Making Tax Digital · Sole traders
Event florists: flower market wholesale, refrigeration, and managing wedding deposits
ONLY£15A MONTHLearn how event florists can record wholesale flowers, cold storage, reusable vessels, wedding advances and Making Tax Digital updates.
A wedding booking can bring money into the business months before the flowers are ordered. Later, wholesale stems, transport and freelance help may all need paying within days. The bank balance alone does not show how much of that money is still committed.
For a sole trader event florist, clear job budgets and accurate tax records work together. Making Tax Digital adds regular reporting, while the cash basis determines when ordinary receipts and payments enter the tax calculation.
When Making Tax Digital applies
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax changes how qualifying sole traders and landlords keep records and report income. Under HMRC’s timetable, the starting points are:
- From 6 April 2026, if qualifying income exceeded £50,000 in 2024–25.
- From 6 April 2027, if qualifying income exceeded £30,000 in 2025–26.
- From 6 April 2028, if qualifying income exceeded £20,000 in 2026–27.
Qualifying income generally means gross self-employment and property income combined, before expenses. Salary, pension income and dividends do not count towards this particular test. Check HMRC’s qualifying income guidance, including the treatment of VAT and shorter accounting periods where relevant.
The test uses the relevant earlier tax year; passing a figure during a busy month does not mean you join that day. Exemptions can apply. These rules concern your individual business and property income, rather than a limited company’s Corporation Tax reporting.
Wholesale flowers and arrangement materials
Stems, foliage, ribbon, wire, wrapping and foam-free mechanics bought for business orders can be allowable costs. Keep wholesale invoices and delivery charges, including credits for damaged or short deliveries.
Perishable stock deserves a useful operational record even where you use the cash basis. Noting spoilage, unused stems and last-minute replacements can help you understand margins. It does not create an extra tax expense where the purchase cost has already been deducted.
HMRC’s materials and stock guidance explains the general treatment. Traditional accounting can require closing stock adjustments, while eligible cash-basis purchases generally follow payment timing. Preserve import and supplier documents where you buy from overseas; VAT and import charges need treatment according to your own circumstances.
Reusable vessels and refrigeration
A vase sold to the customer is different from one retained and hired out repeatedly. Keep records showing ownership and use for vessels, stands, arches, refrigeration equipment and transport cases.
Most eligible business equipment is deducted when paid for under the cash basis. Traditional accounting normally uses capital allowances for lasting equipment. Depreciation in the accounts is not itself a tax deduction.
Commercial cold-store electricity, rent, servicing and business cleaning supplies can also be relevant. Where refrigeration runs from your home, support a reasonable business allocation with bills and usage information. Do not automatically claim the entire household utility cost.
Section 34 of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 provides the business purpose test. Flowers for private gifts or your own family event need separation from customer materials, even if bought on the same market visit.
Ordinary wedding deposits are advance income
Under the cash basis, an ordinary payment towards a wedding order generally counts when received. Its label as a “deposit” does not postpone it until the event. This is not limited to payments described as non-refundable; the nature of the arrangement matters.
A genuinely refundable security deposit for hired vases is different from part-payment of the floral order. Keep it separately identifiable and review its treatment according to the terms, including what happens when vessels are returned or a sum is retained for damage.
Maintain an event schedule showing the total price, advances, remaining balance and delivery commitments. That lets you see which money is committed to future work even when it already appears as tax income.
Worked example: a wedding across two tax years
Grace uses the cash basis and is not VAT registered. A couple pay £1,000 on 20 March towards a £3,000 wedding order. They pay the remaining £2,000 on 20 April. Grace pays £1,100 for the flowers in April.
| Transaction | March receipt period | April receipt period |
|---|---|---|
| Customer payments | £1,000 | £2,000 |
| Flowers paid for | £0 | £1,100 |
| Result before other costs | £1,000 | £900 |
The £1,000 advance belongs to the tax year in which it is received under the cash basis. It is not moved to April to make the job’s income and flower costs appear together. Grace’s separate job budget still shows the overall £3,000 order and its expected costs.
The example excludes other costs, tax adjustments and any VAT questions. It illustrates timing, not the final profit or tax on the business.
Deliveries, helpers and cancellations
Keep records of qualifying venue travel, delivery charges and hired transport. An eligible vehicle may use simplified mileage or actual costs, subject to the rules and previous claims. Avoid claiming the running costs twice.
Where you pay freelance help, establish the actual employment status and retain invoices or payroll records as appropriate. When an event is cancelled, document customer refunds, supplier recoveries and unrecoverable purchases rather than simply deleting the original booking.
Avona AI can support categorisation, while event references explain market orders and advance payments. Review the tax reserve alongside the event budget: an estimate based on incomplete future costs is useful for planning, but cannot guarantee the eventual tax bill.
A manageable quarterly routine
For a business using standard tax-year periods, the 2026–27 quarterly update deadlines are 7 August 2026, 7 November 2026, 7 February 2027 and 7 May 2027. Updates are cumulative: each covers the tax year so far. Calendar update periods are also available, with the same deadlines.
Keep digital income and expense records, reconcile them regularly and send the required totals through compatible software. The Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026 underpin the requirements; HMRC’s digital record-keeping notice explains the applicable directions. A bank feed needs supporting detail wherever a payment conceals fees, private purchases or several transactions.
Normally, record the transaction date, amount and relevant category, retaining supporting invoices or receipts. HMRC’s digital records guidance explains permitted simplifications and digital links where more than one software product is used.
Quarterly updates do not replace the annual tax return. The 2026–27 return is due by 31 January 2028, and normal tax payment dates continue. HMRC is not applying late quarterly update penalties for 2026–27, but digital records and updates are still required. That first-year approach does not waive other filing or payment obligations.
Keep future commitments visible
Clear advances, flower costs and equipment records make seasonal reporting easier to manage. Explore Avona.app at £15/month, or Avona Concierge, managed by chartered accountants, starting from £60/month, for ongoing support with your event business finances.