Clients giving money to charity instead of paying my fee?

[JennyGee11]

Hi there business people of mumsnet! I wonder if anyone can help me get clarity on something?

I’m just starting a new side hustle, a service, which people pay a one-off fee for. As background, I’m full-time employed in a totally different sector and my motivation for starting this side business is really for my own enjoyment. I don’t need the money, and because my main employment is so full-on I’d be deliberately minimising the amount of time/number of clients I take on for this small business venture anyway. Like, really, really limiting, think perhaps 10-15 hours of work each quarter (probably one client per quarter).

My costs are not insignificant but I can afford to pay them/have the loss - treating it as costs of doing my hobby really (approx £400 per year).

My motivation is this: since I’m doing this all for my own pleasure, and don’t need the money right now while I’m employed (and also I need the hassle of doing a tax return like a hold in the head..!) can I ask my clients to not pay me, and to give the fee direct to charity instead?

My thoughts are that if I take their money, then by time I’ve paid tax etc and passed it on to charity myself, the charity receive less and I’ve given myself loads of admin hassle in the process. Nobody wins!

However - is it allowed/legal for me to position myself as a free-of-charge supplier and ask clients to give the equivalent sum of money to my fee to charity instead? I’m assuming of course that client and I have similar views on where money should go to and I’m guessing I’d like to see evidence of their payment to said charity!

What do you think? I don’t want to do anything illegal or avoid tax, just want to do good though my efforts. I understand that if this was my full time work I might need to set up as a charity etc but I’m new to this service anyway and really just trying it out, hence treating it as a hobby to see if I like it anyway. I might find I dislike doing it and stop after a year or so.

What do I need to think of and what am I missing? And - if you have accountancy know-how - is this allowed/wrong?

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Jenny

@Justkeeppedaling

Can you tie in with a charity and donate the items to them, so that they (the charity) can sell them?

Yes this is a good point. The answer is I’m not sure, but I will look into it - thank you.

@Logistria thanks for your help, I can see that I’ve a bit to learn and your advice seems sound - doing things properly but maximising the ways the charity can benefit while working within the system. Thank you for your time/ideas, I think this is the best way to go.

I forget who mentioned it above but the fees would be several hundred each time so I’d go past the allowance for this income anyway (which I guess is a good thing for the charity!)

Thank you all very much for your time. You’ve been so helpful, much appreciated!

I’d ask an accountant beri step anything.
I’ve seen too many people starting a business thinking they ‘knew’ it would work only to discover that actually it doesn’t.

In particular, assuming that it would be possible to do on a taxation pov, you will need to think about how you will know for sure that people have been paying you/the charity
I can promise you that you will come across many people who will do anything to avoid paying for something.

What I have done in the past is a ‘pay from the heart system’ where I tell people that costs me let’s say £200, normal price is £500 (not the real prices!) and ask people to pay something in between (or more if they want!). I’ve done it in particular for people who have difficulty to afford payment for
You might be able to adapt that with a nominal fee so your costs are covered and then a ‘pay from the heart’ for charity/to a charity for the rest

@TravellingFrom

I’d ask an accountant beri step anything. I’ve seen too many people starting a business thinking they ‘knew’ it would work only to discover that actually it doesn’t.

In particular, assuming that it would be possible to do on a taxation pov, you will need to think about how you will know for sure that people have been paying you/the charity
I can promise you that you will come across many people who will do anything to avoid paying for something.

What I have done in the past is a ‘pay from the heart system’ where I tell people that costs me let’s say £200, normal price is £500 (not the real prices!) and ask people to pay something in between (or more if they want!). I’ve done it in particular for people who have difficulty to afford payment for
You might be able to adapt that with a nominal fee so your costs are covered and then a ‘pay from the heart’ for charity/to a charity for the rest

This is a really nice idea and thanks for sharing your experience! 😊

I hear you re: people not wanting to pay for something... you and others have made me realise that’s perhaps a but naive, in a good way - helps me prepare for the worst (and not depend on trust alone perhaps!)

Many thanks