How do I account for food?

[Mummits]

Can anyone help me please. I just can't get my head around how to record money spent on food. It would be fine if I shopped every day and then we ate what I'd bought straight away, but I tend to do a big shop at the supermarket and then put stuff in the cupboards and freezer, or I bake a batch of cakes or pies or whatever for the freezer and might not use them for weeks - and I don't know when I buy or make things if the family will eat them or the minded children or both.

So, are you supposed to put things in the accounts when you buy them (i.e guess what will be used for what), or when you eat them? (and if so, do you have to try to track back to the receipts?)

... and what about vegetables etc from the market for which I can't get a receipt?

I'm wondering if this is even worth bothering with as it seems so complicated and potentially time consuming. Do you find it worthwhile, or do we have to record it for some reason? I do charge for meals - I don't know if that makes a difference. Or is there a simpler method, like maybe a percentage thing that I have not managed to find?

Hope someone can advise!

[karenjoy]

Its all taken off on my accounts spreadsheet. pm for details if you want x

[Mollymop]

I put food down as a set amount for each child. FOr a full time child who is with me all day I put down £3 per day. For a child who is here for just snacks, etc, I out it down as £1. (£1 for a few drinks and a piece of fruit, etc)
I don't work it out from what I have purchased from the supermarket, cos it it hard to work out.

[rickysmiths]

I use the NCMA account book. if i do a big shop I highlight the items on the reciept to be used for cm then write the in my book once a month or so.

I cant be bothered to work out amount per child I just enter what I buy. unless you earn over £30,000per ann you are not required by the tax people to have reciepts for any thing under £10.

However you must keep ALL food reciepts for Food Hygiene purposes as you have to be able to trace all food you serve to its source however much it costs.

I do the in the daily diary I keep . When I write in the menu for the day I jote down next to each food where i bought it if it was frozen. then I should marry up with the detail in my account book should the need arise. (but it hasnt in 14yrs of minding!

[Mrs.L.C]

When I do my weekly shop I also get foods/snacks for the kids and put this through then get a subtotal then carry on with our own food so it is all paid for together but theres a subtotal for food used for mindees. I add this to a spread sheet when I go through my receipts which I usualy spend a day doing in may/June time as im lazy and just throw all receipts in a draw

Things I get from the market, I just record on a spreadsheet the day I get them. Things less than £10 dont need proof of purchase like a receipt

[berkschick]

I put food down as a set amount for each child. FOr a full time child who is with me all day I put down £3 per day. For a child who is here for just snacks, etc, I out it down as £1. (£1 for a few drinks and a piece of fruit, etc)
I don't work it out from what I have purchased from the supermarket, cos it it hard to work out.


Snap, thats exactly what I do. I hang on to my tesco reciepts for sickness reasons but as far as my accounts go, I put through £5 per day per child for 3 meals, puddings, snacks and drinks.

[Raggydolls]

i have an NCMA accounts book and this has been puzzling me as to what i write down too. can someone tell me if im on the correct lines here or not....

im writing down £2 per day for a full meal, snacks and drinks, or just £1 for say after schoolers who just have snacks and drinks. so weekly one mindee is £10 and 2 other after school mindees are £5 each. is this not too much or too little? i know i have to keep all food reciepts for proof incase of illness but what happens if i havent spent the full £20 a week on food shopping? am i not jipping the system somehow? if i claim for food in this way does it mean i cant write down at all if i buy any food items apart from say we treat ourselves to a meal out?

i have everything else sorted in my head apart from how to write down and work out food! also if i charge the parents is this classed as income which needs to be added to the fees part of the monthly NCMA accounts? i put down £2 for a full day as stated above but i only charge them £1 as the rest is technically in the fees they pay

im totally confuzed!!!!

leanne
xx

[Mummits]

Thanks very much for all the replies so far. I am attracted to the idea of just putting down a fixed amount per day per child as some of you do, but does anyone know if HMRC are content with that approach?

[Alibali]

I have a 3 week menu, and I did a 'mock shop' on ASDA online for everything I would need to make these meals. I then divided this by my numder of mindees and charge £4.00 per day per full time child. As long as you can reasonably estimate and prove to HMRC that'll keep them happy

[Rasharoon]

Blimey - I've been making work for myself. Because me and my family (4 of us) sit down with two mindees for tea, when I've done the big shop, I highlight all foods bought, divide by 6 then multiply by 2. When it comes to things like loo roll, tissues, kitchen cleaner - I've been dividing by 2. I do bits of shopping in the week so I'm averaging anywhere between £15-£25 per week for childminding. I charge £2 per meal for each child so £16 a week (feed them 4 days).

Do I need to highlight foods used on the receipt or can I just keep the receipt then on my accounts add a fixed rate - i.e. £16 on food shopping without itemising every item.

I'm confused - again. :panic:

[CCJD]

I have a set amount per session per child. An am session which therefore includes lunch , snack and juice is £2.00 - given than our school charges £1.90 just for one meal without snack or juice, I think this is a realistic amount. For a pm session which is just juice and a large snack I account £1.00 per child. The key with the inland revenue is that you can justify the amount and I think that I can - I can cost them out a typical day and this won't be far off .

[Andrea08]

I put down £1 a meal so if a child has 3 meals its £3 day x5 days = £15
never thought about the snacks unless we go out and i keep reciet from cafe.
as our shopping bills get bigger i think £1 a meal is cheap?

[mummyroysof3]

if you put down a set amount per meal/person/day etc thats just a estimate is that ok? you wouldnt have to start working out the price per portion or how much an apple costs etc

charlotte x

[mookyjordan]

I do a % of every single food receipt....unless it's a small one with things that are obviously not to do with childminding, like wine and treats for me!!!! Makes it easier, covers it all. Food is expensive, especially in recent times with such an increase in staple goods. You do a % on most things with childminding. I work full time so I take off a min of 10%. I spoke to the tax office and they said you can do that with food. I refuse to go through it all bit by tiny bit, working out hours and who ate what and how much of it they ate....nightmare! I keep all food receipts too.

x : - )

[cher25]

I don't eat with the children as me and dp eat later on so our food is all seperate. I write down everything i have bought each week for the children to eat and there fruit and if there is something i am going to eat aswell i don't include it at all. I then take off £5 for each mindee as there parent's pay it. I generally need to go through the reciept everytime anyway as i can't alway's go food shopping without buy a new toy or some art and craft thing's.lol