Maths not my strongest!

[Memina]

Hiya,

I started minding in September 2010 and as I am quite unorganised, i thought i'd try and get started on my accounts.

I have the NCMA accounts book but as I have sooooo many part timers I find that I really need more space/calculations than it allows. Also I am finding it quite hard to calculate my monthly % for gas, electric etc as everyweek I work different hours (shift workers).

I guess maybe the question I am asking is could someone help me calculate what % I can claim or even the formula i should use to caluclate the % for my household expenses?

Thanks

w

[mama2three]

Make a long list of how many hours you have worked in each week. Add them all up and divide by the number of weeks this gives you your average working hours.
You could work it out monthly which is great if you pay your bills on direct debit as you already know how much is going out each month.
Or if you get bills like me then work it all out at once either at year end or when the bills arrive.

If yours are monthly then how much is gas plus electric per month? Divide by 3 to give 33%.
Then average hours , divide by 40.
Multiply these two figures together.

its nowhere near as complicated as Ive probably made it sound! Dont forget to claim water , council tax , and 10% wear and tear as well.

As for the ncma form - you dont actually have to write each child as in the example. If youve got a diary or similar then make your notes on food / cost for each child in there , and just write the total on the ncma sheets .

[singingcactus]

I use a program created by Lisa Finley called child's play accounts. If you google it you will find it easily. It's 15.00 and well worth the money - even if you are good at maths :D .
I thought I'd found her following a link on the help page of this site but I can't find it now so don't know if I can link directly to her site because of the reciprocal advertising rule.

[aly]

my weekly hours changed so much i had to work out my % weekly rather than monthly...from sept 10 i am over 40 hours so wont need to but for now it was easier for me to do it weekly.

[missymood]

The new requirment in our area is a level 2 in maths and english.
If you go to learn direct it is £10 to register then the training is free. It's really good and gives you loads of confidence. Well worth gaining the qualification as I was really bad at maths at school and have already passed my level 1 in maths and now I am learning towards the level 2
Good Luck

[Memina]

Thanks Ladies,

Mamma2three just a quick question....why am I dividing the Gas and Electric by 3? I think I'm a bit confused!

I pay £115 per month for my Gas and Electric so how do I work out what % to put down on my expenses? Some weeks I work 17.5h others 35h others 21h. I have worked out my weekly hours worked but the NCMA accounts book explains if you full time (40hs you can claim one-third, 20h you claim one-sixth) how do I work it out?

Hours worked a week, divided by 6 = expense per month?

If its water rate its full time one-tenth, council tax one-tenth for full time.

Sorry maybe I'm just getting myself in a tis but once I have it in plain simple english I'll be able to do it.

Thanks again

W

[aly]

im wondering if she means divide by 3 as some people get their bills every 3 months ...not sure.

if you look at this link it gives you the percentages against your hours worked.
http://childmindinghelp.co.uk/freeresources/Free%20downloads/Resources/Tax%20info%20for%20childminderssa.pdf

if you have a months bill but want to work it weekly i do it this way {a bit long winded but it helps me}

my gas say is £50 a month {only an example} so

£50 x 12 {number of months} divide by 52 {weeks in year} will give me a weekly amount...and then i use the percentage against the hours used so if its 40 hours it is x 33%...if i worked say 20 hours it would be 17%
£50 x 12 /52 = £11.54 x 33 % = 3.80 {33%}
£50 x 12/52 = £11.54 x 17% = 1.96 {17%}
use the % on that link {last page}

if the hours worked are between the anount say 32 hours then you find the amount yourself so i would say it would be 27%?

hope that makes sense?

[Memina]

Thanks Aly,

So if we can find the % ourselves this is the numbers i've come up with. Would these be ok to work off as a bench mark?

Opinions please

5082

Thanks

W

[aly]

yes thats how I worked it out...it was easier for me that way , i know some people round up but id prefer this way.

:thumbsup:

[mama2three]

Sorry I wasnt clear. Divide by 3 as you can claim 33% ( approx a third) of your gas / electric if you are full time.

[Memina]

Oh good!

Thanks again ladies, really appreciate your help. You just dont understand how many hours i have sat staring into space trying to figure it out and now I look at it...it couldnt be simpler!

Think it was the fractions that where making me have a mental block!

Thanks again

Wendy