Accounting services
Bookkeeping for garages, dealers and motor businesses
Motor Trade Accounting helps garages, dealers and motor businesses across the UK find bookkeeping support that understands the trade. Keep job cards, parts invoices, vehicle sales and takings recorded properly, so VAT returns and year-end accounts stop being a scramble.
Why the books matter more in the motor trade
A busy workshop or forecourt produces a lot of paper: supplier invoices from motor factors, job cards, card machine settlements, payouts from finance companies, auction invoices, cash takings and credit notes for returned parts. If they are not recorded as they arrive, the VAT return turns into a guessing exercise and the year-end accounts cost more to put together.
Good bookkeeping records every sale and purchase in the right place, matches it to the bank, and keeps supplier and customer balances accurate. For the motor trade that also means separating vehicle sales from workshop income, keeping parts costs in the right category so margins mean something, and making sure the stock book, the bank and the accounts tell the same story.
Specialist bookkeeping support can take the whole job off your hands or work alongside someone you already employ. Either way the records are kept digitally, which is now what HMRC expects for VAT and is becoming the norm for income tax too, and they are ready for an accountant to use whenever they are needed.
What bookkeeping support covers
The exact scope depends on your volume and on what you prefer to keep doing yourself.
- Sales and purchase recordingEntering customer invoices, supplier bills and expenses in your bookkeeping software, coded so labour, parts, vehicle sales and overheads can be seen separately.
- Bank and card reconciliationMatching every bank, card terminal and payment provider transaction to the records, including settlements that bundle several days of takings together.
- Supplier statementsChecking motor factor and trade supplier statements against your records, so credit notes for returned parts are claimed and nothing is paid twice.
- Customer balancesKeeping track of trade and account customers, fleet work and insurance-funded repairs, so overdue money is followed up rather than forgotten.
- Vehicle sale recordsRecording each vehicle sale with its finance payout, part exchange and deposit, and linking it back to the stock book.
- Cash handlingRecording cash takings and cash purchases properly, with a clear trail, so cash does not become a gap in the accounts.
- Monthly or quarterly reportingProducing a simple summary of sales, costs and profit so you can see how the business is doing without waiting for the year end.
What to sort out before you start
A clean starting point saves a lot of time later.
Choose your software
Cloud bookkeeping software with bank feeds suits most motor businesses. If you use a garage management or dealer system, check whether it links to your bookkeeping.
Separate business and personal spending
A dedicated business bank account and card make the records clearer and the bookkeeping cheaper.
Decide how paperwork arrives
Agree whether invoices are photographed, emailed to a receipt inbox or collected in batches, and stick to one route.
Agree what happens in-house
If someone in the business already raises invoices or chases payments, decide which tasks they keep and which move to your bookkeeper.
Good to know
Records for six years
Businesses generally need to keep financial records for at least six years. Digital copies of invoices are normally acceptable if they are clear and complete.
Digital links for VAT
Under Making Tax Digital, figures must move between your records and your VAT return by digital links, not by being retyped from one system into another.
Job cards are evidence
A job card that matches the invoice, parts used and labour charged is useful evidence if HMRC asks how your sales figures were worked out.
Little and often
Records kept up weekly are much cheaper to maintain than a year of receipts handed over in a carrier bag.
How it works
- 1
Get in touch
Send an enquiry describing your business, how your books are kept now and how far behind they are, if at all.
- 2
A call about your setup
A specialist talks through your software, your paperwork and what you would like to hand over.
- 3
Catching up
If the records are behind, they are brought up to date first, so the ongoing work starts from accurate balances.
- 4
A regular routine
Bookkeeping then runs weekly, monthly or quarterly, with a short report and any questions sent back to you.
Bookkeeping questions
Which bookkeeping software is best for a garage?
Most cloud packages with bank feeds work well. The more important question is whether your garage management or dealer system can pass invoices into it, so nothing is typed twice.
Can someone sort out books that are months behind?
Yes. Catch-up bookkeeping is common, and the records are usually rebuilt from bank statements, invoices and job cards before regular bookkeeping starts.
Do I still need an accountant if I have a bookkeeper?
Usually, yes. A bookkeeper keeps the records, while an accountant prepares year-end accounts, tax returns and advice. Some support covers both.
How should cash takings be recorded?
Record each cash sale on an invoice or till record, bank cash regularly, and keep a note of any cash spent before banking, so the trail is complete.
How often should my books be updated?
At least monthly, and weekly for busier businesses. VAT-registered businesses need them up to date every quarter as a minimum.
Who will do my bookkeeping?
Your enquiry goes to a qualified accountant who works with motor trade businesses, who will talk through the bookkeeping help available.
Ready to get your books under control?
Tell us how your records are kept now, and a specialist will be in touch to talk about bookkeeping support that fits.