Should I have a business bank account?
Most escorts probably don’t have a separate business bank account. Any income they bank goes into their personal account, and business expenses are either paid in cash or from the same account. I would recommend you set up a separate account for your business, and possibly a separate credit card for business expenses that you pay by plastic.
Don’t worry. I’m not suggesting you trot along to your High Street bank and fill in a form to set up a small business account in the name of “Jane Smith trading as BustyBunny of Bungay.” A name like that won’t fit on your cheque book and you don’t want to end up paying business bank charges.
The golden rules of book-keeping
There are two golden rules of book-keeping:
Keep it simple
Your life may be so full of excitement that you long for the opportunity to snatch a few guilty hours of dull turgid book-keeping. But believe me it will pass. There is no point in setting up some monumentally complicated double-entry accountancy system which you fill in religiously for two months only to realise, after the initial rush of enthusiasm has faded, that you can’t remember how it was supposed to work.
Your books need to fulfil a few basic requirements, and should be simple enough for you to keep them up to date with minimal effort and a few minutes work each week.
Book-keeping
The law requires you to keep business records which are good enough to enable you (or your accountant) to complete your tax return form each year. If your books are disorganised, full of gaps or non-existent, you are likely to find it much more difficult and stressful to fill in your tax return; and much more expensive if you pay an accountant to sort it out for you. There is a general rule that any unexplained money coming into a business is assumed to be taxable, while any unexplained money going out is treated as personal expenditure and not allowable. So if your books are incomplete or unreliable you may end up paying too much tax.
TaxRelief Diary 2011/12 now available
The new tax year starts in less than month and the new 2011/12 edition is now available. The TaxRelief Diary is an easy to use, clear and straightforward DIY book-keeping system specially designed for escorts. Read more