Tink69 Posted September 17, 2010 Posted September 17, 2010 Hi I was just wondering if you have a seperate bank account for childminding. I don't at the moment as my turnover is really low but wondering if this is something I should have? If so do you have a business account or just an ordinary account? Thanks in advance for your help Tink69
Upsy Daisy Posted September 17, 2010 Posted September 17, 2010 (edited) I did open a business account when I was taking the NEF because it was a condition. Because my turnover is low and will remain so out of choice I've not worried about keeping it to business and now my two accounts are both a mixture of business and personal. Not ideal but it doesn't cause me any issues. No I didn't open a proper business account because of the charges. I just didn't tell my bank what the account was for. Edited September 17, 2010 by Upsy Daisy
HoneyPancakes Posted September 17, 2010 Posted September 17, 2010 The nature of childminding means that there is a very slushy mix of personal/household and business expenses. Effectively all accounting has to be done through the books. I don't have a business account, but sometimes wish I did only so that I can see my how much I am earning as opposed to being tax credited. My suspicion is that a proper business account would be more expensive - with overdraft facilities etc and maybe minimum credits each month. I do have two personal accounts and money is paid into it and I transfer money to spend into another, but its still prety slushy. Honey
HappyMaz Posted September 17, 2010 Posted September 17, 2010 I have an Abbey (now Santander) business account for my (very small) nursery. I don't pay charges, there's no minimum number of credits each month and they don't charge me when a parent's cheque bounces. I don't have an overdraft, so I can't comment on those charges. Works for me! Maz
narnia Posted September 18, 2010 Posted September 18, 2010 I'm with Barclays for preschool, and it costs me about £200 in charges per year, plus costs for bounced cheques. Basically, if they can charge for it, they do..........oh yes, and if my personal account gets low, they whip money out of the business acoount to top it up, which i have complained about. Thinking of changing to Santander, so if Maz recommends it, might just do that!
HappyMaz Posted September 18, 2010 Posted September 18, 2010 oh yes, and if my personal account gets low, they whip money out of the business acoount to top it up, which i have complained about. Gosh! No chance of them doing that with me narnia - there's nowt in my personal account!
HoneyPancakes Posted September 18, 2010 Posted September 18, 2010 Gosh! No chance of them doing that with me narnia - there's nowt in my personal account! Maz, How can someone as knowledgeable and passionate as you are not be raking it in? Go figure! Sorry off topic. Honey
HappyMaz Posted September 18, 2010 Posted September 18, 2010 Maz, How can someone as knowledgeable and passionate as you are not be raking it in? Go figure! Can you hear that hollow laughter! Seriously though, the only drawbacks with the Abbey business account is that you don't do any of the banking in the branch: cheques and cash are paid in at the cashpoint machine, or by post. That said, at least I don't have to rush to the bank before it closes to make a deposit. Maz
Guest Posted September 21, 2010 Posted September 21, 2010 I just have a seperate current account in my name, looked at the business accounts and didnt feel like they would be worth it! Like the sound of the Santander but it would mean a trip to town just to pay in cheques, where at the moment i can pop up the road and use llyods We were told we should have a seperate account and that every penny should be put in the bank before it is used, i now dont expect cash as i cant be chuffed with going to the bank 2 and 3 times a week which is what i would have been doing with my part timers as they get tax credits paid weekly to them!!
Tink69 Posted September 21, 2010 Author Posted September 21, 2010 We were told we should have a seperate account and that every penny should be put in the bank before it is used, I have never been told that regarding cash, I thought as long as you have it all written down in your accounts it was fine.
Guest Posted September 21, 2010 Posted September 21, 2010 We had a network meeting and had someone from business link come in and 'help' us, all they done was get peoples backs up!!! Im not bothered as it has stopped me wasting cash lol, but some were saying they used the smaller cash payments for paying into toddlers etc, it got very heated i must say as it was a lot of rubbish, she had said it should go in the bank and then withdrawn from the machine to show it had been put in your account etc, which is a waste of time!! I just used it as a reason to get all my payments into the bank as i was just wasting the cash as i got 3 p/t on different days and never seemed to see the money
Inge Posted September 21, 2010 Posted September 21, 2010 its to do with making a complete paper trail of all comings and goings should your income etc need confirming..It backs up the books/accounts you keep. It would be quite possible for someone to not put an entry into the accounts and hence show they were taking in less than they actually were.. by putting all cash into the bank you can help save yourself from being accused of doing it. Inge
Tink69 Posted September 21, 2010 Author Posted September 21, 2010 It would be quite possible for someone to not put an entry into the accounts and hence show they were taking in less than they actually were.. by putting all cash into the bank you can help save yourself from being accused of doing it. Thanks for your help, I can see it makes sense to cover yourself I am going to have to start doing this even though it's not so easy for me to get to the bank during the week as I live in a village and my particular bank doesn't open the local branch on Saturdays, maybe time to think about changing banks. Tink69
HoneyPancakes Posted September 21, 2010 Posted September 21, 2010 I don't have anyone who pays cash anymore. Most parents find it easier to make direct debits or they have vouchers which are paid directly into my account or by cheque. Don't suppose we could use attendance register as proof of earnings, or could we if we covered all personal information? While on the subject of accounts, I'd just like to share just how much easier life is now that I work out how many hours are contracted for over the year and divide them by 12 monthly payments (well I only work term time so I do 11 monthly payments). No more months of 4 or 5 weeks, no more working out accounts each month. No more approaching parents with bills.. Ahhh! Honey
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