Can someone help please

[supermumy]

When doing accounts do you go by the hours on contract
Or
Hours child actually attends

I have a child where mum sometimes doesn't turn up or collects late or picks up early so each week my hours on register changes who his making my hours on books different so thinking finding % of heating and rent ect harder to do weekly

Any advice helpful thanks

[The Juggler]

do you still charge when he is there hon? I hope you do.

I always use contracted hours for accounts.

[Jenna]

I go by the amount of hours I'm paid for each week including late fees

[bunyip]

My CM group had a visit from an HMRC officer and this question came up. She said the calculation should be based only on hours when minded children are actually present.

1 or 2 CMs were adamant their accountants had told them they could claim additional hours to cover time spent planning, preparing and tidying up, but the HMRC officer was equally adamant they were wrong. She pointed out that the calculation compares very favourably with the usual arrangement for people working from home.

[The Juggler]

I agree that I wouldn't claim for planning and admin hours outside of working /contracted hours but if a child is contracted to come 9-5 every day and only comes til 4pm but you are contracted until 5 - you always need to 'be available' jsut in case so in my eyes I would see that as on call working/standby.

[supermumy]

Thanks for replys

Yes parent always pays full no problem weither she uses the space or not
So contracted hours are 7.30-9 than 3.30 till 7
Some days she may not come or just use after school or even pick up at 5 instead 7

So I wasn't sure if I use the contracted hours or the hours the child is actually in my care (even though I'm being paid for them hours and are open for business)

Hope that makes sense

Oh and yes I've also been told we can not claim for paperwork etc outside of business hours

[rickysmiths]

I don't look at individual children I look at what time the earliest one arrives and the latest one leaves and those are my hours for the day. You don't add up the hours individual children are with you.

So if x arrives at 7.30 and I collect Y from Nursery at 12 and Z from school at 3 and Y goes at 4 and X goes at 4.30 and Z goes at 6.30 my working hours for that day are 7.30 am to 6.30 pm 11 hours. It doesn't matter that X Y or Z weren't with me individually for the whole 11 hours. If X arrived later or Z went home early then this would lower the hours of work in a day. I add up the weekly total and usually go way over the max for tax calculations of 40 anyway.

[tulip0803]

Agree with Ricky. I use the arrival of first child and the leaving of the last child. HMRC advised me that I should not use contracted hours but actual time that the children were with me. Not the individual contracted hours even if I am being paid for more hours. Where times change each week I had to work out a calculation based on the weekly hours that the children are with me not the longest contracted hours - if after school just 2 hours not 8 hours that is contracted for holiday, or with a shift worker whatever the child came.

Again I have not had to do this since I have been looking after more than one child a day as the hours are over 40 anyway for me. There is a good excel workbook that Happytoddlers kindly shared on this thread (http://www.childmindinghelp.co.uk/forum/book-keeping-accounts-tax-expenses-national-insurance/104599-book-keeping-excel-workbook.html) post 48 for 2013/2014. It works out your percentages based on the hours to ensure that they are correct I now use this not paper based accounts. It also adds everything up:thumbsup:

[The Juggler]

I don't look at individual children I look at what time the earliest one arrives and the latest one leaves and those are my hours for the day. You don't add up the hours individual children are with you.

So if x arrives at 7.30 and I collect Y from Nursery at 12 and Z from school at 3 and Y goes at 4 and X goes at 4.30 and Z goes at 6.30 my working hours for that day are 7.30 am to 6.30 pm 11 hours. It doesn't matter that X Y or Z weren't with me individually for the whole 11 hours. If X arrived later or Z went home early then this would lower the hours of work in a day. I add up the weekly total and usually go way over the max for tax calculations of 40 anyway.

yes that's what I did as well.

[supermumy]

I only take on 1 or 2 children at a time anyway and dont do over 40hrs a week
That's why I was asking as sometimes it can be 22 hrs and others if schoolie comes in times will be 30 and it getting confusing working out each percentage I can claim for every week



Thanks for all advice