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Hi all,
I have been up and running selling my bears for just a few months now but the dreaded self assesment tax is due and so i am doing this for the first time.
I am assuming it is different in each country and i trade in the UK but does anyone have any tips on how to make things easier? I don't ask a great deal for my bears and so i cannot afford an accountant, I am afraid of making a mess of things and getting fined or something!
Any tips at all would be appreciated 
In the UK if you are selling things that you make you have to pay tax...which is a pain in the neck but it's part of the business we all have to deal with..
I think if you get in early and send all your figures to the inland revenue they will work out your tax for you
They also have a programme online for doing it too....it's not hard to do.
I do have an accountant but to be honest I think it's expensive and I could probably do it myself.
I just have had the same guy for donkeys years and I am very bad at doing my accounts ....I always leave it to year end ...then it's a headache.
Thanks for your reply :)
I have signed up for the program, i think my main problem is money for items to start up with came from all over the place and they seem to want it all recorded in my bank which i can't do, mostly as i only started up my trading account recently. I am having a rather frustrating time making it all tally up!
Still as you say, waiting until year end seems to be a headache so i will do it monthly from now on i think. I just want to make bears anything else is a distraction hehe.
desertmountainbearI can not help you with UK taxes, but I can tell you how to make it a little easier for next year. I use paypal for anything I purchase related to the bear business. I have a paypal debit card that I use when I am not purchasing online. That way everything I have purchased is there with receipt in one place. I never use cash if I can help it. I also use paypal as my merchant account, so they handle any charge card transaction. That way again everything is in the same place. Makes life a lot easier.
Good idea desert, i will certainly be making a few changes in how i do things to make things easier.
I have a business debit card with which I pay for most things....and I put everything through my bank account. I use the Paypal merchant account too. It's complicated though...I can't use Paypal for everything as the shop I deal with, and with whom I do a lot of business , does not of by Paypal, understandably, so I can't wrap it up with my PayPal account. Would be simpler but it doesn't work for me.
Good luck with it though. I need to get on that scheme instead of paying the accountant a wodge of cash every year!
desertmountainbearThe Paypal debit card is just like a regular debit card that is issued by Paypal. If the company you deal with takes cards they will take this card, it is a Mastercard. I wish that all online merchants would have the paypal button, it makes life so easy, but when they don't I just use this card.
Joanne, I have a PayPal MasterCard...or Access card whatever it is. I do pay for things with it but the shop who buys from me doesn't pay me by PayPal...they pay by bank transfer...so do quite a few customers. I don't mind this but it means it's not as neat and tidy as I have things in different pots!!! Some people just don't do Paypal. I have a PayPal virtual terminal for folks who don't like Paypal..it means I can take card payments at fairs etc.
But the Paypal card is great...I use it all the time...but I also have a business one from my bank...
Thanks for all your replies, i think i need to look into a paypal card, and at some point in the future if i ever get round to doing fairs i will be looking into the paypal terminal thingy.
Jenny - "Good luck with it though. I need to get on that scheme instead of paying the accountant a wodge of cash every year!" - Thanks Jenny Yes i think any way of saving is a good idea even if its slightly frustrating and you have nightmares about being attacked by tax books (yes that actually happened lol)
It's pretty straight forward to do your own self-assessment if you are only dealing with one income ie., your bear business ... but you do need to be organised. Keep all your receipts and invoices, then file them carefully as you receive them ... I use a ring binder folder with 12 plastic wallets (one for each month of the year) and pop them in whenever I receive one. You need to get into the habit of filing your paperwork and you also need a means of recording your income and tax deductable outgoings to make the job easier for yourself when Tax Return time comes calling. These days I use a spreadsheet which totals my income and expenditure each week, month and summarises the final figures in an annual summary, but when I was starting out, I used the 'Tax Tracker' book sold by WH Smith and found that very handy. When it comes to actually filing your Tax Return, as long as you have registered for online filing, you simply enter the figures requested by the Inland Revenue website by the 31st January each year and your tax is then calculated for you.
So long as you are strict with yourself and stay organised, it's not a difficult job at all, just laborious! :P
Incidentally, it's not usually a problem to open a business account with a bank - I think it makes it much easier to put all your business transactions through a business account, rather than have to sift through your personal account to identify business transactions. When I opened my account years ago they offered something like a year's free banking for new businesses ... there are probably similar offers available today if you shop around. Once you have a business bank account, if you qualify for it, they will often offer a business credit card of some description too, which can be very useful ... I put as much of my business expenditure as possible on my business card and it is repaid in full each month by direct debit, which makes it very useful for keeping track of everything business related. I pay an annual fee for the card, but it's not too expensive and worth every penny for the convenience!
The Littlest ThistleI do mine online by self assessment every year, but they've never asked to see my bank account, not sure what you mean? I use my personal account to pay for supplies, but I get paid into my business paypal account (which I also use for supplies) I keep every receipt, and one Sunday a year I suck it up and type the lot up into a spreadsheet so I have a total to enter in my outgoings (which is always rather larger than my incomings, but it's getting marginally closer year on year!). It's not due til the end of January BTW
