doobin

I dunno. I mean, its kind of cool, I guess. But the thing I like about a Stihl clearing saw is that I don't have to do anything other than put petrol in it and it just soldiers on for years. I mean, all this thing does is record the hours the engines been run, right? Who actually 'plans maintenance' on a strimmer?? I suppose the main application will be making sure that guys are actually working whilst on site, under the guise of 'planning maintenance on the saw'. Stihl are probably just hoping to gain more saw services from big companies who adopt this.

Here we go, from accountingweb.com " Looking through the MTD for VAT API, there is currently only one POST request (method of sending information) which looks like this: { "periodKey": "#001", "vatDueSales": 100.00, "vatDueAcquisitions": 100.00, "totalVatDue": 200.00, "vatReclaimedCurrPeriod": 100.00, "netVatDue": 100.00, "totalValueSalesExVAT": 500, "totalValuePurchasesExVAT": 500, "totalValueGoodsSuppliedExVAT": 500, "totalAcquisitionsExVAT": 500, "finalised": true } Which means that at least for now, there is nothing HMRC have implemented for sending anything beyond 9 boxes via MTD." Key word is 'for now' I guess.

Yes but only the total figure is submitted via the new API. There is no data upon individual items submitted yet, and apparently no plans to do so as yet. I agree it's probably on the agenda, but it's not happening currently. Of coure, should you be chosen for investigation they will go through your receipts with a fine tooth comb....

From browsing accounting forums trying to get to the bottom of this, it appears that this is not the case. It's the same nine boxes that you currently enter in the portal, but you can't enter them 'manually' via the keyboard. Cue the hundreds of minnow software developers trying to flog a really basic program for £££ that takes figures from a spreadsheet and submits it via the HMRC API. I can't find the link but someone had looked at the code of the API and confirmed that it was just the nine boxes being submitted. I also read that the were also no plans currently in the pipeline to take any further data as donnk alludes to. Which makes rather a mockery of the huge clusterfuck that HMRC have fosted upon buisineses large and small- it's for no apparent benefit other than the avoidance of 'fat fingers' when submitting data. Yes, I'm sure it will all link up eventually- but they could at least have waited and developed free bridging software rather than simply throw the less informed to the mercy of Sage et al, and ever increasing subscriptions. That's what really stinks about the whole affair. It's not just small business who use spreadsheets- it's massive corporations whose ins and outs don't fit neatly into 'sage simple all in one accounting'.

Your main problem will not be the camera, but getting a 4g SIM card with a fixed ip. Very pricey last time I looked. You’ll need a decent battery to run a camera all night, and a large solar array to make sure it charges the next cloudy day. An alarm system with motion sensors that texts you is far easier to install as a battery powered system. Generally speaking, pir or beam sensors are more accurate than a camera at detecting motion- cameras tend to give an awful lot of false alarms. I have both, and whilst I’m afraid you can’t beat checking the camera when the alarm goes off, compared to getting out of bed and driving down there, I’m not sure how feasible a camera will be in your situation

There were three blondes walking through the woods, when they came across some tracks.\ "Aw look!" said the first blonde. "Wabbit tracks!!" "No" says the second. I think you'll find they're deer tracks. The third blonde is looking agitated. "They look like bear tracks! We'd best get out of here!" she says. "Don't be silly", responds the first blonde. "It's only a fluffy bunny wabbit!" "No, they're deer tracks! I've seen them in a book!" interjects the second blonde. "I'm telling you, we need to go now, or the bear will eat us!!" whimpers the third. "Rabbit tracks!" "No, deer tracks!!" "Bear tracks! Come on, LET'S GO!! " And they were still arguing when the train hit them.

I missed that bit. What modern engine still uses oil bath filters??

There's definately something wrong with the air intake system somewhere. I'd get an independant report. A machine should stop running (first at high revs) due to lack of air when an air filter cloggs. There has to have been another route in for the dirty air. My money would be upon a bad union in the pipework. If the same company who fitted the new engine are the ones telling you you have to pay for a third, it's likely they discovered the cause of the problem whilst investigating, and fixed the leak to avoid liability for not fitting it correctly 600 hours ago, sorry to say. How long did it take for you to rack up 600 hours?

I thought Stihl were phasing out/had phased out 4-mix? No?

When felling bigger stuff (2-3 ft diameter Scots pine) I tend to fell with the MS462, then switch to the MS241 with a 16" bar for snedding. I've never found one saw that fits properly for this type of work, and it doesn't hurt to have a backup saw on site.

I don't know what you're on about Andy. Any pikey worth their salt has a jammer to render a tracker useless.

Santa clause you c*nt! Wheres me fucking bike?!

Don't worry- the theiving scum will doubless be using one anyway!!

When I kill something to eat, I do it humanely and with respect. Bollocks to halal, this is a Christian country. I say ban it, and if they don’t like it they can move back to bumfuckistan. Apologies for tipsy post, but something I feel very strongly about.

Matt, how does the Makita compare to a Stihl 181 or Husky 135?

Sounds like you should have used a digger for the whole job.

.... I thought it was green, not blue? i use Stihl red because it’s never given me any problems, and most importantly, you can actually see that the fuel is mixed. Not so easy with the green oil n

There's a pretty sensible way around it- register for CIS 'gross contractor' status. Otherwise known as bona fide contractor. https://www.gov.uk/what-you-must-do-as-a-cis-subcontractor/gross-payment-status "You must show HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that your business passes some tests. You’ll need to show that: you’ve paid your tax and National Insurance on time in the past your business does construction work (or provides labour for it) in the UK your business is run through a bank account HMRC will look at your turnover for the last 12 months. Ignoring VAT and the cost of materials, your turnover must be at least: £30,000 if you’re a sole trader £30,000 for each partner in a partnership, or at least £100,000 for the whole partnership £30,000 for each director of a company, or at least £100,000 for the whole company" Sounds reasonable. The whole point of CIS is to catch out those who say, "yeah, I'm self employed mate!" and have never filed a tax return in their life.

Digital works great so long as you don’t mind the screen and the quarry aren’t spooked by IR light. I’ve used an old one for years, think it’s a nite site. Certainly more affordable than any traditional starlight scope.

I can take some if you like. PM me your email.

Have a Lewis winch here, not done a huge amount of work. I took the rope off as it was fraying, was going to replace it with Dyneema but apparently that's a no no on these. Has to be steel. So comes with a new coil of 50m 4mm wire rope, you'll have to wind it on. £550 inc VAT posted, have all the adaptors to fit various saws still. I just don't use it, I can almost always get a digger or truck with a winch to where need to pull something. Was really handy for a job pulling branches out of a river, but apart from once recovering a Transit from a muddy field that's almost all I've used it for in eight years. I tried using to pull some roots out- it worked, but a Tirfor would have been less faff to set up for two stumps.

I personally wouldn't buy a 441 when the 462 weighs less and puts out more power for under £100 less.

To be fair we're probably about 60% commerial if you count some charity type work. I'm sure for LTD you just get the accountant to register you as such? Heck, I still run out of a personal bank account!

I'm a sole trader and I have three staff. I'd quite happily call myself a company. To my mind this is in keeping with the (presumably) original terminology- 'a company of men'

Kin hell, you're a braver man than me!!