When selling products to members, it’s important to understand that different items are treated differently in your accounts. Some items are stock (which you buy and sell), while others are commission-based (where you’re simply collecting money on behalf of Slimming World).
Stock Items – Recipe Books & Motivational Items #
Any item which you purchase with the plan to sell on is classed as stock. These include:
- Recipe Books
- Motivational Items (e.g. Member Diaries)
- Promotional Items (e.g. T-shirts, notepads)
Because you’re buying these items at one price and selling them at another, you need to record both transactions:
- The purchase price is an expense
- The selling price is income
The difference between the two is your profit, and it’s taxable.
Example
Emma buys a book from the eShop for £4.50 and sells it to a member for £4.95.
- £4.50 is logged as an expense
- £4.95 is logged as income
Her accounts would calculate the profit: 45p
Record keeping tips:
- You don’t need to list every individual item – if you purchase 10 books at £4.50 each, you can record a single expense of £45.00 with the eShop order reference
- Keep copies of order confirmations and receipts to evidence what was purchased
- Consider maintaining a stock sheet to track purchases and sales in group, or use an electronic software option
Gift Vouchers #
Gift vouchers are treated as stock, not commission. When a member asks you to purchase a gift voucher on their behalf, you’re buying an item and providing it to them – there’s no formal agency arrangement with Slimming World for this transaction.
This means the money received from the member is income, and the voucher purchase is an expense. Even though the profit is zero, both transactions form part of your accounts and count towards your turnover.
For more details, see our dedicated article: Gift Vouchers
Commission Items – HiFi Bars & Magazines #
HiFi bars and magazines work completely differently. You do not purchase these items – they’re provided by Slimming World on a sale or return basis. This means:
- Slimming World owns the stock
- You sell on their behalf
- You keep a fixed commission per item
- The remaining money belongs to Slimming World
Because you’re acting as an agent for Slimming World, only your commission counts as income – not the full selling price.
Example
Sarah sells a HiFi bar to a member for £1.95.
- She keeps 10p as commission
- She passes £1.85 back to Slimming World
Only the 10p is recorded as income. The £1.85 is not her money – it’s Slimming World’s money that passed through her hands.
This information (called ‘Stock Commission’) is obtained from Plan for Success documents and is entered into Pulse in the normal way.
What about magazines? #
The same principle applies. If you sell a magazine and keep a commission, only the commission is your income. If you don’t return unsold magazines and are later invoiced for them at full price, that invoice becomes an expense.
Why does this matter? #
Recording only your commission (rather than the full selling price) means:
- Your accounts accurately reflect your actual earnings
- Your turnover figure is correct for tax purposes
- If you’re VAT registered or approaching the threshold, only the commission counts towards your VAT turnover
eShop Purchases #
Not all eShop purchases are stock. Items like visuals, banners, and promotional materials for your group are business expenses – you’re not reselling them.
Keep copies of your emailed receipts so you can categorise each purchase correctly:
- Items for resale → Stock (expense when purchased, income when sold)
- Items for your business use → Business expense
What if I use a card machine? #
If a member pays for a HiFi bar by card, the full £1.95 goes into your bank account. You then transfer the £1.85 to Slimming World separately.
This doesn’t change anything. The £1.85 was never your money – it was Slimming World’s money that happened to pass through your bank account.
HMRC Guidance #
The principle that agents only record commission (not the full transaction value) is supported by HMRC guidance:
- HMRC Business Profits Toolkit states that “when ancillary income is received in the form of commission payments… the net amount of the commission received should be included as a receipt”
- VAT Notice 700, Section 22 confirms that a disclosed agent “stands back from the transaction” and the supply “is not part of his turnover”
- HMRC Manual VTAXPER37950 explains that under UK law, when an agent is involved, “the supply remains between the person actually providing the goods or services and the person receiving them”
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