. There are plenty of high street accountancy/tax firms that specialise in the self-employed these days. Shop around.

Nob3y wrote:

> I am now self employed as a dispatch rider!!
>
> Was better than sitting at home on the dole (after my old job
> was made redundent just before xmas) on ?60 a week.
>
> Any others here self employed and can give me any tips on what
> things to do and what records to keep etc etc
>
> I am keeping fuel receipts and receipts for anything thats
> loosly anything remotly tied to my new job.
> Anything else I should be doing?
>
> Any tips welcome !!
>
>


Hey

Wow some one who did in fact do a Norman Tebbit. Fair play!!

Can't really impart any thing that has not already been said except,best of luck my friend. I hope you do well and ride safe in the process.

Please let us know how you get on

Cheers

BB

Thanks for the tips so far.

How about things bought through ebay?
Am checking out some motorbike compatable sat nav's.

Nob3y wrote:

> Thanks for the tips so far.
>
> How about things bought through ebay?
> Am checking out some motorbike compatable sat nav's.
>
>

Just the same - print off the transaction details of any item you buy that is legitimately a business expense.

Or, if your business is quite basic (ie it's just you, you get paid by 1 company and your expenses are mainly things like fuel etc), you can read reasonably straightforward instructions, you can add up and accurately type figures into a computer, you can do it yourself by way of Self Assessment.

Your first trading period will be til 5th April and you have until October to register. Then you have until til this time next year to complete your first return, giving you plenty of time to read up. The HMRC have a helpline which is actually quite helpful. They are there to help you submit an accurate return, not catch you out.

If you were employed and paid PAYE until xmas, you might even get a rebate for your first trading period, I did for a similar time.
But, yes you do need to keep good records, and yes, it is a good idea to put away 30% during your next whole trading year.

The only thing I had to ask an accountant friend of mine was how much to allow for travel expenses/fuel etc and use of home office. Most other things are the amount on the receipt and if it relates directly to your business you treat it as a business expense, if it does'nt, you don't. If it's something you use half for business/ half for personal, then you claim 50% of the costs.

You register at HMRC website and read everything on Self Assessment. Then you submit on-line, that's what an accountant will do on your behalf, but probably charge you ?300. My return took about half a days reading, about an hour adding up (and double checking) and about an hour to key it in.

Just so you know that there is another option.

Thanks,will have a look

Sharkmad wrote:

Then you submit on-line, that's what an accountant
> will do on your behalf, but probably charge you ?300. My return
> took about half a days reading, about an hour adding up (and
> double checking) and about an hour to key it in.

Whilst that's true, my accountant found things i'd overlooked in my accounts that ended up with me getting a ?3000 repayment. Best ?140 I ever spent!

Always worth at least one visit to an accountant to talk through everything.