SVA Forum

[skva]

Hi all

I know from an earlier thread that some of you have a cleaner and it's something I'm beginning to consider if my business continues the way it is (I'm not complaining ) But in truth, if I didn't have the business, I wouldn't be considering a cleaner which makes me feel that I ought to be able to charge the costs back in my tax return. I'm sure it's not that simple though.

If I took on a cleaner to do some cleaning in my house and maybe a bit of ironing would I have to take that as a personal cost regardless of the fact that, without the business, I'd be able to do it all myself? Would I only be able to claim for a cleaner if they were just cleaning my office?

Thanks for any advice/info.
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Sharon Kemp SK Virtual Assistant For monthly SVA training sessions please visit: http://tinyurl.com/39abrt Or to support SVA please donate to: http://tinyurl.com/37urec

[admindoc]

I was thinking of this as well. I asked my accountant and he said that if it's just the office being cleaned that's fine. But if it's the house as well as the office then a proportion could be allocated.
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Angela Dawson
The Admin Doctor
t: 01670 618628 / 07855746777
http://www.theadmindoc.co.uk

For monthly SVA training sessions please visit: http://tinyurl.com/39abrt or to support SVA please donate to: http://tinyurl.com/37urec

[skva]

Angela, thanks for your reply. I guessed that might be the answer. Shame.
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Sharon Kemp SK Virtual Assistant For monthly SVA training sessions please visit: http://tinyurl.com/39abrt Or to support SVA please donate to: http://tinyurl.com/37urec

[caroline]

The office cleaners used to get paid from the business and we have invoices etc from them. They kept on not turning up tho so I fired them and now occasionally get the hoover out myself (which always makes Tom laugh as clearly I have no idea how to do it properly!!). If I'm buying stuff for the office (tea bags, cleaning products, loo roll etc.) that all gets kept entirely separate and put on my business card.

My home cleaner I just pay for myself, although I probably wouldn't have one if I was working a normal 9-5 job. If I didn't have the cleaner though I would have died of some horrible disease long ago, so I guess it's an even swap!

The problem comes from the separation if you are working from home. How much would you allocate?

I suppose saying you needed the cleaning lady because you worked would be like saying "I need to fly to New York every weekend as that's where I would live if I wasn't running a business" or "I don't have time to cook because I run a business so I've just got Yo Sushi to send us all our meals". Not really justifiable - although all those working women with nannies have been trying to change this standpoint for years without much success. You never know - it might happen.
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[skva]

Thanks, Caroline. I guess your comparisons are right. I do work from home but in my office at the end of the garden. I don't think I'd be able to charge a cleaner back because it's the house I'd need cleaned and our clothes I'd need ironed.

It was worth asking though :)
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Sharon Kemp SK Virtual Assistant For monthly SVA training sessions please visit: http://tinyurl.com/39abrt Or to support SVA please donate to: http://tinyurl.com/37urec

[janet]

Hi Sharon

Interested in your comment about an office at the end of the garden. My husband (who runs his own business) and I are planning to have a garden office set up next month so we reclaim our bedroom! Just wondered if you have any advice for us out of your experience of working like that - any 'dos' and 'don'ts'?

Thanks!
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Janet

[skva]

Hi Janet - our set-up is that I have some space between the workshop and the kids' playroom (which is ideal when my daughter is home and I have work to do - can get her busy, keep an eye on her and work as well). So it's all set up in what used to be our garage but which we've plasterboarded, etc.

Heating is the main issue - we have an electric heater down there which heats the workshop/office really quickly and hubbie plasterboarded it all to keep warmth in but it's no good trying to do our sort of sit-down job and be freezing cold so heating is a definite thing to think about.

Obviously you need wireless - most of the time I have no problems with using wireless from the office but sometimes it gets really slow and if I'm trying to email a large document I have to unplug the laptop, bring it up to the house and try again. The office is about 35 feet from the back of the house, probably about 40 feet from where the wireless router is situated.

I do use a laptop which I keep in the house at night and take down to the office when I have work to do. But I got a 3-in-1 printer and that stays down there and doesn't seem to suffer.

The only other thing I would consider is if you have a space in your home which is solely for the use of your business, you may become liable to business rates. I think I'm okay as I've taken over part of the workshop so there's a dual use to the room and I only claim back a percentage of our electricity bill based on time spent on the business.

Phones. I have to remember to take our landline phone and mobile with me when working in the office. The landline is a digital phone and the signal reaches the office no problem - I just have to remember to pop it back in its holster when I'm not in the office so it can recharge!

I can't think of anything else - was there anything in particular that you were thinking about?
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Sharon Kemp SK Virtual Assistant For monthly SVA training sessions please visit: http://tinyurl.com/39abrt Or to support SVA please donate to: http://tinyurl.com/37urec

[janet]

Sharon - thanks so much. That's very helpful. No, nothing specific, I just thought I'd ask for your thoughts to add to the things we've been thinking about. We'd started a list and it's got longer and longer. I don't use a laptop now but a PC and I remembered a posting of Sally's once about how computers get cold... We also have various phones and we get deliveries to the front door sometimes so were wondering how to make sure we still get them... Interesting comments about business use only. To be honest I want to use it also as a home study and keep a lot of books down there but I am grateful for your warning and will consult hubby! Thanks again Sharon - very much appreciated.
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Janet

[admindoc]

Hi Janet

I don't have personal experience of garden offices but the guy I work for does. When he decided to close our offices so that I could work from home and likewise for him, he looked into a separate garden office.

One of his findings was that if he bought it out right then he'd get no tax relief but if he leased it he could claim tax relief (can't remember if it was 100% or not).

He changed his mind in the end because the space he could have wasn't much bigger than the study in his home.

Hope this helps.
_________________
Angela Dawson
The Admin Doctor
t: 01670 618628 / 07855746777
http://www.theadmindoc.co.uk

For monthly SVA training sessions please visit: http://tinyurl.com/39abrt or to support SVA please donate to: http://tinyurl.com/37urec

[Sally@Stonetext]

There are cordless doorbells that you can get. You can then take the receiver down to the end of your garden and still hear if the delivery man arrives.

This might be a useful piece of kit for some of you. There are special plugs you can get that use the electrical wiring in your house to transmit signals through. This saves having cables trailing around all over the place as our wireless connection can be a little dodgy at certain places in the house. You just use standard internet connection cables. We have all our PCs connected this way which gives them all access to the internet which means that the printers are all networked up too. Plugs are readily available a not wildly expensive.
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Sally
Stonetext Online Admin Services www.stonetext.co.uk
Spida Web & Graphic Design www.spidawebdesign.co.uk

Please help to support SVA by donating to: http://tinyurl.com/37urec

[janet]

Hi ladies

That's all very helpful - thank so much. I'm glad I asked the question - I knew you'd have useful stuff to share.

We are not looking to make the garden room a business expense as we think that makes things too complicated - it will just be a part of our house which we will use as an office while we need that. However, as family circumstances change, we might want to make it an exercise room (! - hmmm) or a reading room or something.

Right, I'm off to investigate cordless doorbells!

Thanks again,
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Janet

[skva]

Janet

I meant to get back to you to say about cordless doorbells as that is what we have. When I'm on my own and am in the office I take the doorbell receiver with me, plug it in and it seems to work OK.
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Sharon Kemp SK Virtual Assistant For monthly SVA training sessions please visit: http://tinyurl.com/39abrt Or to support SVA please donate to: http://tinyurl.com/37urec

[HLSBS]

I have part of my loft as my office and hardly use it unless I am printing. Most of what I do is on my laptop at the moment so I sit downstairs with laptop on my knee. As it gets busier I will use the office more.

I had a cordless doorbell which hubby lost and it was great, I could carry it round with me so if I was at the bottom of the garden in summer or in the office two floors up I could hear the delivery man etc.

As for cleaning, I refuse to get a cleaner on the grounds my two (hubby and small child) are impossible, no sooner would they have cleaned the house top to bottom than they would have restored it to it's former squalor!! Its what they do when I take time out of work to do it.

However, confession time, I paid someone to do my ironing last week!! I still feel marginally guilty but not that guilty that it wont happen again. Five pounds for a basket of ironing, I gave her all my back log as I have been ill which came to three baskets. Took her all day as it would have taken me, she got paid £15 and I got a new client because I was free to go to the meeting. Happy bunnies all round :-)
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Helen

HLS Business Solutions
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intelligentVA
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