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| Don't look down |
1) Keep your accounts up together as best you
can. If, like me, just thinking about money can make you feel a bit sick, this
isn’t a natural piece of behavior. I’ve thought about getting one of those apps
they’re advertising on TV, where you photograph your receipts and they go
magically into a spreadsheet. Is anyone using such a thing? I actually get my
partner to do my books, and my Mum once used to do them – basically because I’m
so panicky about doing them myself. One way or another they do get ordered,
anyway.This applies to part-time writers, too, of course.
2) Keep writing earnings and expenses very
plainly separate from your household accounts. This is in case you have to show
the Inland Revenue. I’ve written before about tax investigations and I won’t
bang on about them again, but assume it could happen to you and be prepared. If
you can’t clearly show where money came from and where it went, you could be in
for a bill.
3) Get tax investigation insurance because if you are chosen it’ll cost you in accountancy fees (unless you are very up-together on tax you
will need them to come with you for interviews). Members can get it through the
Society of Authors (and they also have a free tax helpline for members) or I
get it through my accountant. I have been investigated twice, both times when
my earnings went down due to childbirth. I think that the big swings in yearly earnings
aroused their suspicions. They probably thought I was hiding money but I
wasn’t. In the end they charged me for some opal fruits on a petrol bill and a
£4.50 toy on a receipt but it cost me £1,000 in accountancy fees to prove I was
clean (apart from the opal fruits).
4) Pay tax monthly or at least save it
somewhere. The Inland Revenue now has a scheme enabling you to pay an amount of
your choice by monthly direct debit – and you can stop and restart at any time or
get the money back out (it's easy to set up online). By the time my tax bills come (January and July) I’ve just
about cleared them. It’s a total godsend to me as I could never save in my own
private account (I always found I needed it somehow), and I often used to have
to borrow the money when the tax bill arrived. The way I do it now is a huge
weight off my mind.
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| What I used to do with my tax 'savings' |
5) On fee-paying writing jobs don’t allow
publishers to delay paying your invoices past the end of the month after the
month invoiced (ie: 30 days, effectively). If they haven’t coughed up, ring
their accounts office (or get a confident friend to ring and say they are your
financial advisor working on your accounts – Mum used to do that,
too). On work that is invoiced through an agent it will be up to them to chase
payment, but I’m sure it would be worth reminding them if what you were
expecting doesn’t turn up.
6) When working direct with publishers don’t accept payment excuses such as ‘we
can’t find your invoice’. Scan it, email it and ask when payment will occur
asap, as this is not your mistake.
7) Always check stage payments carefully in
a contract. Are they weighted the way you want? You’ll need a fair amount up
front and less at the far end because you need to eat. If accepting a
fee-paying contract I would never agree to delaying any payment to publication
date, as you will have no control over it. On royalty contracts I do accept
that because I have a more ongoing interest.
8) Don’t start comparing your earnings to
other people in different professions. That way lies madness. If you make the
choice to be a full-time writer, own it.
9) Remember that you are not alone. There
are lots of us out there on that cliff path, ready to listen. I know that the
Society of Authors has a hardship fund, and though I’ve never used it, I have in
the past been in a position perilously close to needing that helping hand. That’s
why I have such a difficult relationship with this subject. I would personally
prefer never to think of money again, and instead think only of words, but I know
I have to face it every year, and so do you. Let’s do the best we can.
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| It's not easy dealing with this, but we're not alone. |
Moira
Butterfield
Twitter
@moiraworld
Instagram
@moirabutterfieldauthor
For
tax advice and insurance be a member of:
https://www.societyofauthors.org
