Resolved Question

Self employed accounts help pls!!?

i became self employed on sept 12th 08 should my accounts that i send to the inland revenue be from sept08 to sept 09 etc... or sept to april then april to april thereafter etc?? and can you send me a link to an online accounts form where it will calculate my incomings outgoings etc! arrgghhhhggg i duno wat im doing! helpp please!!!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Other answers are not 100% correct. You can make your accounts up to whatever date you want. It is usual to make them up to a year after you start trading as otherwise how can you judge the true profitability of the business?
You do not send your accounts to HMRC, and the taxes enquiry centre will not help you complile your accounts - you just complete a self assessment. HMRC only ask to see your accounts if they are investigating you.
There is no online calculator for you - every business is different and you should be maintaining records as you go along of you income and expenditure as well as retaining all invoices and receipts.
Keep a simple cash book - either on paper or an Excel spreadsheet and make a new page for every month. That way you will be able to reconcile your bank account and keep track of your monthly income and expenditure.
If you e mail me I will happily send an example.
As others have said, the filing deadline is 31 Jan - if you at least make some sort of payment you will avoid a fine.

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Other Answers (2)

• You should do them to April 09 but you have left it rather late now because you can only send them in online and before the end of the month. You need to register quickly because it usually takes seven days to get your account and pin. You may be able to get some help when you register but could be a problem due to the time involved.
  
  If you don't get them in before the end of Jan you could be fined £100.
  
  Register here
  http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_4017846
  
  I don't know how big your business is but a good start would be to total your takings for that period and then make a total of your outgoings, rent, rates, electricity, purchases and other expenses that are connected to your business. Subtract this amount from your takings and you have your profit.
  
  These are just some of the basics to give you an idea. But don't delay.
  
  Bailey
  
  http://www.absales.info/CPAprofit

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• I would imagine that it should be from April to April as they will take into account any tax you have already paid. Your best option is to find your local tax office and make an appointment with them to work through what you need to do. You should take all of your paperwork with you, or at least make notes as to what they say about filling in the forms. The other alternative is to get an accountant who can do all of the calculations for you. You should do it quickly as January 31st is fast approaching and if you don't have it done and paid by then, you get fined.
  
  The link below is to the HMRC website where you can find your nearest office.

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