Bookkeeping for farmers, agriculture and rural businesses is a very specialist area and requires expertise and knowledge of the industry. Samantha has over 20 years management accounts experience in various industries including agriculture and has managed farm accounts in both the husbandry and arable sectors.
If you are a farmer or work in the agriculture industry then you know that there are few other types of businesses that rely on living produce – crops or livestock. This makes accounting for farmers more complex than other businesses especially when it comes to assets, liabilities, costs and revenues.
The industry is highly regulated in the UK and subsidised in particular areas which can have a huge effect on your profit and loss and we haven’t even mentioned the weather yet!
We can help you with your bookkeeping by helping you plan and get into a routine for managing your farming finances.
Some top tips we give all our farming clients:
- Remember that your land is your main asset and this should be managed appropriately,
- Government subsidy schemes can really help during the ‘lean’ times so make sure you stay up-to-date with the schemes,
- We advise to sync your farming finance calendar with that of the government’s timetables which can help with more complex calculations in the future,
- Record any changes in your land use as and when it happens (links to point one above),
- Stock numbers change over time so you need to be able to record these changes,
- Keep track of your profitability and your losses,
- Understand depreciation because the cost of new equipment can be offset against tax and its value over time will depreciate as it becomes older.
- Keep your VAT returns up-to-date and submit them well before the deadline. If a refund is issued this will assist with your cashflow.
Every farm is different so we always ensure we meet with our clients to get a true understanding of their business so that our bookkeeping for farmers service can be tweaked to suit their circumstances.
How we can help
We work with our farming clients to ensure their financial information is up-to-date and your fingertips. We work on the cloud so that we can share all your figures and forecasting quickly and efficiently and it also allows us to share information securely.
If you would like to speak to us about bookkeeping for farmers or any additional financial support you require for your agriculture business then please get in touch.