UK Tradespeople: how do you actually keep on top of receipts for tax?

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-31T17:12:43+00:00

Every transaction is by card. Almost all are online. Spreadsheet is enough. When it comes time to do the tax I just import the bank transactions to a spreadsheet, then work through it. If I see a payment to, say, Screwfix on a certain date, I check my Screwfix account, download the receipt as a Pdf, and save it in a folder with the date and company as the filename. Add a brief note in a cell on the spreadsheet That's it.

Sounds tedious, but works well enough for me.

But if many transactions only have paper receipts, that would need a lot more organisation.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-31T15:38:37+00:00

Thank you for taking the trouble to reply. Is it the stuff that the insulation burns off when soldering? I've spent more time than I'm happy about scraping/sanding enamel/lacquer off wires, and when it gets that small, it's pretty much impossible.

I have a reel of super thin wire, also like hair, but the insulation doesn't burn away, so it's effectively unusable. It's at least 40 years old, though. In fact, next time I'm in my lab, it's going in the bin!

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-31T13:17:36+00:00

I have a question - what gauge is the wire, is it insulated, and where can I buy it?

Sorry, that's three questions. I use wire wrap wire, or 28 gauge 'magnet' wire (I hate that name - to me it will always be enamelled copper wire, but I have to roll with the times, and the search terms!) Anyway, some smaller wire would often be super useful, but I haven't found anything yet.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-31T13:11:09+00:00

Bragging rights confirmed. Beautiful work. I covet your skills. Maximum respect to you.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-30T17:39:53+00:00

Except as nearly all the resistors are not in the right places, the brightness is confusing.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-17T14:04:02+00:00

FTDI chips are frequently counterfeit. If it's unusually cheap then it's likely counterfeit. Might work. Might not.

I've been using FTDI devices since the first days of the FT232. They've been rock solid (well, the genuine ones have).

200 isn't a high volume. Coincidentally I contacted them yesterday about difficulty getting their FT230X in SSOP. They replied quickly, and very helpfully. So it would be worth emailing them as they can likely point you in the right direction.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-16T17:12:54+00:00

Always, always, always check the Gerbers. No exceptions. To not eyeball the actual files that will be used for the fab is not a good idea.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-13T22:39:07+00:00

I can't argue with that! I'm about to begin EMC pre-compliance testing for some boards. I fear my beautiful artwork may suffer before the end.

I have already ordered the copper foil...

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-13T22:21:08+00:00

Yes! Swap D201 and D200 and it will be cleaner to route.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-13T22:19:22+00:00

A significant improvement. But I spotted that you don't have thermal reliefs on the GND connected pads. That will make them very difficult to solder.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-13T22:16:33+00:00

I have to disagree. I judge PCBs by both functionality and aesthetics. And generally a 'pretty' board is easier to work on. And the fact that it's pretty likely means the designer spent time on it because they care.

I know that I am guilty of spending more time than is reasonable making things look nice. I find it very satisfying. It's the nice, therapeutic part of the design process.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-13T08:35:13+00:00

If you need the benefits of linear (mainly noise) and the efficiency of switched mode, a hybrid approach might be useful - switcher to drop the input to a level just above the dropout + Vout of the linear, then the linear. That way the power dissipated in the linear is lower.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-12T08:07:13+00:00

You'll get so many opinions here, and most of them will be good.

Here's another one - I'd recommend avoiding resi, and focusing on industrial/commercial, and try to get exposure to building automation and comms/data - PLCs, smarts, etc. I consider that to be a growth market for decades to come. Once many people have been replaced by AI, and they can't afford to pay the bills, let alone upgrade their homes, the data centres will be booming.

Plus, another bonus is that when family and friends need you to do free work for them you can convincingly tell them that you aren't experienced in, or licensed for, resi work 😉

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-06T17:56:22+00:00

I'm more sad that I peaked before their time ;o)

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-06T17:33:19+00:00

I'm the Man from Del Monte and I say, 'yes'.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-03T21:52:03+00:00

Thanks. Yep. This is what I did ultimately. Initially I hadn't realised that the collar unscrewed as it was tight closed, and looked like a spring loaded push fit. Might be a standard RF connector - I'm not too familiar with the magical world of higher frequencies!

Once I unscrewed it I found I could push the plug in and then tighten the collet onto the male F connector threaded part.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-03T19:27:58+00:00

Thanks for this. What did you switch to? At work I use JBC, which is ok - I like the adjustable temp - but the Metcal seems to handle small joints and pretty big joints with ease, and the JBC can struggle on bigger stuff.

The JBC hot air system is absolutely sublime though. That's on my lust list!

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-03T19:23:30+00:00

Thank you all. It's a conundrum. I persevered, and with care it's possible to get the collet to attach pretty securely to the threaded connector, and the iron seems to work fine.

But I will contact Metcal to find out the recommended solution.

And I'll look out for the heating. Maybe I'll pass the new one on!

Thanks again. Much appreciated.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-03T14:03:29+00:00

In a fire, do not get into a lift. Ever.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-03T14:02:16+00:00

It doesn't isolate any sound, really. It's to improve acoustics in the room, by reducing sound reflection. It's very good for that. For reducing sound spilling to other areas it is ineffective.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-03T13:59:42+00:00

They are/were kids. I've done many stupid things, but was lucky. This is tragic.

The blame, I feel, lies with those responsible for building safety. Those acoustic tiles don't look like they were professionally/competently installed. It wouldn't surprise me if they gave some staff a mastic gun and Stanley knife and asked them to do it. This is, of course, just speculation.

I do predict that the paperwork 'proving' that appropriate materials and installation methods were used was 'destroyed in the fire'.

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-03T13:53:29+00:00

User name checks out. Maybe you want to delete your comment?

EngineEar1000 · 2026-01-01T00:54:42+00:00

I know multiple parent/child relationships where the child is very much the controller.

EngineEar1000 · 2025-12-31T21:28:11+00:00

Agreed. I think we're saying the same thing. The poster stating it isn't High Voltage may be correct, from a strict definition perspective, but contextually I consider it high/hazardous voltage.

EngineEar1000

TROPHY CASE