26/08/2026
💷 WEDNESDAY RANT — LET’S TALK ABOUT £1,000 🤔
Right, let’s use a £1,000 VAT-inclusive garage invoice as an example.
You can almost hear it…
“£1,000?! You must be making a fortune!” 😂
Well… let’s actually look at it.
💷 £1,000 customer invoice
£166.67 VAT
That’s the output VAT included in the customer’s bill.
£833.33 NET SALES — BEFORE BUSINESS COSTS
And that £833.33 still has to cover the actual cost of doing the job and running the business…
🔧 Parts & consumables
👨🔧 Wages
💷 Employer National Insurance & pension contributions
🏢 Rent
🏪 Business rates, where applicable
⚡ Electricity & gas
🛡️ Insurance
💻 Diagnostics, software & phones
♻️ Waste disposal
🛠️ Tools & equipment
📚 Accountancy & compliance
And let’s not even get me started on card fees… 🤦🏻♂️😂
Only what’s left after all those legitimate business costs is profit.
And THEN…
If there’s actually any taxable profit left…
Corporation Tax can be up to 25%.
And if money is then taken out of the company personally, there can potentially be further personal tax, depending on how it’s taken.
So that £1,000 invoice definitely isn’t £1,000 in the owner’s pocket.
We’re not saying businesses shouldn’t pay tax — of course they should.
But sometimes people see a four-figure invoice and think:
“They’ve just made a grand.”
Nope. 😂
There’s a bloody big difference between:
TURNOVER ≠ PROFIT
And before the keyboard warriors start… 😂👇
These figures are illustrative. Actual costs, VAT recovery and tax liabilities vary from business to business.
Anyone else running a small business know exactly what I’m talking about? 😂👇
Feel free to share this — because turnover is NOT profit.
Just a little Wednesday reality check. 💪🏻
