Honey yield is strongly seasonal: colonies build up through spring,
the main nectar flow peaks in midsummer, then yield falls away before
winter. Cash flow tracks that curve, but tax is a flat share of profit
that must be set aside as it is earned — not paid all at once at
year-end — otherwise a self-assessment or VAT bill in January can
outstrip whatever cash is left in the account.
yield(month) = hives × 15kg × seasonFactor(month)
revenue = yield × price
profit = revenue − (hives × £8 upkeep + £40 fixed overhead)
tax reserve += max(0, profit) × (VAT? 0.29 : 0.20)
cash balance += profit − tax reserve posted
- Month — previews that month's seasonal yield before posting it.
- Hives — colony count; scales both honey income and per-hive upkeep cost.
- Honey price — £/kg sold, set by market and jar size.
- VAT registered — above the VAT threshold a business must add and remit 20% on sales, raising the effective tax reserve rate used here (simplified for illustration, not filing advice).
- Post month to ledger — commits the previewed month's profit and tax reserve into the running cash balance, like closing the books.