[alanwilson]

following on from the wages topic I thought I would post a thread on operating expenses.

so to give newbies a REAL insight into what it costs to operate as a SOLE trader I have worked out costs to be £6500 per year (obviously this will vary from person to person)

so what does it cost you to operate every year?

are some of us working harder, not smarter?

[Robin Ray]

If I could turn the clock back I would have gone limited before things got too big. That way I would have made the best use of the ependature against tax, before things like payment on account and class 4 NI got in the way.

[alanwilson]

fair point robin but all I'm wanting to do here is let newbies see where the costs are, especially as some just see us spraying water on a window.

[ronnie paton]

one man one van rough guide

public liability £150
phone £360
fuel £2160
ins £750
equipment ins £75
vehicle tax £180
mot and service£250
general vehicle costs £600
resin £240
general equipment £300
uniform £120
stationary £300
accounts £300

this is my rough guide, with an employee you can add

Wages £14000
employees ins £500
ni class 4£1500
extra fuel £1200
uniform£120
paye accounts and p60 return £120
extra equipment £500

this is all very rough and iv prob forgot things amd not including a van and reach and wash system

[alanwilson]

ronnie you must use a lot of resin - 3 bags?

we get through a bag a year between 2 men, ro water first then di into holding tanks.  Use approx 3000ltrs per week per van.

I suppose if you are on a water meter then you would need to factor the cost of water in too.

[GWCS]

Id say without even checking my accounts, its easily over £4000.

[trevor perry]

i think we should all make our running expenses a bit higher like the MP s do

 new televisin  £1200
 gardening work   £2000
 new boiler  £1500
 
 im sure you get the jist and if we play it right we wont of made anything and so wont pay any tax , happy days

 only problem is we would end up in jail and they wouldnt be happy with us saying we wernt any good at accounting but will pay it back

[Spruce]

Hi
Perhaps it would be better to show costs as a percentage of turnover.

[cozy]

one man one van rough guide

public liability £150
phone £360
fuel £2160
ins £750
equipment ins £75
vehicle tax £180
mot and service£250
general vehicle costs £600
resin £240
general equipment £300
uniform £120
stationary £300
accounts £300

this is my rough guide, with an employee you can add

Wages £14000
employees ins £500
ni class 4£1500
extra fuel £1200
uniform£120
paye accounts and p60 return £120
extra equipment £500

this is all very rough and iv prob forgot things amd not including a van and reach and wash system

Looks Ok to me Ronnie, only difference is for me would be, I am on a water meter and a hard water area too. Cost per 1000 ltr here is about 4 quid (Gurmany.)

The NI costs here are alot higher too but whatever. By the way I'm trad and am thinking of going WFP this year. That's why I am interested in this thread.

[Ravensford]

one man one van rough guide

public liability £150
phone £360
fuel £2160
ins £750
equipment ins £75
vehicle tax £180
mot and service£250
general vehicle costs £600
resin £240
general equipment £300
uniform £120
stationary £300
accounts £300

this is my rough guide, with an employee you can add

Wages £14000
employees ins £500
ni class 4£1500
extra fuel £1200
uniform£120
paye accounts and p60 return £120
extra equipment £500

this is all very rough and iv prob forgot things amd not including a van and reach and wash system

If one man one van why the employee insurance?

[Nathanael Jones]

Off the top of my head I think my expenses were over €7000 last year.

It adds up real quick,..

[ronnie paton]

one man one van rough guide

public liability £150
phone £360
fuel £2160
ins £750
equipment ins £75
vehicle tax £180
mot and service£250
general vehicle costs £600
resin £240
general equipment £300
uniform £120
stationary £300
accounts £300

this is my rough guide, with an employee you can add

Wages £14000
employees ins £500
ni class 4£1500
extra fuel £1200
uniform£120
paye accounts and p60 return £120
extra equipment £500

this is all very rough and iv prob forgot things amd not including a van and reach and wash system

If one man one van why the employee insurance?

read properly

the resin is for di only water is only 45 ish

[mark dew]

Hi
Perhaps it would be better to show costs as a percentage of turnover.

I've got last years expenses down to just over 10% of total income. My accountant will of course add more so i reckon around 15% would be my operating costs.
2/3 of it on fuel.

[ronnie paton]

non working 30-35% working 70-75%