Do you really need an accountant?

[cartlidgea]

Yes I hear you say for the year end stuff, p11ds, tax returns and I agree.

But the monthly calculations seem really easy. My accountant did the first one but I have picked this up really easily so do people on her talk about buying accounting software for the year end stuff not the payroll side?.

I work out my own Flat Rate VAT takes a couple of minutes, then the PAYE I pay on my salary, total monthly expenses, not the NI as I am not paying Employer or employee NI at the moment until I reach the £5225 figure then work out the Corporation tax and then dividends all this takes about 3 minutes in a home made excel spreadsheet i made. Is this really this easy or am I missing something here? Once you have worked out what the percentages are for corporation tax, PAYE etc and setup a spreadsheet it is so easy.

Like I say I presume we all get accountants for the year end stuff and to remind us of deadlines rather then the simple payroll calculations of what we can pay ourselves. It just seems too easy maybe im worried that the calculations my accountant has sent me are so simple and easy that maybe they have done it wrong??????

[Lewis]

No you're right, all those things are simple. I want to do all my own accounts but haven't yet found any software that will do end of year accounts in the correct format for companies house.

By the way, I thought NI was paid weekly or monthly based on the Earnings Threshold i.e. as soon as you go over the Earings Threshold you have to pay NI. i.e. if you earn over £100 per week or £435 per month.

Have you been paid over £435 in any month? If so you should pay NI I think even if you total earnings are less than £5225. That's certainly the way the revenue PAYE calculator works.

[malvolio]

Sio simple you don't even understand the basic rules, it seems.

But you do realise that at year end, when you get an accountant to audit your books and prepare the final stuff, they will go and do all the same things you spent a year doing? And you'll have saved anything up to a whole day's billings by using your spare time up to do it, not to mention the much higher risk of getting it wrong with no redress...

Seriously, using an accountant is a no brainer

[Lewis]

Sio simple you don't even understand the basic rules, it seems.

Who is that directed at? I use the revenue CD to calculate PAYE and am extremely confident about my NI calculations plus I know my statement about the Earnings Threshold to be correct. By the way, I have never had an accountant who hasn't made a mistake. I have used small ones and huge ones. I am very precise myself however. Please correct me about the ET if I am wrong and I will eat my hat

[Bluebird]

No you're right, all those things are simple. I want to do all my own accounts but haven't yet found any software that will do end of year accounts in the correct format for companies house.

By the way, I thought NI was paid weekly or monthly based on the Earnings Threshold i.e. as soon as you go over the Earings Threshold you have to pay NI. i.e. if you earn over £100 per week or £435 per month.

Have you been paid over £435 in any month? If so you should pay NI I think even if you total earnings are less than £5225. That's certainly the way the revenue PAYE calculator works.

Don't forget that NI for directors is different from that of a standard employee....

[Lewis]

Don't forget that NI for directors is different from that of a standard employee....

Hmmm it wouldn't let me tick that box on the CD ROM some error about the director start date. In which case I think I'd better retrack my previous comments and go and get an accountant

To explain further ... the ONLY reason I don't have an accountant is because of the MSC legislation. I want to join one of the big boys so I get specialist advice but am afraid hector is going to try and get them as an MSC. Was waiting to see if the legislation got clarified over next few months. I know people say accountants won't be caught but it just doesn't seem clear to me and hector has never been reasonable!

So it seems I have done my NI as a normal employee not a director. I assume also that means I am paying NI up front instead of delaying. So if I want to revert to being paid as director (I have only made one PAYE payment to date) how do I adjust to get back the £94.81 NI I have already paid?

[malvolio]

Tum ti tum ti tum....

[Bluebird]

Hmmm it wouldn't let me tick that box on the CD ROM some error about the director start date. In which case I think I'd better retrack my previous comments and go and get an accountant

To explain further ... the ONLY reason I don't have an accountant is because of the MSC legislation. I want to join one of the big boys so I get specialist advice but am afraid hector is going to try and get them as an MSC. Was waiting to see if the legislation got clarified over next few months. I know people say accountants won't be caught but it just doesn't seem clear to me and hector has never been reasonable!

So it seems I have done my NI as a normal employee not a director. I assume also that means I am paying NI up front instead of delaying. So if I want to revert to being paid as director (I have only made one PAYE payment to date) how do I adjust to get back the £94.81 NI I have already paid?

GET AN ACCOUNTANT.

[Lewis]

Munch, Munch (that's me eating my hat!)

So am I the only paranoid one that is worried about the contracting big boy accoutants being somehow classifed as MSCs? I know they say they are safe but I read somewhere about an accounting body asking for clarification of the legislation to confirm that acountants would not be caught. Arggh it's so annoying. I don't expect anything other than "they are safe" so this is more a rhetorical question and statement of frustration!!

This whole bl&&dy MSC thing just p^sses me off

So now I have submitted a PAYE yellow slip for £160 whereas I am thinking it should have been NIL. I guess it will just sit on account until I go over the £5K threshold but I have to somehow sort it out.

[Bluebird]

Munch, Munch (that's me eating my hat!)

So am I the only paranoid one that is worried about the contracting big boy accoutants being somehow classifed as MSCs? I know they say they are safe but I read somewhere about an accounting body asking for clarification of the legislation to confirm that acountants would not be caught. Arggh it's so annoying. I don't expect anything other than "they are safe" so this is more a rhetorical question and statement of frustration!!

This whole bl&&dy MSC thing just p^sses me off

So now I have submitted a PAYE yellow slip for £160 whereas I am thinking it should have been NIL. I guess it will just sit on account until I go over the £5K threshold but I have to somehow sort it out.

HMRC provided the clarification.

as for the 2nd point, I don't know, but if I wanted to I'd ask HMRC - you can speak to them.