Keep supplier orders and job costs out of the end-of-month scramble
Match materials to the right electrical job, track shortages and returns, and hand your accountant records they can work from.
Put the job reference on the order
A wholesaler invoice with four jobs on it is hard to pick apart a month later. I would give each job a reference before ordering and use it on the order, collection note and cost record. If one order covers several jobs, record which lines belong to each one while you still know.
Start from the approved quote and your material specification. The desk can place the agreed order, confirm availability and record the delivery. You decide whether a proposed substitute is suitable. A stock shortage should come back with the part, quantity and required date, so you can make that decision without reading the whole order again.
- Job and approved quote reference, including the current version.
- Supplier, order reference and person who approved the spend.
- Exact item, quantity, agreed price and delivery or collection date.
- Delivery address and who checks what arrives.
- Any shortage, substitution request or amount still to arrive.
Check the delivery against what you ordered
Mark each line as received, part received or outstanding. Keep the delivery note. Tell the engineer about a missing item before they set off expecting it to be on site.
Record returns with the same job reference. Keep the return receipt and leave the credit marked as outstanding until the credit note arrives. Returning a box to the counter and receiving the money back are separate steps.
Illustrative example: an order has 12 fittings, but only 10 arrive. Record 10 received and 2 outstanding, with the promised date. If one delivered fitting is returned, track that return and its credit separately. The job record should show what you kept and what you are still waiting for.
Compare the allowance with the cost you actually carried
Keep the material allowance from the accepted quote beside the actual purchases for that job. Include extra collections and approved additions. Put stock taken from the van against the job too, using the costing method you have agreed for your records.
Use a consistent basis for VAT when comparing costs. Ask your accountant which figures your business should use. If a supplier credit is pending, show that separately rather than treating it as money already recovered.
A material-cost comparison can tell you where the allowance slipped. It does not tell you the job profit on its own. Labour, subcontractors and other costs still matter. Keep the difference visible so you can check the next quote against what happened on site.
Build the accountant pack as the month happens
Agree the period, format and deadline with your accountant. File the original documents as you receive them, then give the desk a missing-record list to work through. A bank payment may tell you what left the account; the purchase invoice explains what it bought.
HMRC requires self-employed businesses to keep accurate income and expense records and supporting evidence. Ask your accountant what your business needs to retain and for how long, especially if you also employ people or operate through a company.
- Sales invoices, approved credit notes and the payment record.
- Purchase invoices and receipts, with their job references where relevant.
- Bank and card statements for the agreed period.
- Supplier returns, credits still missing and unpaid invoices.
- CIS statements where applicable, plus a list of missing statements.
- Questions that need your or the accountant’s decision.
Keep VAT and CIS evidence with the right records
For VAT-registered businesses, HMRC lists invoices and credit or debit notes among the records to keep. Its guidance also says a statement, delivery note or pro-forma invoice is not valid evidence for reclaiming VAT. Chase the actual invoice if it is missing, and keep the required digital records under the arrangement agreed with your accountant.
If a contractor deducts CIS from your payment, HMRC says they must provide a monthly payment and deduction statement. Match it to your invoice and bank receipt, and ask for a replacement if you have not received it. Your accountant needs the deduction evidence as well as the money that reached your account.
The desk can gather and organise these records, flag gaps and prepare the pack. Tax treatment, return approval and advice stay with you and your accountant. Keep the pack marked as prepared until the person responsible has checked it.
Give each loose end a next action
Once a week, look at overdue deliveries, credits and missing invoices. Put an owner and a follow-up date against each one. Keep disputed charges out of the normal payment routine until you have checked them.
This is back-office work we can take on: orders from your approved information, material records against jobs and a tidy handover for your accountant. Bring one recent job to a call and we can talk through where the records are getting stuck.