Get ahead of the game with your tax planning

Rachael Cobb, Manager of Accounts at Page Kirk, offers some handy tips for keeping your books up to date and avoiding year-end panics.

Every year, as an accountant, there's something I always hear from clients: “I promise I will get my records to you earlier next time.”

As we are all aware, though, there always seems to be a new problem that somehow gets in the way.

Because of my profession, my brain is wired to numbers, but as a business owner, your priorities are much broader, and include focusing on the company you've built up.

Outsourcing your accounts preparation is often an option to ensure your bookkeeping is up to date and also precise. If, however, you're not quite ready to take that step yet, I have come up with a handy monthly checklist to ensure you have as much data as possible to get your accounting records as up to date as possible.

1. Have a folder at home dedicated to all business receipts for a tax year. Put them all in here, so after the tax year you are not hunting around to find them.
2. File anything on the computer you have created under different months, e.g. purchase invoices.
3. Download any remittance that will aid us in preparing your records as soon as you get the email. (Even forward this on to your accountant if you don't have the time. They will ensure it is filed and ready for when your accounts are prepared.)
4. If you get a new car, keep the invoice details in a safe place and put it in the records of the correct tax year to let your accountant know.
5. If you're working from home, keep a log of any unusual hours you do, so when it comes to claiming allowances, you know which months are higher than usual.
6. If you are not claiming for vehicle costs, remember to keep a note of all qualifying business mileage. Maybe this is via a notebook in the car?
7. At the end of the year, make a list of all stock or work in progress held. This removes the need to have to remind yourself of what was going on when the accounts are being prepared.

Doing the above will make it a lot easier when it comes to the year-end to complete your accounts. It will also reduce the time taken to pull everything together and hopefully will result in your accounts being prepared more promptly than in the previous tax year.

If you would like more information on how we can help you, please contact us on 0115 955 5500 or email enquiries@pagekirk.co.uk.