Business Records – What should I be keeping?
You know that you should be keeping your business records in good order but do you know what you really need to do?
HMRC provide some guidance about keeping records here.
It’s worth taking time to have a look through and if there is anything you are concerned about or want to chat through give us a call.
One of the most useful things that you can do is to always keep your receipts for business items – make sure that you ask for a VAT receipt and don’t just rely on the credit/debit card printout as this rarely gives any information about the goods and services purchased. If you are not sure whether you can claim the expense or not, get the receipt and then ask our advice. It is also very useful if you write the purpose of the expense down. For example, if you have to spend a night in a hotel to attend a business meeting, write it down on the receipt then the purpose of the hotel expense being for business is recorded. Months, or even years, down the line it is often difficult to remember the exact reason for the trip.
Remember that you should record your income monthly and review the last 12 months income each month to ensure that you don’t breach the VAT registration limit. This is currently £82,000. There is sometimes a benefit to voluntarily registering to use the flat rate VAT scheme once your income levels are established, depending on the industry that your business operates in. I have included a link to a video that we prepared to explain how this works here. If you feel at any point that this is something you would like to investigate please get in touch.
