My Blog

visa

2010-12-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

I have just received my passport and received my HSMP visa extension under the points based system, so I just thought I would explain how I proved my earnings as a contractor through my own Limited Company.

NB – this does not apply to you if you pay yourself your salary and your dividends separately (e.g. if you only get dividend payments every quarter).

For proving my earnings, I had to provide two separate forms of evidence. I submitted about 9 months of bank statements that showed ~£35k being deposited from my limited company into my personal bank account .
The payments I made were a combo of salary (about £100/week) and dividends.
In order to prove both the salary and dividend components being paid together into my account, I needed payslips that showed my salary and my dividend certificate on the same payslip. My accountant couldn't provide me with payslips, so I made my own template on company headed paper, and at the bottom was the dividend certificate which I got signed by my secretary and my accountant. I also got a company stamp made up (ordered on line) and stamped every payslip with it. I generally paid myself weekly, so submitted one payslip per payment into my bank account.

I also got my accountant to write a letter that included a table listing every payment made to my bank account, broken down into salary, gross and net dividends. The final total amount I claimed was my total Gross income, consisting of my gross salary and my gross dividend (which was my net dividend paid into my bank account, + the amount of tax credit equal to net dividend times 1/9.)

EXAMPLE ONLY

e.g. for 52 weeks, A contractor's total salary would be £6030 (£115 per week, just below the threshold whereby you would need to pay NI and PAYE).

Say you paid yourself from your Limited company bank account into your personal bank account an additional £30k in dividends over the 52 weeks, this is your Gross net dividend. Then your tax credit would be £30k X 1/9 = £3333.33. Net dividend + tax credit = gross dividend, so gross dividend = 30,000 + 3333.33 = 33,333.33 (note that the tax credit is 10% of the gross dividend, i.e. 10% tax rate)

Net salary 6030

Tax paid on salary 0 (don't pay any PAYE or NI as under threshold)

Gross salary 6030

Net dividend 30,000

Tax Credit 3,333.33 (equal to net dividend X 1/9)

Gross Dividend 33,333.33

Total claim

Gross income = Gross salary + Gross dividend

= 6030 + 33,333.33

= £39363.33 – claim points on this amount.

Evidence required for above example:

· Full 12 months bank statements showing total of deposits into bank account (i.e. should add up to Total Net income which = net salary + net dividend).

· Full 12 months payslips showing for each payment your salary, net dividend, tax credit, and gross dividend. You also need to include a dividend certificate on the bottom of the payslip and get your accountant and secretary to sign it.

· Recommended to also supply letter from your accountant, and include with the letter a table of all the payments into your bank account (which will cross reference with your bank statements and payslips) that break down the payments into salary, net dividend, tax credit, gross dividend, and total gross income.

NB if you order your bank statements from the bank and they say "Duplicate" this is fine, as long as they are on headed paper (i.e. not a photocopy, or printed on blank paper, or printed off the internet). Also, I used a serious saver account for my maintanence funds which was fine. I have heard you cannot use ISA accounts to prove funds though…

Batch files - Delete 7 days older back up files

2008-08-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

Its really difficult to calculate date in batch files since date object is not available. Please Comment if anyone has got suggestion about below code

set Month=%date:~3,2%
set Day=%date:~0,2%
set Year=%date:~6,4%
Set CDay=%date:~0,2%
Set CMonth=%date:~3,2%
Set CYear=%date:~6,4%

if 01 EQU %Day% set Day=1
if 02 EQU %Day% set Day=2
if 03 EQU %Day% set Day=3
if 04 EQU %Day% set Day=4
if 05 EQU %Day% set Day=5
if 06 EQU %Day% set Day=6
if 07 EQU %Day% set Day=7
if 08 EQU %Day% set Day=8
if 09 EQU %Day% set Day=9

if 01 EQU %Month% set Month=1
if 02 EQU %Month% set Month=2
if 03 EQU %Month% set Month=3
if 04 EQU %Month% set Month=4
if 05 EQU %Month% set Month=5
if 06 EQU %Month% set Month=6
if 07 EQU %Month% set Month=7
if 08 EQU %Month% set Month=8
if 09 EQU %Month% set Month=9

set Lday=%Day%
set /A LMonth=%Month%

if %CDay% EQU 02 set /A Lday -= 8
if %CDay% EQU 03 set /A Lday -= 8
if %CDay% EQU 04 set /A Lday -= 8
if %CDay% EQU 05 set /A Lday -= 8
if %CDay% EQU 06 set /A Lday -= 8
if %CDay% EQU 07 set /A Lday -= 8
if %CDay% EQU 08 set /A Lday -= 8
if %CDay% EQU 01 set /A Lday -= 7
if %CDay% GEQ 09 set /A Lday -= 7

if %Day% LEQ 8 GOTO Mday
Goto BackP

:Mday
if %LMonth% EQU 1 Goto :Jan
if %LMonth% EQU 2 Goto :Feb
if %LMonth% EQU 3 Goto :Mar
if %LMonth% EQU 4 Goto :Apr
if %LMonth% EQU 5 Goto :May
if %LMonth% EQU 6 Goto :Jun
if %LMonth% EQU 7 Goto :Jul
if %LMonth% EQU 8 Goto :Aug
if %LMonth% EQU 9 Goto :Sep
if %LMonth% EQU 10 Goto :Oct
if %LMonth% EQU 11 Goto :Nov
if %LMonth% EQU 12 Goto :Dec

:Jan
if %Day% LEQ 8 goto PrevYear
set /A Lday += 31
set /A LMonth = 12
Goto Backp

:Feb
set /A Lday += 31
set /A LMonth = 1
Goto Backp

REM ***********************
REM Check for leap year
REM ***********************

:Mar
if %Year% EQU 2004 set /A Lday += 29
if %Year% EQU 2008 set /A Lday += 29
if %Year% EQU 2012 set /A Lday += 29
if %Year% EQU 2016 set /A Lday += 29
else set /A Lday += 28
set /A LMonth = 2

:Apr
set /A Lday += 31
set /A LMonth = 3
Goto Backp

:May
set /A Lday += 30
set /A LMonth = 4
Goto Backp

:Jun
set /A Lday += 31
set /A LMonth = 5
Goto Backp

:Jul
set /A Lday += 31
set /A LMonth = 6
Goto Backp

:Aug
set /A Lday += 31
set /A LMonth = 7
Goto Backp

:Sep
set /A Lday += 31
set /A LMonth = 8
Goto Backp

:Oct
set /A Lday += 30
set /A LMonth = 9
Goto Backp

:Nov
set /A Lday += 31
set /A LMonth = 10
Goto Backp

:Dec
set /A Lday += 30
set /A LMonth = 11
Goto Backp

REM ***********************
REM PrevYear is to take account of jan 1st previous day, which is dec 31st
REM ***********************

:PrevYear
set /A Year -= 1
set /A LDay += 31
set /A LMonth = 12
goto Backp

REM ***********************
REM pad days and months with 0's to get correct format if day is 1-9, and month is 1-9
REM ***********************

:Backp

if %Lday% LEQ 9 set Nday=0%Lday%
if %Lday% GEQ 10 set Nday=%Lday%
if %LMonth% LEQ 9 set Nmonth=0%LMonth%
if %LMonth% GEQ 10 set Nmonth=%LMonth%

Set /A MoveDate= %CYear%%CMonth%%CDay%

if %CDay% EQU 01 goto FileMove
goto FileDel

:FileMove

MD C:\Batchf~1\"month end backups"\LMEWSLive_backup_%MoveDate%

move C:\Batchf~1\Backup\HBDocProd_backup_%MoveDate%0100.bak C:\Batchf~1\"month end backups"\LMEWSLive_backup_%MoveDate%
move C:\Batchf~1\Backup\LMEWSArchive_backup_%MoveDate%0100.bak C:\Batchf~1\"month end backups"\LMEWSLive_backup_%MoveDate%
move C:\Batchf~1\Backup\LMEWSLive_backup_%MoveDate%0100.bak C:\Batchf~1\"month end backups"\LMEWSLive_backup_%MoveDate%

pause

exit

:FileDel

set /A Deldate = %Year%%Nmonth%%Nday%

move C:\Batchf~1\Backup\HBDocProd_backup_%Deldate%0100.bak C:\Batchf~1\Delete
move C:\Batchf~1\Backup\LMEWSArchive_backup_%Deldate%0100.bak C:\Batchf~1\Delete
move C:\Batchf~1\Backup\LMEWSLive_backup_%Deldate%0100.bak C:\Batchf~1\Delete

pause
exit

Batch file for deleteing recycle bin

2008-08-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

@for /f %%a in ('dir /ad c:\recycler /b') do rmdir /s /q c:\recycler\%%a

Set CommandTimeout unlimited

2008-07-30T03:18:00.000-07:00

The CommandTimeout property defines how many seconds to wait before cancelling an Execute method call and generating an error. The default is thirty seconds. If you set CommandTimeout equal to zero seconds, the program will wait indefinitely or until the Execute is completed.

Crystal Reports 9 is slow when moved to production server

2008-07-29T04:32:00.000-07:00

Reason : It seems like it is pointing to development database server eventhough proper database is set at runtime. When i did experiments it showed good performance when i changed the default database of the crystal report to production server.

Some of the .net reference (3.0 and 3.5) is greyed out in visual studio 2008 (ASP.NET)

2008-07-29T04:26:00.000-07:00

Reason: The asp.net web application target is set to previous version of .net framework. Change the target framework taking the properties of project and setting it to 3.5 or 3.0.

Pumping petrol.... good things to know.

2007-12-17T21:06:00.000-08:00

Here are some tricks to help you get your money's worth:

1. Fill up your car or truck in the morning when the temperature is still cool. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground; and the colder the ground, the denser the gasoline. When it gets warmer gasoline expands, so if you're filling up in the afternoon or in the evening, what should be a gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and temperature of the fuel (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products) are significant. Every truckload that we load is temperature-compensated so that the indicated gallon gauge is actually the amount pumped. A one-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for businesses, but service stations don't have temperature compensation at their pumps.

2. If a tanker truck is filling the station's tank at the time you want to buy gas, do not fill up; most likely dirt and sludge in the tank is being stirred up when gas is being delivered, and you might be transferring that dirt from the bottom of their tank into your car's tank.

3. Fill up when your gas tank is half-full (or half-empty), because the more gas you have in your tank the less air there is and gasoline evaporates rapidly, especially when it's warm (gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating 'roof' membrane to act as a barrier between the gas and the atmosphere, thereby minimizing evaporation).

4. If you look at the trigger you'll see that it has three delivery settings: slow, medium and high. When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to the high setting. You should be pumping at the slow setting, thereby minimizing vapors created while you are pumping. Hoses at the pump are corrugated; the corrugations act as a return path for vapor recovery from gas that already has been metered. If you are pumping at the high setting, the agitated gasoline contains more vapor, which is being sucked back into the underground tank, so you're getting less gas for your money. Hope this will help ease your 'pain at the pump'

Pull Subscriptions using Exchange 2007 Web Service

2007-03-04T23:42:00.000-08:00

Here is the complete code for finding created event and new mail event using webservice

'Create the binding and set the credentials.
Dim esb As New ExchangeServiceBinding()
esb.Url = "http://www.domain.com/EWS/exchange.asmx"
esb.Credentials = New NetworkCredential("administrator", "password", "domain")

' Create a new Subscribe request.
Dim subscribeRequest As New SubscribeType()
Dim pullSubscription As New PullSubscriptionRequestType()

' Identify the folders monitored for events.
Dim folders(2) As BaseFolderIdType
Dim folderId As New DistinguishedFolderIdType
folderId.Id = DistinguishedFolderIdNameType.inbox
folders(0) = folderId

Dim folderId1 As New DistinguishedFolderIdType
folderId1.Id = DistinguishedFolderIdNameType.calendar
folders(1) = folderId1

pullSubscription.FolderIds = folders

' Identify the events monitored for the subscription.
Dim eventTypes(2) As NotificationEventTypeType
eventTypes(0) = NotificationEventTypeType.NewMailEvent
eventTypes(1) = NotificationEventTypeType.CreatedEvent
pullSubscription.EventTypes = eventTypes

' Define the timeout period for the subscription.
pullSubscription.Timeout = 10

subscribeRequest.Item = pullSubscription

' Send the Subscribe request and receive the Subscribe response.
Dim subscribeResponse As SubscribeResponseType = esb.Subscribe(subscribeRequest)

' Check the results.
If (subscribeResponse.ResponseMessages.Items.Length > 0 And subscribeResponse.ResponseMessages.Items(0).ResponseClass = ResponseClassType.Success) Then

Dim subscribeResponseMessage As SubscribeResponseMessageType = subscribeResponse.ResponseMessages.Items(0)
Response.Write("Subscribed for Pull notifications: " & subscribeResponseMessage.SubscriptionId)

' Wait 30 seconds before receiving event notifications.
'Thread.Sleep(30000)

' Create a new GetEvents request.
Dim getEventsRequest As New GetEventsType()

' Identify the subscription identifier and watermark for the subscription
' that will be polled for changes in the Exchange store.
getEventsRequest.SubscriptionId = subscribeResponseMessage.SubscriptionId
getEventsRequest.Watermark = subscribeResponseMessage.Watermark

' Send the GetEvents request and receive the GetEvents response.
Dim eventsResponse As GetEventsResponseType = esb.GetEvents(getEventsRequest)

' Check the results.
If (eventsResponse.ResponseMessages.Items.Length > 0 And eventsResponse.ResponseMessages.Items(0).ResponseClass = ResponseClassType.Success) Then
Dim eventsResponseMessage As GetEventsResponseMessageType = eventsResponse.ResponseMessages.Items(0)
For Each type As ItemsChoiceType In eventsResponseMessage.Notification.ItemsElementName
If type = ItemsChoiceType.NewMailEvent Then
Dim notification As NotificationType
notification = eventsResponseMessage.Notification
Dim eventChangedTye As BaseObjectChangedEventType
eventChangedTye = notification.Items(0)
Dim MailItemIdType As ItemIdType
MailItemIdType = eventChangedTye.Item
Response.Write(MailItemIdType.Id)

End If
Next
End If

' Create an Unsubscribe request.
Dim unsubscribeRequest As New UnsubscribeType()

' Identify the subscription to unsubscribe from.
unsubscribeRequest.SubscriptionId = subscribeResponseMessage.SubscriptionId

' Send the Unsubscribe request and receive the Unsubscribe response.
Dim unsubscribeResponse As UnsubscribeResponseType = esb.Unsubscribe(unsubscribeRequest)

' Check the results
If (unsubscribeResponse.ResponseMessages.Items.Length > 0 And unsubscribeResponse.ResponseMessages.Items(0).ResponseClass = ResponseClassType.Success) Then
Response.Write("Subscribtionunsubscribed successfully: " & unsubscribeRequest.SubscriptionId)
End If
End If