Hi Honey and welcome to SAAFE 

There is a recent-ish thread here about finding accountants; it does depend to some extent on your location, I suppose, but any accountant should really be able to help - our business is not a complicated one and whilst it does ideally help to have someone with industry knowledge (there are still plenty of people out there who think prostitution is illegal, for example), it's not crucial and provided you keep your records properly I can't imagine you having problems. Accountants (and doctors, solicitors etc etc) are providing a professional service, and it is not their place to judge you.

The Tax Relief Diary I can ony imagine is not available because Jolyen has retired, although this is just a guess. You can easily make a record book out of a basic notepad though - you really only need to keep track of what has come in and what has gone out (with receipts, bills and so on) and your accountant will do the rest. I have one spreadsheet on the computer for expenses and you don't need too many sections, provided you keep your household stuff separate from the rest (I have Hotel/Travel, Advertising/Promotion, Clothing, Phone/Internet and Sundries (condoms etc) as well as a Miscellaneous section for oddbods.

As far as clothing goes (or any other expenses), you can claim for any cost which has been incurred entirely in the course of running your business, so civvy clothes would normally be a no no (as it could be argued that they would be worn for personal use too). I did have to buy a smart outfit for a particular booking a couple of years ago because I didn't have anything suitable, and I did put that through - the main thing to remember with any expense you claim is that you need to be able to prove it - I kept the ticket from the event I was going to on this occasion and it was fine.

If you do need to ask questions, the HMRC people are very helpful in the meantime. Good luck!

I have had 2 accountants o far and both have been nothing but proffesional when it comes to the industry i work in. I guess i cheated a little as i was a cam girl first and they just class it all as "entertainment" lol

You have to be honest wuith your accountant so they can understand your costs etc

all you can really do is phone a few up, say what you do, if they're still happy too meet for a chat then do so and see what you think. I can imagine most girls look for female accountants but my first was a man. why do i think lady accountants are more likely too look down on you lol

end of the day the tax man doesnt care as long as you declare.. lol 

Thanks ladies.

I've been recommended an accountant or two locally through other SE people I know (but other industries), so have those in mind, but Louisa makes a good point - I registered over the net with HMRC so hadn't thought about their courses.  I will chase them up as haven't got my reg. number yet nor have the NI DDs started and will see about attending a 1 dayer, sounds like a good idea.

If I've read the SA stuff correctly, will only have to provide gross, expenditure and nett figures anyway.  Is that other people's experience?

Hi Ladies,
Have read both threads, very helpful but just wondering where to begin with all this, when do you contact the accountant straight away? Only once you have a list of incomes and outgoings? (and if so for what period, monthly, annually etc)
Also please can some ladies advise what they are registered as or what is the best thing to register yourself as?

Thanks in advance 

his website is www.escortaccountant.co.uk  and his name is Mark, if you would like his number please get in touch, he is East Midlands based, everything can be done by phone or email, however you need to meet once for money laundering and ID check.

Why on earth are there pictures of semi-naked women on his website? I've already had problems with an accountant having a few "boundary issues"; you might want to advise your guy that his website is off-putting and unprofessional (it's a free one, too!), especially to those of us who are already very cautious about who we pay to help us.

(Sorry - just giving my honest opinion. No personal offense meant as I obviously don't know him or yourself personally!)

I have Jolyon's 2011-12 Tax Diary, bought it a few months ago so he might still be around. I claim for most lingerie - being stockings, basques, suspender belts since I don't wear them in my personal life.