Bookkeeping for market traders and street food
Market and street food traders often work mainly in cash, across many pitches and events. Simple, consistent daily records make the difference at tax time.
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Bookkeeping for market traders and street food
Your price
3 hours at £15
£45
Set-up fee£0
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The short answer
What does bookkeeping for market traders and street food involve?
Bookkeeping for market traders and street food means keeping daily takings log, card reader settlements, stock purchases and receipts and the rest of your records accurate and reconciled. At £15 an hour, a typical street food trader at weekend events (about 40 transactions a month) needs about 3 hours a month, which is around £45.
What makes these books different.
Every sector has its own records and rules. These are the ones that matter for market traders and street food.
Cash takings
Daily takings should be recorded before spending any cash from the float or the till.
Pitch and event fees
Pitch fees, licences and event costs vary week to week and must be matched to income by event.
Stock and wastage
Food traders in particular lose product to waste, which needs recording.
Mixed card and cash
Card readers pay out net of fees, so settlements must be reconciled to sales.
£15
an hour, flat
£45
a month for a typical street food trader at weekend events
3h
of bookkeeping a month, about 40 transactions a month
0
contract, stop whenever you like
Records we keep for you.
- Daily takings log
- Card reader settlements
- Stock purchases and receipts
- Pitch fees and licences
- Vehicle and fuel costs
- Equipment and gas costs
Rules worth knowing.
Hot food VAT
Hot takeaway food is standard rated, which matters if turnover approaches the £90,000 threshold.
Trading allowance
A small trader with gross income under £1,000 may not need to report it, but regular traders usually do.
Records
You must keep records of all takings and costs for at least 5 years after the filing deadline.
General information, not tax advice. Rules change, so check GOV.UK or ask your accountant. Last reviewed November 2026.
A typical month.
A street food trader at weekend events with about 40 transactions a month. Here is the time it takes and what it costs.
- Core bookkeeping (31 - 100)3h
Each month
£45
Where this sector is most common.
Using ONS business counts for 2026, retail and wholesale is the biggest share of local businesses in these places. We serve all of them online.
- Leicester24% of local businesses, 1.7 times the UK share, about 3,340 firms
- Bradford23% of local businesses, 1.6 times the UK share, about 3,930 firms
- Stoke-on-Trent22% of local businesses, 1.5 times the UK share, about 1,450 firms
- Birmingham21% of local businesses, 1.4 times the UK share, about 8,035 firms
- Wolverhampton21% of local businesses, 1.4 times the UK share, about 1,680 firms
- Manchester20% of local businesses, 1.4 times the UK share, about 4,835 firms
Clients say it better than we do.
4.9300+ Google reviews of Accotax
“He took the time to explain every step of the process and made a complex situation much easier to understand.”
Hugo Alvarez
Google review of Accotax
“They take the time to understand how our business works and what our needs are.”
Mael Leboucher
Google review of Accotax
“Very prompt in responding to questions and patient with us even when we seem to be slow.”
Mansur Liman
Google review of Accotax
“The work was completed promptly, my tax return was successfully filed.”
Sergey M
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market traders and street food: your questions.
I take mostly cash. How do I keep records?
Write down daily takings and stock bought, keep receipts, and bank cash regularly. We turn those simple notes into proper books.
Services we would use.
Related sectors.
- Restaurants and cafesCash, tips, stock and the VAT rules on hot food for restaurants and cafes.
- Hairdressers and beautyChair rental, products, deposits and staff for salons and beauty therapists.
- Gyms and personal trainersMemberships, direct debits and class income for gyms, studios and trainers.
- Retail shopsTill reconciliation, stock and retail VAT schemes for independent shops.
- Pubs and barsGross profit, stock, machine games duty and cash for pubs and bars.
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